Magnus Academy: The Cursed Blood

Chapter Fifty-One

At the Last Drop of Autumn

"Your eyes always seem to find fault in beautiful things," he raised his glass, the smell of the grape-scented wine immediately filled the room as his deep blue eyes stared forward behind the huge glass window. A huge town waited below, the tranquility and peace it exuded reminded me of a calm sea, a warm breeze--with blooming flowers around, the tall trees surrounding the most of the buildings, and people were happily interacting with one another. But I did not find the scene comforting at all with his presence dominating mine. "What do you see, Ke'ala?"

My eyes averted from his penetrating look, my hands were hidden behind me as my head looked down. The marbled floor was cold, but it wasn't that fact that gave me a chill, it was the way he bored his gaze into mine, instilling a wave of fear as his energy covered everything around. It wasn't the first time he had called me in, though it wasn't that often either. He would call it 'occasional session' where his servants would forcefully dragged out of my room, my own energy suppressed by his overwhelming spiritual energy. 

While my mother would give me riddles, my father would talk about things I never had seen point in, as though he was writing a book and I was its paper--as though he was drilling words inside my mind, played needlessly in a loop. Sometimes, his eyes would glow in a dark shade of blue, and I knew then it was his way of easily gaining superiority to those below him. This person wasn't a good father, but he was an effective leader, where his words were laws, his every action hid meanings.

He was a good man despite all of that, but he was also the embodiment of fear itself. People would fear him, clouding themselves with the thought that they merely respected him. They say fear is the only way people respect another, fear drives people into loyalty, and instilling fear is the only way to dominate. My father followed those rules very well, contrary to the stories my grandfather used to tell. According to him, my father as a child seemed very much like me, quiet, timid, his intentions were always masked in pretenses, and he was naive. It made me wonder what changed him, what forced him to act so confident, what forced him to appear so cold-hearten to his family, what forced him to appear so fearless in my eyes.

"Ke'ala." He called, and it was a warning that made me flinch.

Clenching my fists behind me, I avoided looking at him straight yet again and cast my eyes around the room. I did not fear him as much as everybody did, I merely feared him for he had the power over my life, and I was afraid meeting his gaze would unmask the hatred I had longed in stored for him. My father had never once showed his anger in front of people, but having one of these 'occasional sessions' also indicated he needed a leverage to soothe his emotions. I didn't understand how calling me in would calm him down, but each time I walk out from it, I felt my own energy increasing that I had never once looked forward to these meetings.

"Es nezinu, tevs." I answered in Latvian.

"You will be a lot of things in a distant future, Ke'ala." His voice ranted amusement. "But you mustn't be a liar."

It made me frown, but I merely shrugged it off, not wanting to prolong being under his presence any longer. "Es redzu mieru."

"Peace, huh? Is that really all there is to it?" He chuckled, his feet dragging him in front of me. He crouched lower, matching my childlike height. "A land represents its leader. If mine is peace, I could only wonder what yours would be like." 

I stepped back, still looking down. "I...I know nothing of what you speak of, Father."

"Of course." I could feel him smile before standing up. "You can only gain supremacy through power. Power through fear. Fear through dominion. Dominion over loyalty. Loyalty over trust. Trust through supremacy--and the cycle repeats all over again,. How do you expect to have all of that when you have no forces behind that will support your throne, Ke'ala?"