Chapter 71: He is here to destroy.
~Raphael’s POV~
Nothing has been the same since Ava’s incident. Another week has passed since Gwendolyn last checked on her. Grey hates me more with each passing day, resenting every moment I leave her side to attend court or check on my people.
I understand him. I wish I could do nothing but sit with her every day. But the helplessness is eating me alive. The fact that I can do nothing to ease her suffering is driving me mad. If nothing changes soon, I might actually lose my mind, and that would be bad for everyone.
Today is another court meeting. I hate these gatherings, but today is different. If I don’t go, it could spell trouble for Caleb. As my right-hand man, he bears the weight of my absence.
Since the elders and ministers cannot confront me directly, they will turn their frustrations on him.
Or maybe I’m just looking for an excuse to leave and experiment with another cure. It has been one drug after another, one spell after the next. Even the King of the Netherlands is rumored to have a cure.
That’s what I’ve heard, at least. I don’t know if it’s true. I hope it is. I also know that if he does have it, he will demand a huge price. I’m willing to pay it, anything to wake Ava up. And when she does, I promise I will never leave her side again.
"Caleb." I called through the mind-link. I was already close to the hall, and the ministers' uproar reached my ears before I even arrived.
Most times, I wonder if I made the right choice in allowing these fools to govern Lystra. Their constant bickering is like the howls of wildcats in Lystra.
But for now, I will focus on the matter at hand. The weeding out of useless ministers will come later. I didn’t come this far just to let them ruin my hard work.
"That’s all you care about, isn’t it?" Grey muttered, his voice filled with bitterness. That’s all he does nowadays, antagonize me, over and over again.
Always trying to fight for control. Always seeking an excuse to kill one of the ministers. He even tried to harm one of the Seven Elders. Thankfully, I had taken control before he could finish the job.
"I know you think the worst of me right now, and I understand. But today, Grey, you must not act up." I warned him.
I know I might be wasting my breath, but I have to try. Today is too important. The temple priests from the Netherlands are coming, the Holies.
Blessed by the deity they serve, they have holy power. If anyone can save Ava from this curse, it is them. After all, they were the ones who saved me from Alasia.
And the price for that has been the peace between Lystra and the Netherlands for over two decades. Those were the agreement.
I am willing to pay the price again. Whatever it takes to save my mate. She mustn’t die. If anything happens to her, there will be no stopping Grey and me from burning the world to the ground.
"Raphael." Caleb’s voice echoed through my mind, pulling me from my thoughts.
"Are the ministers there?" I asked. It was a foolish question. Their shouting had already given me the answer.
"Yes, they’re all here. And… Raphael," Caleb hesitated.
Caleb never hesitates. He acts more like my subject than my friend, but I know him better than anyone. Something was bothering him.
"Caleb?" I called out. "Are you still there?"
"I am." His voice sounded exhausted. "It’s just… the envoy and the temple priests have arrived." I sighed. This is why I can’t leave everything to him. They will tear him apart. Caleb may act tough, but I know him. He’s more of a softie than he lets on. A crybaby, even. I raised Caleb. For a man who has existed as long as I have, I don’t see him as just a subject. He is my friend.
"How many of them came?" A throbbing pain filled my skull, like someone was hammering into it. The sleepless nights were catching up to me.
"Ten, in total." Ten? That’s too many. I only requested one. Maybe two at most.
"I’m close." I ended the mind-link and quickened my pace. My men followed in behind me, the sound of their boots echoing in the hallway.
As I approached, I saw the hall doors open. The centaur guards stood guard at the entrance, three to each corner. The hall was huge, so their numbers made sense.
"Greetings to the Sun and Moon of the Empire." The ministers and officials rose and bowed in unison.
I nodded, unimpressed. Their sudden show of respect didn’t erase the fact that they had been screaming like fools in front of our guests. Disgusting.
I strode toward my throne, a golden monstrosity of a dragon head, so extravagantly designed that it shimmered under the glow of the magical lanterns. Too much.
I climbed the steps to the third floor of the throne’s elevated pavilion. From here, I could see the entire hall. No one could hide from my gaze.
Silence blanketed the room like a shadow, a huge difference to the yelling and uproar I had heard moments before.
"They’re scared." Grey muttered.
Of course, they were. I was already on the verge of madness.
I was once a mad king without a mate. Now, with a mate clinging to life, they feared what I might do and not do. And they should.
Yet even fear didn’t stop the bold ones from making their demands.
Such as the Elders of the Witch Clan. They had dared to bargain with me. They wanted the marriage between Gwendolyn and Anastasia annulled. They wanted Gwendolyn stripped of her status and sent back to face their judgment. If I refused, they claimed, my mate would die. To be precise ‘ Quicker death’ that was the words they had used.
They had forgotten who I was. So I reminded them. For the past week, one Elder had died each day mysteriously.
I had given Grey the pleasure of taking their lives. No one knows what is happening in their clan or who is responsible. And it shall remain that way.
And yet, exhaustion settles on me as I am unable to sleep. I had to stay awake every night, infusing my mana into Ava to keep her alive until the priests arrived.
"Your Highness?" Caleb called gently.
I turned my gaze to him. He inhaled sharply. That’s when I realized Grey was at the surface.
"Don’t worry, I won’t kill unless it’s necessary." Grey snarled in my mind with a false promise, we both know, he won't keep.
I clenched my jaw. "Grey, we need them."
I was desperate. Nothing could go wrong today. If it did, I didn’t know what would happen.
In my entire existence, I had never been so afraid.
"Look properly, vessel. You are still in control." I checked, and he was right. The walls between us were still intact.
Then why did it feel like something was changing?
"I’m doing what’s best for our mate." Grey’s voice was eerily calm. "From now on, I will be here."
The realization hit me. He wasn’t relinquishing control anymore. No, he has made it so we are now equals. I was no longer in full control of my own body.
"Raphael?" Caleb’s voice softened.
I blinked, realizing I had been staring at him for too long. The ministers began whispering, too afraid to speak their concerns aloud. They always feared my beast more than me.
"That’s why I’ll take care of them," Grey said, a little too eagerly. "And you can handle the peaceful
matters."
There was no mistaking it. He was here to destroy.
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