Chapter 84
POV: Arlan
“I can’t believe that someone was spying on us and on the King, for goodness’ sake!” He blurted it out as he slightly shook his head.
They were in the kitchen and eating their snacks. Shimuel and Dillion remained silent as he continued babbling about what the King had announced a while ago.
“Whoever that was, I just hope that he had a good reason for doing this to the King.” Arlan continued turning serious this time.
He was munching his bread when he realized the silence between the two third-in-command.
“What is happening to the both of you?” He curiously inquired all of a sudden.
Shimuel heaved a deep sigh before he stood up.
“I just need some fresh air.” He plainly stated, before leaving the kitchen without bidding his goodbye.
Arlan’s brows furrowed as he followed Shimuel with his eyes still puzzled as to why he suddenly turned that way.
“What happened to him?” He curiously inquired before looking at Dillion.
Dillion let out a deep sigh and shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t know. He seemed to be easily irritated these past few days.” Dillion plainly commented and just sipped his coffee.
“So, how is Prince Raven? Is he okay now?” Dillion suddenly inquired.
Arlan grunted as he leaned on his wooden chair and folded his arms.
“He’s okay now. I even saw him running around the garden a while ago. Luckily, the poison in his wound was treated instantly.” He simply replied.
Arlan heaved a deep sigh.
“Everything is just too chaotic now. I couldn’t even sleep soundly anymore.” He added.
“But I am just curious about something. How about-”
“We are being called by the King in the Throne Room.” Shimuel suddenly cut Dillion’s words, and they instantly finished their food and went into the Throne Room.
***
POV: King Hades Pierce
“Where’s Raven?” His cold and intimidating voice resonated in the four corners of the room.
“You seemed like you missed me that much, brother.” Raven playfully said as he opened the door of the Throne Room and walked inside.
His brow shot upwards as he shot him a deadly glare.
“Anyway, I asked all of you here because I need you to come with me right now.” He seriously stated.
“With all due respect, Your Majesty, but where are we going?” Arlan inquisitively told him.
“We are going to the South. I need to talk to someone. You all need to come with me. This is something important.” He dangerously said as he tried to hide a perilous smirk in his face.
“Right now, Your Majesty?” Arlan curiously asked.
He simply nodded his head as he stood up from his golden throne his face was undeniably dark and hostile, making everyone in the room, except Raven, shake in fear.
“Yes, right now.” He plainly replied as he walked towards the door, and Raven followed suit, as did the rest of his subordinates.
Before they could even get out of the huge gate of the castle, he had faced all of them with his unreadable expression.
“Shimuel and Dillion, you are both assigned near the eastern part. I want you to spy on how many rogues are guarding the laboratory. Arlan and Raven will go to where the rogue army is located. And I will be needing to go on the boundary on the western part of the South Side to make sure that everything is under control here.” He explained as he tried to make it briefly to everyone.
“Questions?” Hades seriously inquired using his stoic expression.
Dillion just shook his head while Shimuel remained silent.
“All is clear, Your Majesty. But you must not go by yourself. It is not safe, particularly at this time.” Arlan worriedly responded.
“Don’t worry about me, Arlan. I will live. Now, no more questions, and get ready.” He plainly said before he finally motioned his hand for them to move to their designated area.
Shimuel and Dillion instantly shifted into their wolf form as they ran towards the eastern part of the South Side.
Before he took a step, he took a swift glance at Raven and nodded his head.
He heaved a deep sigh as he ran into the woods with Arlan, who had shifted into his wolf form.
Now, he also needed to make his move.
***
POV: Shimuel
They came to an abrupt stop as they saw five rogues, guarding a wooden gate that only reached their chest a few meters from them and a few more kilometers from the laboratory.
Their enemies might have really thought this all out already.
He started moving away from the area without informing Dillion of his own actions.
The moment that they were already far enough from the rogues, Dillion instantly blocked his way growling furiously at him.
Shimuel simply shifted into his human form ignoring his own nakedness. His face was stoic and menacing while his eyes were directly glaring at him.
The moment Dillion saw him turn back into his humane form, he also shifted back to his own.
“What the hell are you doing, Shimuel? And where the heck are you going?” Dillion seriously asked him.
But he simply smirked mockingly at him.
“We should be spying on the enemies, Shimuel. What is wrong with you?” His forehead furrowed as he saw his annoyance resurfacing now.
Be Shimuel just let out a sarcastic chuckle.
“Oh, like what have you been doing all this time?” He said those words in between his gritting teeth.
