Chapter 196: _His Birthright Kyren’s POV
"So, that was the big secret you’ve been keeping from me all along?" Elian asked, his voice trembling with agitation. He and Kyren had walked out of the event hall after the huge confrontation against Alpha King Arian. And by "walking out"... Kyren decided to take a break while Elian chirped on and on about morals and whatever. "Like I told you before, little flame." Kyren began, his cloak floating freely behind him as they trailed through the golden-tinted hallways of the Lunarian palace. "If it was something important to you, I’d have told you." He paused in front of an Ascension platform just then and Elian was forced to do the same, although the lad’s face was still tensed up. "Two of my mates are cousins," Elian whispered under his breath, glancing around in case anyone was listening in on their not-so-little secret. "And you thought it was something not important to me?" Kyren glanced at him over his shoulder, his lips curling into an amused smirk at the same moment that the metal doors of the Ascension platform slid open. "Half cousins, little flame." Kyren corrected smoothly, completely unbothered. "And I doubt it makes any difference to our established dynamic." The Rogue king stepped onto the platform first, taking in the cool air with a calm breath. Elian just stood outside, his eyebrows twitching like he was torn between saying something else or following after Kyren.
"So, that was the big secret you’ve been keeping from me all along?" Elian asked, his voice trembling with agitation. He and Kyren had walked out of the event hall after the huge confrontation against Alpha King Arian. And by "walking out"... Kyren decided to take a break while Elian chirped on and on about morals and whatever. "Like I told you before, little flame." Kyren began, his cloak floating freely behind him as they trailed through the golden-tinted hallways of the Lunarian palace. "If it was something important to you, I’d have told you." He paused in front of an Ascension platform just then and Elian was forced to do the same, although the lad’s face was still tensed up. "Two of my mates are cousins," Elian whispered under his breath, glancing around in case anyone was listening in on their not-so-little secret. "And you thought it was something not important to me?" Kyren glanced at him over his shoulder, his lips curling into an amused smirk at the same moment that the metal doors of the Ascension platform slid open. "Half cousins, little flame." Kyren corrected smoothly, completely unbothered. "And I doubt it makes any difference to our established dynamic." The Rogue king stepped onto the platform first, taking in the cool air with a calm breath. Elian just stood outside, his eyebrows twitching like he was torn between saying something else or following after Kyren.
The latter knew all too well what he’d pick.
"Gods..." Elian finally sighed, lowering his head and rushing into the Ascension platform before the doors closed.
When he stood beside Kyren, he whipped his head to him, his violet eyes narrowing. "It makes no difference yet you decided to make a big deal of it by revealing it to everyone so dramatically."
The blue runes in the shaft glowed simultaneously before a ding sound rang through it.
As the platform began ascending through the tens of floors in the palace, Kyren brought his crimson eyes to Elian.
"When Arian first revealed it to me after I pressured him... How exactly did you think I felt?" Kyren queried, his voice low but still echoing through the Ascension platform. "How do you think I felt knowing I didn’t just have a family when I was struggling in the Dark Lands... But that said family were royalty?"
Elian’s eyes fluttered speechlessly but it was clear Kyren’s words cut deep in him.
However, the rogue king was far from finished.
"Arian deserves everything coming to him for keeping this a secret for so long." Kyren turned his head away from Elian when the platform was approaching the second-to-last floor. "But I made a promise not to leak it out to the general public."
The platform finally dinged, coming to a stop.
As the doors opened, Kyren arched a brow at Elian who was quiet.
Like the lad was pondering his words deeper than necessary.
"But I never said anything about not telling his family. It’ll be lovely seeing them rip him apart for his sins." He smirked, walking out of the platform.
But after moving a few steps, he paused, realising Elian didn’t step out.
His brows furrowed as he glanced back at his little flame.
"What’s wrong?"
Elian tapped his right foot on the floor a couple of times before sighing lightly. "What’s wrong is that you still haven’t changed after all these weeks."
Kyren’s frown deepened as he turned slowly to face him, ignoring the greetings of a few maids who walked past.
The hallway was brightly lit with white crystal lights and bustled with activities, all the staff members getting ready for one of the biggest parties in the Lunarian palace.
If only they knew the storm brewing.
"What are you talking about, Elian?" Kyren took a single step toward the Ascension platform, tilting his head. "You don’t need me telling you that all Arian is doing is atrocious. He’s lucky I haven’t decided to rat him out."
A maid who walked past him gasped and nearly tripped when she heard that but she was quick to regain her composure. Kyren barely registered her existence.
"Lucian’s mind is jumbled up right now." Elian lowered his voice, his eyes fleeting around before focusing on Kyren again. "Yet you just let THAT secret out like it was nothing. Who knows what’s going on in his head right now?"
. Oh... That.
Kyren remained silent, realising what this might lead to. An argument.
Or was it too late for that?
"Lucian will be fine," Kyren muttered casually but Elian gave a sarcastic smile.
"Right. Well, I’ll have to go find him and check up on him." He stepped further into the Ascension platform, ignoring the intense stare from Kyren. "Don’t wait up."
Without another word, Elian clicked a button, causing the metal doors to seal shut. The Ascension platform rose to the last floor above—the location of the royal family’s chambers.
A section of the palace that Kyren never had the privilege to stay in.
Instead, he was forced to fight for survival. To fight for food. To climb his way to the top in a path carved with blood, tears and death.
And when he finally made something of himself and assembled the Dark Lands... Arcadia comes knocking at his door decades later to claim his domain.
His efforts.
And the Lunarian royal court watches it all happen from the sidelines.
"I deserve every right to be angry." Kyren’s fists clenched, his voice dripping with quiet venom. "I have every right to burn Arian and his legacy to the ground with this secret."
A few nearby crystal lights began flickering just then. His eyes flared with a colder light and the air temperature around him dropped rapidly.
But before his power could spill out of hand... He stopped himself, letting out a breath.
"But I guess letting his family know is enough punishment for now." He drawled to himself.
He was just about to turn away from the Ascension platform and find the room he was assigned to when a hand clasped on his shoulder softly.
"Lord Kyren." A familiar voice chimed, forcing him to turn his head to the person holding his shoulder.
His eyes widened with genuine surprise when he saw who it was.
Luna Queen Elowen.
"I feel your pain about my husband and what his father—your grandfather—has done to you indirectly." She spoke calmly, her eyes glowing with an almost motherly warmth.
Too bad Kyren never knew how that felt to appreciate it.
"He might as well have slapped me on the face to make it direct." Kyren snorted, grabbing her wrist to remove her grip.
But she persisted. "I have a proposition. Something that could benefit both of us. Involving your birthright."
Kyren paused, narrowing his eyes at her.
She was dead serious, her gaze glinting with a calculating light.
After a few seconds of silence, Kyren’s shoulders relaxed as he nodded. "Go on..."