"I know you would think I— "
"We— " Clavin corrected her grandfather, making her grandfather sigh. Earlier, Clavin refused to leave. She stayed inside the room, standing next to her grandfather.
"We knew you would think we were crazy." Mr. Sangray corrected, his beard moving as if he was scowling from behind the long white hair that covered most of his face. "And we understand. Many said that the Sangray household had become insane and that was why the previous Kings destroyed our house."
"It was far from the truth." Mr. Sangray added. "Go grab that one..." He pointed at one of the books that scattered the floor. In response, his granddaughter, Clayvin immediately retrieve the book and handed it to Ava.
"Those are just one of the books that contain the records of the similarities that we have recorded over the years. All of them were too precise to be considered a coincidence."
Ava opened the heavy book and started reading the beautiful handwriting that reminded her of those old letters that she saw in a museum. Cursive and vintage.
The paper that was used doesn’t actually feel like paper but like a pressed cloth. It was thick and rough. The smell of the old pages welcomed her. Ava couldn’t help but smile inwardly. But the smile vanished as she started reading the contents of the book.
All kings preferred a room without access to the sunrise.
But the thing is, these people didn’t show such hate for the sunrise before they were crowned Kings!
What changed?
And why would they suddenly hate to see the sunrise?
The next pages were stories from servants and even guards who said that the King hated the sunrise so much, that he instructed the maids to only open the curtains at high noon. Some said that they never saw the King walk under the morning sun in the past. While some said that they had heard the King screaming when the sun rises.
The next point that they raised was the fact that the King, despite their dwindling numbers still wanted the next King to kill his brothers and siblings. Survival of the fittest. The previous kings reasoned that this was because they needed to know who is the strongest princes and princesses.
Then they started pointing out some dates when the King would always stay inside his quarters and refuse to go out. Apparently, this would happen every three years. April the second.
After this, the King would go outside of the sun for a few hours before having a banquet.
This has been happening for years and the King would always find a random reason for this absence. For instance, he would claim that he isn’t feeling very well or that a pet cat died. Of course, no one dared to ask him about it.
"This is— "
"I know it sounded too lame but these are the precise things that the King does every day. These are King who had lived for two hundred years. How could they just mistakenly mimic their predecessor’s hobby, actions, and even the way they walk and move their hands? Though... there are some differences in their speeches or the way they use words. But there are still instances when the King would use terms that had long perished, long forgotten by people his age."
Ava nodded. Indeed, the coincidence is just too much.
"So..."
"So if you wanted to cause chaos inside this Kingdom, you should start by finding out if these documents were true. Look at the King, the ruler and the man who is considered the most powerful Lycan. You have to look at the secrets of the King."
When Ava said nothing, the old man continued.
"You should start asking yourself why the King cared more about Matthew and the one with the strongest blood than the witches who had been working with other noble families. Or the fact that his relationship with Drigo and his wife, Queen Luna drastically changed after he discovered that Drigo is weaker than Matthew."
"Did Matthew know about this?"
"Not entirely. But he knew that Babaylan had been trying to investigate the King."
When Ava said nothing, Clavin added, "My grandfather and I— we were hiding in the Mourning Pits. The place was crawling with people who received essences from demons. It was a deadly place for Lycans. But the King sent his men to try and kill us. Why would he do that if he knew that we were lying? He wanted to get his hands on these documents but Babaylan was wise enough to hide them inside her library. These were only copies of it."
Ava couldn’t put her thoughts into words. All she knew was that she had heard the King talk about a vessel.
This has just become more complicated.
"The reason why Baba is hiding isn’t just because of Matthew, right?" she asked.
"Yes. We believe that the King must have discovered her involvement with us. The protection that Babaylan offered can be considered as treason."
"Except, Baba swore her allegiance to Matthew’s mother. Not the King. How can that be treason?"
"In this part of the world, saying no to the King is considered treason. And treason has very deadly consequences for witches."
Ava nodded. "I have more questions."
"Sadly, you cannot stay for too long and we won’t be here tomorrow. We constantly move for our safety."
"Then I want to set another meeting."
The man nodded but said nothing. Then he looked at his granddaughter.
"We will reach out once we are safe. For now, you have to leave. The witches... might be on to you."
"What does that— " Before Ava could say another word, she felt an invisible pressure push her out of the room.
The next thing she knew, she was already back in the alley and the house was nowhere to be seen.
Damnit! She thought inwardly. She immediately started walking back to the palace and into her room. But before she could enter her room, she paused, her expression turning ugly.
She could hear them.
She could hear whispers...
The witches are trying to cast magick towards the sleeping ’Ava’ inside the room!
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