Chapter 16

Thunders roared as smoke and fog covered the already dark sky. The bright moon glared at the Tempest castle that stood on the highest mountain of Izvor. Ravens and bats flew out of the cave when the mountain shook. Hundreds of decades-old trees from the forest surrounding the mountain swayed like it was going to uproot from the ground.

Penelope Tempest stood abruptly at her throne, hands shaking with rage because of the news everyone seemed to be used to.

"Where the hell is my goddamn daughter this time?!" she growled, throwing the glass of wine at the person in front.

Jikan Kyojin closed his eyes and hissed when the glass hit his face. His face sizzled as the shards slowly dropped on the ground. He grimaced as the wounds started to heal.

For a small and petite mortal, Penelope's strength is something else.

"The heiress is at the front gate, stuck, and wouldn't be able to open it, your highness," Jikan answered in the smallest and softest voice he could possibly mutter.

"Well then, bring her back to me this instance and do not return without her!" She threw her cape at the servant's face, leaving her with only her black fitted dress. She stormed inside the back door and slammed it behind her.

Jikan sighed and rubbed his face. "That hurts," he muttered under his breath.

He fixed his tunic and cloak before turning to his brother. "Kaiyo, do not let anyone enter the front gate without my permission. That is if you want to live to see another day."

"I understand, brother," Kaiyo, the youngest of the titan brothers, answered with a quiet sneer.

When Kaiyo disappeared from his sight, Jikan started walking out of the castle. He felt the heiress's presence at the front gate like what he told the queen, but this time, he knew that this was different. The heiress was planning to do something she shouldn't.

When the queen, Penelope Tempest, announced that Sphere would be inheriting the throne instead of her brother, Cylinder, that woke the rebellious side of the princess. Everyone was aware of how she felt. She didn't want to have anything to do with her family. And this announcement just increased the princess's hatred for everything.

Jikan stopped on his track when he saw his wife, Tsuchi, who seemed to have woken up because of all the ruckus due to the queen's rage.

Instead of asking, she said, "It is the heiress again, isn't it?" Her soft and mellow voice echoed on the empty hallway. Jikan's subordinates backed away a little to give the two their privacy.

Jikan only shrugged like it was an obvious answer. "Go back to your room and let me handle this, Tsuchi." He rubbed his wife's frail shoulder and smiled a bit, hoping that it would somehow make her calm.

"I know that this is different, Jikan," she said, putting her palms on her husband's hands. "She never set foot on the front gate ever because she knows that she can't open it anyway. But this time, she did. And I am worried. The world out there is dangerous for her. It is not the same anymore."

Jikan pulled her close and gave her a hug. "She will be fine. I won't let anything happen to her. That is why we, the titans, are here. To protect the Tempest siblings from anyone, especially the heiress."

Tsuchi sighed and hugged him back. "I know."

They didn't waste any more time and marched towards the room where the front gate was.

The first thing that came into Jikan's eyes was the guards lying on the floor, suspected de.ad with all the blood that stained the marble tiles. The adobe walls crashed, a sign that a fierce ba.ttle, or a mass.acre, happened minutes ago before they arrived.

"Told you to not let anyone enter," he whispered when he felt Kaiyo's presence behind him.

"Too late," Kaiyo whispered back before shrugging.

Jikan's eyes landed on the heiress, sitting on top of corpses piled up. She was playing with a small knife not bigger than her hands. There was no blood on her body and clothes aside from the knife she was holding.

"Took you long enough," she said, not piercing her gaze away from her toy.

"The game is over, Your Highness. You need to go back," Jikan stated with his usual calm and reserved voice.

She stood up and kicked a corpse out of her way. "Open the gate," she demanded.

Jikan scratched the back of his head. "Ah! You know I can't do that. I need to send you back to the queen or she will punish me."

With her brows raised, she sneered, "She won't hurt you. It is always me who gets punished for everything."

"I am tasked to never come back without you, Your Highness. Please don't make this harder for me."

"Do not make me repeat myself, Jikan. You know what I am capable of when my temper gets the best of me. I may only be a mortal while you're not, but these guards must have taught some lessons, ain't that right?"

Jikan looked back at Kaiyo and his subordinates before sighing. "Well," he stated, "I guess I can't help it. I am going with you, Your Highness."

Her eyebrows shot upwards with the unexpected turn of events. "You won't," she said, not really sure of herself.

"Oh, I will. I have one word. If the queen tells me to not come back without you, I won't. She didn't really tell me to get you back A.S.A.P."

She stared at him for a minute and scoffed, "Do what you want. Just open the gate."

"Captain..."

Jikan looked at his vice-captain, Cairo. "It's fine, Vice. No need to worry about me. Without the heiress here in the castle, I know that your workload will lessen. Isn't that exciting?"

No one laughed at his joke. Only Kaiyo was entertained enough to chuckle. "Just give my regards to all those mortals."

"Sure thing, brother. I'm gonna get you a mortal's heart or two when I get back," he said before Kaiyo disappeared in thin air.

"What are we going to tell the queen, Captain?" Cairo asked, still hesitant on sending their captain to the mortal world.

"Hmm..." He rubbed his chin and said, "Tell the queen I joined the heiress on rebelling."

He didn't wait for their reply and walked towards the gate instead. Raising both his hands, it started to glow. A rumbling sound reverberated inside the room when his palms touched the sign that was engraved on the gate.

It was an image of an eagle with its beak and wings wide open. It started moving as the light from Jikan's hands crawled on every marking on the gate. Seconds later, the rumbling stopped, then the ground shook. The gate started opening, splitting in the middle.

Jikan looked at Sphere. "Ladies first?"

The heiress rolled her eyes and jumped on the gate without another word.

Jikan looked at his subordinates for the last time. "Until we meet again." He smiled widely in their direction before jumping at the gate, following the heiress.

Before anyone could say a word, the gate started closing and the engravings went back to their original image.

Cairo ruffled his hair and barked, "Go back to your posts! There's nothing more to see here."

When the others were gone, Cairo cursed under his breath. "What will I tell the queen?" He grunted. "I am so dead."