A Betrayal of Faith ✔

THIRTY-FOUR: Disappointment

The day Jonin was due to return, Harudan waited in the entrance hall for him. He was meant to be bringing books back for him, and Harudan had grown impatient waiting for them. He needed his answers. Going to the Sanctum had done nothing for him except anger him and give him more questions.

He'd asked for the crystal he'd taken to be placed in the room across from his office. For the long days since he'd arrived back in Ishmar, he'd spent most of his time in the room with the crystal or with his advisors. His plans were finally coming to fruition. The battle plans were coming together and most of the nobles had given him their armies.

Some hadn't. Those past the mountains didn't matter much to him; they were small and too far away. But those closer would be an issue, especially the one on the border. He couldn't have them undermining his rule. It could be that they preferred the way his father ruled, but that never resulted in anything. His father allowed them to be insulted and assassinated and did nothing about it aside from give empty threats.

Harudan was actually going to deal with the Askari. He would stop the threat of them attacking, stop the assassinations, stop the Askari people from living under the rule of someone who couldn't even look after them. He would help them, that was all he wanted. To do that, all he had to do was take control.

The Askari wouldn't appreciate it. It would be a long time before they understood that he only wanted good things for Vishera, but eventually, they would. Then they'd accept him as their rightful ruler, they'd realise that he was far better than Princess Sharina and anyone else in her family.

When it came to the Princess and her monk, all he could do was pray to his Gods that it didn't interrupt the war. For now, they were two separate things he had to deal with. Jonin would come back with the books he would need. He'd get answers on both the crystal and the monk, and then he could send someone to get Nerin back.

The Princess and the monk needed to be dealt with so that Nerin was safe and so that he could focus all of his energy on the coming war. Minisia's King still had not said a word and Harudan would make him pay for such disrespect. A proper battlefield hadn't been organised, which meant his advisors got to pick the best place for entrance to Minisia.

Ignis flew around the ceiling, letting out quiet roars. Harudan watched him with tired eyes and let out a loud sigh. The servants' door opened and a young face peered through the crack. For a second, he thought it was Nerin, then a voice snapped in the distance and the door slammed shut.

It was one of the children he'd taken from the Sanctum. Most of them had been put to work with the servants. Some, the most rebellious of the small group, had been placed in orphanages in the outskirts of the city. He didn't know what would happen to them, but he didn't care all that much, as long as they were alive. Children were innocent, they didn't deserve the violence of the world. If he'd taken enough time to think about his actions, he would have taken them from the Sanctum before he had everyone killed.

He didn't regret doing it, but he regretted letting the children see it. He never would have let Nerin see such violence and the children at the Sanctum were far younger than his baby brother. Although, Nerin had seen things anyway, despite Harudan's efforts, all because he was far too curious for his own good. Look where it got him.

But Harudan would get him back eventually. The children from the sanctum would learn to live with what had happened to them. He wasn't going to hurt them. He would have them be trained and able to work anywhere they needed to. None of them would be forced to forsake their Gods and if the time came, maybe even be allowed on a pilgrimage. He had a while to think things through seeing as the oldest was a year younger than Nerin.

Voices drifted away from the hall and Harudan leaned back against the wall. Snow fell outside, smothering the stone and grass. It covered every inch of the roofs and archways of the castle and if it wasn't for his powers, he would be shivering in the unheated room. For some reason, they'd never build fireplaces in the entrance hall, but it wasn't like it mattered. He was Ishini, he could deal with it.