Free Web NovelChapter 30: Sell Them The Fantasy
Patience was a serpent’s weapon. Pride was a dragon’s. Both could kill.
~ Rebel Beast
—------------------------
Njord Cobryn did not ask what had gone wrong at the academy, which was strange. The man involved himself in Caelis’ life to an almost obsessive degree.
Instead, he simply said, "Come, let’s have dinner. It’s been a while."
Caelis stiffened. freewebnovel.cσ๓
There were three dining rooms in the Serpent King’s residence.
The first was the main dining hall downstairs. It was where Njord, his wives, and children gathered to eat as a family. At least, that was the official purpose. Most meals there felt more like court meetings disguised as family dinners.
The second dining room was located within Njord’s private quarters. It was where he invited his children for what he referred to as quality time. In reality, those dinners often ended with a lesson, a warning, or a reminder of what was expected from them.
The third was the Grand Hall.
The room was so enormous that additional tables could be brought in whenever the Serpent Court hosted guests. Banquets, celebrations, political meetings, all of them took place there.
The point was togetherness, according to Njord. A united court was the strongest weapon against dragon tyranny.
Caelis had already assumed the conversation would take place in his father’s private quarters. Which was why surprise flashed across his face when Njord headed toward the main dining hall instead.
He followed after him.
The room was easily capable of seating dozens of members of the Cobryn family at once. A long mahogany table stretched through the center while chandeliers hung overhead, their reflections dancing across the glossy floor. Tall windows overlooked the estate grounds and thick emerald curtains framed either side of the glass.
Yet despite all the empty seats surrounding the table, there was no one there. Not his father’s wives, his brothers or sisters. It was just him and his father, and that alone was enough to put him on edge.
Njord walked toward his usual position at the head of the table. After taking his place, he gestured toward the chair immediately to his right, the first seat after the head. The position traditionally reserved for the heir.
Caelis sat. Neither of them spoke.
Moments later, servants entered the room in a perfectly ordered line. Their movements were so silent they might as well have been ghosts. With their heads bowed and eyes lowered, they moved around the table, placing dishes one after another.
The smell quickly filled the room. There was roasted venison glazed in herbs, smoked pheasant, and braised wild boar. Various cuts of grilled meat were arranged upon silver platters.
There were vegetables too, though they occupied significantly less space than the meat. Serpents were carnivores after all.
One dish in particular caught his attention.
It contained roasted snake meat prepared in a rich sauce.
A human would probably find the sight disturbing, and Caelis never understood why.
Humans consumed cows, chickens, fish, goats, and countless other animals despite being mammals themselves. Yet somehow they expected beasts to follow a different standard.
The logic made little sense. Those animals were simply animals. They were not beastfolk. A snake and a serpent shifter were not the same thing any more than a wolf and a wolf shifter were. One possessed intelligence, culture, and a beast soul. The other was food.
Simple.
At least to the beasts.
The servants finished arranging the final dishes before retreating from the room as quietly as they had arrived.
Soon only father and son remained.
The dining room suddenly felt far larger than before and significantly more uncomfortable. Caelis was on guard here, careful not to make a single mistake.
Across from him, Njord calmly picked up his knife before Caelis reached for his own fork. It was their custom. No one ate before the Serpent King.
As a basilisk, Caelis had no reason to fear his father, who was merely a cobra shifter. All it would take was one power-filled look and the man would be frozen forever.
But how could he do that to the father who had raised him? The man who had spent years shielding him from dragon plots and assassination attempts?
No. That would make him the worst kind of son.
Sure, Njord could be hard. Sometimes unbearably harsh. But everything the Serpent King did, he did for the future of their people.
Or at least, that was what Caelis believed.
Every lesson, punishment and impossible expectation, were all meant to shape him into a worthy heir. An heir strong enough to lead the Serpent Court — and soon, become Beast King.
Njord and Caelis ate in silence for a while until the Serpent King finally decided it was time to break it.
"I’m sure you’re wondering the reason for this sudden summon."
Caelis lowered his utensil as well. He answered curtly, "I’m sure it’s something important."
Njord said, "If I’m correct, the humans arrived at the academy earlier today, didn’t they?"
"Yes, they did."
