17 Battle for the Throne
“Don’t you shapeshift so you can travel faster?” Xenia mumbled, not bothering to argue about having her own horse. She could already tell that she would only be wasting her voice over it.
“We do, but only when we smell danger coming,” The King replied before he whipped the reins of his horse and increased his pace to get ahead of the others.
Xenia felt weird for some reason. It was her first time riding a horse with a man almost hugging her back, and she felt that there was something unexplainable about it. She could feel his warmth due to their close proximity.
She looked at the sky and wondered, ‘Why does it feel hot when the sun is not even that bright?’
“What is it?” The King whispered in her ear.
Xenia’s heart leaped as all the hairs on the back of her neck stood on their ends. His hot breath on her ear made her stomach twist. Did she not eat enough that her stomach was acting weirdly? Or was it because she ate something spoiled?
She frowned, feeling annoyed about the mixed feelings that she was having because of this King. Abruptly, she turned around, her eyes widening in shock when her lips touched the corner of his mouth.
She quickly turned her head back as she stammered, “W-what’s wrong with you? Why is your head so close to mine?!”
Xenia was going crazy on the inside because of what happened, not to mention how The King did not even bother to say a word. She was stunned at how their lips accidentally touched!
But then if The King could act nonchalant about it so she should do the same. She ended up biting her lower lip as she controlled herself to utter any more words that could make the situation more embarrassing!
It was unbelievable though, how distracted she was when she was supposed to be focusing on how to switch places with her sister Mineah.
She had pondered about it enough, she thought. She had decided that she had to save her sister no matter what. Thinking about the logistics of it all, she knew she still had enough time to swap with her sister and marry the Vampire King instead.
A few moments later, it was Xenia who could no longer take the awkward atmosphere that she suddenly asked, “Your Majesty, is Lord Gilas part of the Moonlight Knights?” trying to ease the tension that she was feeling.
“No, he’s not. He’s my Great Constable. Why? You sound interested in him.”
“It’s just that I’ve heard a lot about him during my stay in Ebodia,” Xenia quickly explained.
“You’re from Ebodia?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Xenia genuinely replied.
“Well, Gilas’s mother was from the Kingdom of Ebodia, so I suppose that it is inevitable. I’m sure that they praise him a lot over there,” The King wryly commented.
Xenia unconsciously chuckled, “Yeah, they do. They are proud of him, especially since he was the last man to stand against you and fight for the throne a decade ago. They almost thought that the Silver Crescent Pack would finally get a hold of the throne of the Kingdom of Cordon when he did that.”
“Is that so? I hate to disappoint, but it turned out that I am better than him,” The King arrogantly stated, almost making Xenia choke on her own saliva.
That was such a stupid thing to say! She wanted to bang her head for being inconsiderate after realizing what she had just stated. “I am sorry for being so insensitive, Your Majesty,” she tersely apologized.
“It’s fine. You’re simply relaying what you heard. But what about you, Xen? Do you also think Gilas is better than me?” The King curiously asked.
Xenia got flustered when she heard his question. Honestly, there were a lot of negative opinions about The Werewolf King in their Kingdom, which was also why her father chose to marry her off to the Valcrez King instead of him.
Her father had considered marrying her to the Cordon King if he were to be Gilas. But unfortunately, Gilas lost the fight in the Battle for the Throne ten years ago, making Darius the King.
The Cordon Kingdom would only conduct the said Battle for the Throne after the current King was dethroned, gravely ill to rule, or had passed away.
Throughout the realms, King of Cordon had a reputation of being a heartless ruler who mostly disobeyed the Elders and did whatever he thought was right and best regardless of the advice given to him. To put it simply, he was someone who was reckless and willful without any fear of consequence.
“Hmm… Honestly, I don’t know how to answer your question since I don’t know you that well, Your Majesty. I don’t judge people without getting to know them so…” Xenia trailed off, making The King smile without her knowing.
“Well, you have plenty of time to get to know me, especially now that you are my personal servant and warrior. Let me know what you think of me afterwards,” The King nodded, sounding to be in a good mood.
*****
As time ticked on, the journey seemed to stretch on too long for Xenia, so she couldn’t help but mumble, “Your Highness, I can’t wait to reach Ebodia and walk around the kingdom before the wedding ceremony. Do you think that it’s possible for us to travel a bit faster?”
“That can only happen if I shapeshift into a wolf. Do you think you can manage to mount me without falling? All you need to do is to hug and hold onto me tightly, making sure not to let go,” The King submissively said.
“Ah, don’t worry, Your Majesty. That’s a very easy task for me,” Xenia excitedly replied. “I am honored to see your wolf form and share a ride with you!”
“Alright then. We shall do that henceforth,” The King declared as he stopped his horse.
Watching him come down from his horse, Gideon told her to turn her head away from the king so she did.
“You can now look, Xen,” Gideon informed her, so she turned her head back to look in the king’s direction. Her eyes widened upon seeing The King transformed into a wolf.