Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1523 - 122 : Ultimatum

*Rhys*

My worst fears were realized as I joined Saoirse at the window to watch the calamity unfolding directly below my war room’s window.

Despair threaded its cold fingers around my heart.

In the courtyard below, the monstrous Pyroth towered over my men, their faces mirrored terror and intended surrender.

Next to the dragon lord, Axeureon lay crumpled at his feet, severely wounded and seemingly dazed because he didn’t even try to acknowledge us. He most likely was drugged along with being held bound by enchanted chains.

It was a painful sight, but an even worse irony was that Saphira helped keep him bound.

“Hold your ground! Do not fire!” I shouted the order to my brigades of archers that lined the castle walls.

I had seen their drawn bows out of the corner of my eye, but the last thing I wanted was a bloodbath.

Shame roiled in my gut. How could a successful king allow himself to be ambushed by their top enemy like this?

If Pyroth had wanted, he could’ve caused untold destruction to our castle already. Countless lives would have already been lost.

How was I supposed to fill my father’s shoes if I kept allowing my enemy to get the drop on me like that?

A flash of a glassy-eyed wolf, bloodied and attracting flies flashed through my vision. I remembered the blood-curdling scream of one of my men being burned alive next to me, unable to do anything.

My pulse began to race. I had to stop that from happening again.

Destruction seemed to overshadow even the sun as Pyroth’s malefic voice engorged the air with the promise of war, his gleaming eyes demanding our attention.

"King Rhys, Queen Saoirse! Until you return my children to me, your ally will remain my prisoner.” His mad utterance echoed the impending doom.

I could see my men all turn their heads to me, expecting a response from their king. I could tell some of them had begun to chatter amongst themselves. I knew that the public had become divided over us protecting Keelana and her children at the expense of all who had fallen in the previous battle. I couldn’t sleep over it.

Protecting those children was the right move, not just idealistically but also politically. If Pyroth were to infect those children with his madness, they could grow up to attack others just like Pyroth.

Of course, that was just a callous way of seeing it, but it was the way that proved protecting the children would benefit the kingdom. The true way I saw it was that they were children who didn’t deserve to be taken from their mother and ruined by a tyrant like Pyroth.

Saoirse cut her gaze over to me, her green eyes ablaze. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“You have a lot of gall to come here on my doorstep and make that sort of demand!” I shouted from the depths of my diaphragm.

Pyroth snorted, but I continued before he could cut me off.

“You act like these children were taken from you, and you pose as a father who just wants to parent his children, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth!” Anger began to rise within me like an inferno.

“They are mine!” Pyroth seethed, his eyes glowing. “My progeny are meant to follow in my footsteps!”

With that, he swished his great tail and knocked through some stone statues of former kings, rendering them to rubble. Several of my soldiers’ hands went to their weapons, but I stayed them.

Pyroth had fallen for my trap. I needed the public to see this dragon as a madman, wanting nothing more than to turn his children into weapons he could point at any enemy he chose to annihilate.

Saoirse intertwined her fingers in mine. We stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, sharing our aggravated emotions through wordless glances.

“And that is the reason why we will not capitulate to your terms! You will turn your own children into warmongering tyrants just like yourself! We cannot and will not stand by and let you create a threat like that out of pure, innocent children!” I stood firm, but my mouth began to dry out.

I imagined the battle I fought in previously and all the dead men and wolves around me. Just because I was acting tough now did not mean I wasn’t fully aware that by playing this tough, we wouldn’t immediately face another battle.

If Pyroth thought we’d believe him when all he said he would harm Axureon or kill him, he must have truly thought us as fools. We knew he had something far worse up his sleeve other than just killing Axureon when we didn’t give Keelana’s children to him.

He’d most certainly attack us again, aiming to raze us all in his hellfire if he didn’t get what he wanted. In fact, he’d probably do so to the cities his lieutenants had been circling far before the five-day deadline.

He’d probably try to render one to nothing but rubble and ash on the first day.

I couldn’t help but panic a bit at the thought. Despite the scouts I had sent, there was no way to know which city he would strike first. With my troops spread too thin already, I was in a tight spot.

Pyroth knew it as well. He was only giving me the ultimatum now to lower our morale even more and prevent the one advantage I could gain.

