Ashes of Revenge

Chapter 21: The Day Before

Victor sighed as he closed the book he was reading, well more like skimming. His mind had been so preoccupied thinking about the small group that he believed he had read the same page five times and gained nothing from it.

Tossing the book to the side, Victor ran his hands over his face. He didn't know exactly what it was about the group, but he didn't fully trust them. There were many things they refused to tell him that should've been relatively simple to explain, such as their scars. It was clear what caused Raven's injuries, but how she specifically got them was still a mystery.

Colt's scars, Victor guessed, were caused by a knife, most likely another Shifter.

Richard's one small injury was familiar to Victor, but he didn't know why. But the Farian's scarred knuckles were weird. How many times did Richard have to punch someone to get those?

Victor's head rested against his hand. His eyes naturally fell upon his intricately designed dark brown desk. Books and papers were scattered on the top of it, and they were reflected by a mirror that was the length of the desk. Two small shelves were on either side of it. On the left shelf rested his crown, and the one on the right held a Knight's helmet, his dad's.

Victor's eyes lingered on the helmet as he thought about his father and how, after one mission, he never came back. His dad was one of the Knights that had escorted Raven and her mum into the Farian Kingdom before they were ambushed. He was still wary of Richard and his species – they had taken his father – but the Farian wasn't like the creature he had imagined. The Prince would never act upon his thoughts like so many of his people did. It would simply be that: thoughts. Honestly, he didn't know who to blame now.

Since the King had forbidden Fernando and other Knights to go to the Kingdom, he had never gotten to see his father. Never gotten to have a proper funeral for him. Never gotten to say his final goodbye.

The helmet was the only thing he had left; that and a portrait which had been moved into one of the secret rooms. He had never been able to bring himself to look at the picture.

Truth be told, there were times when Victor wouldn't think about his father. He hated himself every time it would happen but knew it was bound to because of the situation he was put in. He knew he would one day be the Mundus King and rule over the Kingdom.

His to control.

To rule over.

To govern.

To dictate.

To save.

To destroy.

The Mundus Kingdom was already on the brink of war with the Farian Kingdom, and he knew the Shifter and Telik Kingdoms weren't too far behind. He wondered if he would ascend the throne when the Kingdom was stable and prosperous or if he would ascend when it was in ruins, and there would be no point in him ruling.

Standing up from the window seat, Victor brushed his finger against an engraving in the wall that had been there before he had gotten the room – Raven's doing. The poor excuse of an engraving simply read: LEROUX FEE. He had spent years trying to figure out why Raven had put the name of the Farian Prince, now the King, on her wall, especially with his nickname of a Monstro in Farian's clothing. The only connection he could make was that it was where Raven and her mum were taken, but she had written it before she went to the Kingdom, so that small bit of knowledge answered absolutely nothing.

Victor's finger left the wall, and he walked over to his crown. Picking it up, he spun it around with his fingers, flipping it over and over again, and he found it was heavy on his head but light in his hands. He wondered if that's how the Kingdom would be too – light and smooth while watching, but when having to deal with it, exhausting and burdensome. If that was the case, then he dreaded becoming King.