The Cruel Prince's Wrath

Chapter 7

Ievos was struggling to sleep and he could see the sky was paling through the window of the room he had chosen in this long-abandoned castle, it cast his room in a pale almost eerie hue. How fitting, he thought since his current circumstances seemed to chill him to the core. He was back with his mother and although he was leading her movements those movements were directing him towards the destruction of his father’s kingdom and towards his own revenge. He wanted to get that revenge on his brother for taking Tolanda from him and on Tolanda for leaving him for Iefyr. The thought often crossed his mind; the question, will his anger still be so great once he is looking them both in the eyes? He loved them both once, and he would have died for them both once upon a time. He got up and decided to go outside knowing there would not be many others awake at this time and he prepared some of his herbs to smoke from the small thin pipe obtained from one of the towns. He entered the courtyard and leaned against a wall enjoying the silence of the hours just before dawn. He brought the pipe to his lips and then slowly exhaled watching the smoke drift up into the sky and dissipate.

“Were you having trouble sleeping too?” he heard and looked around to see his sister coming to his side and his relaxed demeanour changed, it was not that she made him uncomfortable it was the opposite. She was kind and she wanted to get close to him but he did not need anyone anymore.

“What kept you awake?” he decided to ask.

“Nightmares… for a while now I have not been able to find very peaceful sleep unless I am intoxicated but I do not wish to rely on that no matter how tempting it might be. It was easy to just use substances at the… brothel but I wish to change now, you know, just be somebody different… I want to get away from who I –“ he interrupted her.

“You’re babbling again,” he said impatiently.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered looking down. He knew his eyes glared at her, but he could not seem to help it though she had done nothing to offend him.

“I know you keep trying… you wish to know me as your brother that you were deprived of growing up with but… if your happy family had stayed as it was… then I would not even exist… it was not meant to be and yet it is,” he said.

“I don’t understand what you are saying,” she muttered.

“It doesn’t matter, what I should have said was I do not wish you to get close, I do not want to get… attached to anyone else… for that person to then betray me,” he replied.

“I will not betray you… Ievos… I have been… alone here… except Dakin but he is so… blindly loyal to our mother… he does not see what she is doing-“ he interrupted her again.

“And what do you think of what I am doing? Leading our army to the Shadow Dragons of the West?” he asked.

“I think… it is suicide… the Shadow Dragons… The Burnt Ones… they terrify me,” she said. and he finished his smoke and put the pipe in his pocket turning to her.

“Do I terrify you?” he asked facing her directly.

“Y… you do a bit but not as much as our mother does… the things I have seen her do… Setka’Sier… she has made some kind of pact with her… it is… truly horrifying,” Tyria said.

“Considering what I can do… my powers are greater than hers… I am a dragon of legend I am what is known as Dregan Sorka Reqi; Dragon of Blue Flame and a KaiSuli; Split Soul as called in ancient times where a dragon can use two dragon powers. I have ice and the blue fire. I also have the same spirit sorcerer powers of my mother and… some of the dragons were unsure if my ice was inherited from mother too but it is verified by my wings that appear that it is of my dragon side,” he said.

“That is… reassuring that you are stronger and more powerful than she is,”

“Why is that? Do you expect me to protect you? A sister I never knew. Besides, I do not know that I am stronger… I just have a feeling that I am… I think she might actually feel it too,” he said and then walked off. Tyria watched her younger brother walking away and was left pondering his words.

                                                                                    ~~

At the East dragon kingdom Inar was sitting at a table in a bar alone, he had chosen this one deliberately as he had wanted to drink alone and he knew his friends and fellow warriors rarely came to this one. It had been some months, but he was still wallowing over Ievos’ choice and regretting not having seen him leaving. He kept going over in his head that he could have stopped him perhaps even been able to persuade him to take some time to think and not act whilst in the heat of the moment. He had seen first-hand how those brothers; two of his prince’s had quarrelled over the beautiful young Tolanda but he had also seen them overcome that quarrel and be brothers again. He knocked back his… he had lost count how many drinks he had consumed but his head felt heavy and his legs felt like they had been reduced to mush and would not carry his weight. He found himself groaning as he thought how he was supposed to get home to Hendra tonight, but he felt in no shape to and almost on cue Vas entered; he appeared to be looking around and Inar simply slumped back in his seat and the young warrior’s eyes found his drunken groggy eyes.

“Thank the ancestors! Hendra is worried to death about you! She came to our bar but… well… you were not there,” he said and proceeded to try and help the older warrior out of his seat but Inar violently pulled his arm away. He knew he needed the help, but he did not want it to be from Vas right now. He had been mostly avoiding him since the battle with Queen Cauladra and now of all people he was the one to find him.

“I promised Hendra if I found you, I would get you home,” he said.

“You just let him go… didn’t you… you were there… you just… let him go…” Inar slurred drunkenly.

“This again,” Vas muttered under his breath.

“Yes this again! You… let him leave just like you… let my boy die…” Inar spat and Vas looked down at the older warrior with pained eyes.

“Inar, if you just ignore the fact that it’s me taking you home to your wife then we will be fine, come on,” he said trying to help Inar to his feet again. Inar stood and stumbled as he did so clumsily taking a swing for Vas but missing and falling to the ground. Vas simply dodging his movements and stood over the older man. He held out his hand and Inar reluctantly accepted it having had his suspicions about holding his own weight confirmed and Vas supported Inar’s weight and helped him to walk home; neither said another word. Vas simply passed Inar over to Hendra and she took over relieved he was home safe. Vas took a few more steps to begin heading back to his own home but he was overcome by emotion and he crumpled to the ground crouching crying into his hand. He could have stopped prince Ievos but at the same time he could have saved Inar’s son Ahten in the battle where he fell.