He couldn’t stop his own rage anymore. He was just full of it. Dillion, on the other hand, turned pale and shocked. But he simply let out a small smile although he could already see his anxiety because of his abrupt questions.
“W-What the heck are you trying to say, Shimuel? Whatever you are trying to pull, it is not funny anymore.” He annoyedly retorted back at him.
Shimuel clenched his jaw. He couldn’t believe that he was still trying to hide everything from him.
“Everything that you did isn’t that funny, either Dillion. You can drop your mask now, and just tell me everything.” He angrily spat as he let out a low frantic sneer.
Dillion let out a deep sigh.
“I couldn’t believe that you resort to this kind of thing, Dillion.” He disappointedly told him.
But Dillion just let out a small chuckle.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Shimuel. Now, I’m up to whatever you want to do. Are we going to go back to in the castle now? Come on, let’s just go.” Dillion calmly replied.
‘Dillion is really hard to crack.’ Shimuel mentally thought.
“Just stop pretending, Dillion. I’m going to tell the King everything right now. I thought you would stop because of what I told you about giving out whole loyalty to the King because we are his subordinates. But I am wrong.” Shimuel sadly told him.
He felt the melancholic feeling inside him once again.
Dillion was a friend to him, a brother, and a colleague. So, it was just so hard for him to do this, but he had his choice, and that was to abandon them and choose the enemy instead.
He felt his heart clench inside him, as Dillion suddenly let out a small chuckle.
“I can’t believe you can actually see through me, huh? Now, let me ask you, how did you find out?” He finally confessed.
He was already aware of it even anticipating it. But at the back of his mind, he was still hoping that this wasn’t the case. That Dillion couldn’t possibly betray them.
“I’ve seen an unknown bottle in your dresser. I’ve seen you get out of the castle during those late nights. But I didn’t intend to see you as a traitor, but when the King finally announced about the mole?” Shimuel slightly shook his head and let out a sad smile on his face.
“I couldn’t believe you could possibly be that one.” He disappointedly added.
Dillion bit his lower lip before he let out a deep sigh.
“Fine, you win, Shimuel. But unfortunately, that only meant one thing and that is to keep your mouth shut, forever.” Dillion suddenly turned cold and intimidating all of a sudden.
He felt his aura darken as he suddenly trembled in shock.
“Why are you doing this, Dillion? Why do you have to do this to us? To the King at most?” He swallowed hard as he clenched his jaw to calm his raging nerves as well as his broken heart.
Dillion looked away.
“I will just leave it like that, Shimuel. You don’t have to know.” He coldly stated.
“Stop your craziness, Dillion. If you kill me here, the King will instantly know that you’re a spying traitor.” He tried to lure him out, but he just let out a low chuckle.
“Then, I will just tell them that you tried to attack me and that you are the traitor. Well, hitting two birds with one stone, huh?” He icily said with no emotions laced in his voice.
Before he could even say a word, Dillion instantly shifted into a wolf form and swiftly attacked him. A long scratched on his arm instantly throbbed as he grunted in pain.
He swallowed hard as he was trying to contain himself. He was his friend, but he was a Kingsman. He vowed to give his life only for the King.
Even though, he was still mourning for his friend, his brother Dillion he couldn’t deny that he was also the foe now.
Because of his deep thoughts, he hadn’t avoided his attacks causing him to get a huge deep cut on his chest.
His blood instantly dripped into his chest as he felt his heavy breathing. His inner wolf growled as he shifted into his wolf form and fight claw with claw with his own friend.
He was trying his best to maintain his speed, but he couldn’t move as fast as he had. Maybe because he was already wounded or because…
Shimuel let out a loud and painful growl as he was slammed into the dirty mud. His body was aching, and so were his wounds. He looked at it and he couldn’t believe that his wounds were already turning bluish purple.
Dillion shifted into his humane form flawlessly as he looked sadly at him.
“Don’t try to move, Shimuel the poison will immediately creep into your veins.” He seriously stated before turning his back on him and letting out a deep sigh.
His eyes were turning blurry now.
“In some cases, I just hope that you will never find this out… but unfortunately, you were the first to discover it. I apologize for everything, Shimuel. I apologize that I have to do this to you.” He could sense the sadness in his voice, but he couldn’t decipher whether he was really feeling that way or not.
“And I beg to disagree with you, because you are finally caught, traitor.” A cold and dark voice resonated in the midst of the woods enough for the both of them to hear.
And he didn’t know whether he could breathe easily now that he saw the King leaning in the huge tree his face couldn’t be read but his aura was reflecting how livid he was right now.
And before Dillion could even react, Prince Raven and Arlan finally revealed themselves from the trees’ shadows.