Free Web NovelChapter 200: Chapter 200
The last person he expected to find when he swung open the door to his chambers was the queen herself. She stood by the tall window overlooking the training yard, her back to him, gazing through the glass at the grounds below. Morning light streamed in behind her, catching on the delicate embroidery of her gown, a rich blue silk that shimmered like water with every breath she drew.
It wasn’t like Azul to feel frazzled easily, but his mother’s presence left almost everyone uneasy, and it was rarely because of the power she wielded. Her authority was something the court had learned to fear, but there was something far more chilling about her, something to do with the absence of compassion that always stared back at him from her pale blue eyes.
When he was a child, he had once thought her eyes resembled frigid waters in winter. Unfeeling in their depth. So similar to his own. Perhaps that was why they had always understood each other in a way.
She cared about very little.
And he, somehow, cared even less.
He stepped inside, his footsteps sounding too loud in the heavy quiet of the room, but Nheera only turned to acknowledge him after he shut the door behind him.
"Mother," he greeted, his tone deceptively light. "What brings you here? You could have waited for me to return instead of showing up unannounced." frёewebnoѵēl.com
Her shrewd eyes monitored his approach, assessing him with an intensity usually reserved for prey. Her lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile.
"Do I need an invitation before speaking to my own son?" she asked, her voice smooth yet razor-sharp. She always watched him carefully, even though between the two of them, she was by far the more dangerous. She was the one most people were wary of, and the one with most of the power.
He had covered only half the distance between them when she wrinkled her nose.
"You reek of blood," she said plainly.
Azul didn’t bother pretending to be surprised. Nheera had the keenest sense of smell of any vampire he knew. Centuries ago, heightened senses had been a gift all vampires possessed, but as generations passed, their traits had diluted, dwindling like old legends. Now, those born with such abilities were rare.
The vampires of old were much different from the creatures that existed today, more beast-like in nature, truly children of the night. They had possessed jagged claws, monstrous strength, and senses sharp enough to hunt anything unfortunate enough to cross their path. They were mostly immune to human diseases and they lived for centuries, though sunlight burned their skin. Marzen himself had lived to eight hundred before time finally caught up with him.
Modern vampires, however, were considered fortunate if they lived past three centuries. Sunlight no longer harmed them. They developed a craving for human food. They had adapted to survive in a realm never meant for their kind. A world that stripped them of much of what they once were, a world they had been forced to evolve to fit into.
"You’re not wrong," Azul replied flippantly. "I was covered in it moments ago."
He said it so casually, like it was a frequent occurrence. In his case, it was.
Nheera’s lips thinned in distaste. "The king should hire a mercenary to do his dirty work. You are a prince of this kingdom. Such tasks are beneath you."
It irritated her, not because she feared for his safety, but because she despised the idea of her sons being seen as little more than convenient weapons. If word ever reached the wrong ears, it would tarnish the spotless image she worked endlessly to preserve.
Azul brushed aside her concern as if dusting lint from his sleeve. "It isn’t a hardship if I enjoy it," he said. A faint smile tugged at his mouth. "I’m quite good at it, after all. Now, tell me why you’re here. I’m certain it’s not to comment on my schedule." He stepped closer, expression sharpening.
The air in the room shifted.
Nheera clasped her hands in front of her, every inch of her posture composed, looking more severe than he had ever seen her.
"You have always been more agreeable than your two brothers," she said at last.
Azul didn’t miss her deliberate omission of Ragnar. Nheera loathed the fact that Ragnar shared her children blood, even if only partially.
Nheera continued when he remained silent. "But you are right, there is something I need from you." Her voice dropped, growing as cold and precise as sharpened steel. "I want you to use your connections to endear Hairan to even more of the nobles. If that bastard is named your father’s successor, Hairan will need the backing of as many noble houses as possible to challenge the decision."
Azul tilted his head, the movement unsettling, almost animalistic. "Preparing for defeat already? The game isn’t even close to being over."
"I’m being careful," she countered sharply. Her gaze pinned him where he stood, like an icy spear of will and calculation. "We are in dangerously unstable times, and I refuse to lose everything I have built to the likes of a bastard demon-spawn."
She spoke the last words with eerie calm, as if discussing the weather rather than one of her schemes.
Azul arched a brow, unbothered by the venom lacing his mother’s voice. He had grown far too accustomed to it. Still, it grated on him whenever her foul words were directed toward Ragnar. Azul might openly support Hairan, but he bore no ill will towards Ragnar. They weren’t close, not by any stretch, but Azul still considered him family. His mother, however, did not extend such generosity.
"I need you to broaden his influence amongst the courtiers," she said stiffly. "I am not exactly their favorite person at the moment." She was right about one thing, Azul might have been the king’s third son, but he commanded more loyalty among the nobles than any of his brothers. "Do this for me, and I will offer you something that will make whatever silly prize you stand to gain from your wager with Jayran look pitiful in comparison."
What she had never bothered to understand was that the prize of the wager meant very little to him. It was the thrill of outdoing Jayran, the relentless urge to seize every victory from his twin’s hands and claim it as his own. That was the true reward, as it had been since the day they first learned to compete. ƒrēewebnovel.com
Why was he this way... Azul couldn’t say, and he wasn’t about to waste time thinking about it. Instead, he let a slow smile unfurl across his lips.
"Tell me," he murmured, "which noble wouldn’t want to be on the side of our future king?"
