[NOUR]
The palace was cold as hell when Lord Lucius walked in with his sidekick Zaire. There were eyes on both of them, eyes that knew what these two were here for — vengeance. It wasn't hard to tell, given the way that Grant had messed with the Dumont family.
Grant had screwed over Lord Tristan Dumont in the worst of ways and he had used his soldiers to do it. Now back in the palace walls, was the craziest and the last of sons that Lord Tristan ever had.
He was Lucius Dumont.
To his friends, he was Luce. Just Luce.
But to his enemies, he was the weapon of the Dumont family.
He was the decision that had long taken root in the family that had been hurt by the king's enforcer for months now. He was the face of revenge, and the councilmen knew it, too.
They shivered when they heard of who had come to the palace and knew the man was here not just to replace his father, but to make sure he got the answers to his father's untimely death.
A death that had been recorded as an accident, but even the blind could tell that that had been a death that had been forged in the worst of blades. A death that had been at the hands of the one man who thought himself a god just because the king had loved him.
A man who thought the rules didn't apply to him because he was trusted with the sweat that belonged to the crown prince. It was almost hilarious, how shit a changed overnight... How the losses were so great that the horrors had taken a step back.
But this was the horror that wouldn't falter.
Perhaps because it was forged in the pain of those who had struggled to get through life and had been betrayed by those who were meant to be allies. It was not right at any point.
And when Lucious walked in with Zaire, the palace guards bowed like they did to any other Lord. They knew hell had come knocking. The devil had come with a Lycan to Acrod, and he didn't care for mercy.
And that was hell for them.
"Good afternoon, Lord Lucius," Ferhat greeted, like he didn't know the men who had walked in with their heads held high and rising from the stench of death. He bowed like that was the first time he was seeing them, and boy, did he look professional.
No one could have imagined that the king's trusted warrior would be the one who knew what was going on and that there was a pending bloodbath that would eventually result in the division of good and bad.
"Good afternoon to you, too. I suppose you are here to guide us to our rooms?" Nour asked, his tone clipped, and Ferhat held back a smile at the young prince's acts. It was believable that much Ferhat could give them. Besides that, it was all crazy.
Batshit crazy.
It was the one thing that Ferhat hadn't imagined would take place, and yet it seemed like the only option now. So much was bound to make little sense, but right now, everyone had a part to play in the long game.
But how long before Grant snapped?
Or before Zaire clipped his head off?
Or before the crown prince burnt Grant alive at the palace square?
They were questions that not many could ask, but they were whose answers would benefit the entire Acrod. So, they stared at each other, exchanging glances while Delbert seemed to assess the palace.
It was expected of a Lord's sidekick, so this wasn't new. After all, to anyone, he was here as the protector. The man who would make sure that the sun did shine in the right way and that life wasn't as fucked up.
But weren't they late to that, though?
"As directed by the enforcer," Ferhat said, his voice so trained.
"Alright, lead the way," Nour said to Ferhat, who took them to the farthest chamber in the palace, the one that was so far from the throne room and even the council room that it would need the duo to wake up a little early for meetings.
It was clearly intentional by Grant, but then they had expected a retaliation of sorts. This wasn't about just what they could do or what they were about to do. This was about the chaos that was swirling around them.
This was about three unspoken vows that had been made on the other side of the palace, where the prince was supposed to lie. This was about a promise made to a father who only wanted his son to be happy.
And this was about a prince who wasn't going to forgive the atrocities against his people, no matter what it would cost him as the new werewolf Lord who had made a terrible name for himself.
"You two need some help," Ferhat scolded one he was sure they were out of earshot. He had expected that they would be coming back, but this soon was almost suicide for them.
Sure, Delbert was immortal and shit, but even that still didn't excuse the fact that them being here like this was pure madness.
They should have waited a few days.
Perhaps they should have tried to get a hold of the temperatures first, but now they were here. They had flipped the wolf enforcer on the largest of pans, and the man was too confused about what he needed to do.
Running away had never been something Grant Hindley had ever done, and yet the moment Nour walked in as Lord Lucius, he had made the run for it. It was almost like he had realized that his plans were at stake.
But surely the man didn't have to be worried about a psychotic werewolf Lord, no? Or was this the reminder of the sins the man had committed and that no one had ever had the guts to bring forth to the council? It almost made no sense.
"It's alright, Ferhat. You worry too much. Besides, Farah will take the lead as the Ruby wolf and start making shit harder for the bastard who thinks he can be a dictator and life will be back to normal for the people of Acrod," Delbert said.
Ferhat felt like his head was about to split in two. These two were definitely the weapons formed against him. Each time he interacted with these two mates, he was sure his lifespan was reduced a thousand times over.
If he were alive by the end of this mission, then maybe Ferhat would make a sacrifice at the goddess's temple. Perhaps that would make his life a tad easier. Oh, but there we are for a long, chaotic stay at the Acrod palace.
"Well, brace yourselves, because you have a late lunch in three hours with the council members and the king," Ferhat said, and they stared at him like they hadn't heard him well this time.
King Cassius had chosen to take a break, and it was not right that he was coming out of retirement this soon. Was it because of Nour and this damn mission?
"What?" Nour asked, clearly not liking it one bit.
"He already made the choice. He will be watching but not leading any meetings. He will be a passive member," Ferhat explained and Nour knew that Grant was fucked.
If his father was coming to the council meetings, then Grant could as well have started to pray because no one would be able to save him from the king if he tried shit with the prince again.
This was going to be an interesting battle, and yet it scared them all deep down. They knew that the tribulations would be harsher and that there wouldn't be hands to easily point at people.
Even then, a part of them wished to understand how complex it could all get.
"Looks like we are going to be having a really long summer party," Nour said with a laugh while Delbert listened keenly. He knew he had to be at his best, not just because he had accompanied Nour, but because he was to show the king that his son was safer.
And even better, he would show Nour that accepting him, a Lycan of old Udrad, was not a mistake. It was a gamble, and Delbert would make sure that they were the last ones standing when the games ended.