The Blood King's Bride
Chapter Sixty

Calhoun felt that something was different as he stepped into the castle. He took a look at

his parents, who smiled proudly at him. His mother was already on the verge of shedding silent tears, and his father was grinning widely. He looked around the castle hall, trying to figure out what made the atmosphere different from when he last left, but he couldn't find anything strange. He walked over to his mother, hugged her, and gave his father a piercing stare. Whatever he saw in his face, his father immediately recognized it as something important. "Welcome back son." He said, his voice booming over the hall. At that, cheers from everywhere, both in the castle and outside, started. He knew why his people cheered, and he understood that they had made a mistake about the situation, a mistake he wasn't yet ready to correct. Firoza was dangerous to everyone, and till he could find a way to protect not only his family and people from her, he would rather keep her close than let her loose. Let her think whatever she wanted. She would be under his hold till he found his bride.

Thinking of Elena brought another pang of pain to his chest. He missed her horribly. When she left, he began to hit himself for allowing her to go. What made it worse was the fear in his heart whenever he thought of her traveling while those white-clothed barbarians lined the street. He couldn't remember how many he had to destroy to ensure that the kingdom was safe for her to travel through. But his actions had consequences. His powers had been very rampant, and he had to wound himself seriously just so he could bleed, causing his abilities to rest, if just for a while. He would do it again if it meant he could protect his love. The pain also had an advantage. Through that, he knew Firoza's true identity and why she had stuck with them. "Where are your guests?" His father asked. Calhoun motioned behind his back to his guards who stood outside. Together, they both escorted Firoza in, and she looked petrified, her gaze wide and taking in all the corners of the castle. She had been strangely quiet all through their journey home, and Calhoun had an idea of what she thought.

"Oh my," the queen gasped. She was looking at Firoza as she entered. The girl had a nervous air around her, but Calhoun saw through it quickly. He knew his mother's misconception about her, but he would correct her in private and not public. He didn't want to alert Firoza. "You are so pretty!" The Royal mother said, walking to Firoza and embracing her.

"Thank you." The said girl answered with a shy smile. Firoza was pretty, Calhoun would not deny, in a fragile kind of way. She looked like she would shatter with just a little push, but Calhoun suspected that it was part of her illusion as well. His Elena was like a very gentle and elegant flower until you got close to her and saw the sharp thorns she was surrounded with. She is a very dangerous beauty, which makes her even more beautiful. She would be his perfect bride, especially when she finally hones her skills to perfection, then she would be his perfect queen.

"Come, welcome to our home. Let me take you to your quarters," the queen's mother

said, leading Firoza away from everyone. His father gave him a scrutinizing glance and frowned

as he looked at Firoza. Just as expected, his father knew that something was amiss.

"Let's go to your study." His father said, then walked away without waiting for his response. Calhoun followed his father through the path the crowd had created for them. His mother walked in their front, incessantly talking to Firoza and gushing over her. Calhoun didn't like it, but he would not correct her misconception now. Something still felt strange about his environment, and he didn't know exactly what it was, but it was tugging on his strings thoughtfully.

The walk to his study didn't take long. After walking through the huge staircase in the middle of the castle hall, he entered the first floor and walked down straight to his study. His father was right behind him, so they reached the study and shut it firmly behind them. "Spill it." His father said, turning immediately to face him as he crossed his hands over his chest.

"Something is wrong. I can see it in your face. What is it?"

"Firstly, Firoza isn't my bride." Calhoun deadpanned. His father frowned tightly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I have found my bride, but she isn't Firoza."

"Where is she then?" The king asked. Calhoun rubbed his chest at the accompanying

burst of pain that seemed to arrive whenever he taught of Elena. How much he missed her. He still remembered their last night spent together. He couldn't wait to see her again. Remembering that he wasn't the only one in the room, he shook his head and looked at his father, who had a wide grin spread across his face.

"You have fallen hard. You are whipped for her. Ha!" He said, laughing loudly as he clapped his hands excitedly.

"I told you this day would come. I told you that you would meet a woman who would

make you crazy. You thought I was joking." His father walked a little towards him and patted him on the shoulder.

"This is just the beginning boy."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Calhoun said, preventing himself from blushing heavily. His father will never let him see the end of that if it happens. He doesn't know why anything about his love makes him weak in the knees. He was the Blood king, for crying out loud!

"But that isn't the only thing you want to tell me, is it?" His father said, changing the

topic. Calhoun could still see the mirth flashing in his eyes, and he knew that their previous discussion was far from over.

"Who is the girl you brought home with then?" His father continued. "If she isn't your bride, why did you bring her back?"

"Her name is Firoza," Calhoun answered.

"Hmm, that's an unusual name."

"Yes," Calhoun replied, nodding his head. "But her name isn't the main problem. She is the female version of me." He told his father, his expression very serious.

"Do you mean..." His father replied, his face slowly frowning. Calhoun gave him a single nod. At that, his father's mood turned terse.

"Tell me everything." He said.

"We found her in the Outlaw city, which has been destroyed with no single life in it. The only people left were her and a man who seemed to be deranged. My guard killed him in an act of defense. He kept mentioning how she was a witch, and how she caused the death of all the

people. Looking at her then, the situation was in her favor." Calhoun walked over to his seat and sat down.

