The Crimson King

Chapter 10 | Responsibility

Yay here it is!

Behind on my schedule again sorry - I had to work hard for this chapter -sighs-

I hope you enjoy it,
Love Daisy x

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Chapter 10 | Responsibility

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'K i l l  me if you must,
but I shall not bow to a King
who wears a crown
studded with the jewels
of every life he has ended.'

- Anon

*

The journey back to Aether was one that Iris would rather forget.

It wasn't that she had expected it to be anything other than horrifically awkward, but she was unprepared for just how guilty she was suddenly feeling as she stared at Ezekiel's back – the blonde lycan leading the way forward silently.

He and Gabriel had been kind enough to her, but then she remembered who they worked for and steeled herself. It would be a miscalculation for her to assume their attitude was borne from their own hearts, and not simply an attempt to make her concede more easily to their King.

She would not regret her choices now.

She held back a sigh and forced her legs to keep up the pace Ezekiel was setting. The rush that she had felt – that had powered her through her entire escapade, was beginning to wane now. She was tiring and more than anything, she suddenly longed to see Arlo.

His absence was like a tangible pain in her chest and, now that she was surrounded by strangers, she felt it distinctly. Arlo would have understood what she was trying to prove. He may not have approved of her methods, but he would have understood. 

Not for the first time during the journey, she tripped, just a slight stumble that she righted easily. Her long cloak – fastened down the entire length to preserve her modesty – was  awkward to run in, hindering her movement and slowing her speed considerably.

Already she had heard his Majesty, King High-and-Mighty, huff in annoyance behind her more than once. She took silent pleasure in the fact that he had probably realised that if he had waited to reach Aether before making her shift back, they would be moving a lot faster.

He sighed again now, his lycan snout blowing down impatiently from above her, making her hair ruffle and tickling her neck. Unable to take it any longer, she half turned to look at him as she ran, snapping at him irately.

"Stop breathing on me. I'm already going as fast as I can."

A low snarl rumbled through the air at her back, and she imagined his reply.

You were running a lot faster when you left.

"That was because I wasn't wearing this damn cloak," she scowled. But nonetheless, she tried to improve her pace slightly, forcing herself to focus.

She made it another hundred meters before tripping again, this time pitching forward as she failed to jump high enough over a fallen tree trunk – but before she could humiliate herself by planting face first into the dirt, her arm was caught in a solid grip and she found herself abruptly weightless.

"How is it," a deep voice growled from above her, "that you can be the cause of  such chaos within my palace, yet you cannot even manage a simple trip back over a path you have already walked?"