The Prince of Nothing

Chapter 21 - [Clear and Calm]

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE!!!!! <3 <3

Enjoy the new upload!!!

Love, Thannu

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Avarius didn't say anything to me while he took me in the direction of that special place that Saphryn liked to go to. I wasn't surprised by his silence, but I did wonder if I should say something to him. I may never get a chance to talk to him again, seeing as he's such a jerk most of the time.

"Why didn't you ever tell Saphryn the truth?" I asked the beast.

At first, he didn't respond, and I thought he just wasn't going to talk to me but after a moment, he spoke. I do not mingle in family affairs.

The response was simple, and though the fact that he was a tiger made it hard for me to read him, something about the way he said it told me that he chose not to 'mingle in family affairs' because he's had bad experiences doing that. "But it seems like you have a strong opinion about it. You got really mad when the king said what he did."

Once again, he didn't respond right away, like he was thinking of the right words to say before he said anything.

I knew right away that there was more to this than everyone was letting on.

The king killed Saphirian, Avarius finally responded. My anger stems from that.

"Were you close to Saphirian?"

He was the strongest warrior to ever wield my powers. He said. His death was a tragic loss, that is all.

"Well how could the king kill Saphirian if he was so powerful?" I asked. "I mean... the King doesn't look strong–"

He is not strong at all, Avarius said, and I was beginning to hear the annoyance in his voice. But he is smart. If you have the right kind of leverage and the right kind of intelligence, the weakest of humans can defeat even gods.

"What kind of leverage did the King have against Saphirian?"

The worst kind, Avarius simply said. Love.

My eyes widened. I mean, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. A man like him would surely have found love. But who? Who did he sacrifice himself for?

My mind immediately flickered over to King Arya.

She seemed like the kind of woman who would only ever love a man of equal or greater strength. Could she have been the one?

I mean, she was so cold and mean and... maybe it was because she lost the love of her life?

And maybe that's why she cared so much about Saphryn, seeing as he is the one who had Avarius now... and he was named after Saphirian too.

But before I could ask Avarius, he came to a stop.

We were outside of a massive stone building. The building was huge and looked to be very old. It had vines growing all along the walls and looked as if it hadn't been maintained in hundreds of years. When I looked up, I could see the magnified, orangish sky and the huge sun which lit this place up so brightly that I had to squint. I knew we were inside that special barrier, which made me decide that this building must have been that temple that Saphryn was talking about. The temple where he found the mirror.

"He's in here?" I asked, walking up the steps. The massive doors were wide open, leading into a large hall that was lit magnificently by sunlight.

At the very top.