Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 16

Kaelen

My hands clenched into fists, knuckles white, as I watched in horror. The guards closed in on the Tenebris royals, their swords a menacing glint in the torchlight. Heat built in my palms, the familiar burn of magic. But I couldn't intervene, not now. Not with Raedon leading the charge. To fight with Raedon would be to fight with our father, and I was no match for the King. Not when I was still struggling with control. Kyros has been helping me learn, but he was ripped away, whisked away without even a goodbye.

“What is the meaning of this?!” King Rigel's voice thundered through the hall, silencing the commotion. His face was a mask of fury, eyes blazing with a cold fire that sent shivers down my spine. Prince Cyrus stood defiantly, his back to the dais, his arm protectively encircling Estella. She clung to him, her face pale with fear. In his other hand, he held a wickedly sharp iron blade, its edge a gleam in the torchlight.

Thallia, her face etched with a chilling calm, stood her back to her siblings. Her hands glowing with an eerie green light as magic swirled around her like a protective shield. The air crackled with tension, the room filled with a static charge that had my arm hair rising on end.

My heart pounded in my chest. I had never witnessed such open hostility. I wanted to intervene, to stop this before it got worse, but I didn’t know how. Caught in a web of loyalty and fear, I closed my eyes, a silent prayer escaping my lips.

“Your daughter crossed into my lands, which then led to your son threatening the lives of my children,” King Phoenix declared from his throne, his voice laced with a chilling indifference. He lounged back, his legs crossed, as if this were merely a casual conversation, not a matter of life and death.

“I only threatened the one son,” Cyrus growled, his voice threatening. “The one son who is not even here!”

My gaze drifted towards the vacant Queen's throne, to the spot where my brother should be. I longed for their presence, my mother’s calming influence, her ability to defuse even the most volatile situations.

I remembered a time when Raedon had provoked a fight with a visiting dignitary's son while father watched with a smirk. Kyros stepped in, effectively restraining Raedon, keeping him from worsening the relations. My mother had been the one, her gentle words and strong posture keeping the dignitary from pulling support all together.

But they were gone, mother whisking Kyros away to safety after Raedon's brutal attack. I shuddered, the memory of Kyros's bloodied and broken body still fresh in my mind. The throne room still smelled faintly of his blood, even all these days later.

“You sent that male into our land!” Estella's voice, sharp and accusing, sliced through the tense silence. “You ordered her death!” she cried, her voice cracking with a mixture of grief and rage.

My father merely smiled, a cruel, predatory expression that sent a shiver down my spine. He leaned forward, his eyes glinting with a dangerous light. “I couldn't let that transgression pass,” he purred, his voice a sickeningly sweet contrast to his menacing words.

"Why kill him now?" Estella demanded, her voice trembling with barely suppressed fury as she broke free of her brothers grip and faced off with the King on the dais.

Cyrus placed a restraining hand on her arm, but she shook it off, her gaze fixed on the King.

"Because it was your head I wanted!" King Phoenix boomed, his voice echoing through the hall. He rose from his throne, his towering form casting a shadow over those gathered at the foot. "And now," he continued, his voice dropping to a menacing whisper, "I have you right where I want you."

With a raise of father's hand, the guards surged forward, iron shackles glinting in the torchlight. My breath hitched in my throat, and I staggered back, my hand gripping the edge of the Queen's throne for support. I had to do something, but what?

My gaze darted to Atlas, hoping for support, for a sign that my eldest brother might intervene. But Atlas stood frozen, his jaw clenched, his eyes filled with a conflicted mix of emotions. He was the only one strong enough to stop this from going any further, but he just stood there. I knew what Estella meant to Kyros. Atlas did too. Yet, he remained motionless, his loyalty to our father seemingly outweighing his concern for the female who captured our brother's heart.

“Atlas,” I hissed under my breath, shooting a glare to my brother who acted as if he hadn’t heard me.

Suddenly, a blur of motion and a flash of emerald green caught my eye. Thallia, her face a mask of cold fury, moved with a dancer's grace, her fingers weaving intricate patterns in the air.

Vines, thick as pythons and studded with thorns, erupted from the floor, snaking around the guards with terrifying speed. They constricted limbs, thorns tearing into flesh, and cries of pain filled the air. One guard, caught by surprise, was lifted bodily into the air, the vines twisting around his neck, his face turning purple as he struggled to breathe.

Cyrus, too, had joined the fray. His hands, already morphing into clawed paws, tore through the guards with a ferocity that made me flinch. The air filled with the sickening thud of bodies hitting the floor, the clang of steel against steel, and the snarls of the enraged shifter. Estrella had been passed off to their father, the older male holding his daughter tight to him.

I watched, mesmerized and horrified, as the royals fought with a desperate fury, their movements a blur of motion, their power a terrifying spectacle. I saw Raedon pacing behind the line of guards, a predator stalking its prey, his eyes gleaming with anticipation, waiting for his chance. He knew he was no match for the two fae royals, their magic and blades slicing through guards as if they were nothing.

All the hair on my arms rose, the magic in the room pricking my skin as a blinding flash of light erupted from King Phoenix's throne, followed by a deafening c***k that echoed through the hall. My eyes went wide with horror, as a bolt of pure lightning arced across the room, striking Cyrus with terrifying precision.

I took one single step forward, but stopped myself, knowing I could do nothing. The prince cried out, his body convulsing as the searing energy tore through his heart. He collapsed to the floor, his once proud form now a twitching mass of pain and agony.