"When we got rid of the man, the first thing I noticed about her was her unusual

birthmark. It was in the shape of a drop of Blood, situated on her neck." At that description, his father's eyes widened.

"You know something," Calhoun stated. "What is it?"

"Continue your story." His father said, his voice suddenly hoarse. "I want to be sure it is what I think it is." He dragged his hands around his face. Calhoun frowned slightly and continued.

"In the night Forest, I fought with a strange being. It was half man, half horse. He was very powerful and had strange powers just like mine. I couldn't fight him normally without sacrificing my people, and so I let a bit of my power flow through my attack. I was able to defeat him in the end. My powers were not calm because I had just taken another's essence, so it was raging all over the place. But Firoza became extremely clingy. She wanted to be close to me at all times, and she seemed to moan whenever she felt even an inch of me. I frowned at it, thinking

it was a weird behavior that she had." Calhoun began to thrum his fingers on his table. "When I met my bride, my power became very stable more than it had been for years. It was like that till she left, and then it came back at full force. Firoza was always following me. She thought I didn't know, but I did. It was like she found my aura.... appetizing. I had suspected her earlier to be someone dangerous, so to confirm my suspicion, I allowed her to go to the market of the town I stayed in. I wanted her to be escorted by my guards, but she disagreed, saying she wanted to go alone. When she left, I sent my guards to spy on her. The action made me know the biggest shock of my life. She needed money, but for what, I didn't know. She saw a rich noble on the road and promised him extreme power. He laughed at first, but through her persuasion, he was able to give in. After paying her a huge amount of money, she brought out a skin of wine and poured it into a cup. Then she sliced her finger, pouring several drops of her Blood into the drink. The noble took it and instantly became powerful. More powerful than an average man."

"Ancestors!" His father gasped, falling heavily on the guest seat directly opposite where Calhoun sat.

"This is horrible! This is very horrible!" Calhoun leaned forward at the reaction his father was showing.

"What is it?" He asked.

"She is a result of the union between the Chosen One and the holy messenger." His father said, dragging his hands across his hair. "There was one who was born during the time of the Great War. She was very powerful, extremely powerful. She was able to control the reasoning of able-bodied men with just the snap of her fingers. Stories also talked about her unique birthmark, the drop of Blood on her neck." Calhoun raised his brows, surprise and shock etched on his face. "She was known as the Blood empress, bringer of death. If this Firoza is who I think it is, another war is about to happen, son, a very powerful war."

"How did you know this?" Calhoun asked, confused. Since he was king, this was his first

time hearing this story.

"I planned to tell you when you took a bride and had a child," he sighed heavily. "I guess

it doesn't make any difference if I tell you now. Our kingdom is special because it was created by three powerful beings. Most kingdoms do not know of this, but we existed even before the time the sixteen tribes were divided. We were a secret tribe, but the day we came to light was the day the three beings who ruled us fought. No one had ever seen their face, but all knew that one was male, one was female, and the last was flowing between the male and female gender. No one knew his true identity. The female was a seer, the male was a master of Blood, and the last, he could replicate the powers of both the male and the female. It may not be the same as the original, but it was just as powerful. They fought and they split. The seer disappeared, only appearing once in a while. The male stayed with us and ruled us, while the epicene was said to have travelled far and had settled in a cave. No one heard from him ever again. Do you see the funny thing? So many people thought we started the war. We did if you look at it another way, but not on the way everyone thinks."

"Do you mean...?" Calhoun said, his eyes widened in understanding. His father nodded his head, confirming his thoughts.

"The epicene was able to control the thoughts of the being who ruled us then, right under his nose. This caused the being to go all out and start an attack on surrounding kingdoms. Tales described him to be maddened, and he was because his mind was not his own. When he came to

his senses, he realized the damage he had caused and was extremely sorrowful. His sister came to visit him and claimed that he was dying.

"Why didn't she do something when he started the war?" Calhoun asked, confused. "Besides, she is a seer. Couldn't she leave a hint?"

"No one knows why she did what she did, but everyone knew, that if any of the beings

were to kill themselves, they all die."

"But you said the blood master was dying," Calhoun stated.

"Yes, but his means of death was not caused directly by his sibling. It was planned by

him, but the result was not his doing."

"Why do you call the epicene a 'he' when you know not his true gender?"

"He goes by any pronoun. He, She, he accepts them all. It makes his identity more mysterious. He also never told anyone what he prefers to go by, and so people just called him as they liked."

"We have gone astray from our main discussion," Calhoun said. "What happened next?" The king sighed heavily again. "The blood master was dying and didn't want to leave his people without any protection. So he blessed his most devout follower with his powers, and only those within his bloodline could awaken it. Maybe it was because he was weak and his reasoning wasn't clear, he couldn't make the powers awaken in a direct bloodline, but within a specific bloodline. So if someone has even a drop of his devout follower's Blood, that person has a chance to be the blood king."

"How does the blood empress come in?" Calhoun asked. His father released a heavy sigh. "That is the worst part of the story because she was the bride of one of our past kings."