Chapter 86
POV: Queen Tamara Pierce
Being with Hades and knowing about his plans, she already knew how he was affected by everything that was happening. It wouldn’t be easy for him to fight this war with the Darkwoods, especially since they had already caught the traitor. The news about it might have crushed him by now.
No matter how much he tried to act tough and intimidating, she just knew that he was broken inside. She saw how sad his eyes were the moment he arrived with his subordinates.
His eyes were lost and glittering with pain and miserable emotions that were making her feel the same way.
“Hey…” She said in a low voice as she saw Hades going inside their room.
He told her that he would visit Dillion and Shimuel in their rooms.
Hades heaved a deep sigh.
“Hey…” His voice was gruff, and she could sense a tinge of exhaustion in it.
He gave her a soft small smile as he walked towards her and kissed her head.
“Why aren’t you resting yet?” He gently asked as he sat beside her on their bed.
Tamara held his hands as if she was silently telling him that she was just there for him.
“I am waiting for you.” She simply said.
A brief silence suddenly engulfed them giving them ample time to think about random things. But Tamara was worried that Hades was just keeping everything to himself again. She wanted him to share his thoughts the deepest ones. She wanted him to know that she could be the one who he could lean on.
“How’s Shimuel and Dillion?” She simply inquired.
Hades pursed his lips together.
“They were still in critical condition, but Dillion was in a worse condition. Tamika and Kage are trying their best to treat his wounds. Especially that fatal blow that Cessair gave him.” Hades gritted his teeth as he slowly let the air out of his lungs.
“I should be the one hit by that blow. I should be the one lying in that bed now.” He pursed his lips as he was trying to calm his nerves.
Tamara instantly shook her head.
“No, Hades, please don’t say that. I am not thankful that Dillion is lying there instead of you… but please don’t give me a heart attack by saying that you should be the one lying there right now.” Tamara pleaded with her.
Now, she certainly realized that Hades wasn’t that monstrous inside not to his own Kingsman. And this was a real proof that he had also a vulnerable side.
A man with a strong facade but an easily broken on the inside.
He must have been cold, cruel, and ruthless on the outside, but he had valued loyalty, friendship and was gentle in the inside.
She lightly clenched his hand on hers.
“Stop blaming yourself, Hades. I already know how much you care for everyone around you. Well, especially to the people that are serving you. But you must be strong. The enemies are just waiting for you to get weak. Don’t worry, Hades, I am always here with you. Our baby and I will always be there for you, Hades.” She seriously said.
Hades pulled her closer to him and hugged her tight.
“You are truly my strength, Tamara. I love you so much.” He softly whispered.
Tamara’s heart melted with his soulful confession. Hades wasn’t always telling her those words, but she knew that he had always loved her and always cared for her.
“And I love you, too, Hades. Our baby and I will love you for always.” She expressively replied.
Hades slowly broke their embrace as he softly held her cheek. Tamara held his hand that was holding her cheek and closed her eyes.
He leaned towards her as she welcomed his gentle kisses as if he was telling her how much she meant to him.
Tamara passionately responded to his gentle kisses giving her the passion and love that she had for this man.
***
POV: Prince Raven Pierce
“How is he?” He carefully asked Kage as he entered the room where Dillion was.
Shimuel was already fine, but he needed to get some rest for the moment. Their foundation, as well as the loyalty that they thought was there, suddenly collapses in just a snap.
They thought that they were already prepared for everything, and that they had the upper hand. They thought that they had prepared themselves for the traitor.
But he knew how much they had been affected by this. He knew that no matter what, this might lead to their downfall.
“Well, he is already getting better, but I am concerned that the poison is still inside him. We couldn’t distinguish what it was that they were using, so we aren’t that hundred percent sure if we had already cured him.” Kage lowly replied.
Raven heaved a deep sigh as he took a quick glance at Dillion who was sleeping soundly on the bed.
“Who is watching the South in the meantime?” He asked as he sat on the single couch across from where Kage was sitting.
“The masked girl named Shanaia is watching it. Hades had given her the job for the meantime. That girl, Tamika, suggested she do it.” Kage seriously stated.
His forehead suddenly creased.
“The masked girl?” He parroted.
“Yes.” Kage seriously replied.
“Why would he entrust that very crucial task to a woman well, more of, to a person without even a certain identity.” He suddenly blurted out.
Kage grunted in annoyance, too.
“Yeah, I couldn’t believe that, either. But I can say that they have also been very supportive of us. Not to mention, that they are also an eyesore.” Kage blabbered with distaste.
“You seemed not to like Tamika.” He teasingly told him.
Kage was about to reply when they heard Dillion grunt in pain. Raven instantly went into him as he was trying to sit on the bed.
“I’ll just go ahead and call Tamika and report this to Hades.” Kage swiftly said before he went out of the room.
