Chapter 10: Invoke
1190 Words
Chapter 10
KADE
“Is she in there?”
“Yes sir.”
“How long?”
“Lady Joanna's been waiting at the table for the past hour.” The gamma answers once more.
I glance at the clock just above the bolted doors.
12:47
“Is she alone?”
“Yes sir” he answers.
Accepting whatever will come of this discussion, I reach for the knob and gently push open the fifteen feet doors guarding the spacious dining room.
“No one interrupts this meeting. Do I make myself clear?”
He answers with a nod.
Walking in, it's futile to try to acknowledge the stand out details of the room.
I can't act like the only thing in periphery isn't mother seated at the middle of the table, her plate of food untouched.
“You've been waiting” I say, waking up.
If this room wasn't so big, it should've taken only a couple steps. But the two hundred capacity compartment of the manor was designed to fit the entire royal court in a single sitting.
It takes more steps than would've been necessary to dissolve the looming tension, and with every stride towards her, I feign ignorance, acting like I don't know exactly what I'm here for.
“Mother” I don't bother to take a seat. I stand behind the chair a couple steps opposite her, and for the first time since I walked in, she returns my gaze.
“Tell me you've come back to your senses.”
I don't answer. But the emotionlessness alongside the calm beat of silence does justice to the question.
She gently reaches for forehead, tracing circles to calm her sporadic mind.
“Sit.”
“I've eaten” I answer.
She doesn't reply.
This time round, when her gaze slithers in my direction, I can sense a change in emotions.
The air’s become a bit tighter. Her eyes are further drowned in darkness, and with her mouth in a straight line, her fury-bathed discontent is ever apparent.
“Has the time finally come for my own son to allow the toxicity of power hypnotise him? What are you trying to prove by going against me?”
“Disagreeing with you was never a set out intention. We have opposing views, that's that. I made my stand clear this morning, mother. Elena stays here. Fin—”
“Listen to me boy!”
She rises from her seat in anger, flinging the plate of steak to the ground.
It hammers with a crash and breaks it into pieces, but I barely grant her a reaction.
“You're about to start a chain of events that will spell nothing but disaster for this clan. I am your mother for Christ’s sake. You have no idea what I know! What I've seen!”
“And what do you know mother?”
Her fists tighten, in a bid to explore reason over rage.
“Elena is a useful asset. I'm not against that. Everyone in Lenora knows what she's capable of. But everyone is aware that her prowess is on the battlefied, son. Do you know what people said about her at the party? When the Masked Warrior of the Northern Front showed what lied underneath? Speculations are going around that she was the one responsible for what happened to her royal bloodline five years back. Stories are flooding amongst the townspeople. Her legacy is falling like leaves in autumn. And then you bring her here, and attach yourself to her?”
She struggles with being level minded, trying not to say anything that'll come off as guided by an alternate motive.
“You need to understand how toxic this will get if the entire clan gets word of it. What will they think when they find out you didn't attend the celebration, but got linked with Elena that same night? Your father and I have kept this entire Clan as peaceful as it could possibly get, without internal conflict. You're going to start a civil war if you keep behaving like this.”
“So what do you suggest I do?”
My question momentarily throws her off, but perhaps for a split second, she sees an opportunity to completely convince me.
“Return Elena to the White Lotus. Let her people take care of her. I heard they're planning on tidying matters up with a quiet exile. If you want me to, I can go there and speak against it. We can avoid that. But worst case scenario, what's one more war hero banished to the human regions going to—”
“You should've started with that” I answer.
Hands slipped into the pocket of my pants, I take one more step in her direction.
“Your aim is to quiet the matter down, not resolve it.”
“Kade, don't do—”
“What are the people going to say? That I lumped myself up with a villain? An enemy of the state? A murderer? Guess what, she is a murderer” I say in defiance. “So am I. So are you. And every member of the royal guards as well. I've never once discredited the extent of sacrifice you and father have made to safeguard the Lenora Clan, but Elena isn't some side character that we can use and throw away when things get hot.”
“Why are you so bothered about this girl!”
“You've given me no valid arguments” I pay no attention to the emotion in her voice. “My decision stands. Goodbye.”
I turn, walking back up to the door, but my victory is only temporary. Even though I sense the linger of tension increase in the setting, I have no idea where it trickles from, until the familiar bass rings through the dining area.
“My apologies for allowing it get this far, Lady Joanna. It seems Elena's succeeded in brainwashing the Lycan King as well.”
That voice.
And the subtle cold streak to it. It's as recognizable as ever.
I turn, and standing on both sides of mother, are the two responsible for putting Elena in her current state.
Malcolm.
Cloaked in a regal outfit, he maintains a stout and unperturbed posture with a straight face. Ava, on mother's left side, is dressed in a red crystal-studded dress that sends reflecting shimmers through the air and onto the walls.
They're dressed like they’re coming from a ball… or going to one.
“I always knew my cousin had such a temptatious flair. The last person I expected to fall for it was you, Alpha Kade.”
My eyes dart back to my mom, and the expressionless face she now has on.
“What did you do?”
“Me?” She says, low but sharp. “I did nothing but my absolute best to try and avoid a situation like this… especially in your father's absence. But you've forced my hand.”
Huh?
She stands upright, firm and straight, leaning off the dining table.
“I invoke the Assembly of Alphas.”
- Writer
