The Crown's Entrapment

Darius coughed hard as he sit his body up before getting himself back on his feet.

"She's fine. She's breathing just fine now," he gasped out, practically crying as he cheered for his wife. "Good job, my love. You're doing good…"

He had felt how much Xen had struggled throughout that ordeal. It wasn't easy, being so close to death like that, and he felt bad that he couldn't do anything to somehow ease her suffering.

[You're sharing her pain, and that's more than enough,] Zeus commented. [Did you see how strong she was? We shouldn't lose faith in her. She's very special, and I think her angel blood is working on her now without her even knowing.]

"Sire…" Gideon almost sobbed as he hugged him tightly. "I thought we were going to lose you back there."

Seeing his distressed friend, Darius patted him on the back and humorously said, "You'll definitely lose me if you won't release me this instant, Gideon. I can't even breathe properly!"

At his jest, Gideon let him go, and Darius patted him on the shoulders as thanks. "You're such a crybaby," he teased. "Freya might get turned off if you cry so hard that some might think you're a woman."

Gideon's face twitched as he complained, "This is your fault, Sire. Why did you even mark Xen during the wedding when you couldn't just easily mark her once she's formally proclaimed as Queen?"

Darius let out a long sigh as he looked at his most trusted men inside his study together with his mother. Maybe it would be better in the long run if all of them already knew what was actually happening.

"Unfortunately, I needed to complete the Mate Bond with Xen before sending her out to that realm," Darius began her explanation. "There's a high possibility that the angel blood within her body would be awakened by such an act. And seeing now how she's doing alright makes me think that I did the right thing…"

Even now, he had no regrets as he witnessed how that sphere of white light covered Xen as it took her out of the water, placing her in a safer and higher location beyond the water's reach.

Gideon's eyes widened as he burst out, "Angel? Xen is an angel?"

"Lower your voice, Gideon. I believe that this detail should remain a secret between all of us," Osman warned.

Gideon nodded before he turned his attention back to his liege. "Sire… How did she become an angel?"

"She's a hybrid. Queen Dana is a fallen angel, so Xen has an angelic heritage. But up until now, it's never been active in her body, making Queen Dana resort to making up various tests on Xen's blood till she discovered a reaction," Darius explained further, his audience becoming more baffled with each word.

"That happened when she tested Xen's blood during the time she arrived back at Ebodia. It was back when I fed her some of my blood to heal her from poison, and apparently, it did something to her."

Gideon opened his mouth again to voice out his thoughts, but he was stopped when a sudden emergency report was telepathically relayed to him.

"Sire, Emer didn't commit suicide," Gideon quickly reported. "According to Aurelia, it was Evernight Poison. She's on her way to the deceased's prison cell to collect the necessary evidence to back up her claim."

"But that poison is very rare," Osman wondered aloud. "Only one kingdom knows how to produce that… Helion's black witches…"

"Son, you should also see to the people outside the castle's main gates and pacify them," her mother interjected. "More are coming to beg for you to break the Mate Bond. It's only because they care for you that they do not want you to see you suffer. I believe you should leave some words of assurances to them."

Darius released a mouthful of sighs. There were so many things to address at any one time. Making up his mind, he looked at Bartos and Gideon and said, "Monitor the situation with Calypso closely. We must secure all the evidence we need. This will prove that Nasser has some connection to Helion. Now go…"

Receiving their orders, Bartos and Gideon curtly bowed before the two quickly left. Darius then looked at his mother and said, "Please don't worry too much about me, Mother. Xen and I will get through this. For now, I'll let you along with Elder Harim supervise the tournament."

He hummed in deliberation, "We shouldn't delay the schedule any further, or else Nasser might use this against me. Commanders Jargon and Adah will take charge of the tournament proper. I know that Gilas is already handling the proceedings, but we still need to keep our guards up even if he's not showing any signs of colluding with his father."

His mother nodded in understanding. Composing herself, she then left the room without much to say.

Finally, Darius looked at Osman. "Come now. Accompany me to see my people. You should remain by my side for now, Osman. You're calmer and collected than those two," he scoffed, referring to Gideon, who was acting hysterical, and Bartos, who had gone so pale that he had obviously lost it while he saw him almost dying.

"Hmm… And here I thought I can start doing my moves on Lady Bella," Osman shrugged in jest. "But I guess I'll have to skip watching her fight in the arena for now."

Darius chuckled as he walked out the door. Walking through the hallways, he turned to Osman once more and said, "I'm sure that Xen won't take long in deciphering the fact that she's inside a thousand dreams. She's quite good at analyzing her surroundings, so she will definitely soon succeed in this trial."

"But Sire, can you actually pacify the people and convince them that nothing will happen to you?" Osman voiced out his concern. "I mean, can't you consider what the Queen Mother had suggested earlier?"

Darius stopped, blankly staring at Osman as he replied, "Hmmm… Some things are easier said than done, my friend. Like I've always said, no matter what happens, I will never break the Mate Bond between me and Xen." He firmly declared, "I will not forsake my wife, especially now during these turbulent times. It's the least I can do, and I'm sure she won't hesitate to do the same for me."

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AN: What do you think? Should Darius break the Mate Bond or not? Tell me your thoughts. I'm curious. lols