Vengeance of The Broken Lycan Prince [BL]-Chapter 483: I Feel You in the Rain That Falls

[KOSTA]

When Kosta had come back from Grealor, there had never been such a thought in his head. Not even in the slightest of ways. Sure, he had always believed the ultimatum to be a curse on both him and Tamiko, but it was never expected to be like that.

Never in the way that it was staring at them.

Never in the way that he was feeling his legs wobble and how his stance was fading because his knees were buckling, and he was so close to losing focus.

This was the first time that everything scared him.

He had always been a believer in right and wrong, and now it seemed like all that he had to believe in was the fact that life was never going to be the same for any of them.

Everything seemed to pause for him, and if it wasn’t for the king’s presence, Kosta would have fallen. This was the first time he felt completely weak.

Of all things that could have happened, a curse having Sanji’s name on it was not what he had been looking forward to.

And that was scary.

Because when the sun went down and everything paused, there was never going to be peace.

First, it was Sanji using Kosta as an anchor to breach the kingdom, one who would make it easier for everyone in, and now it was Sanji who was taking away his Erasthai? Maybe the King had gotten it wrong.

Sanji was dead.

Sanji was never supposed to be outback and haunt where he was the reason for what had happened. The battle barely a week ago had happened because of Sanji, and now Tamiko...

His Tamiko was fading.

And it wasn’t even the ultimatum anymore, but something Kosta had leaned into for the sake of balance and his sanity because of what had happened over the years. It was a hard thing to understand this time, though.

Was it safe to blame Yilena Sidorova for this, too?

"Why?" Kosta asked like the answer was supposed to make him feel any better. But what the fuck was better when his conscience was already spinning out the possibilities and guilt was already taking root in his mind?

What was he to work on when life was slowly fading, and the only thing he could lean into was already disappearing?

Was he expected to say that this was Yilena’s fault?

That Yilena’s damn ultimatum had been the reason he had forced himself to get along with Sanji because he wanted Tamiko to feel something, too?

The years had been cruel to them, but none could be crueler than what they had to come home to. Nothing was harder than the way things had never gone in their direction. It was upsetting some, and it hurt.

Gods, it really hurt so badly.

"No one really knows, but it is linked to your bond with Tamiko," the king said.

Kosta felt his heart shrinking for his Erasthai.

He knew how hard this was for them; he knew that this was probably his fault, and the king was just trying to be nice about it.

He had never thought there’d come a day when he wanted the king to come clean about anything.

"The only thing we know so far is that the ultimatum was just a catalyst for it all. Sanji manipulated it from the very beginning, and when he died... it all came to life. I know it isn’t what you want to hear.

"...but Konstantin, you have to be ready," King Zaffuto said.

Kosta stiffened for what felt like the hundredth time in minutes.

This was too much even for him. How the hell were they to be ready when they had to deal with curses on one hand and an ultimatum on the other?

What the hell was life meant to be for them when happiness was somewhat linked to the worst of people, and they didn’t even have a way out that meant peace or even their well-being?

This was different.

Gods, it was different in that it was shunting so much.

No one would ever be able to understand what the takes were, and it was the hardest bit of it all because someone had to explain it all. But who, when the situation seemed to be getting way worse than it was apparently supposed to be for them, then?

"Great... another reminder that I might really lose the love of my life after going through almost gut-wrenching eleven years of our lives," Kosta said, his jaw locking as he tucked his tongue.

He was trying too hard not to throw any punches at the wall or eventer the king or lord Sadako, whom Kosta couldn’t even see anymore. It was the worst day of his life, and he was doing this alone because Tamiko was not even getting better.

This had to be the worst season of his life, hands down.

"You don’t understand, Kostantin..." King Zaffuto trailed off.

"What is it this time?" Kosta asked flatly.

"Sanji... he linked the curse to Tamiko’s feelings for you. Everyone in the entire realm knew my son would die for you, and he maximized his plans and intentions on that. Your love... the unconditional love you both share is killing him.

"It is tearing him apart from the inside out, and there isn’t a way to put an end to it because he marked you. And well, that was the weapon that triggered it all. The ultimatum was just a catalyst for the ending that Sanji was going for," the king said.

Kosta paused before he slid down the wall in defeat.

His life was slowly ending indirectly.

His life was in shambles.

His reality was fucked, and he was standing right in the middle of the tsunami, with no cover and even worse with no way to get to protect his Erasthai.

Kosta was in hell.

And he hated it there.

But the king just watched him tenderly, like a father who was looking at his son.

He looked at Kosta like the man was still his son, even after all that had happened, even after the realization that Sanji had fucked them over twice in a row, and yet he didn’t even have a clue about it.

And it was crazy how the mad king, known for killing first and asking questions later, was trying his very best to hold himself together for the sake of everyone.

Because if he didn’t try that, he would crash, and so much would change in the palace. And the kingdom itself.

"So... my baby’s dying because of me?" Kosta whimpered, his breath hitching.

He’d never been this defeated before.

It was killing him.

"He refuses to let you go, even when it’s killing him," the king said, but there was no regret in his voice, and that got Kosta curious.

Any father would have been worried sick and wanted to terminate the connection, yet the king was here, not even talking about separating them when it seemed like the only way for his son to survive.

But maybe there was no need to fight against the bond; the universe had to devise better ways to work shit out for them, right?

"Should I leave? I mean, if it saves him, I don’t mind..." Kosta offered in defeat.