The Crown's Entrapment

At Castle Cordon

Darius smiled upon hearing the great news about Xen's return.

"Finally," he murmured with a wide smile.

He was honestly getting anxious while waiting for the word coming from his Elite Moonlight Shadow. Just now, a messenger from the said group arrived to deliver to him the good news. Quickly dismissing the messenger, he then moved to try and contact her.

"Hmm… How come I still can't talk to her telepathically?" Darius complained with a sigh.

[Well, you can always just wait a little bit more since the spell's effect probably hadn't faded yet, hindering you from forming a connection to talk to her,] Zeus voiced out his opinion.

Darius nodded. His wolf did make some sense. It would take some time before the spell around Xen wore off. Still, he was sure that it wouldn't take that long since she was already out of that forest.

Soon enough, Leon came to deliver to him another piece of news.

"Commander Gideon has succeeded in wiping out the Helion army between borders. All are dead, Sire, except for the general of the army whom the Commander is currently holding under custody," Leon reported. "Lord Calypso and Lady Aurelia had already been found as well. Princess Freya was unhurt, and they're all currently heading back now to the Capital."

Darius nodded at the good news. He was about to dismiss Leon when he noticed the conflicted look on his man's face.

"What is it, Leon?" Darius asked with a frown.

The young werewolf had an awkward smile as he replied, "I've also heard that Lord Gideon was furious because they found out that Lord Calypso and Lady Aurelia were intimately hugging each other. Lord Calypso had also just announced that Lady Aurelia was his mate and that he had full intentions to mark and claim her for his own."

Darius fought hard to burst out into a fit of laughter. Knowing the news, any brother would absolutely feel the same way as Gideon did towards Calypso. He simply nodded and promptly dismissed Leon, not paying much mind to the interesting piece of news.

"Calypso is quite fast with his women as usual," Darius snorted. "Still, I feel like my cousin will have a hard time this time, unlike his usual conquests…"

Shaking his head, he knew he should prepare his ears for the inevitable noise. He had a feeling that Gideon would bombard him with complaints the moment his friend saw him, and it'll be a while before he'd be able to calm him down.

Still, this had been a good day. Finally, he could go back to bed and rest in peace, knowing that he could finally welcome his Queen into the arena tomorrow morning. As much as he wanted to meet Xen halfway, Darius knew that he shouldn't push his luck. He had already put Gilas in charge, and doing anything more might have him be accused of favoritism.

Besides, his mate needed as much rest as she could get. He wasn't confident that he wouldn't end up crushing Xen into his arms because of his great longing for her. He might end up tiring her out due to the… well… other stuff he wanted to do with her. He shouldn't do that now that they were almost nearing the end of this foolish tournament.

Relaxing, he could clearly feel Xen's peaceful thoughts through their Mate Bond. He smiled, knowing that his mate was probably sleeping soundly.

"Rest well, my love. I miss you so much," Darius murmured as he closed his eyes.

*******

Despite some of the roughness in the roads they passed through, Xenia honestly had a decent night's sleep inside the bed carriage. Maybe it was because her mind and body were exhausted from what she had been through inside the Element Forest, allowing her to sleep like a log the moment she got into a mattress.

It was already dawn when she stirred and opened her eyes. Instantly, she stopped the march and got out of the carriage. She wanted to greet the rising sun ahead while riding her horse, Pluto, and it would be great to spend some more time with her new mount in the first place.

Ah, she was already getting really fond of the mythical horse Devas gave to her. Pluto was tamed as well, instantly snuggling up to her palm as soon as she caressed its cheek for the first time.

As soon as she climbed up into her horse, their journey continued. This time, they were now on the road headed towards the Capital City. Gilas was on her right, and the sun was rising as Xenia gulped at every Cordonian they passed by. All of them bent their knees and greeted her, making her feel even more awkward than she should be.

"They adore you, Your Grace," Gilas commented.

Nodding, she also noticed how Gilas was addressing her more formally now, befitting more for a queen instead of milady, Lady, or Princess. Nasser's past then suddenly played itself at the back of her head, the one where Nasser knew Gilas wasn't his son.

Xenia turned to the man as she wondered if he was also aware that Nasser wasn't his father. She had been away for thirteen days, and surely, a lot of things had already happened during those days.

"I'm glad they do…" Xenia smiled. "Although… Tell me, Lord Gilas, did I miss anything important about Cordon while I was away?"

"Right now, we're currently heading directly towards the Capital City Arena, Your Grace," Gilas replied, somehow dodging the question. "There, your seat has already been secured in the final five as the final contender for the crown. You'll be able to watch the final twelve contenders fight today as they are trimmed down to only four until only one of them remains…"

"I instantly secured a seat then," Xenia commented. "But that doesn't mean I can't participate in the fight that will happen today, right?"

"You're right, milady. There are no rules against you interfering in the fights, but you must know that once you leave your seat open, it will become available for another contender to take," Gilas reminded her.

"That doesn't even make sense," she frowned. "I mean, I already secured that one seat in the final five, and I'll be in the last fight to trim the selection down to only one werewolf, so why would my seat become available for others to take once I leave it?"

She simply couldn't see the logic. What if she arrived late and came out of the forest tomorrow? That seat will still be available for her to take unless the fifteen days of waiting for her had expired…

She looked at Gilas, who probably understood her confused frowning as he said, "Honestly, Elder Nasser brought that up in the court meetings, but His Majesty was confident that you wouldn't be late. Frankly, no one honestly knows how His Majesty would've handled the situation if you happened to come out of the forest later than scheduled…"

He then added, "No one knows why the rules are like that, but it was clear as day that once you leave your seat to interfere in a fight, then the seat will be available for any contender to take. That's why the road leading up to the final five will always be a bloodbath…"