Dillion suddenly coughed, and he covered it with his hands, but it was already covered with blood. Raven instantly gave him a towel to wipe it off.
“What is happening? Are you okay, Dillion? Wait, I’ll call-”
“I’m f-fine, P-Prince R-Raven.” Dillion stuttered as he told him those words while wiping his mouth.
“J-Just… just stay…” He weakly begged.
Dillion seemed like he was truly in pain. His eyes were swollen and the skin around his eyes was already bluish purple. His lips were pale and had small cuts.
“I… I need to tell you s-something.” He excruciatingly told him.
Dillion swallowed hard as he assisted him to sit down.
“I d-did everything b-because my f-family is indebted to L-Lamina’s father. S-She…” He coughed hard again.
“Stop it, Dillion. That will just make you worse. Just rest for the mean time.” He worriedly said.
But Dillion was quite a stubborn man. He instantly shook his head.
“I k-know… I h-have already l-lesser t-time to talk n-now.” He gritted his teeth as he said those words.
Raven knew that he was already dealing with a lot of pain. He coughed once again.
“I… I d-don’t know w-why the K-King is still t-treating me like t-this. I don’t… I d-don’t deserve t-this. And I am s-so guilty of b-betraying him, w-when all h-he did w-was to g-give me a n-new c-chance in l-life.” He agonizingly said.
Raven let out a deep sigh.
“I know that you have your own reasons, Dillion. And I know that my brother already knew about it and that he would understand. Just please stay put and get a lot of rest.” He seriously reminded him.
Dillion coughed for the nth time. There was blood pooling in his mouth and some was already escaping from the corner of his lips.
“B-But I h-have s-something else t-to t-tell y-you.” He gritted his teeth as he watched him so weak and in pain but as tenacious as a mule.
Raven let out a deep sigh.
“Fine, what is it?” He seriously stated as he tried to understand his words in between his struggling words.
***
POV: King Hades Pierce
It was just dawn when he had been woken up by Arlan who had this mellow and melancholic expression the moment he opened the door.
Right there and then, he knew something was up.
“What is it?” He wrestled with the intensifying emotions that he was feeling.
He didn’t want to entertain the gut feeling that was slowly creeping into his entire system.
“Hades, what is it?” Tamara suddenly stood beside him and tangled her arms in his.
King Hades swallowed hard. He was just grateful that Tamara was by his side.
Arlan cleared his throat as he stared at him.
“G-Good morning, Your Grace… I am h-here to…” He suddenly stopped, as if there was a lump in his throat that he was trying hard to swallow.
Tamara’s forehead creased as she shot Arlan a confused glare.
“You’re here because of what?” Tamara instantly turned serious as she took a swift glance at him.
He remained silent.
“My King… and Queen… D-Dillion… He is d-dead.” Arlan revealed the news to them like a bomb suddenly thrown in front of them.
Tamara gasped in shock, but his expression just turned darker and more intimidating.
“Uhm, thank you for the information, Arlan. We will be right there.” Tamara ungently replied as she nodded at Arlan and closed the door.
“Are you okay?” Tamara’s worried voice resonated in his ears.
But his mind was drifting away.
His subordinates have been his family for years. He knew that he could kill them and that he was a heartless King to them, but deep in his heart, he had been treating them as his loyal friends… a family.
And now, one of them had been proven to be guilty of treason. And other than that, he was now dead, without any explanation to speak of.
He felt Tamara’s hands intertwined with his. He stared at her with vulnerability in his eyes.
“I am just here, Hades. You know you can lean on me. You can cry and tell me what you feel. Then, you can be strong again. You must let it out, so you can be braver after.” She softly stated making his heart clench a bit of happiness and gratitude that she was here beside him, especially at certain times like this.
He gritted his teeth as he pulled her to his chest caging her with his tight hug.
Tamara even though she was in a shaken state had equaled the tight embrace that he was giving her. His body was trembling, and she could feel the tension inside him.
“I still couldn’t believe that this happened, wife. I am still hoping that this is just a dream… that this is not happening, and that Dillion can’t do all of those things to me. But…” His shoulders shook as he tried to calm himself.
Dillion had been his advisor, other than Arlan, he was more of a comforting friend to him. He had given his full trust in him. When he was still in his younger years, he became his best friend before he became a King.
He couldn’t accept that he could do this to him.
And the worst thing was, he didn’t even give him a piece of reason as well as even a tinge of explanation for everything that he did.
“Just be strong, Hades. I know that you can surpass this. Just let your emotions out and I believe with this experience, you can be braver this time, Hades.” Tamara gently whispered as she comforted him embracing the wound of his inner being.
Hades closed his eyes as he let out a silent sigh her soothing embrace had been helping him to calm his nerves and that it eased the storm inside him.
With that, he had slowly accepted that bittersweet goodbye to a person who had become his subordinate and more of his friend.