Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 738: Break Him ()

Diandre sat in the royal hall, her brows furrowed slightly, expression deep in thought. The thorns on the Fae royal throne pricked into her skin, and a steady flow of blood dripped to the ground, adding to the swiftly growing pool.

Each droplet of blood hit the ground with an echo through the quiet hall, a reminder that this throne could only belong to the High Queen... and though she had sacrificed her entire life to be worthy of it, of the bloodline she was born into, even at this very moment, she still was deemed unworthy.

The hope that she had sought all her life had come, one of their bloodline was finally worthy, the shackles of the curse could finally be broken, yet Diandre felt no relief... instead, her heart constricted in pain with each breath, each breath that reminded her that redemption had skipped her generation.

Diandre picked up on the footsteps approaching but did not react, not until Keila came into view, stopping a short distance away from her.

"Troubled thoughts? Aunt?" Keila asked, her tone soft and kind as always. Her eyes scanned the hall, settling on the pool of blood and then moving to Diandre with barely concealed sympathy.

But Diandre was not deceived, she had raised the girl herself, she had armed her with a deceptive smile and veiled intentions with her own hands, so if no one else saw past it... Diandre knew.

Avoiding Keila’s gaze, Diandre stared ahead, leaning back into the throne. The thorns pricked harder...deeper, pain coursed through her but she did not flinch. "Nothing of such. How much trouble could an old fairy have?"

"Why? Are you still salty about me relieving you of royal authority?" Keila asked, tilting her head to the side, a coy smile on her lips. "I would think you would be dedicated to our cause enough to look beyond self gratification and focus on the greater good... I guess I was wrong."

Diandre smiled slightly, a smile that did not quite reach her eyes. "Dear girl, what do you know about leading a specie? The Fae is not a squadron... what you have in your hands is a people, a culture, a history..." Diandre trailed off. "And leading them takes more than just arcane magic. It takes experience... patience. Both of which you clearly lack."

Keila laughed quietly, crossing her arms over her chest. "You mean the ability to endure through centuries, with nothing but a far fetched dream and a hopeful heart?"

"Admit it, aunt. You have long been at your wits end, and the entire Fae council could sense it. Hence the attempts to snatch authority from our bloodline." Keila continued in a factual tone.

"You employ the aide of a dark sorcerer, abduct a dragon offspring and bring a foreign race into our lands... for what? A distraction? This is not the Fae way! We do not borrow the hands of a lesser race to fight our battles, neither do we utilise children." Diandre hissed lowly. "My way may have been slow, but it was honourable!"

"You allied with dark fairies, allied with dwarves, stole magic ability from young gifted children, even of our own race, infiltrated the Dune light hall to conceal your involvement in the trade of adamantium... and what? Honourable?" Keila laughed out loud.

Diandre frowned deeply, but she was unable to counter Keila’s words. She had done her fair share of evil for the cause, for the greater good. Was it painful because she truly believed in honor, or was she just hurt that all her sacrifices had gotten her nowhere? Diandre and Keila both knew the answer.

"And this is why you approached Lodenworth? To breed seeds of suspicion in his mind?" Keila asked, her voice lowered down an octave. "To vent your anger by making him turn on me?"

Light tremors shook the hall, like the earth itself was slowly shifting in place. Diandre glanced around, her gaze shifting nervously. "I did not say anything to him!" She exclaimed.

"But you would have...if you had the chance..." Keila accused. "I saw it in your eyes, aunt. Right in that moment when you contemplated hurting me in the worst way possible... taking away Lodenworth’s trust in me."

"Everyone knows Lodenworth is a brutal and suspicious man. It took me decades! Decades to acquire his trust and even longer to earn his love and devotion, enough to let me touch his scale!" Keila snarled. "Fate was kind to me, recognized my desperate love for him... our bond was true." Her voice faltered.

"But you know this story...you guided me through it all. Pushed me back into his arms even when his cold brutality terrified me, when he shunned my love on countless occasions." Keila continued, a lone tear dripping down her cheek. "You taught me to chase his love... grovel for it if needed..."

"Do you regret it all now? Now that you have had a taste of power, you feel injustice?" Diandre sneered.

Keila laughed quietly, shaking her head. "No, aunt...You see, Lodenworth is my greatest prize. I earned him with my own toil and I love him with all that I am, I have loved him since the moment I understood the meaning of love. I can forgive anything... anyone, but not the one who comes between us..."

Keila tilted her head back, blinking away the tears from her eyes. "Tell me you will be good. You will not approach Lodenworth again... you will not threaten my happiness and my family out of wrath that I have taken your place...we are family, you and I...we should not hurt each another..."

"How long do you think you can keep Lodenworth in the dark? You have made him a traitor to his own people...you know loyalty means the world to him. His kin is everything he stands for, he will never forgive what you have done." Diandre reminded.

"Lodenworth...he is the most loyal. But once he sees that the world has turned on us completely without seeking his explanation... that there is nothing left to hold onto, he will realize that all he has...is me and our child." Keila replied with certainty. "He will stand with me, by me... and protect our child."

Diandre shook her head in disbelief. "Until he crashes you thousands of feet down, like Misha."

"Lodenworth is not Xenon!" Keila shrieked. "To him, I am the most important!"

"You are delusional...Keila. Completely insane..." Diandre murmured in realisation. "How did I never see it? Between you and your sister, you were always the one to be wary of."

"Your sister made many messes...but you cleaned up after her. Expertly... perfectly. I should have known then, that it takes a mastermind to know how to fix a mess they did not make." Diandre’s eyes went closed.

"Lodenworth will never back down. He will answer all the allegations with his fire..." Keila said with a fervent nod. "He will loathe them for the years of loyalty that counted for nothing. He will rage and seek blood... he will fight for my cause and together... We will give our child the world." Her tone was almost reverent now.

"Do you know why the Fae could never overcome the dragon kind, despite their few numbers compared to our many?" Diandre asked, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Because...they do not find their honour in a glorified seat called the throne." Diandre murmured. "Dragons simply desire to fly high, and fly free..."

"They never fought for supremacy, it was just a byproduct of victory. They fought for just one cause... freedom." Diandre paused.

"While we turn on each other, bloodline against bloodline... dragons do not covet the throne or the royal lineage. Lodenworth...he has no ambition to be a monarch, or a father to one. And your ambition will be your damnation... and his also." Diandre said, her gaze far away.

"Then, you will not swea

r to me your confidence?" Keila asked slowly, her voice trembling.