Can someone like that really be trash?

FIFTEEN

It didn't even take half an hour, then everyone inside the room was sitting on the floor while kneeling – something Cale hadn't made anyone do in his whole seven years while being here. Yet here he stood while staring the three newcomers down, who were kneeling right in front of him.

He was in pain, it felt as if his heart was getting ripped out and all of his other organs as well, yet for some reason he was able to ignore it. His body wasn't shaking either; there was nothing that showed his physical state.

Alberu was the first to look up from the floor. Seeing Cale, who had been in pain those last two days, standing there, sober, not admitting the pain he was in, the crown prince didn't know why, yet he simply couldn't do this anymore. He was also the first one to get up from the kneeling position and approached Cale, yet the redhead seemed to ignore him.

The crown prince, who was fated to become king sooner or later, couldn't help but laugh. It was ridiculous – the thing he had for Cale. Why did he fall for him again? Why was he feeling like this every single time he looked ever so slightly at the man? It was as if he'd been bewitched by something – that something naturally being the extremely beautiful man, who had the rare cold and calculating look in his eyes.

"Hey, you-"

Alberu couldn't finish what he was going to say as Cale ignored it and spoke bluntly.

"If you don't like something, get out. I don't care. Don't get involved in this. We are allies – I'm your temporary helper. So don't you dare forget our rules."

Cale's voice was unusually cold.

There he stood.

He didn't look angry, no, not in the least bit. No, he, he looked calm. Calm and collected. At that moment, Alberu knew that they had fucked up. Cale's stoic expression was on his face as usual, yet there was this certain pressure around him that made Alberu's hands shake. He didn't dare move, so he just continued to stay where he was and just wait – what other choice did he have?

"As for you..."

Cale finally spoke directly to the ones who were responsible for this mess. Nyar, Jeremy and Roman, Alberu wished them the best, he really did. He was uncertain whether they would live or not, but if they did survive, he doubted that Cale would let them off the hook ever again.

"What in fuck's sake made you think it was okay to just come in here and do what you did?"

Cale's voice didn't sound any different than usual, it was calm and low. But his eyes, his eyes changed. And not just the look in them, but also the irises – instead of his usual brown-reddish eyes, they got redder and redder until they had the same color as his hair and looked like fresh blood.

Cale slowly took a step forward.

His whole body ached and hurt but he didn't let it show.

He then took another step.

This time, he almost stumbled, but he kept his act up.

And then another one.

He finally arrived in front of Nyar who was kneeling between Roman and Jeremy. And he took his chin and made the man look up at him. A strange smile was on his lips – one that showed his anger and disbelief. The second Nyar noticed what that smile meant, he knew that there was no way he would get out of this situation.

"I asked you a question."

Cale's calm and collective voice sent shivers to everyone else. Duke Fredo and the ancient dragon exchanged looks and got up from their kneeling position as well, joining Alberu as they observed the situation at hand. Perhaps they shouldn't have gotten up, as they were forced to their knees the very next second.