Exploring Titan

~42~

"YOU'RE A PRINCE!?!?" I roar so loudly that the room around me *physically* shakes.

I feel my heart rate spike at the circumstances presented before me.

My eyes might actually catch fire by how intensely I GLARED at Leo.

"I do apologize for my little Ûm. I warned him that you wouldn't take the deceit well." His mother tries to console me. Her whispy foamy aura cascaded down her form and enveloped me in the lightest of hugs. Like a cloud trying to give comfort.

"MOOOM!!"

"Oh, no no, your radiance," I turn back to her and plastered on my most genuine and heartfelt smile. "Please do not apologize for your insolent son's deceitful lies!"

I turn my head back and seethe the final sentence to the insolent son in question.

He baulks at my genuine venom in how I address him. The level of bile I feel burning at the back of my throat has been UNREAL!!

I can handle being vague and keeping secrets, but this was straight up borderline lying to my face.

And there is NOTHING I despise more than liars!!!

"I-I didn't lie about ANYTHING!" Leo desperately tries to defend. "I juuuust....didn't tell the truth?"

I think my eyes were moments away from bursting into flames.

"Please don't be too angry with my son. He truly only did what he thought was best." His mother tried to calm me, floating over and reaching an elegant hand, emanating out cascading mist towards me. Her entire being looked like it would barely classify as a tangible form.

However, her apologizing on his behalf seemed to enrage me more to absolutely no end.

And right as the spike of rage slammed into my chest, I see Leo physically flinch, like he'd been hit. But I swear I didn't touch him.

What the...!?

"You good?" I asked, cautiously tampering my brewing rage, worried about such a profound reaction coming out of nowhere from him.

"He must've felt your emotions," His mother tried to offer as a reassuring answer.

But it did no such thing.

"HE FELT WHAT!?" I barely contained myself from shrieking.

Everyone in the room seems to physically react to my loudness, but I barely was able to give it any more attention.

Seeming to not register my slowly deteriorating emotional state, his mother continues to cheerfully reply.

"Lë'onidas-ûm, although not being a full Tkûm, is able to see people's emotions!" She speaks as if it were an obvious answer to a fun trivia question. "Had he been a full Tkûm, like myself, his powers could go beyond! To read and alter organic beings' minds, bodies, and emotions!!"

I feel my eye twitch.

I took a mighty deep breath to try and process the hailstorm of information that just assaulted me.

I slowly looked in Leo's direction once, and the man refused to make eye contact back.

Good. He possessed the ability to feel shame at the very least.

"Uhm, Queen Arzeq-" I tried to remember her name, but it was hopeless. ESPECIALLY with how much information I was currently desperately trying to keep track of.

"Queen Ärzequila'tkûm!" She bubbles at me. Then tilts her head at my confused expression and adds. "However! You can call me Queen Astraea for short, or Astra! Even shorter!"