Chapter 38

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Himani the yeti held her arms behind her back to hide that her paws were shaking. It was funny to think that she, a 7 ft beast, was frightened of someone whose spine she could break with one effortless squeeze. The silence was deafening. He had not moved from his place - leaning against his desk. As though she could not control herself, her eyes flicked upwards to his masked face, only to see that his own cold eyes were staring back at her. She looked away quicker than he could blink.

"You have something to tell me, Himani?" Calder said at last, speaking slowly.

Even though she had been expecting his voice, the yeti still flinched. "Yes, Your Highness. It is of great importance."

"Great importance, you say?" Calder questioned. "I think only I can be the judge of that."

"Of course, Your Majesty. My apologies." Himani's first instinct was to bow low to him in submission, but she wasn't sure if this was the right response.

"Get on with it, beast," He spat. "You are trying my patience, and if you weren't aware, I have other matters to attend to. The two Suns escaping with one of my Moons, for example."

"That is what I wanted to tell you, Your Majesty. What I have to say is in relevance to them. Colonel Kōri came to collect the nymph before he was taken. He had the other Sun with him - the fairy. He told me that he was instructed by you to bring them to you."

Calder frowned at this, pulling his mask higher up the bridge of his nose. "There were no such instructions. But I believe he wanted to show me as a surprise. I wasn't even aware he had returned home. The Colonel is very loyal. If he had make it back with the others he would've been promoted to General. It shows true strength to come back alone without the aid of his fellow Moons, and to bring with him a new Sun no less. It is a pity he has been taken from us once more."

"Will you require a search party to go after him, Your Highness? I can arrange one if you wish. And to retrieve the two Suns, of course."

Calder raised a gloved hand to stop the yeti from speaking any more. "This act that the Suns pulled, this treachery and insolence -" Himani frowned but did not question him. "This calls for action, not a search party. The war against Lune and Sol has only just begun."

Calder dismissed Himani, who was more than happy to leave his study - he had begun pacing rather quickly, and she could sense he was only just keeping his temper at bay. Rage ran through the blood of the King, scorching hot. He wanted to rid himself of it, for it was overwhelming - his first thought was to peel his skin from his skeleton.

He was thankful Junto was not present. He knew that the kappa would say something ridiculous in an attempt to calm him down which would only lead to the creature's death. He wanted to kill someone. An image of forest-green eyes swam into focus - he wanted to kill her. Ondine. She had betrayed him. He had wanted them to be a family, and she had not only escaped once, but twice. She did not love him. She didn't want him as a father. She had discarded him. After everything he had done for her? For Indra, her mother? This was the height of cruelty. She thought he was a monster.

Calder picked up a pen from his desk and threw it hard at the wall. The pen broke, ink exploding across it, and for a second it looked like blood. He walked over to it, ridding himself of his glove to press one teal finger to the splattered ink, turning his finger over to look at it. He pressed his finger and thumb together, rubbing the ink between them and feeling its consistency. Maybe throwing his daughter against the wall and watching her head split open would calm his rage. Watching her gold blood stain the wall, mixing with the blue ink. It would be artistic, almost. Maybe more beautiful than what he had done to Rilian, the former King of Lune.

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