Chapter 2

Royal guards escorted the scouts onto the castle grounds and the Captain of the Royal Guard took mental notes. They told him what they'd seen. He took it into account and shooed the scouts out.

"Does the king wish us to fight?" a scout continued the conversation as they were being led out.

"It would be ill-advised," the Captain told them, heading out of the room as fast as his feet would move. He went upstairs to one of the top floors. The elf scouts weren't sure what to do and ended up leaving after a few moments of standing around.

King Valka had been winding down for the night, reading a book on the couch in front of the fireplace in his bedchamber when the Captain of the Guard threw the door open before Valka could even react.

Valka jumped up from his seat, "You have the most annoying habit of never knocking." The nightgown he wore only went down to the middle of his shins. His floor length black hair swayed behind him in sync of his movements. He was ridiculously tall for an elf.

"Yeah, well, this is more important than some polite protocol," The Captain of the Guard testified with an eye roll. "It's life or death."

"What is it, Sellion?" Valka inquired.

"Assassins."

"So? We've dealt with many assassins in our time." Valka saw the worried look in Sellion's eyes.

"It's different when there's an entire army on our doorstep!" Sellion threw his hand out to make an implied gesture, Valka sighed afterwards. "And you'll never guess who was spotted at the front."

"Moria."

"And Taergyn."

"What do you propose we do?" Valka was shocked, unsure of what he wanted to do. "I can wait for her to come and stab me in the comfort of my bedroom or I can go to her and leave my children out of this whole ordeal."

"Have you been...waiting for this day, Valka?!" Sellion screamed. Annoyance flickered in the light behind Sellion's violet eyes. Valka had never told him that he was waiting for the day Moria came to kill him. He knew how Moria was. The divorce probably wasn't enough to settle this. She wanted his blood.

"Yes," Valka attempted to avoid eye contact, "I knew it was coming."

Sellion grabbed Valka's chin, yanking his head back towards him. He could easily have broken Valka's jaw with his iron grip. Sellion's eyes burned and he opened his mouth to say something—more like yell, but nothing came out. The notes of his vocal cords fell flat like an untuned musical instrument.

"I am sorry," Valka whispered as tears welled in his eyes, "I should have told you, but I know how you are." If he'd told him about this inevitable battle, Sellion wouldn't rest until it came. He would be at Valka's side, protecting him no matter the cost.

Sellion dropped his arm, letting go of Valka. Screaming wouldn't solve anything now. Moria and Taergyn were here and they'd brought an army. Sellion changed the direction of the conversation, putting his anger with Valka to the side for the sake of saving his life. He'd have time to yell later.

"Let us gather the Arünian forces as quickly as possible but there may not even be time for that," Sellion muttered, arms crossed in a thinking position.

Valka put his book down and stood up, "There is only one option."

"You're not facing them; not facing her!" Sellion yelled at Valka, taking one step backwards. He thanked the gods that the walls of the Castle of Glass were soundproof. "I-I won't let you!"

"It's not your decision to make and my mind is made up. Okay, brother?" He put his hands on Sellion's shoulders and Valka smiled at him, eyes welling with tears.

"But...Valka...you won't survive." Sellion was ready to cry, as well. He didn't want to. He never cried. It had been as if he was born not crying so he didn't know how.

"Perhaps, I will live another day or perhaps it's time for me to pay for the mistakes I've made in life," Valka whispered to Sellion. His eyes wandered to the side of the floor at a stack of books he had yet to read. "I'm not a fool, brother. I know it's coming."

"It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault. Oh Gods, Valka, it wasn't your fault!" Sellion repeated his sentence, slowly getting louder. Valka put his hand on Sellion's cheek. Sellion was full-on shaking and sobbing now. His repetition came to a halt and was replaced with a question. "Could...I go...with you...then?"

"No. This is a journey I have to take alone. But I promise everything will be alright. And besides, if I die tonight, Sellion, my son, Laverne, will need you here." Valka's grip on Sellion's shoulders tightened. "He will need somebody to trust, somebody to befriend him in his darkest hour. When I'm gone, Laverne will be carrying the weight of Arün, Elven Guard and possibly the world on his shoulders." Sellion nodded slightly. Valka released his hold on his brother and his arms fell to his sides, "Speaking of which, you need to tell them."

"I don't...want to. It's been over a hundred years...now, it'd just be awkward," Sellion dodged Valka's gaze.

"Promise me you will, even if it takes you five hundred more years, brother."

"You keep calling me that..."

"Sellion, no...Cedric...we may be half-brothers by blood but I've never considered you anything less than a full-blooded brother to me. Brother, promise me you will protect my children."

Valka was unsure how to feel. Depressed that it might be his last day on Oriande? Happy that his eldest son will finally get to do what he was meant for? Guilt for something that happened years ago? His emotions were mixed up like a chef salad. One thing was certain to Valka, he still had hope. He didn't like having the ambition to hold his ground when the army on Arün's doorstep wanted to bury him beneath it.

Sellion agreed, surprised to hear Valka use his old name, "I promise. To both of your wishes." He'd hope a proper time comes for him to actually tell them instead of him dropping a bomb on them.

"Speaking of protecting my children, I need you to do something for me."

"I'd go to the end of Oriande for you, Valka."