<i>Lycannar </i>
I jerked awake all of a sudden from a slumber I had only just dipped into, a strange thrill coursing through my spine.
I sat up quickly, staring at my fingers as though they held the answer. Something had surged through me. Foreign yet whole, unfamiliar yet beautiful. Power.
Confusion was still clouding me when I heard footsteps downstairs. Then it hit me. The stench. Heavy, sharp, unmistakable. Demons.
A frown creased my face as I rose and stepped out into the hall, just as my brother Hades emerged from his chamber across from Chantel’s.
“You feel it too?” he asked.
I nodded, and together we descended the stairs, only to stop short at the dining hall.
Demon guards. They stood there as if they owned the ce. My chest tightened as I turned to Hades. He stepped up beside me, his confusion mirroring mine.
“I thought you said Father gave us until next full moon,” he muttered.
“Yes,” I answered quietly.
“Then why are they here?”
Before I could respond, the guards bowed, water dripping from their armor and pooling on the floor. One spoke in a cold, formal tone.
“His Majesty sends a reminder that on the next full moon, three days hence, he wille himself if neither of you appear.”
We said nothing. We only watched them retreat toward the backyard sea, toward the hidden passage that led into the Demon Realm.
When the silence returned, my shoulders sagged.
“I’m still tangled in this Ashmere mess,” I muttered. “How am I supposed to survive both?”
I dropped into a chair, heavy with thought. My mind drifted tost night, to her. Zephyrine. She was not herself anymore. Blue was right. Zephyrine… she is unraveling, and it hurts me. It
hurts more than I can bear.
She hasn’t spoken of her father’s death. She hasn’t asked me if I killed him. She only wanted to know why I kept it from her. It’s as if the very words, my confession, would break her beyond repair. A sin she couldn’t forgive.
I buried my face in my palms, torn apart by the thought of losing her. I didn’t want war. I didn’t want blood. I wanted her. And I was ready to kneel, to beg, to do anything to bring her back into my arms.
“One of us will have to marry a woman we don’t want and take the Demon Throne at the next full moon.” Hades‘ voice cut through my thoughts, cold and steady. The reminder made my blood run colder still.
Father wasn’t sparing us. If he had sent this message, it meant he was serious. Deadly serious.
My thoughts barely settled before hurried footsteps reached us.
“Baby brother!” Serena’s voice rang out as she rushed into the hall.
I frowned at her panic.
“What is it?”
“One of the traders I met at the market brought news from outside the Lycan walls,” she said breathlessly.
Hades stepped closer, listening intently.
“What did <fn23c1> This content belongs to findnovel</fn23c1>
you
hear?<b>” </b>
Instead of answering, she handed me a folded slip. An invitation card. My fingers stiffened as I opened it and read aloud.
<i>‘</i><i>The </i><i>official </i><i>union </i><i>of </i><i>Zephyrine </i><i>Ashmere </i><i>and </i><i>Nyroth </i><i>Hue</i><i>. </i>A <i>marriage </i><i>blessed </i><i>by </i><i>both </i><i>families</i>. <i>To </i><i>be </i><i>held </i><i>in </i><i>Hue </i><i>Pack </i><i>on </i><i>the </i><i>night </i><i>of </i><i>the </i><i>full </i><i>moon</i>. <i>All </i><i>are </i><i>invited</i><i>. </i><i>Food </i><i>and </i>drink <i>in </i><i>abundance</i>.‘
The words bled into my chest like knives. I looked at Serena, then up as Mearez rushed in, her face tight with rm. She too had heard.
Leaning back, I exhaled sharply. Zephyrine hadn’t known. I had seen herst night, her body, her eyes, none of it spoke of a woman who knew she was to be wed in days. Varyn must have forced this. But forcing her into Nyroth’s arms, that was too far.
Yes, I am guilty of killing the Ashmere warlord when I lost myself. But I will not sit aside while
that mistake estroys my heart in return.
“I will ept any punishment for that mistake,” I said, my voice raw. “But not this. This is unfair. And I will not let it stand.”
The room fell into silence until Mearez finally spoke.
“Lycannar, it’s full moon.”
“Yes, baby brother,” Serena added softly. “On that night, you’ll be in the steel chamber.”
Their words struck me hard. They were right. The full moon would strip me bare. The beasts, the madness, the horns, the truth.
“It’s a trap,” Hades muttered, stepping behind me. His eyes scanned the card again before he sighed. “He’s luring you out. On the full moon, when you’re weakest and Mad. When you’d be exposed.”
“Exposed?” Mearez’s voice tightened. “As in, your horns, your wings, your fangs?”
Hades nodded grimly.
“Exactly.”
I swallowed, throat dry. My true identity. The hybrid blood I carried. That was what Varyn wanted the world to see.
My chest heaved, but I forced the words out.
“I don’t care. I’m not letting Zephyrine marry another man. She’s mine. Whatever it costs, she’s mine.”
“Then you’ll have to stop it yourself,” Hades said tly. “Mearez will brew you a potion to dull the beast. It won’t hold long, but for an hour at least you’ll stay in form. Enough to disrupt the wedding, then return before the shift takes you.”
A dangerous n, yet it was the only n. Still, I saw the fear in my sisters‘ eyes.
“Brother Hades, I don’t think it’s wise,” Mearez whispered. “If you leave the kingdom that night and something goes wrong…”
I cut her off, quiet but certain.
“I will be fine. But before then… I’ll meet Zephyrine at the tavern tonight.”
日
h