I'll Be The Bait

[THIRD-PARTY POV]

While everyone in the room was focused on the matter at hand, the young warrior, Delbert, was focused elsewhere. Sure, this was a meeting that needed more attention, but there was nothing that pulled him in, more than the man that the Greroth high-priestess, Criselda, had walked in with.

Gideon.

He was a handsome man who was also well-built. He hadn't spoken a word since he walked in the room and commanded more power than all the leaders here combined. He had instead stood there, quiet, like he was a muse.

He seemed to be in his own world, and being here in this room, didn't bother him as much.

There seemed to be something more important to him. Something that owned his attention than the older leaders in this room, who thought that anyone under thirty years was a child or as they very well-preferred, a kid.

However that wasn't an issue, and clearly, it wasn't going to be something that interrupted the room, but Gideon, he looked like he wanted to squish someone in this room. He wanted to make the person feel a kind of pain that only he could let on.

His aura was dark and his energy so foreign, and maybe that was also why Delbert was pulled into him.

Delbert was openly staring at Gideon. He wanted to know how a handsome man like Gideon had been calmly standing there, not even aware of how much impact he was having on almost everyone.

Delbert had taken a liking to Gideon, and while that didn't mean anything to the threats they were facing, the warrior hoped that he would get to talk to Gideon. Or maybe he would ask Grant about it.

Whatever it was about Gideon that pulled Delbert, it had to be strong enough, because when Gideon raised his eyes from looking at Cassius and looked at Delbert, he couldn't help but smirk. Someone had been caught staring.

Staring was rude, but their eyes holding on to each other stares like that, it was something out of this world, and only they could feel it.

"If the beast is a man, then we need to set up a trap for him," Zelina said irritatedly. As much as she hated what the beast was doing, she couldn't help but wonder if the men in this room had gone bonkers.

The solution was to warn the warriors not to mess with kids, but the warriors were hard-headed. She somehow knew that they would be coming back to this stupid meeting to talk about things that could have been fixed.

"I agree, but what do we use as a trap?"King Eddison asked like he was new to the whole dynamics of the beast and his obsession with the midlands.

Gideon let out a harsh scoff at King Eddy's question, and that got the attention of everyone in the room. He was openly disrespecting the king of another land. Criselda just smirked at them, waiting to see how this would play out.

She was aware of the control issues King Eddy had and there was no doubt that he would try to say something about Gideon's reaction.

"Why the fuck did you scoff at my statement?" King Eddy said, as he got up from his seat on the table and walked towards Criselda's protege. HE had expected Gideon to run away and hide, or better yet, look at Criselda for help.

Instead, Gideon walked towards the king, as if bringing himself closer to King Eddy.

The young man didn't even look scared of the king. It was almost like he was sure this man right here, couldn't do shit to him. There was nothing about King Eddy that made Gideon want to run away. It was almost like they were rivals in another life, but were they?

King Eddy paused in shock. Usually, people ran away from him and his anger, but this was the first kid to walk towards him. Whatever this child was on, he needed it too. Maybe it could help him with the nightmares he had been having over the years.

"Why, your highness?" Gideon said, his eyes full of anger, almost like he and this king shared a past. However just as the anger shown in Gideon's eyes, so did it disappear.

"I just saw a lizard on your robe, or is it a pet of yours?" Gideon asked at the same time that Criselda cast a spell that showed everyone the lizard on King Eddy's robe. It was a close save, but then it was undeniable.

King Eddy looked at Gideon in wonder, staring at the kid who seemed to notice something that none of them had noticed. maybe he was smart but for the first time, King Eddy was unsure of whether to jump in fear of the damn lizard or be wary of Criselda's protege.

There was something about Gideon and he had noticed it too, just like Delbert. Only that Gideon spread fear in the king's body, while for Delbert, it was waves of pleasure. Whoever this kid was, he was special.

"Let me get it for you, your highness," Gideon said as he got the lizard off and took it outside. He was followed by Delbert whose interests had been sparked. Grant, on the other hand, was grateful that the two of them were out of the room, because this could be a tense conversation.

"Sorry about that, King Eddy. Shall we continue please, nightfall is almost and we need to be ready before the beast strikes again" Criselda said and the king smiled at her? Cassius was just enjoying this conversation. He admired Gideon's bravery, as did every leader in the room.

"I think the easiest thing to do is to use a kid to draw him out," Ulrike said and they all looked at him, but he only shrugged at them before adding, "it is the only way. He hears the cries of a kid more than he cares about anything. He will certainly show up.

"And clearly, he has a history with children. something that made him into the man that wanted to protect children. We have to figure that out and see if this makes sense. Only then will we know what to do," Ulrike insisted.

"I no longer have men to waste. Someone needs to do it," King Cassius said and everyone in the room just stared everywhere but at him. Of course, Cassius had expected this. They had kingdoms to run and sacrificing themselves hadn't exactly been part of the whole memo.

"I will" Zelina volunteered, making them stare at her like she had grown extra heads.

Everyone who knew the woman knew how much she hated to be disturbed, and now she was jumping into the fire? This wasn't the kind of crazy they had expected, but it was certainly the type of crazy they could work with.

"Okay, it's settled then," King Cassius said.

"No, I will go. I am a hound, and even if he rips me apart, my body will regenerate the tissues faster than any of you will even take to realize that you are hurt" Ulrike argued and Grant watched the hound carefully.

Sacrificing himself to the worst of creatures in the name of regenerating tissues? was Ulrike not scared of the hound? Or was there something more?

"You think I can't do it?" Zelina asked, a permanent smirk on her face like she couldn't believe the audacity this man had.

"This is not about power, Navali. This is about the best option, and frankly, I'm the best option. Let's just go with the flow, yeah?" Ulrike said as the room broke out into murmurs.