Free Web NovelChapter 32: Chapter 32
Pain licked over every inch of his skin. Darkness surrounded him, pressing in at all sides. Images of eyes as black as pitch bombarded him. It was all he saw. Eyes as black as the abyss, brimming with malice and wicked hunger. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Hairan’s eyes fluttered open. He was in a bed, laying motionless on his back, blinking up at the high ceilings of the bed chambers, his own bed chambers. Even without twitching a finger, he knew most of his wounds had already healed. It didn’t stop the rest of his body from hurting.
His chest heaved with every breath. It hurt to breathe. He could still feel the phantom pressure of Ragnar kneeing on his chest, pinning him to the dirt.
He let out a choked sound. It was accompanied with the sound of someone flipping the page of a book. Hairan realized that he wasn’t the only one in the room. He turned his head to the side and spotted his brother sitting on the chaise lounge by the window, his eyes perusing the contents of the book in his hand.
" Good, you’re awake. It took you long enough." Azul said without sparing Hairan a glance.
" What are you doing here?" Hairan asked, his voice cracking at the very last word.
" Mother didn’t want her precious little prince to be all by himself." Azul mocked.
" I don’t need you here."
" Why? Is it because you can’t bear being around anyone that witnessed that pathetic excuse you call a fight?" Azul asked, a derisive smile stretching his lips. " Do you know you reek of desperation? You reeked of it in the arena and you still reek of it even now. Isn’t it impressive how someone can be so desperate to show off their greatness, only to crash and burn every time? Instead you showed us all how much better Ragnar is at everything. A better fighter, a better son, a better heir—"
" GET OUT!" Hairan growled. His body trembled with both pain and the force of his rage. Right then he hated Azul more than Ragnar who was the cause of all his injuries. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Azul slammed his book shut and stood. He slowly circled Hairan’s bed. He wore a black shirt and dark breeches, a sharp contrast to the pale blond of his hair. " I would have killed you, ended it all right there in that arena. If you were stupid enough to challenge me like that then you should at least be brave enough to bear the consequences of your actions, don’t you think? I would have continued pounding your head into the dirt even as the guards tried to drag me away."
Azul’s smile widened but it still didn’t reach his eyes. Anyone who looked closely would see just how dull and lifeless his eyes truly were, like whatever spark he was meant to have had been drained from him before he even took his first breath. It was as if Jayran had taken it all for himself in the womb, leaving Azul behind as nothing more than a hollow shell of a man.
" That’s what makes Ragnar and I so different. He spared your life, I, on the other hand, would have killed you purely on principle. You aren’t the first prince to die at the hands of a family member and you certainly won’t be the last."
Azul stopped at his bedside and leaned in a fraction. He lowered his voice. " You’re pathetic, brother. But you can change that. If you want to be better than Ragnar, then stop acting inferior."
His body felt like it was tied to the bed and held down with lead bricks. Hairan couldn’t move any of his limbs.
He wanted to spit in Azul’s smug face.
The heat of his glare alone could incinerate a man but Azul remained unfazed.
Footsteps in the hallway snapped the tension in half. Azul stepped away from Hairan a second before their mother came striding into the bed chambers.
" Hairan!" Nheera exclaimed, rushing to her oldest son’s side. Azul took a few more steps back to give her space. " I’m glad you’re awake."
Azul shot his brother one final smirk before turning on his heel and marching through the open bedroom door, slamming it shut behind him.
Hairan turned to face his mother. " Are you really? I thought for sure you would have wanted me to die there."
Nheera’s eyes widened slightly. " Of course I’m glad you survived. What kind of mother would I be if I wasn’t?"
" You would be Nheera Osbourne, Lamora’s most ruthless queen."
Nheera was already shaking her head before he could even finish. " No." She took one of his hands in hers and squeezed it. " No, not with my children. Not with you. Do you understand? I will tear Lamora down with my bare hands for you and your brothers. But you shouldn’t have had to challenge Ragnar like that. I should have done more to protect you."
Hairan bristled at her words, the muscles in his jaw tightening as frustration welled up inside him. He loathed the way she spoke to him, always with that chiding tone, as if he were some naive child in need of constant guidance and protection.
He took a deep breath to calm himself before he spoke. " You’re right, mother. I shouldn’t have done that, especially after you tried to stop me." The words tasted like ash on his tongue.
His mother smiled. " All that matters now is that you are well. Your safety means a lot to me."
" Have you spoken to father since then?" Hairan asked and Nheera’s eyes turned glacial.
" Your father doesn’t matter in this situation." Nheera said. Her gaze told him to drop the issue but Hairan wasn’t easily deterred.
" You spoke to him, didn’t you? What did he say? Tell me." He added when his mother chose to remain silent.
" Nothing. He hardly even spoke about you, and it hurt more than if he spent his time saying awful things instead. It hurt because he didn’t check up on you once, not even while you were still in the physician’s quarters."
His mother was right. The king’s disinterest hurt more than any barbed insult, not just because he hadn’t bothered to visit while Hairan lay unconscious but because unlike Ragnar and his brothers who had long given up the hopeless pursuit of their father’s approval, Hairan never truly stopped.
It was like a sickness the way every failed attempt chipped at his soul, crushing him down to nothing.
His mother placed her palm on his cheek. " But it’s fine. Everything will be just fine, I promise."
