Chapter 173: _He’s My Only Weakness Kyren’s POV
"Alright, everyone gather around. I want to make this as quick as possible." He boomed with a deep voice, standing at the top of his dais in his throne room. Standing below were all his palace staff members, from the maids to the guards stationed around the invisible shield surrounding the palace. His arms were placed in front of his body, his crimson gaze scanning sharply through the faces of the hundreds of people gathered in his throne room. "Each of you here serves a vital function to this palace." He began, turning away from them and facing his throne. He stared at the black seat for a few seconds before continuing. "It’s like the protective blood cells in a body. Each works together to make the whole body function. Or at least, that’s what I thought..." He turned to face them again, his voice becoming colder than ice. "Until something happened earlier. One of you, a maid, stepped forward and confessed to trying to poison me." An uproar erupted among the crowd as they whispered, murmured and exchanged weary glances. . "Could it be another Dark Hand attack?" Someone asked smartly. "Do we have Dark Hand spies amongst us?" "What about Arcadia? They could be behind this as well and they clearly have the boldness after the attack on Gravethorn."
"Alright, everyone gather around. I want to make this as quick as possible." He boomed with a deep voice, standing at the top of his dais in his throne room. Standing below were all his palace staff members, from the maids to the guards stationed around the invisible shield surrounding the palace. His arms were placed in front of his body, his crimson gaze scanning sharply through the faces of the hundreds of people gathered in his throne room. "Each of you here serves a vital function to this palace." He began, turning away from them and facing his throne. He stared at the black seat for a few seconds before continuing. "It’s like the protective blood cells in a body. Each works together to make the whole body function. Or at least, that’s what I thought..." He turned to face them again, his voice becoming colder than ice. "Until something happened earlier. One of you, a maid, stepped forward and confessed to trying to poison me." An uproar erupted among the crowd as they whispered, murmured and exchanged weary glances. . "Could it be another Dark Hand attack?" Someone asked smartly. "Do we have Dark Hand spies amongst us?" "What about Arcadia? They could be behind this as well and they clearly have the boldness after the attack on Gravethorn."
All it took for Kyren to get them to shut up was a soft whistle that echoed through the large room.
The noise disappeared until the breathing of some of them was all he could hear.
"Now I’d have considered the idea of just casting a spell to skim through the minds of everyone present and see if there are any more spies in my palace... But that would be boring." Kyren smirked mischievously, clasping his hands in front of his face. "Which is why instead I’ll just leave you all with a warning."
Everyone glanced among themselves uncomfortably, the expression on most of their faces telling him that they thought this was a bad idea.
Finally, a guard was brave enough to raise a hand. "But sir. If truly there are more spies in our midst... What if they come for the staff next? Or make a more dangerous move that’ll endanger you?"
Kyren chuckled darkly when he heard those words, shaking his head. "Endanger me? I’m not worried about myself. The fact that I was able to detect the poison is enough proof of that. But my mate?"
His head scanned through the faces again, landing on the Omega lad Elian had befriended earlier.
Sylas.
The latter stiffened when the Rogue king’s eyes focused on him but Kyren didn’t let his gaze settle for too long before he went on smoothly.
"My mate is my one and only weakness. Yes, I’m letting you all know that now for one clear reason." Kyren’s eyes flared with a darker shade of red, causing the red crystal lights on the walls to flicker eerily.
"You want to know why I’m letting you all know? Because if anyone touches as much as a hair on my little flame’s head..." Kyren shone his teeth, his violent urges surging at the mere thought of it. "Then I’ll take it as them damning any and everything they’ve ever loved. I don’t care if the Dark Hand ’forced’ your hand or any sob stories like that."
"Everyone has a choice. And if your choice is to threaten Elian... I’ll suggest you abandon all hope. Because I, Kyren Nochthane, will make your loved ones beg for death for a hundred years in your presence. I’ll show you how I was able to band the Dark Lands under my rule."
The throne room was so silent that he was sure a pin dropping would be heard even from outside.
He could smell the terror and reverence all mixing into one among the staff members. And that’s exactly what he wanted.
He meant every word he said and was truly curious to see if anyone else would make a move. It’s been decades since he actually had the pleasure of torturing someone to such extreme levels.
"You’re all dismissed." Kyren waved his right hand with a bored sigh, turning away from them.
He placed a hand on the throne, drumming fingers along its edges. He listened as the staff members filed out of the throne room one by one, walking so orderly, almost like they were scared to incur his wrath if they moved too quickly.
When the last of them had left and the heavy doors closed behind them, Kyren glanced over his shoulder.
"Well?" He queried at a shadow projected by one of the pillars.
The shadow twisted unnaturally until a figure materialised out of it slowly.
When the figure had emerged fully, it revealed a woman dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt with a fancy flared base. Her blonde hair flowed in soft waves at either side of her shoulder and she had a golden gauntlet on her right arm.
"According to the readings from the gauntlet, they’re all clean, my lord." The girl bowed, but her expression was grim.
This "girl" was one of his most powerful associates, a rogue wolf who was extremely skilled in tech and had acquired Arcadian magi-tech during her time serving him.
"Ishtar." Kyren blurted, tapping his fingers on his knuckles thoughtfully. "So out of all those people... None of them had any thoughts of working against me? Or signs of mental tampering."
Ishtar nodded again. "Affirmative, my Lord. They’re all loyal to a fault in fact."
His fists clenched and unclenched beside him as his mind reeled.
If this were the case, that meant the Dark Hand hadn’t infiltrated his palace as he suspected. But it also meant the maid who confessed to poisoning him was the only culprit.
Which felt grossly unlikely to him.
There was something darker about this whole thing and he was supposed to love the thrill of the dark. This was just annoying.
"Keep the maid’s body intact in my hex chamber." Kyren let out a breath and said, about to plop on his throne.
However, a holographic screen suddenly popped up in front of him, causing him to squint at it and the message written on it.
Message ID: Elian Ashford. Message content: "Help."< Kyren’s face darkened, a bad feeling pressing deep in his chest. "My lord, what’s wrong?" Ishtar asked but he didn’t spare her a glance. With a single thought, he teleported himself to Elian’s current location using the mate bond to track him down. He was ready to rain hell on anyone who dared touch him.