Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1522 - 121 : Secrets and Shackles

*Saoirse*

I could not remember a time that such a gloomy, depressed aura hung in the Egoren war room. Though we had been victorious over Pyroth’s forces days ago, we had suffered tremendous losses.

The families of the fallen openly grieved, and the wounded overran the hospitals to the point where volunteers had been called in from even the far-flung provinces.

And this was only the beginning.

Pyroth, the rampaging sociopath, was still nowhere to be found, along with a few of his top generals. Some of his upper brass had been sighted circling over some of our major cities but never lowering within rifle range. It gave me a bad taste in the back of my mouth.

Our enemy was up to something. They were spreading our already thin forces out to respond to these dragon sightings, and morale could not have been lower.

The reason as to why these vicious dragons were attacking us had already spread to the general populace. While public opinion initially held a lot of empathy for Keelana and her family, now that they had experienced the horrors of war firsthand, the public began to quarrel.

Morale was desolately low for a victory, and Rhys’ injuries still hadn’t fully healed despite cutting-edge medical treatment.

He had also changed. Rhys wouldn’t go into detail about the battle he fought in with me. I often awoke in the middle of the night to his side of the bed being stone cold. I would get up and try to find him, but he eluded me. Rather than press it, I let him have his space for now, but soon we’d have to discuss this.

We were a team, and he couldn’t ice me out, even if the subject was difficult to speak about.

Rhys’ eyes scanned another report about the fatalities from the battle. Another eleven soldiers had succumbed to their burns in the hospital the previous day. While gashes and bludgeoning were awful injuries to endure, our medical teams could do more to help heal them. Burns, however, required much more intense and intricate treatment. We had run out of special salves, and our surgeons were working around the clock on skin grafts, but those did not always find success.

Rhys’ eyes hardened like coal at the reports.

I hated seeing him like that. I hated that there was nothing I could say that could help.

I needed to think of a way to help raise the morale of our people, but the real entity who could do so still hadn’t returned from his clandestine quest.

Axureon had not reported back when he told me he would.

That was why I awoke in the middle of the night in the first place to notice my mate’s sheets had gone cold. Axureon had told me in advance what he planned to do. He told me that if anything happened to not reveal where Keelana and her children had absconded to...

Not even to Rhys.

At first, I scoffed and refused. I told Axureon that I told Rhys everything.

But then he leveled a heavy look of skepticism at me and responded, "Even about practicing with the staff?"

I froze, caught in a blatant lie.

Axureon was wise but also clever. I knew that despite Rhys being the love of my life and the father of my children, I did not tell him everything. It was something I needed to work on and address, but my marriage issues were not a priority right now.

My children may not even have been my priority at the exact moment. I wondered what kind of mother that made me.

The nursemaids had seen more of my son and daughter than I had. The guilt and shame of that also kept me up at night.

I planned to see them after this meeting adjourned and have a talk with Rhys.

When Axureon outwitted me, I also knew the wise, old dragon had his own agenda as well and wasn’t being forthright with me for the sake of pure honesty. The only reason he told me about his and Keelana’s plan was because my ties to the dragon staff allowed me to sense their movements.

If he planned to leave Egoren without telling me, I would sense them and alert everyone that something was wrong, the opposite of what he wanted.

However, Axureon was still gone.

Were Keelana and her children safe? Did he decide to go with them into exile? These were the questions that spun in my head like a cyclone. I wished more than anything to discuss them with Rhys, but I had sworn myself to secrecy until Axureon returned.

Next to me, Rhys picked up another sheet of paper. It was an active troop count. It was far lower than he hoped, and his lips lowered in a bitter frown. He not only lost many lower-ranking soldiers but also trusted colonels and a few generals. If they had another battle like the one they just had, they would need to draft men to replace the soldiers they had lost.

I paled at the thought of conscription. Young men and fathers being torn from their families to fight a war they had not volunteered to participate in was far from popular. It would divide Egoren.

It could spell the end of the kingdom.

I parted my lips to check on Rhys when a heavy rapping at the door shocked us all out of a depressed stupor.

“Who is it?” Rhys asked, voice gravelly from disuse.

