Chapter 179: _Mask Off Lucian’s POV
"You were too hard on him. You know that, right?" Beta Axel told him for the umpteenth time when they stepped out of Lord Kyren’s palace. Lucian’s expression was stoic but deep down, he was still livid after Elian’s little stunt at the training hall. Yes, he was certain it was some stunt. The pattern of previous things Elian has pulled was too obvious to ignore. But the fact that Elian was willing to risk his own life for a prank or whatever it was he was up to was... Infuriating. But aside from his anger, there was also this weird ache in his chest when he realised he had left Elian under the care of Kyren while the killer behind his spy’s death was still out there. His footsteps were crisp against the red sand outside, the sunlight peeking through the ashen clouds a sign that it was still daylight. "I’ve not been hard enough, Beta." Lucian finally muttered, placing his hands into his pockets when they finally got to the outer parts of the Palace grounds where a few guards lingered. "After all the things I’ve had to put up with..." He paused when the guards raised their hands, drawing out odd-looking silver sticks glowing with a red light. "Uh, what’s going on here?" Axel glanced at Lucian before stepping forward. "We’re the Lunarian emissaries, remember? We’re just stepping out to check the aircraft we used to come here." One of the guards, a lady with short black hair donned in the signature full body black armour, arched an eyebrow, her eyes flicking from Lucian to Axel repeatedly.
"You were too hard on him. You know that, right?" Beta Axel told him for the umpteenth time when they stepped out of Lord Kyren’s palace. Lucian’s expression was stoic but deep down, he was still livid after Elian’s little stunt at the training hall. Yes, he was certain it was some stunt. The pattern of previous things Elian has pulled was too obvious to ignore. But the fact that Elian was willing to risk his own life for a prank or whatever it was he was up to was... Infuriating. But aside from his anger, there was also this weird ache in his chest when he realised he had left Elian under the care of Kyren while the killer behind his spy’s death was still out there. His footsteps were crisp against the red sand outside, the sunlight peeking through the ashen clouds a sign that it was still daylight. "I’ve not been hard enough, Beta." Lucian finally muttered, placing his hands into his pockets when they finally got to the outer parts of the Palace grounds where a few guards lingered. "After all the things I’ve had to put up with..." He paused when the guards raised their hands, drawing out odd-looking silver sticks glowing with a red light. "Uh, what’s going on here?" Axel glanced at Lucian before stepping forward. "We’re the Lunarian emissaries, remember? We’re just stepping out to check the aircraft we used to come here." One of the guards, a lady with short black hair donned in the signature full body black armour, arched an eyebrow, her eyes flicking from Lucian to Axel repeatedly.
She glanced at her all-male comrades before clearing her throat. "Sorry for the inconvenience, sirs. But I’m sure you’re aware of the maid who poisoned lord Kyren’s drink."
Lucian rolled his eyes but managed to flash his brightest smile. "Yes, we’re well aware of that. Because we witnessed it. So what are these contraptions you have pointed at—"
"Done." One of the other guards said, lowering the silver stick alongside the rest of them. "We were scanning you two for any signs of the residual magic used to curse the maid. Orders from Lady Ishtar."
Lucian’s brows furrowed, partly because he had no fucking clue who Ishtar was but mostly because this whole thing was getting way too frustrating.
Like it always has been.
Axel grabbed his shoulder just then, nodding at the guards with a small smile. "Thank you for your hard work. I do hope the culprit is caught."
With that, he and Lucian scurried along, walking through the invisible force field surrounding the palace grounds. The Alpha Prince had a tingling sensation go through his bones when he walked past but he tried ignoring it.
"Your calm in situations like this never ceases to amaze and annoy me all at once, Beta." Lucian blurted when they were within a good walking distance away from the guards and palace etched on the mountain.
The Beta merely arched an eyebrow before sniggering. "And your undying suspicion never ceases to sadden my heart."
The sarcasm in his voice wasn’t lost to Lucian.
The Alpha Prince swerved his head to him, squinting for a bit. That was until the aircraft they’d used in coming here shifted out of its cloaking mode when they got about ten meters away from it.
The Lunarian craft stood high, glinting with a golden light that was more prominent because of the sunlight above.
It had a triangular shape and also had sails like wings at either side of it. The side door opened slowly as they approached, releasing a silver-tinted ramp.
"You can’t blame me for suspecting you, Beta." Lucian finally said, turning around and stopping when they were in front of the craft.
Axel stopped as well, tilting his head.
"No one else was supposed to know about the location of our room in that palace. Other than you and the Rogue king." Lucian went on.
Axel sniggered. "Right... So you decide to put the blame on me and not Lord Kyren? Why? Because it’s much easier to blame the man whom you’ve hated all these years?"
Lucian ground his teeth but he didn’t respond.
Maybe he was just being paranoid after all. Maybe Axel was clean of whatever suspicions he was having.
