Chapter 133: THE ATTACK
Ashen sat slumped at his desk, one hand buried in his hair, the other holding a quill that had stopped moving long ago.
Several reports, endless summons, and demands from the council pressed on him like a physical burden... It felt like they did these on purpose every day to keep him busy.
His head rested on the table, silver hair falling over his face, but his senses were still sharp.
The last few days had been relentless, and tonight, with the festival coming near.
His office’s silence chamber was shattered in an instant when the minute’s spear tore through the air.
Ashen’s instincts flared. He was on his feet and gone from his chair before thought could even catch up with movement.
The weapon embedded itself into the wooden backrest where his heart had been moments ago. Splinters rained across the floor.
His chest heaved once, then stilled.
"What the hell," he hissed under his breath, as he stared at the weapon still vibrating in his chair. His knuckles turned white as his hand clenched into a fist.
"Ero!" His voice cracked like a whip.
The door burst open almost instantly, his aide rushing inside.
"My lord, is there...." The words died in his throat when his eyes fell on the spear lodged deep into the chair. His expression darkened, and his jaw set.
"Explain this." Ashen’s voice was low, deadly calm. "Where were the men guarding this corridor? How could anyone step foot in my office, throw this, and leave without a trace?"
Ero swallowed hard, glancing between the weapon and his master’s expression.
Before Ashen could say more, something caught his eye. A faint shimmer danced along the shaft of the spear, almost invisible to ordinary eyes but vision narrowed.
"Ero," he called slowly, never taking his gaze off it. "Do you see anything at the tip of the spear?"
Ero took a step closer, crouching, scanning carefully. His head moved side to side, but he shook it. "Nothing, my lord, I only see the spear."
Ashen ignored him, and a warning instinct flared in his chest when Ero reached out to touch it.
"Don’t," Ashen ordered sharply.
Ero froze mid-motion not touching it.
Then Ashen extended a hand, summoning the spear to him with telekinesis. The weapon ripped free from the chair and floated across the room before landing softly in his palm. The shimmer pulsed once, and something invisible detached from the spear and dropped onto the floor with a faint hissing sound then a small, sealed scroll, now visible.
Ashen crouched and picked it up. He broke the seal and unrolled it.
"Meet me outside the realm... on the night of the first flame festival... don’t dare say no."
The words burned across the page like fire, and Ashen’s pupils narrowed.
His mind flashed back to the night the Kraken beast had attacked and he had fought back.
It was because of this same message he got. "Ero," he said, his voice tight.
"My lord?"
But Ashen was already gone a blur of silver as he disappeared from the room and reappeared outside.
The guards standing in the courtyard jumped at his sudden arrival. Their spears clattered as they scrambled to bow.
"Useless," Ashen spat, fury curling around every syllable.
"How could you be stationed here, outside my office, and I am attacked inside?"
The men exchanged fearful glances, some swallowing audibly, others too terrified to move.
"My lord, we..."
"Don’t you dare finish that sentence." His eyes flashed dangerously. "You stand here with your weapons, yet you are nothing more than ornaments. If I had been slower, I would be dead."
"Ero!"
Ero rushed out behind him, and before he could speak, another presence stepped into the courtyard.
Aria. Boots struck the ground, her long black hair tied back, her face set in a grim line. She walked to Ashen’s side without hesitation.
"Good," Ashen said, his voice still simmering with anger.
"You arrived just in time. Recruit them and strip them down if you must. I want a new selection by the end of the week. Any man unfit to guard the last prince of Drakonia will not set foot in these grounds again."
Aria bowed her head. "Understood, my lord."
"Ero," Ashen continued, turning toward his aide, "You will oversee the new men who will be recruited, and also go to Aria in training sometimes."
Ero frowned, a flicker of annoyance crossing his usually calm face. "Yes, my lord."
Ashen gave them both one last look before turning on his heel and heading back inside.
He had barely reached his office when a voice rang out behind him.
"Your Highness!" Ashen’s shoulders tensed.
He closed his eyes for half a heartbeat, already frustrated at the sound of that voice. He did not slow his pace as he entered his chamber.
But Rhynera did not take the hint. She followed him in, uninvited.
Aria, still outside, caught sight and scowled, her hand twitching toward the hilt of her blade. But she stayed where she was, trusting Ashen to handle it.
"What do you want?" Ashen asked flatly, not turning to face her. His patience was running dangerously thin.
Rhynera smiled faintly, stepping closer until she was within reach. "I only came to see you... To thank you for helping with the guards."
Before he could step away, her hands slid around his waist from behind.
The contact was like fire to him, recalling his wife hated Rhynera’s scent all over him.
Ashen spun, ripping her hands off him and shoving her backward so hard that she stumbled and hit the edge of a table with a sharp gasp.
"Don’t," he said, his voice a deadly growl. "Don’t you ever touch me again."
Rhynera’s eyes widened, shock flashing across her face. She had never seen him this furious.
"Ho... how could you hurt me? I am the crown princess."
"A crown princess who ignored my words, and put her hands on me deserves more than humiliation."
Ashen’s voice dropped to something colder than steel. "I will warn you once and only once. Try that again, and I will have you dragged from this office myself and make sure my brother gets embarrassed having you as the crown princess."
Rhynera’s lips trembled, pride warring with fear. Ashen let go of her neck this time he has made sure his finger dug into her neck.
"Nice time explaining that to your husband... now get out of my office!"
"Ashen... you seem to be forgetting something." But Ashen had already turned away, dismissing her presence as if it no longer existed.
"Cross the limit and watch why I am called the cursed prince."
He let out as he sat back down at his desk, the spear still lying on the table, the note beside it.