Alpha King's Healer

20

"You're asking me to be complicit in the deaths of two men. Men who are your family." I shake my head.

"Family?" Demios spat the word, his face twisting in disdain. "Do you think my father is a man worth protecting? The man who has sentenced his people to starve for years. My brother, too gentle when it comes to ruling who never bothered to take action against our father. I know the truth, Aurelia, they are the reason this kingdom is on the brink of collapse."

I take a step back, unable to process his words. My eyes closed, trying to block the images that began to form in my mind. My father had died in war, my mother a victim of its affects, I witnessed first-hand the brutality of it all. Families being torn apart, the lives lost I wasn't able to save.

To participate in the murder of a family, to destroy what little remained of their humanity for the sake of political power, I couldn't reconcile it.

"I can't do that, I cannot help you take the throne," my voice cracks with the weight of my refusal.

"You can," Demios pressed, his tone shifting to something more threatening. "You must. I don't want the throne, I need it. For Daelum. Think of what is at stake. Think of the people suffering. Think of Thaddeus losing his throne. If you help me, we can make sure his throne is secure."

My heart clenched, torn between the desire to protect Thaddeus and Lodestar, and the fear of becoming someone I don't recognize. Demios is asking me to become the very thing I hated. A weapon. I have become nothing but a tool in a game of power, rather than a person.

I was a pawn to these men. I had no escape, no choice, no free will anymore. Even to Thaddeus. But, at least Thaddeus does not try to use me as a weapon against others. That, I find myself grateful for.

"I won't be apart in this," I finally open my eyes, looking to Demios. I was firm with my response.

Demios just stands there, studying me for a moment. His expression was unreadable, until a small smirk played on his pink lips.

"You'll regret this, Aurelia. You'll see what happens when you choose the wrong side." He steps towards me, inching himself closer.

If I ran, I would look like a coward. I was not a coward when it came to protecting others. I keep myself planted.

He leans over, whispering into my ear, "Know this. Your peace you dream of so desperately will never come until action is taken. I will not stop until I do what must be done."

With that, Demios turns on his heel and walked out of the room, leaving me standing with the echo of his words ringing in my ears.

✧ ✧ ✧

My hand hovers over the ornate knocker. The weight of lives, and kingdoms, seemed to rest on my shoulders. The pressure was suffocating. The air heavy with uncertainty. My knees felt weak.

Martell, Demios, Covey, Cónán, Thaddeus. Each name pulled me in a different direction, some demanding from me, some relying on me.

I haven't talked to Thaddeus since he tried to convince me that we are mates. The warmth of his voice was still fresh in my ears from this morn. It hadn't been days, just mere hours since everything changed between whatever agreement I thought we had. Hours thinking about it, hours wrestling with the fear that has taken root inside me.

His pitiful confession, if I dare call it that, beat around in my head like a storm. I wanted to keep my distance from him. How could I be mated to a man like Thaddeus? A man who, despite what little gentleness he has shown me, has the power to change everything in my world? And what did love even mean in a place like a palace?