Chapter 19 - The Early Embers of War

“Why are you being so serious Kai?" Melody sat down in one of the empty chairs in the study. She was struggling to get a read on his face.

"Isn't this good news? You finding your fated mate? You know, mother would be really happy to see you settled with someone, especially after what happened with Rae.”

Kai leant back against the bookcase. "As much as I want to, I can't claim her yet"

"I don't understand, why not? Because she's not of noble blood? I really don't think father will mind if she's your fated mate, you know what he went through with your mother."

Kai pushed off the bookshelf and started pacing. "No, it's not that. Even if he wasn't for it, I wouldn't have let it stop me"

"Then what?" Melody's eyes followed him back and forth in the room "And stop pacing like that you're making me nervous"

Kai really didn't want to tell her everything about the attempts made on his life, but realized he had no choice if he wanted her to keep quiet.

"I'm certain someone from the council is targeting Adalyn"

"Targeting her? Why would they do that?"

"To get to me Mel, she's my fated mate. If anything were to happen to her it would severely weaken me at best, or at worst kill me. Whoever is behind this already attempted to kidnap Adalyn to try and confirm if she’s my mate. If I claim her, her life will be at risk."

Melody's eyes started darting left and right as she tried to make sense of this. "Are you sure about this? I know that some of them aren’t keen on you, but they would never go that far. That's treason!"

"Come on Mel, you know they've always wanted me out of the way. They have father and Matias wrapped around their fingers. They know I'll eventually surpass Matias in power and that I won't be manipulated like them. They're afraid that i'll challenge their hold on power. If they get rid of me, they can continue ruling in the shadows."

Melody stood up suddenly and growled loudly. "You have to tell father! He'll weed them out, he'll stop this." Her voice sounded both fearful and angry.

"I can't right now. I don't have the concrete proof I need to confirm this. If I go in front of the council without any hard evidence this could start a civil war. Father is already unwell; they could easily use this an opportunity to force him to abdicate and put Matias in his place early. We both know he wouldn't survive it. He's barely clinging on to control as it is. He can't find out about this. You have to promise me that this information stays in this room"

Melody's eyes were starting to tear up. Everything Kai had said was right. It would be a disaster if Matias took the throne now. His ideas were radical at best and in-line with what the council wanted, which is why Maddox had refused to step down yet, hoping that he could change him.
Her little brother had already gone through so much in his short life. It pained her to see him having to constantly battle the weight of the world on his own "But Kai..." she pleaded.

"Please Mel...let me handle this in my own way. I can't lose another mate". Kai picked up Melody's hand in an attempt to both comfort her and convince her to stay quiet.

"Please tell me you're not still feeling guilty about what happened to Raeliana? You were both children Kai. There was nothing you could have done to save her. Thanks to her you were able to survive that massacre"

The mention of her name forced unwelcome memories in to Kai's mind.

Raeliana was the youngest daughter of four children born to King Zeke Lauriel and his Queen Maeve of the former Eastern Territory that was now currently occupied and ruled by the King Colton of Sirran. In the past, relations with the East and Southern Territories were very good with King Maddox and King Zeke both being good friends. To solidify an alliance between the two nations Zeke and Maddox arranged a secret betrothal between Raeliana and Kai as chosen mates.

As they were both children at the time, Kaiden 9 and Raeliana 6. Kai had spent many of his summers in the Eastern Territory with Zeke's family to allow them to slowly get accustomed to each other until they could be mated and wed as adults, but the union never came to be.

--- 12 years ago --

A dark-haired boy and girl were out playing in the field grounds of the royal castle in the Eastern Territory.

"Hey Kai Kai! Come and have a look at this huge beast I've cornered". Rae was bent down in front of a tree with both of her arms out ready to catch something. She had been bounding around in the long grass for the last five minutes and had finally cornered her prey.

"There are no beasts in the castle grounds Rae" Kai chided. Kai was sat leaning back against a tree in the shade. He was reading a book and had been feigning interest in what she was doing. Every moment or so, he’d peer over the pages of his book to see what she was doing. He couldn't help but completely bemused by her. This girl was not like other girls her age and she definitely didn't act like a princess.

Rae had on a pink knee length dress and finding that it hindered her attempts to capture this 'beast' that she was chasing around the garden, she had rolled up her sleeves and skirt in order to run after it uninhibited. Mud had now started to cake her delicate dress as evidence of the number of times that she had failed to catch it and ended up in the dirt. She swept her long black hair out of her face and prepared to attack.

"This time you're mine!" Rae shouted before pouncing and disappearing in the long grass.

Kai peered over his book waiting for her to resurface again. After a moment or two had passed Kai realized that there was no movement. He lowered his book and called out to her.