Estella screamed her brother’s name, her voice raw with anguish. She struggled against her father's iron grip, desperate to reach her brother, to offer him comfort, but King Rigel held her back, his face a mask of grief and fury. Cyrus’s body stilled, and you could see the loss ripple through the royals as they all flinched. Thallia’s steps faulters, her cries for her brother loud and desperate.

Raedon, seizing his opening, lunged forward with a predatory grace. Thallia, her eyes filled with tears as she witnessed her brother fall, turned towards the approaching threat. But it was too late. Raedon's blade flashed, a silver arc in the torchlight, and plunged deep into her throat.

A choked gasp escaped her lips, her eyes widening in shock and disbelief as her lifeblood spilled onto the pristine marble floor. She clutched her throat, but it was too late. Her body crashed to the floor, her knees cracking on the stone floor. Her eyes remained locked on her brother’s lifeless form, one hand outstretched towards him.

Estella, witnessing the brutal murder of her sister, tore free from her father's grasp. "NO!" she shrieked, her voice filled with a primal rage that echoed through the hall. She lunged towards Raedon, her hands outstretched, her nails extended into claws, ready to tear him apart.

My stomach lurched. This was a bloodbath. The room, once filled with the tension of a standoff, now pulsed with the chaos of a full-blown battle.

Her clawed hand ripped into Raedon's arm, a curse leaving his lips as blood stained his white tunic. But he twisted her wrist, using her grief against her. He spun her around with a brutal force that sent her crashing against his chest. His knife, still dripping with Thallia's blood, pressed against her delicate throat. Estella's eyes shuddered as she struggled against his hold, her claws digging into his arms.

Seeming to be in a daze, the King of Tenebris didn't fight as the guards surrounded him. He didn't fight as the iron shackles went around his wrists. It was as if the soul left his body when the lives of his two children ended. He simply fell to his knees and bowed his head. The clang of steel was a deafening sound in my ears as my uncle, Taurus, drew his sword and separated the King from his head.

I stood there, numb. Everything happened so fast. One moment, there was a struggle, a desperate fight for survival, and the next, it was over.

Raedon tugged Estella forward so that she was just a couple of steps from the dais. Guards began moving around them, gathering the bodies of her family and dragging them from the room. Taurus following close behind, his hand still fisting the Kings head as he strode out the oak doors.

Raedon moved his blade down her face and down to her chest, leaving a trail of her sister’s blood across her skin. Tears streamed silently down her face, but she refused to cower. She lifted her chin, her eyes blazing with defiance, her spirit unbroken despite the terror that must have gripped her heart.

“Such a pretty little thing,” Raedon purred, his voice a sickeningly sweet mockery that made my own skin crawl. He leaned closer, and I could practically feel Estella's revulsion as his breath washed over her. His nose traced a path along her neck, the sight making me want to retch. Estella flinched, her body recoiling instinctively, but his grip was like iron, his fingers digging into her flesh, holding her tight.

“My brother doesn't deserve a beautiful thing like you,” he murmured, his lips brushing against her ear. Then, with a sharp nip that must have sent a jolt of pain through her, he sank his teeth into the soft flesh of her earlobe.

Estella cried out, her body shaking with a mixture of fear and rage. She thrashed against him, her hands clawing at his arms, her legs kicking, but he was too strong. She clenched her jaw, her eyes blazing with defiance, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her break.

Raedon chuckled, a low, guttural sound that must have vibrated through her body. “Feisty, aren't you?” he murmured, his voice thick with amusement. “I like that.” He tightened his grip, pulling her closer, his body pressing against hers. Estella shuddered, her face twisting with disgust.

I watched the scene unfold, my fists clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my palms. Hatred, a burning, consuming rage, surged through my veins. I wanted to leap from the dais, to tear Raedon away from Estella, to shield her from his brother's cruelty. But I couldn't. Not yet. I was too weak.

Why wasn't Atlas stopping this madness? He was the eldest, the strongest. He had the power to intervene, to put an end to Raedon's sadistic game. Yet, he stood there, impassive, his face a mask of cold indifference.

“Rae,” King Phoenix drawled, his voice laced with amusement. He leaned back in his throne, a cruel smile twisting his lips as he observed the scene with a detached pleasure. "Now isn't the time to play."

Raedon chuckled, a dark, chilling sound that echoed through the hall. “But father,” he whined, his voice dripping with false innocence.

“Raedon stop this!” I said before I could stop myself. I felt Atlas’s warning stare on the side of my face. “Just let her go,” I pleaded. Radeon’s icy stare shifted to me, hatred evident in his eyes that were identical to our father.

I had pulled his attention from Estella, at least for a moment. She noticed Raedon’s shifted focus and raised her leg and sent it stomping down onto Raedon's foot before throwing her head back into his nose with a sickening c***k. His grip loosened just enough to allow her to twist free. With a roar of pain, Raedon spun and grabbed a chunk of her hair, pulling her back before she could get too far.

Before I could even react, before I could even cry out, Raedon dragged his knife down her face, the blade slicing a deep, jagged line through her lips and chin.

Estella's cry, a raw, guttural scream of pure anguish, ripped through the tense silence of the throne room. It was a sound of utter despair, a sound that shattered my heart and ignited a fire within me. I didn't hesitate. I didn't think. I just moved.

"Kaelen!" Atlas's voice, sharp with warning, barely registered in my ears. My focus narrowed to Raedon, my cruel brother who held Estella captive, her face streaked with blood and tears. Rage pulsed through my veins, hot and demanding.