RIESKA’S high-ranking officials were present during dinner. Kharyn was there, sitting beside Zanti, facing Zenus and Harewyn. At the same time, the queen was facing Eleand.
“I hope Enkille and her marshals are here as well. The King’s Cadre would be complete, isn’t it?” Eleand broke the silence.
“Our cadre can never go back to what it used to be unless Esdras left the throne.” Rieska put the cutlery on the table and seemed to lose her appetite. She drank water and stood up, “I need to see something. I’ll be back later.” She wiped her mouth with the white table napkin before she strolled out the dining hall.
“What’s wrong with her? Is she that sensitive about Esdras?” he asked when Rieska was gone.
Kharyn answered him. “She’s not, but there are wounds that would not close easily. Did she tell you that Esdras is her older br
IN the morning the next day, Eleand found himself inside his room, trying to remember what happened last night. He was with the Rieska in the tower and probably fell asleep on her shoulder. Maybe she had brought him to his bed.He immediately got up and took a shower, feeling light. Maybe because he had a peaceful slumber last night, he slept without the usual nightmares haunting him for the first time.“I didn’t expect you to look settled.”An unfamiliar female faerie emerged, and he was startled. He just got out of the bathroom and currently drying his hair with a small towel.“Who are you?”The faerie wore a light blue gown, had tanned skin, grey eyes, and her long white wavy hair reached the shoulder.“I’m Abysses, and I’m in charge of looking after you.”“I can manage, thanks.” He nodded and continued to dry his hair.“I sug
ELEAND prepared from an attack because Zenus wasted no time and launched an assault. Luckily, Eleand’s sword immediately blocked the first strike. The sounds of their clashing weapons echoed, and they took their sparring to another level when Zenus started to move incredibly fast.Using his faerie sight, Eleand followed his opponent’s movements and defended himself against a deadly blow. If he had been careless, the twin swords of his adversary would have landed in his body. Every time, Zenus’ swords were an inch away from him.Silently, he used his wind magic to move faster and strengthened his protection magic to shield himself. The sword of Zenus produced blue flames; the general started to cast strong magic, so Eleand unleashed his fire manipulation as well.A red fire covered his left hand while the other summoned the ice. Hundreds of tiny snowflakes danced around Hasmal.Eleand attacked Zenus, but he avo
MANY days had passed, Eleand finally adjusted to his harsh training in Raledia. He once suggested to the queen to use his wind magic to float on air since he found it hard to fly using his heavy wings. However, summoning the wind to levitate was exhausting. Fortunately, after over a week, he could finally control his dragon wings. Everyone in the palace was proud of his milestone.The Ancient Queen personally trained him, and he was overjoyed. He could finally be close to her as Rieska, not Brandy. They were much alike even in attitude. She could be sweet and uncaring sometimes. But of course, comparing one individual was stupid.“Do you miss Brandy?” Rieska suddenly asked while they were flying.“Excuse me?” His head turned to face her. He wasn’t prepared for that question.“Do you miss your wife?” her smile teased him.“Ex-wife,” he corrected her, a
THE day of the council meeting in Argia arrived. It was scheduled to last until three days. Eleand was ready. He could stay in his faerie form for a long time without draining his mana.“What if Aserah told everyone that I’m a mortal once she sees me?” Eleand was somehow agitated.“This is why you trained to be well-versed in shapeshifting. Can you sustain it until the last day of the council meeting?” Rieska let out a deep breath.“Yes, I’m confident.”The queen wanted him to keep up this way because it was necessary. Besides, he seldom transformed back to his human form once he got the grasp of proper shapeshifting. He loved his fae body. Although sometimes he found his wings a hassle, he preferred not to show it most of the time.“Everything is settled. We’re going now.” Rieska stood from her throne. Zenus stood beside her.Eleand tilted his head
THE entire chamber went silent for a moment and unbelievingly looked at Eleand.“Silence!” his voice roared with authority. He held his head high and looked at everyone. “We are here to discuss the coming war. The Empire has been terrorizing Erganiv since a few months ago. If we stand united, our chance of winning this war is high. If divided, we’ll lose. This realm will fall, and all of you here is aware of that.”He heard someone sniggered—Prince Alberich. “Who the hell are you to be involved in this council?” there was a hint of mockery in his eyes.“It doesn’t matter. I’m with the queen.” He met his scornful gaze. Eleand knew the Gwiazdan Prince remembered him. But he set aside their issue. He would make him pay for what he did in due time.“I don’t give a flying fuck if you are with her. You still don’t have the right
THE first day of the conference went well. Even Rieska and Aserah would throw arguments occasionally. Branigan personally showed them their room inside the Palace of Lights. Eleand could not protest when the room reservation was made only for two. The young lord of Argia left before he could even protest. Eleand beamed to see Enkille rushing in their direction. She was careful around. Then she snapped her fingers to provide them an invisible shield to prevent prying eyes. “Enkille!” Eleand almost hugged her, but there was a warning look from the queen. He gently patted her shoulder instead. “Your Majesty,” Enkille arched her head down. “How are you, Eleand?” he asked him after giving her respect to the queen. “I’m great! Where’s Rade and Althy?” “They’re in Velidia, and we can’t leave the Winter Region yet. Fariyah can’t fight the Shadows alone. There has been a handful encounter o
“YOU’RE back!”Eleand found Rieska in her nightdress and her hair still wet. He swallowed hard. He couldn’t control to stare at her from head to toe. She was damn hot! Especially her long shapely legs and her curves in the right places.He was suddenly in heat, and he hurriedly went inside the shower to calm his nerves.No, Eleand. Don’t think about it. He muttered to himself.The warm water in the bathtub calmed his senses. Tonight was the first time he would spend the night with the queen, just the two of them inside the bedroom.Darn! He groaned.Zenus was right. Sleeping with Rieska was not an issue. She was his wife. But for an unknown reason, he was ecstatic and nervous at the same time. It would be easy for him if only she treated him as her real husband. The fact that she still loves her king, he was deeply saddened. The only reason he kept his emotions in pl
RIESKA and Eleand were seated in the exact location from yesterday. Even the High Leaders did the same. There were arguments again, but gratefully, no one dared to hurt each other physically. However, all of them were alert.“Today, we’ll discuss different kinds of the battle strategy if the war broke….” Branigan showed the hologram on the table. All were silent and listened to the young lord.Branigan explained the possible scenarios once the enemy tore the wall completely. The broken barrier would expose the faerie realm’s existence to humans, creating chaos between races.Eleand thought that maybe it was Esdras’s plan all along to expose their domains because he wanted to take over not just in the faerie realm but the entire world.The conference went smoothly. The attendees set aside their personal issues and created strategies for their survival. Although, some were not in favor, especially Aserah.