Eltanin sighed deeply as he looked at the dragon. His misty body that was covered in smoky wisps of tendrils against the backdrop of golden apples looked ominous. He closed the distance between them in slow strides, musing about his predicament.
"It seems you are in a lot of tension," said Ladon, sensing the king's worries.
"I am..." Eltanin breathed. "My mother told me about Felis and how he is related to... me."
Ladon slithered down the tree slightly and uncoiled his body. His massive head came right in front of Eltanin's eyes. His red eyes gleamed. "So?"
"So?" Eltanin was shocked by his one word reply. "I am sorry but it is not just a 'so' situation! So many things have changed ever since mother told me about Felis!" he snapped as his raven eyes gazed into Ladon's red ones.
The dragon let out a whiff of smoke from his mouth as if sighing. "Nothing has changed, Eltanin," he said. "Only a piece of information has been added to your mind. Other than that, everything is the same."
"But Felis is my brother!" Eltanin said loudly, closing his fists so tightly that his knuckles became white.
"I hope that doesn't mean that you think of sparing his life or that you plan on ruling Draka with him?"
"Because Felis wanted to capture the fae and make her his by forcing her. He wanted to have children who would have fae traits, who would have magic like her. Because he wants to build a stronger army of Nyxers. But that is not even the tip of the iceberg," Ladon scoffed. "He knew that you would have gone after her and then you would have willingly given your beast to him to free Lusitania."
A shudder passed through Eltanin. "No!"
Ladon coiled back on the tree and sighed. "That was his plan."
"H— how do you know? You are tricking me?"
"And why would I trick the man who rules Draka. You are born with my mark on your body, which means that a small piece of my soul has somewhere ingrained in you. Why would I want to hurt you or trick you when all I want is to protect you and all of Draka?"
Eltanin's fingers went on his throat and he rubbed his skin out there as if trying to dislodge a lump forming inside. The truth about Felis was so dichotomously correct.
"Go back to Lusitania, Eltanin," Ladon hissed. "She needs to be protected. There is danger hovering over her. And this war that you feel would get over by a few talks... won't. If you like, you may experiment at the risk of exposing your mate to Felis."
He closed his eyes and let out a long exhale. Now he knew why he came here. Why his feet brought him to meet Ladon. It was as if Ladon had called him to open his eyes. He didn't say anything. He bowed to the dragon and walked out of the royal gardens with a heavy heart.
'Protect Lusitania.' Ladon's words rang in his head like warning bells. He hurried back to his bedchamber. Lusitania was standing by the window, watching something on the outside. He came to stand behind her and then wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. Startled, Tania laughed. "Elty! When did you come?"
Eltanin buried his face in her hair and inhaled her scent to calm himself. His heart was thundering against his ribcage.