Eltanin stayed quiet because he had said that he wouldn't ask questions.
"Eltanin, you should ask all your questions today because after this, even I am not willing to talk about it," Taiyi prodded him as if understanding his predicament.
Eltanin's eyes lowered to his lap where he had clasped his hands. "Does Felis know that I am his brother?"
"Yes. And still he attacked you. He wants to leash your beast for his own benefits."
"Why didn't he ever mention this to me?"
"Because he thought that you knew about it..."
"Still, he didn't leave an opportunity to capture me and torture me."
"That's right," Taiyi said as a shudder passed through her. "You have to understand Eltanin that Felis is brought up that way. His father had ensured that he broke Felis in so many ways that ultimately, he became a mindless killing machine. Ukdah has forced his wishes on Felis. He always wanted to rule the whole of Araniea, but when he couldn't, he prepared his son to do that. And look what Felis turned into. He started creating armies of Nyxers. He started treating women with utter disrespect and used them as breeders!"
"I know!" Eltanin snapped to stop his mother. "I know... you don't have to elaborate."
Taiyi pursed her lips and looked away. She shouldn't have gone to the borders of the Hydra Kingdom. Then she wouldn't have met Felis. The guilt that she carried with her back to Draka was like a heavy weight that was crushing her with every passing minute.
After a long silence he asked, "How did he treat you when you met him for the first time?"
"He treated me like his mother. It was him who suggested that Nerio be thrown in the Eridani River. He was furious when I told him about Nerio. And-- and Felis is--" Her lips trembled at the thought of it, but she said it nonetheless. "Felis is extremely jealous of you. The main reason being that you had parents to look after you, but he didn't. Because you were the right son according to the prophecy and he wasn't. Because he has those tattoos that run wildly on his body and he thinks that he is ugly, but you don't."
Eltanin rubbed his face with his hands. "Gods!" he rasped. How could a man be jealous of those things? "It's not like I chose all that or he chose it!"
"But he feels that Ukdah conspired against nature to produce him. He hates his ugliness to the extent that he didn't want to show it to me," Taiyi muttered. She shook her head. "He is beyond any redemption, Eltanin. He has lived with that hatred for so long that it has ingrained in his body and soul. You can't do anything about it!"
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Eltanin snapped again. "Tell me, Mother. What am I supposed to do?"
"You have to do exactly what you are planning to do. Would you give yourself to Felis and let him leash your beast?"
"Hell, no!" Eltanin protested.
"Then what are you going to do if he tries to capture you?" Taiyi asked.
"I will defend myself!"
"No Eltanin, that's where you are wrong," Taiyi added softly.
Eltanin's eyebrows knitted in deep furrows.
"You are going to defend yourself and then kill him."
"Mother!" Eltanin was shocked as he looked at his mother. "That would be very cold on my part!"
Taiyi carried on, "No, that would be just on your part. The only person in all of Araniea who can stop Felis is... you. The fate of this realm and other realms lies on your shoulders. Tania was a means to empower you and now she will be the strength behind you. You cannot betray the people of Araniea by not killing that one person who wants to destroy them!"
"Ba���but--"
"No Eltanin!" Taiyi silenced him with her cold voice. "You were born for a purpose and you have to fulfill it. It is my bad luck that the person who you would be pitted against is your brother, but that shouldn't waver you from your path, because it surely hasn't wavered Felis from his!"
Eltanin sucked in a long breath and realized that he was holding it. His mother had put him in a dilemma, but she was also pulling him out of it.
"When the time comes, you will go for it. Promise me Eltanin!" Taiyi said in a sharp voice.
"But Mother, that would be killing my own flesh and blood."
"Promise me, Eltanin!" Taiyi reiterated sharply.
He couldn't believe that his mother was asking him to kill her older son. Had she grown so selfish for the sake of Araniea or to save him. "I will capture him and throw him in the dungeons," he said. "But I won't promise you to kill him."
Taiyi narrowed her eyes on her son. She clenched her jaw and looked away, her chest heaving with too many emotions. "Is there anything else you want to ask?" she said, not wanting to talk further.
"No..." Eltanin replied and rose to his feet. He turned to leave his parents' room. He glanced at his father who was quiet during the whole conversation. Eltanin knew that his father would only support his mate.
He walked out of their room, each step heavier than the last. He rubbed his chest with his hand and inhaled the nippy afternoon air. Though the sun was out, Araniea had fallen into harsh winters. His steps took him to the royal garden where Ladon was protecting the apple tree. He wanted his advice because he knew no matter what, the dragon would only speak in Draka's favor.
Eltanin opened the door of the royal garden and saw that the spirit of Ladon was quietly wrapped around the apple tree. When he sensed Eltanin's presence, he uncoiled slightly and stretched a little, yawning with his large mouth.
"What brings you here, King Eltanin?" he hissed, looking at him with his red eyes.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l