Regius (14 page)

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"I will distract the others
so your presence remains unknown for the moment." Datura said, his
red eyes worried as he looked at a broken Galax. "But when I get
back we need to go over everything and see if it wouldn't be wiser
at least to include Ilex and Caltha. Neither you nor I and
especially not Cali, have any experience with a situation quite
like this." The Prince didn't move an inch, his face still pressed
in his hands as he sat on the armchair.

"I will be right back." I
smiled up at Datura from where I was sitting, closing my eyes when
he pressed a kiss against my temple. At least with him and me
sorted, I didn't have to worry about that anymore. "We'll find
her." He promised and I could only nod rather helplessly. Sighing,
I watched him exit the room, waiting for the door to close before
looking back at Galax. When my eyes landed on him, I saw he had
moved, his gaze fixed on me.

"
That
is the nature of your
relationship." There was no negativity to the tone, not even a
large amount of surprise. It was a simple statement.

"I'm a private person." I
figured it best to tell him that right off the bat, avoid having
him pry in my personal business in case he was the kind of person
to do that. "But yes, Datura and I are together." I don't think I'd
ever said it out loud yet, then again, I hadn't really had the
chance to do so. Everything was unfolding so rapidly.

"Solenum told me you are
gay." A small smile appeared on his mouth, this telling me he was
thinking about her. He shook himself out of memory lane though.
"The Keeper and I have known each other for a long time." Standing,
he crossed his arms, wincing as the stab wound most likely bothered
him, but ignored it further as he calmly started pacing through the
room. "We have a strained relationship." He confessed.

Pursing my lips, I leaned
back on the bed. "Yes, I gathered that." Not only was it really
obvious due to Datura's change in behavior around the guy, but I
remembered what Galax had said. "Why would you ask him to kill
you?"

"It was before I met
Solenum. When he and Vervaine became 'issues' since they are so
different from other Altors. Flux was asked to come to the Coliseum
and he brought me and Galaxi with him." He smiled. "They thought
that a change of scenery would help me cheer up. Arriving at the
Coliseum, my father was so busy with business and Galaxi and Ivy
were trying to take Vervaine's mind off of the situation." That was
a subtle hint to the fact that the Elders and other Leaders in Zinc
probably had no idea what to do with a Seer and a Keeper of the
Dead. I wondered how many dark solutions had been come up with
before they decided on the least harmful one.

"Datura and I spent time
together, since I wasn't allowed to go out of the building and
neither was he." He frowned at the memory. "He challenged me to a
battle, and I accepted. I was in the midst of discovering just how
strong I was and so when he pushed too far, I nearly hurt him."
Although I'd once claimed Datura to have pushed me, I'd been wrong,
he hadn't pushed me. Datura never pushes.

"Datura never pushes." I
said aloud, confused.

"That's what he said, that
it was out of character for him but he was just so curious to see
how I would react, that he pushed to find out where my limit
was."

"Because you yourself
didn't know what it was."

Galax nodded. "I'll spare
you the distorted view I have on the Keeper as he is your
boyfriend. But let’s just say that he found my limit and when he
did, it took a lot out of me to stop myself from ridding the Altors
of their Keeper of the Dead."

"Then how did the tables
turn? How did you end up asking him to kill you?"

Galax looked at me
seriously. "Although they had no idea what to do with Datura due to
his foreign powers, they did know he was the Altors salvation after
death. Kill the Keeper and barely any soldier would be able to find
peace." When I frowned and opened my mouth to ask, he continued
elaborating. "When Flux brought me into his family and his
territory, there were many threats on my life. I mean, why wouldn't
there be? The Regius heir was in reach. The King and Queen are
dead; kill the prince and the royal bloodline dies."

"That is how the law was
created." I realized. "Killing the Regius heir is punishable by
death amongst all races."

"But Datura, in the Altors
eyes, is about as valuable as I am." Galax pointed out.

"While that explains why
Datura would make your perfect killer without the law affecting
him." I smiled uncertainly. "Apologies in advance, but why didn't
you just kill yourself? Datura clearly refused." Thank Zinc for
that.

"When I asked him, I knew I
was too cowardly to do it myself." He admitted. "When he denied me
my death, I nearly wanted to. I truly contemplated it."

"What changed your
mind?"

"Vervaine promised me that
I would find my light. She said she saw it and that I would just
have to wait for them to enter my life and from thereon forward,
things would become less painful." He mouthed Solenum's name. "I
was in a dark place, but not yet in too deep to want to deprive
myself of the phenomenon that is the light among the Regius." He
avoided my gaze. "Blue Bloods don't need a trigger for the strength
to kick in, but we do feel a change in our body as we reach
adulthood. When you've been brought up to believe the Regius are
evil, it's harder to accept that change when you are
one."

"You don't have to justify
yourself to me."

"Don't I?"

I shook my head. "I
understand you." This seemed to anger him.

My eyes widened when he
lashed out by kicking the side of the bed, the force of it making
it move and grind over the floor. My hands grasped the blanket and
I pulled my feet up, trying to keep stable so I wouldn't fall off.
Staying frozen like that for a long and silent minute, I detached
my twitching eyes from the wall and pointed my stare at
Galax.

"You realize the bed was
bolted down, right?" He'd ripped it free with a
kick.

"I am a pure blood!" He
roared, marching over to where I sat, his face inches from mine.
"How could you possibly understand me?" His voice had softened when
he realized I hadn't scrambled back in fear at his
reaction.

