The Thread Of Fate

Chapter 42

Leo sank back into the chair with a groan.

"How bad is it?" I snickered.

"I was eleven when I left Jessica's farm." Dominic began. "During my stay there, I'd learnt what had happened to my parents. I wanted revenge."

"How did you find out?" Jace questioned.

"People talk all the time. You can learn a lot if you just listen." He answered. "Jacinta shares a border with Chant. Everyone knew what had happened. Jessica didn't understand why I cared so much about that particular story."

"When did you tell her who you really were?" I asked.

"She didn't know until much later." He said, "I needed to learn how to fight and there was just one place where it was possible. Aris was well known for its fighting techniques."

"We conquered it this year only. Quite a messy affair." Leo grimaced.

I knew what he meant by that. Messy affair for him was a huge number of lives lost. I shuddered just thinking about the death count.

"Are you cold?" Dominic narrowed his eyes at me, "you look tired. This isn't healthy. You should sleep. It's probably not just you anymore."

"I'm fine." I grinned. He rolled his eyes but cracked a smile.

"When I went to Aris, I realised that I learnt the techniques quickly." He continued, "In three years I was among the top ranked fighters. When I started to gain a name for myself, I left."

"Here it comes." Leo commented with a sigh.

"Dalia was the first kingdom I conquered." Dominic said, "for more reasons than one. First was because I knew that he had betrayed my father. Second was that the rules in Dalia were different. If you killed the king, the kingdom was yours."

"That's just terrible." Jace frowned. "In Ralia, killing the king equates to losing your head."

"I started working as a servant there." Dominic said, "after a few months they trusted me with the king's food. I poisoned it. Once he died, I was named king."

I had mixed feelings about that. Dominic had only avenged his parents' death and yet I only felt sadness.

"Did he have a family?" I asked.

"No he didn't." Dominic sighed, "it wouldn't have mattered if he did. He should've thought of that before betraying my father."

"Are you sure you want to hear this?" Leo asked me.

"Don't let him fool you." Dominic chuckled, "he isn't concerned about you. He just doesn't want you to know how I met him."

"Of course I'm concerned." Leo scoffed, "but it's also true that I don't want her to know."

"Now I'm curious." Jace chuckled.

"So am I." I said.

I knew a little bit about Leo from what Ariadne had told me. But those were just general details. I only knew that Leo was seventeen when he met Dominic and that he had been in the army back then.

"It was when I became king that the real trouble began." Dominic chuckled, "the people did not want a fourteen year old as their king. I knew my life was in danger, there was bound to be an assassination attempt sooner or later and so I sent out a message."