The problem now was that he was back in square one, now that Haruk, his dark lands spy, was disposed of.
Lucian brought his eyes to the aircraft and was just about to continue moving when his communication ring pulled at his mind with a sharp "ding".
He stared at his fingers, dimming his eyes when he saw the blinking light that signified an incoming call.
"Aurora." He muttered, his eyes flicking to Axel who shrugged.
"I’m heading back into the palace." The Beta chimed but Lucian scoffed.
"Pretty sure Lord Kyren made it clear he’s not interested in our peace talks."
Axel smiled sarcastically. "Right, because you wouldn’t quit throwing your frustrations on him and trying to blackmail him."
Lucian eyed him with scorn. "Blackmail him with something he did? I’m not the one who forced him to sneak his men into Lunarian soil."
The ringing from his ring still flared, making him more curious about why Aurora was calling him.
Could something have happened to their mother?
"Just... Try not to get into any more trouble, Lucian." Axel raised his hands in defeat, turning his back to him.
When Lucian watched the Beta walk away from him for a few seconds, he finally picked up his sister’s call when the ringing persisted.
"I guess you’re busy." Was the first thing she said when he picked, her voice exhausted.
Lucian sighed lightly. "Sister, you have no idea how much madness I’ve encountered since we got here. Why are you calling? How’s mom?"
He climbed the ramp leading into the aircraft, his free hand trailing the stair railing, which was cool to the touch.
"Can’t a sister check on her brother anymore?" Aurora’s eye roll was almost visible. "Mom is fine. The wound from the laser blast has already healed and she’s back on her feet. It’s you I’m worried about, Lucian."
He stepped foot into the aircraft, his eyes scanning through the interior as the white crystal lights on the metal walls turned on.
A few holographic screens appeared around him, showing him the readings of the craft.
. But he barely glanced through them before answering Aurora. "I’m flattered by your worry. But why? Did you find anything out about the guard who shot Mom in the first place?"
There was a short pause from the other end before Aurora spoke.
"Not exactly. But I got an ominous letter, Lucian." She said grimly, her voice tight. "One directed at you. It was slid under my door some minutes ago."
Lucian froze, his brows furrowing.
A letter?
"It was from the Dark Hand. They aren’t even trying to hide themselves." She went on with a low tone. "The black claw symbol was crested on—"
"You know how much I hate suspense, sister." Lucian spouted, getting a little impatient. "What did the letter say?"
The fact that the Dark Hand could send a letter to his sister’s doorstep made it clear his father was just a complacent puppet letting these people do whatever they fucking please.
Including hurting people he cared about.
Lucian tapped the communication ring a few times as he walked toward one of the leather-coated seats. But then his eyes locked on something sitting pretty on the seat.
A letter.
"It was a simple message," Aurora whispered just when he stepped toward the white paper, her tone clipped. "It said: Mask off. The truth you seek shall..."
As she spoke, Lucian grabbed the paper on the seat in front of him and opened it, his mind reeling.
His heart skipped a beat when his eyes skimmed through the words on the paper.
"Lucian? Hello?" Aurora’s voice pulled him out of his reverie. "Did you space out? I told you what the letter said and you—"
"I spaced out because I’m seeing a similar letter here," Lucian revealed solemnly, his throat tight. "Same Dark Hand symbol and all. Plus the message itself: Mask off. The truth you seek shall find you."
The black ink on the paper suddenly looked like cursed blood to him.
"Wait, so they’re sending the same letters to both of us now?" Aurora was still vocal, her voice filled with confusion. "What do they even mean by..."
Her voice suddenly distorted, flickering and glitching eerily.
Lucian frowned, staring at his communication ring as the light blinking on it flared briefly before blackening.
"WARNING." The aircraft’s robotic system rang out just then, while the lights in the craft turned off completely, leaving Lucian in darkness. "Powerful magi-tech corruption detected. System overridden."
Lucian sneered, lowering his hand and flinging the letter aside. "Detect the source of the corruption. Pull all of the craft’s energy to—"
His words died in his throat when a blast of white smoke erupted from a corner, hitting his face directly. He gasped, his chest constricting as the smoke engulfed the craft within a couple of seconds.
As Lucian coughed and heaved, he attempted to head toward the exit. But it locked shut, sealing him in.
"Mask off, Alpha Prince." A voice echoed through the ship just then, taunting and clearly mocking him.
Lucian’s vision blurred at the edges, his limbs giving in until he fell to his knees. The smoke had gotten so thick that it was the only thing he could breathe now, the acrid stench of ozone gaining entrance to his tongue.
He gritted his teeth, attempting to channel his aura to stay conscious... but even that was futile.
"Who... Who..." He tried speaking but it was useless.
He was losing consciousness.
As the darkness closed in on him, he subconsciously tapped his index finger on his ring.
"Night, night, Lucian..."