Assuming his father wanted to hear more, Caelis added, "I handled them. They’re down to sixteen. For now. It might take a little longer with Maverick Nightshade getting in the way, but I assure you, Father, the humans will be out of our land in no time."
Caelis braced himself for the disappointment. Four survivors was hardly an impressive result. In his father’s eyes, four humans dying during an orchestrated attack was probably closer to failure than success.
Which was why his next words caught him completely off guard.
"Don’t bother the humans for now."
"Excuse me?"
For the first time that evening, Caelis’ mask slipped. His head snapped up so quickly that even he felt it.
"What did you just say?"
But Njord was steady.
"Karen Donovan," he said. "You’ll find she’s among the humans. I want you to keep her safe."
Cold realization washed over Caelis and he sank back into his seat.
"Since when did we start working with humans?" he asked. "What did they promise you?" The accusation in his voice was deep and cutting.
It simply didn’t make sense. All his life, the man had taught him that humans were prey. Creatures to keep beneath their heel. So how could he suddenly go back on his own words?
"If we’re to defeat the dragons, then we need every bit of help we can get," Njord told him.
"And it had to be the humans?" Caelis’ voice went up a notch. "You told me humans were like parasites. Give them an inch and they only spread further. So how could you lower your pride like that and associate with the likes of them?"
Njord suddenly hissed. The sound cracked through the room like a whip, sharp and dangerous.
Under normal circumstances, that would have been enough to end the discussion. Instead, Caelis hissed back.
For a brief moment, his own presence surged forward. The pressure in the room shifted as son and father stared at one another across the table. Then reality caught up to him.
Caelis remembered who he was speaking to. Slowly, he lowered his head. The silence that followed was heavier than the confrontation itself.
Something flashed across Njord’s eyes.
Surprise? Pride? Annoyance? It vanished so quickly Caelis couldn’t be certain he had seen it at all.
But one thing was clear to the Serpent King. As much as he tried to keep the boy in line, Caelis was becoming bolder and there would come a time when lowering his head would no longer be his first instinct.
Holding his gaze, Njord told him, "A good heir knows there are no permanent friends or enemies. Not even when it comes to prey."
Caelis replied with meaning layered beneath his words.
"You know what humans want, Father."
Of course he did. Njord’s slow smirk said it all.
"Then sell them the fantasy," he said.
Caelis’ eyes widened. Of all beasts, the Serpent King couldn’t possibly be suggesting that he...
He swallowed, not daring to finish the thought.
"As weak as they can be, you’d also learn that humans are..." Njord paused, searching for the right word. "Fascinating creatures."
He smiled. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Caelis frowned. Nothing about this made sense.
"Kill as many humans as you want, but Karen must be spared. Perhaps even have a little fun with the girl. That should earn me bonus points with her father." Njord paused. "As long as you remember where your loyalty lies. Humans can be crafty as well. Don’t get carried away."
The warning was clear. Beasts belonged with beasts. Humans belonged with humans.
Yet it still didn’t make sense to the basilisk prince. His head was spinning from all the revelations thrown at him tonight. How could they go from hating the spineless species to selling them a fantasy? It went against everything Caelis had ever been taught.
For once, he thought the Serpent King might be wrong.
"What if I don’t want to?" Caelis challenged.
Someone had to make his father see reason.
Njord didn’t react. There was no anger on his face. No disappointment. No emotion at all.
The Serpent King simply rose from his seat.
Caelis stiffened, though he refused to let it show.
Njord came to stand before him and placed both hands on his shoulders. Then he leaned in and asked, "Have I ever led you astray, Caelis?"
"No," he answered after a moments hesitation.
"Then trust your father on this."
Caelis swallowed.
Njord continued, "I have lived longer than you and know more than you ever will. Everything I do is for you and for the progress of the Serpent Court."
And for yourself, Caelis thought.
He might have been obedient to a fault, but that didn’t mean he was blind to see when he was being used.
Fine. If this was what his father wanted, then he would do it. But on his own terms. When it inevitably failed, the Serpent King would finally see how disastrous this decision truly was.
"I’ll do it, Father," he said.
Njord smiled proudly.
"Good son." He ran a hand through Caelis’ hair.
"Now go see your mother and sister before you return to the academy. I’m sure they’ll be delighted to see you."
And there it was. The reward after the lesson.