"Numerous reasons." I said
calmly. "Your strength is something powerful and foreign to even
yourself. You don't know how to control it, and even though you may
have several techniques to smother it for a certain period of time,
you need to repeat that over and over again because it
always,
always
,
resurfaces." He frowned, and his eyes remained fixed on my face as
he slowly moved away and sat down beside me. "While that is
probably more than frustrating, that isn't the real issue though,
is it?" I heard him sigh at my guess. "You are like nobody else in
Zinc, Galax. There is no other person remotely similar to
you."

"If you know that, then how
can you understand it?" He breathed.

I chuckled. "Everyone is
unique. Nobody is alike. Not even Iso and Isa and they are twins."
I shrugged. "But unlike you, most people aren't told the thing that
makes them unique is to be hated."

"Then how is it you
relate?" He sounded curious, the previous rage melting.

"I was punched in the
throat by LV's bully for being gay. I know I don't carry the
responsibility of an heir on my shoulders and I don't claim to
know
exactly
what
it is you're going through." I sighed heavily. "But, I know what
it's like to be hated for who you are."

"But that was
one
punch." He
argued.

"Sometimes one punch is
enough, Galax." I lay back on the bed, hands on my belly as I
stared at the ceiling. "It's up to you to then decide if that one
punch, or the punch that follows, affects you, if it holds the
power to make you agree with the hate that is carried within that
punch." I absently reached out to wipe some dirt off his shirt, the
action making him frown as he saw again that I didn’t cower away
from him. "But if you don't agree, you need to learn that when you
believe something to be important, others around you will perceive
it as such. Make it a big deal, and it will be treated as a big
deal." Lupinus had taught me that. "But if you can see the good of
what makes you different and accept it, it'll become part of you
and it will no longer rule your mind. People won't notice what
isn't pushed in front of their eyes."

"Solenum said something
similar. But I can't change what I look like. The dot on my
forehead isn't something people will ignore even if I
do."

"Maybe the problem is that
you are trying to ignore it. Instead of feeling uncomfortable by
it, own up to it. Just because you're Regius doesn't mean you're
evil."

He offered me an amused
stare. "Yes it does."

"Says who?" I continued
before he could list off the people I assumed he'd list off. "Words
don't mean
anything
if actions prove different. Have you ever been cruel to
someone who didn't deserve it? And don't say me, because you
stopped before you let the cruelty even begin." His lips parted and
he seemed to think it over. "If you have to think about it, it
means you haven't. So stop letting people say you are evil, because
you're not."

I saw a smirk forming on
his lips. "I wonder if it's the Seer in you that makes it
impossible for you and Solenum to be frightened of me."

I snorted, sitting back up
and running a hand through my hair. "Like you, our blood doesn't
dictate our behavior. The only reason we ignore the warnings that
come with meeting a Regius is because Acacia always taught us never
to judge a book by its cover. Take a moment to open it and read
what's inside, you'll find the outside doesn't always
match."

"So, how is it you perceive
me now that you've taken the time to read who I am?" He challenged
and I was glad to see that the previous nerves were now entirely
gone.

"You're not Regius,
Pallium, Altor, Seer or Civilian." I patted his back. "You're just
a good guy, Galax." I laughed then. "Possibly with some anger
issues, but nothing that can't be overcome." When he frowned, I
added. "Does Solenum love you?" He nodded. "Then you are worth
loving."

"Doesn't everyone deserve
to be loved?"

"Everyone deserves
kindness. To be worthy of love, you need to earn a person's trust.
Not everyone can be trusted." I opened my mouth to continue, but a
scream belted free instead when a sword pierced its way through the
wood of the door, remaining nailed there.

Galax hadn't so much as
flinched, and while I was trying to slow down my heart, he
surprised me by pushing me behind him, pulling the saber strapped
to his back free with his uninjured arm.

"You are untrained?" He
asked fast.

"Yes."

"Stay behind me at all
times and don't try to be a hero. I can keep us both safe." He
nodded before I could speak. "Even injured."

"Aram!" I heard Datura
shout and at that same moment, the blade was pulled free from the
door. "There is more than meets the eye. It's not that simple.
Don't do anything rash, please, hear us out."

"I am your Elder and you
will start by addressing me as such. Your generation pisses me the
fuck off, Keeper." The Elder growled before ripping the door open.
"Calycanthus, if you know what is good for you, you will walk out
of this room right now and not involve yourself in business that is
none of your concern." Aram always had a grim air about him, but I
had to be honest and say I much preferred that to his angry look.
When I hesitated, Aram's nostrils flared.

"Go to Datura." Galax
murmured, stepping aside so I could pass. When I hesitated again,
he offered me a small smile. "I'll be alright." Gulping, I nodded
and quickly crossed the room. Datura, much like Galax had, nudged
me behind him, acting as a shield.

"What did you expect?"
Datura asked. "Nobody listens to what he has to say. If you were in
his shoes, wouldn't you take action on your own?"

"That is enough out of
you!" The Elder clipped out. "You have been incisively disobedient
and it is time someone took charge before it grows out of control."
When Galax moved but an inch, Aram's glare returned, forcing the
Prince to halt. "Jansens." Blinking in surprise, I looked out the
door and saw that Caltha, Ilex, Dandelion and Jatrop had returned.
"Escort Esquivel to his quarters."

When I was about to
protest, Datura turned to look at me. "Go with them. I'll see you
in a little bit." A little bit my ass. But the look in his eyes
told me I better do as was asked. Sighing in reluctance, I wormed
my way out from behind Datura and through the door, stepping over
to Dandi and Jaja, who gave me apologetic looks.

"Caltha." The Elder
ordered next. "Detain Datura." Jatrop's arms wrapped around me when
he knew before I did that I was going to fight
that
. "Ilex will help me restrain
the heir."