The Crimson King

Chapter 29 | Quite Suddenly

Chapter 29 | Quite Suddenly

*

'You touch me and suddenly I feel
a little less war torn.
I'm not sure what peace is
supposed to feel like,
but I think
it may feel a lot like
y o u .'

*

IRIS

It had been just over half a month since Darius's departure from Aether. Iris had no idea when he would be returning, nor could she quite bring herself to ask. She had never found a chance to apologise to him before he left, and words she had left unspoken lingered like a bitter taste in her mouth. She should have made more of an effort to right things at the time.

As such, her thoughts were occupied by him more than she cared to admit, her guilty heart refusing to let her forget the words he had spoken to her on his departure from Lunex.

"Be safe, while I am gone."

At the time, Iris had just taken it as him warning her not to cause any more trouble, but as the days had passed, the warning had softened in her mind, and she had begun to wonder if perhaps he had just been genuinely concerned. Was he capable of such sentiment though? Iris wasn't sure. Or at least, he had never been inclined to demonstrate such an emotion towards her before; but then she had not given him cause to either.

She had now, fully processed the history that Arlo had told her that day, and Arlo's stories were fleshed out further by Balthazar. As she learnt more about the unspoken history, she began to properly understand the enormity of Darius's actions- both in the prelude to, and in the aftermath of, the war of Aelin.

"There is a reason why the other houses disagree with Darius's current position on the throne- aside from their prejudice and misunderstanding of his past actions," Balthazar had told her. "The Greyson House were the only other Royal House, to continue to fully bind their souls to the Queen. When there was but one pack, the original lycans were obviously bound to Elunah. But when the six separated and became Houses of their own, distance and division came between us, and this formality was lost. Only the Greysons continued to devoutly pledge themselves to the line of Elunah and serve- as Venlaya intended.

"At some point in History, instead of being awed for their loyalty, the Greysons were demeaned for it. Never out in the open of course- but the rumours were there. That the Greyson 'will' was too weak for them to lead a pack of their own; so instead they had to rely on the Queen. Faith in the will of Venlaya was lost, and so too, the faith in our Queen. That proved to be our undoing."

Iris's eyes had hardened at her tutor's words. She remember the suffocating power with which Darius had extended the force of his will upon her. To suggest that his will was weak was laughable. "That's simply not true." She had surprised herself with the force of her own anger.

"Indeed, Princess," Balthazar said mildly, "I could not agree with you more. However, it does not change the fact that the other Houses see Darius as unfitting to sit upon the throne. The King should be the King. A King cannot have a master."

It had taken Iris a moment to realise his implied meaning. "If they think he is weak," she had said, her expression frosty, "then why don't they challenge him?"

Balthazar had laughed then. "I like the look in your eyes, Princess. Maybe one day, you should ask them that question in person. And when you do, I hope I am there to see their faces."