Protect her

Zane walked into the darkened chamber of the second prince. Though the chamber was pitch black, he could make out Prince Lucian's silhouette and hear his low groan of pain. The moment he closed the door behind him, Lucian's voice cut through the silence.

"Have you found any evidence pointing to the Empress?"

Zane shook his head. "No. The men from last night were skilled assassins from an unknown group. It will be hard to track them down."

Though Emperor Alaric had given his sons the full right to fight for power among themselves, he hadn't permitted them to harm one another, nor did he allow any of his wives to try to harm his children behind his back. He might not have cared for them for the right reasons, but he took pride in each one of them for various reasons, especially Lucian, whom he used on the battlefield due to his ruthless killing of enemies.

Lucian knew he could only report this to the Emperor if he had solid evidence to back up his claim that the Empress had attempted to take his life. Otherwise, he would be accused of treason against the Empress and executed immediately, just as she wanted.

The woman was smart enough to get away with killing his mother, and if he wasn't being careful, she might get away with killing him as well. She had her family's backing and many of the officials were her dogs.

When Lucian didn't reply, Zane proceeded to ask, "Will you be able to make it to the royal dinner with the wounds not healing so fast?"

"I will attend," Lucian replied without hesitation.

Not attending would mean giving the Empress the satisfaction that he was an easy prey to get rid of. No matter how much pain he'd have to endure, he wanted to be there and show her he was stronger than she thought.

Zane heard Lucian's groan and wanted to insist that he should skip the dinner tonight, but he'd been with the prince long enough to know he never backed down from his decisions. He had been by his side ever since they were ten and had stuck with him until now and most definitely until forever.

He could give his life for the prince, and the prince knew that.

And so he nodded in support. "Very well."

"How is the training going with our soldiers in my camp?" Lucian asked.

"It's going well. We've gathered more than three hundred now, and once they are ready, you can introduce yourself to them as their commander."

"Good. We still have a long way to go from gathering a thousand. The Emperor's health is deteriorating with each passing year, and the moment he dies, there will be a war for the throne. The first prince and the Empress will most likely target me first to get the throne. Before then, I have to get my allies and soldiers ready."

It was a known fact among almost all the officials and high-ranking nobles that the Emperor was suffering from a rare illness that could take his life at any given time. Lucian wanted to be as prepared as his other brothers if that were to happen, because the brothers were not yet fighting each other because of the Emperor's presence.

After a moment of silence, Lucian asked, "Has she woken up?"

Zane already knew who he meant by "she" and said, "Yes. She hasn't left her room since she's been awake. And just like you've ordered, she was served breakfast."

Lucian didn't reply to that part. He'd gone against his decision to starve her for two days but had given her food before it was completed. When she'd fallen asleep beside him last night, her stomach had been growling so intensely that she'd moaned and chewed her mouth like she was eating in her dreams. She'd snuggled closer to him and murmured words he couldn't understand.

"I want that pizza and two bottles of beer, add a bucket of chicken and fries...it tastes good..." She muttered while chewing her mouth and smiling like a fool in her sleep.

His stupid beast had felt pity for her and held her so tightly Lucian had wished his beast and he were the same. But unfortunately, they were two different beings with different mindsets and thoughts.

"Your wife smells different from how I remember," his beast had said while holding her last night. "She smells delicious, and I want to protect her from now on."

"Shut up and get that woman away from me!" Lucian had warned angrily, but too bad he hadn't been in control.

"She is your wife, idiot. And I can sense something different in her. I don't know about you, but I think I like her."

His beast had manipulated him into giving her food, when in the past the beast was the same creature who'd called him a fool for letting Selene off so easily with her schemes. But now he was trying to protect her from him.

Lucian had shut him up and locked him away in the darkest part of his mind. Even though he could try to transform now and heal his wound quicker, he didn't want to lose control over his thoughts and Selene because of some demon in his mind who had seemed to take a liking towards her next scheme.

As if Zane could read Lucian's thoughts about Selene, he said, "I don't know why, but I have a feeling that something is off with the princess." He touched his face and flinched when his fingers came in contact with the nail scratches. He grimaced at the memory. He had never expected to be attacked by a woman; she had pounced on him like a madwoman, pulling his hair and scratching his face with her long nails.

"I know," Lucian replied with a thoughtful look before he asked, "Do you know what 'motherfucking' means?" Despite himself, that particular word had caught his attention when she said it last night. It had resonated in his mind repeatedly.

Zane was quick to nod his head. "She called me a fucker as well. I heard from her maidservant that it means a warrior. 'Motherfucking' could only mean a mother warrior." He said this so confidently that he was sure it was what it meant.

Because of her, the second prince's soldiers were now calling him "fucker," another word in the form of a warrior. Though he'd glare at them when they called him that, deep down he liked the sound of it. Fucker sounds better than warrior.

Lucian's silhouette moved from his sitting position as he reached out to turn up the lamplight. The dim glow illuminated his form, revealing a muscular torso marred by the angry, red arrow wound and several bruises. Sweat glistened on his skin, evidence of the pain he was enduring.

Lucian turned to Zane and said, "Whatever has changed in the princess isn't good because it only means she's taking another tactic to fool us." He thought it strange that she would call Zane, who she disliked, a warrior after scratching his face with her nails like a witch.

Zane looked up to speak but stopped when he noticed the scratches on Lucian's face that had left a mark when little things like that would have healed. He asked, "How did you get the marks on your face?" Did the princess also scratch the prince? But if the princess had done that, it shouldn't have left a mark because of his healing ability, especially when it was just some scratches.

As if recalling how he'd gotten them, Lucian's amber eyes darkened. He'd gotten them when he'd tried to strangle Selene in the pool, but she had scratched at his face with her nails before punching him so hard he'd thought he'd lost his sight for a moment.

He'd frozen in shock when he noticed the scratches did not heal nor make any attempt at disappearing. Why that happened, he had no answer to, and he also had a bad feeling about it.

"It's nothing," he said, his voice tight with suppressed anger.