I had forgotten when my mate had last even said a word to me.

“It’s the royal envoy. He demands to be let through. He has urgent news from the front,” the guard stated. Rhys waved him through.

The envoy sped into the room, his face pallid and eyes wide, but he held himself together. "Your Majesties," his voice high with urgency, "I bring grave news from the front. Axureon has been captured by Pyroth’s forces. The dragon lord is demanding a terrible price for his release."

I was on my feet before I even registered what happened. A dark wave of guilt washed over me like an arctic sea. I should’ve said something. I should’ve gone looking for them. I should’ve followed them.

“How did this come to be?” Rhys cursed, his voice dark and panicked. “Does he have any other prisoners?”

I tried to catch Rhys’ gaze, but his attention was locked on the envoy.

“Your majesty, I will say that I believe that Axureon is the only prisoner of war that Pyroth is claiming to have held hostage,” the envoy reported, his voice grave. “However, Axureon has sustained many injuries.”

“They tortured him?” Rhys’ eyes flashed red. This time, he went to his feet, flinging his arm to the side.

“I cannot be certain if it is torture or not, but it is worth noting that Pyroth does not appear to be in peak condition either,” the envoy informed. This caused Rhys to grin.

“Axureon and he must’ve battled, and he must’ve put up a fight.” Rhys’ disposition lightened somewhat.

My lungs started to burn due to holding in a breath as long as I did.

That must’ve been what happened. Pyroth found Axureon and Keelana on their way to the Light Realm.

The fact that Keelana wasn’t among the hostages must have meant he didn’t have her.

“We must free Axureon. He is a symbol of hope and strength, a beacon of light in the darkness that threatens to engulf Egoren. If Pyroth has kept him alive, what are his terms?” My mate sat back down getting a pen ready.

“The dragon lord is offering a trade, a chance to save Axureon’s life in exchange for the one thing he desires above all else—the return of his offspring,” the envoy reported to the surprise of almost no one in the room.

Well, one of the generals looked surprised that Pyroth didn’t demand more.

I inwardly sighed in relief. All this had to mean that Keelana made it safely to the Light Realm, beyond our control, and that Pyroth had no idea about the magic portal. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Pyroth was operating under the assumption that his children were still in this realm, which was equivocally false. While it was frustrating for negotiations, it was good news for Keelana and her family.

However, under no circumstances could we tell Pyroth that even if we wanted to give him his children back, we were unable to do so. If he learned that, he would tear Egoren apart out of spite alone.

“We can’t give him Keelana’s children,” I stated quite factually, “but I can’t allow Axureon to rot in Pyroth’s dungeons either.”

I knew what I had to do.

Throughout this entire unfortunate war, I had been unable to be the mother and wife I wanted to be. I wasn’t going to let that sacrifice be in vain. If I had to deal with the shame of putting my children’s safety aside for the safety of other children, then I would do so to the best of my ability and take up the dragon staff again.

It would be our only chance.

Right when my eyes sharpened in determination, Rhys caught my gaze. My inner guilt and turmoil rushed back to me once more.

What if the staff overtook me so much that I couldn’t ever put my children and husband first ever again? What if it cost me everything I held dear?

"Saoirse," he said softly, his voice filled with a quiet strength, "I know what you’re thinking, and I understand the temptation. But we cannot rely on the dragon staff, not again. The cost is too high, and the risk too great."

I nodded slowly, my eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Maybe there was another way that I hadn’t thought of yet. Maybe I was thinking of things too much in black and white—take up the staff or not take up the staff. Maybe there was a third option, a compromise somehow.

No matter what, I would redeem myself and help Axureon. He was only being held captive because I didn’t do my due diligence and follow up on his quest.

Just then, a sudden commotion from outside the palace walls caught our attention.

“Guards, what is this?” Rhys asked, but I knew what it was.

I sensed Axureon, which meant...

I rushed to the large double window and flung it open. My eyes widened in horror at the sight that greeted us.

In the courtyard below stood Pyroth, his massive form towering over the terrified guards and servants. He did look worse for the wear, but even worse was Axureon, weakened and shackled. None of that shocked me. What did astonish me was who stood next to Pyroth.

It was Saphira.