"Rae? Where are you?" He stood up and tried to have a better look.

"Rae?" he called out again. "This isn't funny, stop hiding or I'm gonna tell your mother!" He started to panic when he didn't get a response the second time around. Maybe there was a beast in the long grass after all! As he stepped closer to where she last was, Kai heard a rustling sound behind. Alarmed, he quickly turned around and was met with a sudden flash of pink storming towards him on.

"Gotcha!' Rae shouted! After knocking him down, she sat on top of Kai and had the biggest grin spread across her freckled face. She loved sneaking up and tackling him. Rae was not a girl to be messed with.

"What's wrong with you?!" Kai shouted. Kai had always been taught to be calm, collected and proper at all times as the third prince of Galas and Rae was the complete opposite. She was like of breath of fresh air to him, and as much as he pretended that she was a nuisance, he couldn't help but find her entertaining. As her grin spread wider, Kai couldn't help but let his mask slip and he laughed out loud at her antics. After his laughter subsided, Kai’s attention was drawn to Rae’s hands on his chest.

She had her hands cupped in to a ball. "Now I can show you the beast I caught” she grinned eagerly. Rae looked at Kai with excitement etched on her face, he was still stuck below her and was now eager for her to get off.

"This better be good!" Kai sighed. He couldn't help but be a little bit intrigued to know what she had caught. "This beast of yours seems awfully small”.

"Just you wait and see!" Rae said excitedly. She slowly opened her hands to reveal the biggest, ugliest toad that Kai had ever seen. The toad stared and him then croaked loudly in his face.

"Ahhhhh!!!" Birds scattered from the tree above them as Kai's scream echoed out into the sky.

---


It was later in the early evening and Kaiden and Raeliana were playing quietly in her room, when the door flew open. Her older brother Jasper came running in, blood and sweat was streaming down his face and he looked as though he had seen a ghost. Kaiden and Rae immediately jumped up, terrified at both his appearance and expression.

"I need you to both hide okay. There are some bad people here, so I you need to stay in this room and be quiet okay." Before either of them could say anything Jasper ran back outside the room and shut the door.

"What's happening?" Kaiden panicked. Raeliana had already quickly spun in to action, almost as if she was prepared for it.

"Let's get in the cupboard Kai Kai!" Rae shouted. She grabbed Kai's hand and dragged him over to it.

"Rae, what's happening? I'm scared!" Kai pleaded. "It will be okay Kai Kai, quick get in" Just as Kai started climbing in, the sound of heavy boots and a scuffle could be heard outside the door. The eery sound of silence followed soon after before blood started pooling from under the door. There wasn’t enough time.

"Stay quiet Kai Kai, okay? They won't know you're here". Realizing that there wasn't enough room or time, Rae shut the door to the cupboard and locked it trapping Kai inside.

"What are you doing Rae?!" Kai started banging furiously on the cupboard door but she didn't respond. "Rae!" he called out again.

A second later the door to the room burst open. Terrified, Kai stopped banging and peered through the crack of the cupboard to see what was happening.

"There she is!" a gruff unfamiliar voice spoke. "The last Lauriel! Hurry and end her so we can leave this filth". Kai couldn't see what was happening but saw the shadow approach Raeliana before her scream resonated out in to the night.

King Nolan and his men slaughtered the whole of the Lauriel royal family that night. As they were just looking for Zeke's family, they had no idea that Kai was even there.

He remained trapped in the cupboard for nearly 24 hours before Arya, the head of King Maddox's guard at the time, found him. Forced to sit amongst all that death and broken at the loss of his future mate and first true friend, he remained mute for a whole month after that incident.

Even though Kai was only 9 at the time, he had blamed himself for not being able to help Rae. She was 6 years old at the time but took it upon herself to protect him. From that day on, he was determined to make sure that a history like that never repeated itself and dedicated his efforts to making himself strong. Strong enough to protect his family and everyone he cared about.


-- Present Day --


"She wasn't supposed to die for me Mel. I can't let that happen again, please promise me that this stays between us" Kai pleaded again. He couldn’t bear to have anybody else’s blood on his hands.

"Okay..." Melody finally conceded

"Thank you" Kai released her hands, grateful for her co-operation.

"So, what happens now...?" Mel enquired.

"Arrow should have some updates, that's why he's here. Speaking of which, how come you're here? I wouldn't have expected to see you dressed for war if you're just here to meet Adalyn "

"That's actually the main reason I came to see you. Father needs you back home. There's been a new series of rogue attacks on the border. Colton's been busy terrorizing the shifters living there. The council is gearing up and want to send a pack army there to quash it before it gets out of hand. They need you on the front lines"