Chapter 322: The Deathbed Promise
Solan stiffened, glancing briefly into Ivan’s craze-filled eyes before looking away, unable to meet the intense threat burning within them.
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat before muttering, "You heard me."
Ivan leaned forward, his veiny hands gripping the edge of the table so tightly his knuckles turned white. He spoke through gritted teeth. "Oh yes, I heard you loud and clear, King Solan." He spat the name with utter disdain.
"Explain it to me. What exactly did you mean when you said you knew this would happen?"
Though his voice was low, everyone in the room felt the violent pressure of the prince’s power, ready to blast the king at any second.
Iskara and Regulus, however, did not flinch. In their eyes, Ivan had every right to be this way; they were just as enraged by what the brainless idiot had uttered. However, the last line had caught their interest as well.
The fathers of Edward and Oliver shifted in their seats, looking like men who had realised they were sitting on a ticking time bomb and were suddenly reconsidering their career choices.
As nobles, it was technically their job to protect their King, but right now, they both looked like they’d rather be literally anywhere else. Protecting a man who intentionally pokes a fire-breathing prince was not in the original job description.
Solan lifted his cold blue eyes to meet Ivan’s glaring ones and finally decided to speak. "My wife told me long ago that if you and my daughter were ever to be together, it would spell disaster for the kingdom."
Every eye snapped wide open at the king’s words, while Ivan’s gaze narrowed.
"Really? Your wife?" Ivan replied mockingly, before a sinister chuckle escaped his lips, startling everyone present.
In silence, they watched the prince chuckle, and a single, deeply unfortunate thought settled over the room.
’Excellent. Now there are two dangerously powerful men who seemed to have surrendered to madness, and fate had decided to place them in the same room.’
The professors could only pray to the gods that a full-blown war would not erupt between the two men. They exchanged glances in the heavy silence, holding their breath as they waited for the next move.
When Ivan’s chuckle died down, his expression became cold and absolute. He straightened his back, his tall figure towering over the men seated opposite him.
"Tell me, King Solan," Ivan began, his voice dangerously low. "Your wife....a woman who has never treated Evelyn as her own. A woman who is doing everything in her power to strip away her birthright. Do you truly believe that I, or anyone else in this room, would listen to a single word she has to say?"
Solan’s face reddened, looking offended by the sharp words, "How dare you-"
"How dare you make such a ridiculous claim based solely on the words of that wife of yours?" Ivan thundered. "I will never believe anything that comes from her when she is doing everything in her power to ruin Eve!"
Ivan’s voice roared through the conference room, making everyone flinch in their seats.
All eyes instinctively turned to Solan, waiting for a response.
Solan looked stunned, to say the least. Then, slowly, realisation dawned on his face as he understood exactly which wife Ivan was referring to.
"You have it wrong, Prince Ivan. I am not referring to my current wife. I am speaking of my late wife, Queen Selene," Solan replied evenly.
Once again, shock rippled through the room. Even Ivan, Iskara, and Regulus froze at the revelation, fully aware that Selene had been Eve’s biological mother.
"What is it?" Solan continued, his voice laced with provocation. "Has this revelation finally stolen your voice? You were roaring not long ago."
Ivan’s fists tightened, his knuckles turning white as he visibly struggled to restrain himself from unleashing chaos once more.
Not liking how the man continued to rile up his son, who was barely holding himself back from beating the king to a pulp, Iskara finally broke his silence.
"Stop where you are, King Solan. I will not hold Ivan back a second time should you continue to provoke him." He spoke in an authoritative tone, locking his dark crimson eyes with Solan’s.
He continued, "What is this that you are talking about? It is best that you explain clearly. As you can see, we are in a dire situation with both Princess Evelyn and my nephew having fallen into the hands of the dark ones. Every minute counts, so don’t waste our time with riddles."
"I am speaking clearly, King Iskara. And you do not need to remind me that my daughter went missing right under your nose... in the very kingdom ruled by you," Solan countered, throwing a sharp jab back at Iskara.
But Iskara just looked at him squarely. "It is unfortunate that it happened. Believe me when I say this: she is cherished by all of us. Those responsible will pay the price. So I ask you again, what is the relevance of bringing this up in such a dire situation?"
Solan went quiet for a moment, scanning the room before responding, "My late wife, Selene, had a vision a few nights before she passed away. She told me that I should never let Evelyn marry a vampire, because she saw that the consequence would be the end of the world."
Iskara’s eyes widened briefly before returning to a composed state as he observed the king seated near him.
"Was your wife gifted with visions that she would say something like that?" Iskara questioned.
"No. This was the first time she saw something like that, but I remember she was deeply shaken by the vision. She made me promise her that I would never let it happen," Solan answered, then turned to glare at Ivan again.
Every eye remained fixed on Solan, then shifted back to Iskara and Ivan, who stood there in silence.
"So you are telling me," Iskara said slowly, "that your wife had a single dream, despite possessing no prophetic gift, and you based a promise of such magnitude upon it?"
"I believe her!" Solan barked, his voice echoing through the chamber. Everyone could see how deeply affected he remained when it came to his late wife.
Iskara gave him a slow nod of understanding. "I realise you would believe her. But my question is... this vision... did she ever tell you exactly what she saw?"
"Yes. She saw total destruction if I ever allowed Evelyn to marry a vampire," Solan replied, his voice laced with spite.
"But she did not narrate the entire dream to you, word for word, did she?"
When Iskara asked that, Solan fell silent.
"King Solan, you are the sovereign of one of the most powerful races. You know how visions work, even when they are seen by seers or prophets. They are always open to interpretation. Did it not once occur to you that your wife might have interpreted her dream as the exact opposite of its true meaning?"
"What are you implying?" Solan asked, his glare deepening as he searched Iskara’s face.
"I am saying this: what if what your wife saw were the direct consequences of preventing Princess Evelyn and a vampire from being together? In this case, that vampire is clearly my son. You are as aware of the prophecy as I am.
You know the past that binds Ivan and Evelyn. After seeing every sign that these two were destined to be together, that they are soulmates, does it not occur to you that this dream portrayed the disaster of stopping what the gods have already ordained?"
Each word Iskara spoke struck like a white-hot hammer against Solan’s heart. His eyes widened as the thought took root. No! His wife would never have warned him so urgently if she were not absolutely certain.
He clearly remembered the terror in her eyes. He had mentioned the prophecy to her before he made that promise, yet he knew deep in his heart that Iskara’s words were a real possibility.
But he had loved her so much.
When she was pleading with him on her deathbed for the sake of the daughter she adored, how could Solan find the heart to deny her?
How could he attempt to speak with logic when his heart yielded to everything she said?
His thoughts drifted back to Septimus, a true prophet who heard the voice of the Goddess from time to time. He remembered when Septimus had warned him that there would be severe consequences if Solan played with what was written and decided by fate itself.
Yet on the other side was his wife, his beloved, whom he loved so very much. He could not bring himself to believe she was wrong.
But even as Solan continued to convince himself, doubts crept into his heart.
Iskara was a sharp man; Solan knew that well.
There was a reason he used that sharpness to rule the strongest kingdom on the continent.
Solan knew what had been suggested was a strong possibility, but his pride, his ego, and his love for his wife clouded his judgment once again.
"She loved Evelyn! She would never make me promise such a thing if she weren’t sure! I believe in Selene no matter what you say!" Solan shot back at Iskara.
