The Sun's Shadow

Chapter Seventeen

What could she do against the commands of a King? He's only her husband and that meant nothing in the grand scheme of royal decree. Queens were crowned so the children they birthed would have a title. Her duties did not extend past that.

Ele's eyes darted between the Prince she trusted and the Queen who knew enough for this to be wrong. She sunk into her shell when she realized neither could help. Neither could put a stop to this insanity. So she had to.

Without raising her hands to give an explanation, she spun sharp and ran from the office. The grandiose doors that she thought might hold her back gave way with ease. Instinctive adrenaline pushed her forward and gave her legs new meaning to run faster... They needed to escape fate. This abrupt defiance went against her ordinary eager-to-please nature.

She didn't get far. And when Kaanan called out her name, desperation coating his tongue, she froze.

Now in the halls, free for anyone to hear, he caught up to her and that desperation turned sour.

"You're acting like a naughty child you cannot afford to be right now! You can't possibly think I want this, right? Please hear me out on this... We can defy him. We can ease your body into it so that you don't have to lose your innocence on that day. I can help you-"

She gawked at his offering. Speechless beyond her ailment.

"I can't beat him. Yesterday proved that. But I can overthrow him someday soon if we follow his plans for now."

.

.

Unconcerned with the adversity he triggered in his son, Jyosith rounded his desk and seated himself with plans of going on throughout his scheduled day.

Wylda lingered in the room, idle in speech until she could be certain their son got out of hearing range. Once satisfied with the time passed, she got to speaking her mind and by then it was roaring.

"We once conceived these plans in unison, one mind! Working together to ensure we both benefited from the outcome of our arrangements! Now look at us... You make a move and it directly impacts my design for our son's future. Why must you-"

"Why? You think yourself grand enough to question me now?" He bellowed, mere inches from her face now. He shot up from his desk the moment her voice ascended, a tone that didn't please him.

He wondered at what point did she start being so willful and combative?

She began appealing to him after the damage became irreversible. "No, my love. I only mean to say that our minds could be strengthened if we returned to the days when we worked as one."

"What do you propose then?"

The question poised hope in the Queen's heart. If he questioned her, then he was willing to hear her out. And once he heard this plan... He'd bite.

"I must start off by giving credit to our lovely niece. Sloane... My dear second cousin's girl. I know the two of us don't speak much of late, but that daughter of hers is quite exquisite. She came of age not long after Kaanan did."

"Get on with it." In truth, he saw where this was headed and he already loved it.

"Sloane is enamored with our son. She's the one who first came forward to me after seeing their entanglement in the kitchen. Heartbroken, cheeks covered in tears... It's love. If Kaanan wasn't so confused by this faenix then he'd see it too. One day he will see what we do for him and appreciate it."

"Mm, you want them wed."

Wylda had him right where she wanted. "Yes, my love. I think the union will ensure the sanctity of your bloodline and take away the guesswork in finding a mate pure of blood for our son."

"It's not rare. Just in recent times more... Uncommon. Certainly none would question it." Jyosith mulled over the pros and cons of such a union they were contemplating. Then he saw this is what his cunning wife intended all along. The grin that appeared on his face could not have been more fake. "Dear, is this the reason for the banquet tomorrow? And the request put in all those weeks ago to have Sloane attend the same schooling as Kaanan? Too many moving parts for this all to be a coincidence..."

Caught. Time to be honest. At least, her version of such with her husband.

"I used to laugh. I used to find joy in love and simple things like chocolate-covered strawberries and kisses on the cheek." Wylda used her feminine charm to her advantage and raked her nails down his chest, hoping he'd get lost in her. "Now I channel my passion into my children. Ensuring their future comes before my present happiness. I would do anything for them."

"Even risk going behind my back?" He dipped his head low, burying it in the warm crevice between her chin and collarbone. He placed a tender kiss on their mating mark and sighed. "Now I see I've ruined it by announcing a public mating. I wish you had told me."

"No, no Jyosith. I think this can work in our favor. Use that as leverage to get him to agree to marrying Sloane. It may take some convincing, but in the end, he'll wish to prevail as the hero."

"Hero." Agitation at such a notion made him scoff. Then he remembered the days when he, too, wished to be the hero. The one to save the day and swoon the ladies. Simpler times. "What have we become that we no longer find joy in our marriage?"

"Normal parents." She stroked his chest to soothe these troubling thoughts.

Even with their recent lacking connection, they remained as one consciousness. For when it came to their children, they both would truly stop at nothing.