My advantage would be to centralize my forces and go on the offensive, striking at him with a concentrated force rather than waiting for him to pick any civilian target of his choosing. However, if I were to go on the offensive now, Axureon would be immediately killed.

I refused to allow the whirlwind of panic to show in my face. My people and wife needed unwavering resolution.

As if she sensed this, she squeezed my hand. Neither of us wanted to succumb to Pyroth’s terror or diminish our valiant legacy.

“Hahahaha, well, little cub, you may soon be changing your tune. If my property is returned to me, I will not set my sights on such a lowly kingdom like this. I have my sights on even greater heights...” Pyroth intended to mislead me, but I knew he also spoke a half-truth.

His ambition knew no bounds. I was sure he would attack another kingdom besides Egoren.

“Along with my new confident, Shylah, we will be unbeatable,” Pyroth continued.

My wary gaze fell back upon Saphira. Her eyes, once vibrant with trust and warmth, shimmered icy fear and spoke intentions to revisit nightmares long slumbered. Our nemesis, Shylah, had been resurrected within Saphira.

"I am Shylah reborn," her declaration was a horrid song our worst fears danced to. “And I will make you all suffer for what you have put me through.”

It was absolutely terrible luck.

My knees faltered at the crushing gravity of Saphira’s words, but I could not let my people see me waver. We had risen triumphantly over Shylah with underhanded tactics before, but this was different. We wouldn’t be that lucky again.

In many ways, it felt like just Saoirse and I facing two ferocious dragons, unarmed and without a master strategy.

“The choice is yours. Return my children or leave Axureon to suffer my tortuous vengus for the rest of his life.” Pyroth unfurled his wings, as did Saphira. Together they dragged Axureon’s exhausted frame off into the distance beyond the treeline.

A wry grin spread across my face thinking about a hardened queen, a crippled army, and their battered king coping with my many strategic failures. My choices had led to a crazed warlord on our doorstep who wanted nothing better than to see our rivers run red in our own blood. The fact that the brilliant and savage war hero, Shylah, stood triumphantly next to Pyroth just showed how terribly I had bungled all of this.

For the life of me, I didn’t know how we were going to get Axureon out of this alive. My only choice at this point was to launch an offensive against Pyroth, but that would most certainly get him killed. It was also no guarantee of victory for us.

"Saoirse." My quiet determination resonated in leading us to gallantly protest our perilous sacrifices. "I vow to you that I will find us a way through this."

Those words were easier said than done, but I couldn’t afford to sound frail. Tears glistened in my mate’s eyes as she echoed my sentiments.

"Rhys, we’ll find a way together." Saoirse’s soft agreement rekindled a fire of courage in my chest.

I smiled at my wife’s attempt to reassure me, but this was my burden to bear. So far I had jeopardized my kingdom with lackluster strategy and tactics since Pyroth had announced his intentions. I wasn’t going to stand by and do that anymore.

If I wanted to prove myself a capable and strong leader of Egoren, I needed to be able to deal with this problem myself.

“Your Majesty, it’s just as you expected. Pyroth’s forces tried to attack the capital of our northern province, thinking it undefended.” My trusted envoy swept into the room, bowing deeply.

I glanced wearily up from my battle map and at my mate in the corner of the room. I hadn’t slept through the night again. I couldn’t remember the last time I had. Night terrors woke me up in a cold sweat, which eventually made me not want to go to sleep in the first place.

Saoirse held our daughter, Adelaide, in her arms. In the bassinet next to her, Aiden slept soundly. The nurses all said that our daughter looked just like me, and our son looked just like Saoirse. I had begun to think they were right.

I was also glad that Saorise had instructed them to bring our children’s things in there since we had spent so much time preparing for Pyroth’s inevitable sneak attacks the past few days. It seemed to calm Saoirse.

Even though we had to remove them for diaper changes or when they got fussy and I had to meet with our generals, they were in there for the better part of the day now.

Even though our family was in the same room, there seemed to be an invisible barrier between Saoirse and me. We talked and strategized together, but she seemed to shrink away from affection. At first, I thought it was the stress. After a day or two, I had my doubts.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she felt guilty about something. But I couldn’t focus on that now.

“And what is the city’s status now?” I asked, my voice cautious.