Chapter 194: War has come.
~Raphael's POV~
The room was silent.
No one moved. No one dared to breathe too loud. Ava’s words still echoed in the room. It sent cold sweats down my spine. I never thought my soft sweet mate had this authoritative side to her.
To think, it only made her hotter and sexier in my eyes made me worried about my sanity. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
She was standing tall, right in the center of the room, her long silver hair falling over her shoulders, her pale skin glowing like moonlight. But it wasn’t just how she looked. It was what I felt.
I felt power from her. Her posture screamed. I felt I transfixed and I wasn't the only one who did because no one spoke for a very long time.
Suddenly, it occured to me, that she was the only one in the hall. No, they were hundreds of people who had features like her. They reminded of certain race.
Alasia's words comes rushing through my head. Ava wasn't just from Mesodomica. She was Mesodomican.
That realization slammed into my chest, I forgot how to breathe. I looked around the grand hall again, the people with silver hair and blue eyes… they weren’t ghosts. They were real. Alive.
The people I thought I had destroyed.
Years ago, I had wiped this kingdom out. Or at least I thought I had. It was one of my worst moments, one I never spoke about. Alasia had pushed me too far, and Grey had taken over. I couldn’t stop the fire that burned inside of me. Couldn’t stop the rage.
Mesodomica had burned under my hands. Yet here they were. Still breathing.
And Ava… Ava was their ruler now.
It made sense, didn’t it? The way she carried herself. The fire in her eyes. The blood in her veins.
She was their princess. No. She was their king. My chest tightened. My palms grew cold.
The thought that Ava wasn’t just my mate anymore. She was royalty. The kind of royalty I had tried to erase from the world,
What have I done?
My throat went dry. My eyes found hers. She wasn’t looking at me. Her attention was on the elders now, on the people who had judged her just moments ago.
They were quiet now. Scared.
No one said anything. No one dared.
Gwen was still on the floor, her back against the wall, blood trickling down her forehead. Drogon crouched in front of her like a shield, growling low, ready to burn the world again if needed.
The children, his children, which I realized due to the resemblance they had with him were crying softly beside her.
I had seen them before when we came in. Although, it was brief glimpse, But I understood immediately who their father was.
To think, the dragon now has a family before made a lump start forming in my throat.
How much had I missed? And how much damage had I done?
Haggar stood still beside me. Her expression gave nothing away, but I could feel her watching me.
She had known. Of course she had.
Everyone seemed to know more than I did these days. As I read her mind, I find out that Ava had been chased from Lystra.
The people I trusted to take care of her had nearly killed her. And I hadn’t known. I had been so wrapped up in Alasia games in the cursed land.
Ava had once again suffered alone. Now she stood, not as my queen… but as the rightful ruler of Mesodomica.
I took a step forward.
The marble floor felt cold under my bare feet.
“Ava…”
Her eyes slides toward mine, it was cold and detached. She didn’t say anything. Just looked.
“I didn’t know,” I said, my voice rough. “I didn't mean to hurt anyone of them.”
Her gaze didn’t soften.
I didn’t expect it to.
“But you didn’t,” Haggar spoke beside me, her voice steady. “Your fire destroyed a lot. Yes. But the heart of this kingdom lived on.”
Ava still didn’t speak.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked her.
Finally, she answered.
“Because I wanted to believe I could start over,” she said simply. “Without reminding myself that the man I love once killed my people. I thought, I would forget since it's didn't happen when I was here."
Her words digged deeper, the more she said.
I took another step, but Drogon growled at me instead. His eyes locked on me, sending me warnings with them.
“Easy,” I whispered. “ you know I won't hurt anyone.”
He didn’t believe me. Not yet.
Ava raised a hand, and Drogon calmed a little. Not much, but enough to let me move a bit closer.
“I wasn't just chased out of Lystra, Raphael,” Ava said, looking around at her people. “I lost you, you died to me when I accepted Lorraine as I nearly died.”
Gasps echoed in the hall. Ava didn't stop there. She continued in cold suppressed anger that needed to be studied.
“Your own ministers tried to erase me. And while I lay in the middle of death, the people I belonged to, the people I thought were gone, found me.”
A soft sound came from Gwen as she opened her eyes slowly, blinking through the blood.
“ And I got to find out that I’ve been many people in my life,” Ava continued. “Norelle. Evangelina. And now Ava. Each version of me died because of pain planned by the gods. But this time… I refuse to die again.”
Her voice was stronger now. Clearer.
“I am the ruler of Mesodomica. And I don’t need anyone’s permission to be who I am. So, I advise you to return wherever you are coming from."
The hall stayed silent.
Then slowly, one of the elders rose. His voice trembled. “Forgive us. We… we were afraid. We thought you’d forgotten us. That you’d abandoned your birthright.”
Ava’s face was calm.
“I never forgot,” she said. “ you all just never gave me the chance.”
She turned to me.
“And you…”
I braced myself.
“…will answer for what you did. But not today.”
I nodded. “I will. Whatever punishment, I’ll take it.”
A faint flicker crossed her face. Something that almost looked like sadness.
Then she turned away, walking back to Gwen. She knelt beside her, checked her head gently, then looked at the children and nodded.
“They're safe,” she whispered.
Gwen smiled weakly, tears slipping from her eyes.
“I knew it was you,” she said.
Drogon lowered his head, touching Gwen’s hand gently with his snout.
The moment felt whole. A family reunited. And I stood there, with blood of a thousand years ago on my hands and regret in my heart.
I had a lot to make right.
Ava stood again, and this time she looked at her people totally ignoring me.
“Prepare yourselves,” she said. “Mesodomica is no longer a secret. And war has come to our doorstep.”
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