*....*....*…*
As the palace guards surrounded the perimeter, the "Southern Gale" was abruptly silenced by the overwhelming weight of Northern justice. King Everest Valerius was forced to his knees by Arion's personal guard, his golden cloak trailing in the dirt,a stark symbol of his fallen pride. But the political fallout was secondary to the fragile lives scattered across the stone exit.
However The nursery wing had been turned into a high security infirmary. The air was a thick, suffocating blend of medicinal alcohol, the sharp tang of cooling mana, and the dangerously sweet, overwhelming scent of Lorcan's peaked heat.
In the center of the room, behind a heavy silken curtain, Aiden sat on the edge of a massive bed. He hadn't put on a shirt, he didn't want to. The skin to skin contact was the only thing keeping Lorcan from spiraling into a heat induced seizure.
Lorcan was a shadow of himself. His body felt unnervingly soft, his skin slicked with a viscous, honey scented sweat that made him slide against the sheets. He was breathing in weak, thready gasps, his consciousness flickering like a dying candle. Every few minutes, he would let out a small, whimpering sound, his fingers feebly clutching at Aiden's bare arms.
"I'm here, Lorc. Just breathe," Aiden whispered. He was focused entirely on regulating his own Alpha pheromones, pushing out a steady, grounding wave of mountain pine to anchor the drifting Omega.
Outside the curtain, the atmosphere was even more grim.
Calix lay on a separate cot, her,now firmly her due to the trauma,ankle wrapped in thick, herb soaked bandages. The physician had confirmed the worst,a clean break of the bone and a severe mana burn from the forced shift during the flight.
She wasn't crying. That was what scared Arion the most. Calix sat perfectly still, her amber eyes wide and glazed, staring at the wall. She looked small, pale, and utterly broken.
Kenzo refused to leave her side. He sat on the floor, his hand gripped tightly around Calix's uninjured foot, his small Alpha aura flaring like a protective bonfire. He glared at anyone who came near,even the nurses. To Kenzo, the world had betrayed his twin, and he was the only one left to hold the line.
"Calix," Arion murmured, kneeling by the cot. He reached out to touch her hair, but Calix flinched so violently she nearly fell off the bed.
Arion's heart shattered. The progress they had made,the quiet drawing, the soft smiles,had been erased in a single night of Southern cruelty. Calix retreated further into the shadows of her own mind, her voice once again locked behind a wall of silence.
While the children suffered, Kyon was dealing with the monster.
King Everest sat in a damp, cold cell beneath the palace. He was still wearing his silk robes, but they were torn and stained with the dirt of his failed force extraction.
Kyon stood outside the bars, his eyes as cold and unforgiving as a winter sea. He didn't use the Jade Heart, but his natural presence was enough to make the air in the dungeon feel thin.
"You broke my son's ankle, Everest," Kyon said, his voice a low, vibrating hum of lethal intent. "You attempted to drug a Prince of the South on Northern soil. And you treated a child in heat like a piece of luggage."
"He is my son!" Everest spat, though his voice lacked its usual booming power. "I have the right to secure my lineage!"
"You have no rights here," Kyon countered. "Arion wanted to execute you on the spot. I convinced him otherwise—not out of mercy, but because a dead King is a martyr. A prisoner, however, is a bargaining chip."
Kyon leaned closer to the bars. "The Southern Isles will cede the spice routes. They will pay a life debt to Calix. And you will sign a decree of abdication, naming Lorcan as the sovereign Prince, under the guardianship of the Northern Crown."
"Never," Everest hissed.
"Then you will stay in this cell until the damp rots the rings off your fingers," Kyon replied, turning his back. "And I will personally ensure Lorcan forgets you ever existed."
The morning realization (The Shift)<3
Back in the nursery, the sun began to dip, casting long, orange bars of light across Aiden and Lorcan.
The worst of the heat had passed, calmed by Aiden's proximity. Lorcan's breathing had finally deepened, and the "slimy" texture of his skin had faded into a soft, warm glow. He opened his eyes, finding himself tucked firmly against Aiden's chest.
"Aiden?" Lorcan whispered, his voice hoarse from screaming.
Aiden looked down, a soft, relieved smile breaking across his face. "Hey. You're back."
Lorcan looked at Aiden,really looked at him. He saw the scratches on Aiden's chest from the scuffle, the dark circles under his eyes, and the way Aiden was holding him as if he were the most precious thing in the kingdom.
"You saved me," Lorcan said, a tear rolling down his cheek. "You and Calix."
Aiden wiped the tear away with his thumb. For the first time, the oblivious wall in Aiden's mind didn't just crack,it crumbled the slightest . He felt the way Lorcan's scent hummed against his own, a perfect, puzzle piece fit. He realized that the weird feelings Lorcan had weren't a mystery anymore. They were a reflection of the fierce, burning protectiveness he felt in his own gut.
"I'll always save you, Lorc," Aiden said, his voice dropping an octave. "But you've got to promise me one thing."
"Anything," Lorcan breathed.
"No more baths with the door unlocked," Aiden teased, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere, but his eyes stayed serious. "I don't think my heart can take another night like this."
Lorcan laughed, a weak, wet sound, and buried his face in Aiden's shoulder.
In the corner, Calix watched them. She didn't speak, but she picked up her sketchbook with her trembling hand. She drew a picture of a tiger standing over a strawberry, its claws out, protecting it from a storm.
while the King of the South was in chains, the children of the Triple Crown were beginning to realize that the most dangerous thing in the world wasn't a kidnapping.
While out of the nursery maids and palace worker start to talk in hushed voice about Everest,and his act of cruelty to his only omega son .
"How could he be so shameless!" A maid whispered.
"I didn't know that king Everest could be this cruel to his third son , even if he is a omega,he's still a human being isn't it?" Mia the second maid spoke out.
"Yeah I know," the first maid stop and looked around . "but isn't king Everest the one that was pregnant of those kid? Why would he act so cruel?"
"None knows if the truth it only know that now duke Everest was an omega but it was never confirmed." Mia shrugged off softly.
The whisper keep going until it reach a breaking point and reaches the the other borders, the news spread wild while in a fast pace like fire .