Chapter 207: Havenmoore
>>Aelin
I was staring at the scroll when Draegon entered the room
"Found the answer?" He asked and I closed the scroll and looked back at him
"Yes," My heart felt a little heavy but it was alright
This was something I had to do
I turned to the desk and put the scroll back in the drawer. When I opened it this time, the text in it had changed. Revealing that it was used for dual purposes.
There were clear instructions about how and what I had to do to seal the abyss once and for all.
I closed the drawer and looked back at Draegon, "Have all the lost causes been gathered?"
He nodded at me, "Everyone is just waiting for you."
I nodded. Once it was discovered that the lost causes can not be redeemed. The only mercy we could offer these people was the mercy of death.
Draegon had told me they could have the soldiers kill them but I said , no, I wanted to give them a peaceful and abrupt end. Not have them slashed and have their cores brutally found before they are burned.
I began to walk towards the door where he stood, "Let’s go,"
***
The moment my boots touched the stone courtyard outside the palace gates, the sound hit me first, a roar of voices, hundreds of them, maybe thousands, rising like a living wave.
Draegon and I had just arrived in Havenmoore. Like usual, he carried me all the way here in his arms.
We could have used a teleportation stone for a trip this long but we wanted to spend some alone time together too.
The people of the human kingdom were everywhere, lining the streets, pressed against the barricades, leaning out from windows and balconies. Their voices were raw with joy, their faces streaked with tears. Some were shouting my name, others were crying out prayers, and some simply stood there with their hands clasped together, mouthing silent thanks.
"Bless the goddess who saved us!"
"She returned! She returned!"
"Our queen of light!"
"The Saint!"
I wasn’t used to this kind of attention, never had been, but as I walked forward, head high, I felt no fear. No hesitation. I met their eyes when I could, and every time I did, I saw the same thing reflected back at me, hope, gratitude, belief.
Some people reached out, their hands brushing the edges of my sleeves or the tips of my fingers, as if touching me would make the moment more real. Others bowed so low their foreheads touched the ground. Parents lifted their children high so they could see me, so they could wave with tiny hands.
Beside me, Draegon walked with a steady, regal presence, his dark gaze sweeping over the crowd. Even without a crown, he looked every inch the protector they believed him to be. And yet... there was a subtle softness in the way he glanced at me, like the cheers for my return mattered to him more than any praise for himself.
The incident had made me a saint but it also did a lot to make humans love the dragon king too.
The gates to the palace loomed ahead, massive and gleaming in the sunlight, and as we approached, they began to swing open with slow, deliberate grandeur. Inside, the royal guard stood in two long, perfect lines, their armor polished to a mirror’s shine, their swords raised in a salute that glinted gold in the morning light.
Flower petals rained down from the walls above, fluttering gently around us like blessings carried on the wind. A long carpet of crimson and gold stretched from the gate all the way to the palace doors, flanked by banners bearing the kingdom’s crest.
We were here today to deal with the lost causes humans had and I wanted personally to give something to my family
***
>>Killian
"Your Majesty," Glyer said, "This is a setup!"
I had presented all the proof I had gathered and given it to my father of the cult operating in the shadows and what made Reagen a monster.
"Shut it!" King Orin said, "If you’re being set up then where is Reagen!?" He slammed his hand on the arm of his throne, "He’s still missing after weeks!"
The door opened and the guest entered the throne room.
"The demon king and queen are here!" An announcement was made for them and everyone turned to look at Aelin walking towards us with her husband.
She looked calm, confident
There was no hint of fear she once used to hold when she came to meet her family.
"I heard what was going on here." They both stopped a little away from me, "It seems the people from the cult are refusing to own their sins." Aelin said and looked at the advisors, especially at Glyer, Reagan’s personal assistant.
"That is because we are being upset!" Glyer’s father said
Aelin ignored her and looked at the King, "I heard you were looking for Reagen."
"I am," King Orin said, "He’s been missing."
"Has he been missing or is it that he was an abyss worshipper and died?" Aelin asked and Draegon smirked subtly. He looked proud of his wife.
"There is no way Reagen would be an abyss worshipper!" King Orin stood up from the throne, "He can’t be a monster!"
"And what if he was?" Aelin said, "Would that mean-" She looked at Glyer and the rest of the culprits, "These people really are sinners and need to be prosecuted?"
"HAH!" Father looked at her, "If you can prove that Reagen is a monster, I’ll kill all these people myself."
"Can I take your word for it?" She looked rather calm for a risky bet. No one knew where Reagen went.
Unless she killed him, like she killed the rest of the monsters. But if she killed him, how would she prove anything?
"I put my throne on the line!" The king said and Aelin looked at the soldiers present in the throne room, along with the few nobility and the other advisors.
"Everyone heard that, didn’t they?" She asked and everyone nodded
"So?" Father folded his arms, "How do you plan on proving something so stupid?"
She smiled, "Well, ’father’" There was a mocking tone in her voice, "We didn’t come to Havenmoore alone."
And as soon as she said that, the door opened.
