Chapter 70

“Draven.”

This time, Morpheus called him by name.

Draven looked up, startled by Morpheus’ sudden shift. Calling him by his name reminded him of the old days.

“Evanthe is the only female I acknowledge,” Morpheus said and Draven simply listened, trying to guess what he’s implying.

Morpheus continued, “And this human female is the second one. Do you understand what I mean now?”

The anger that was buried by the mention of Evanthe’s name once again rose in Draven’s eyes. “She is not Evanthe.”

“That is why I won’t mind playing with her. Make your decision for tomorrow because this time I won’t be sparing anything that will hurt you. Let her go and you will see her as my mate,” Morpheus warned, his tone calm but his intentions dangerous.

“She won’t come with you,” Draven snapped, surprising himself how he was so sure of his words. He didn’t even know what he thought when he said it.

“That is up for her to decide. From what I understand, she summons you when she is in danger, but this time she didn’t as I was there to protect her. That means she doesn’t need you. Moreover…” His lips curled wickedly. “I can see she likes me while she hates you.”

“She must have not seen you in your disgusting beast form,” Draven commented.

“Better than that your beast form,” Morpheus countered. “I am sure she would rather hold an eagle instead of a scary monster. And I don’t mean just the devil form, but your true form—the black dragon. Try it and I am sure she won’t even dare look at your shadow.”

With Morpheus’ words, the thing that was always buried at the back of his mind now surfaced clearly to remind him of his true identity. Humans, they always hated him for his true form more.

At first, they feared him, but that fear converted into hatred. That human who betrayed his trust, his last words were of disgust and ridicule, hating him for his true form. This human girl probably wouldn’t be any different. She already looked at him as if he would kill her. He never did anything to harm her yet the fear in her eyes continued to grow each time he saw her.

Those green familiar eyes….what was he even expecting?

‘All humans are the same.’

Draven let go of his clenched fists and calmed down. “Do whatever you want to do with her.”

It surprised Morpheus, but even before he could say a word, Draven disappeared from the mountain and Morpheus had no chance of stopping him.

“We are not done talking!” Seeing him gone, Morpheus wanted to curse. “That…That coward left just like that. Where did he go?” Morpheus wondered and transformed into an eagle. He headed towards the palace but Draven was nowhere to be found, neither in his chamber nor his study.

“Not here?” Morpheus mumbled while flying around the palace in his beast form. “Then…that human’s home?”

Morpheus flapped his wings towards Ronan. When he reached there and checked for Draven’s presence around. His sharp gaze could not miss anything even in the dark, but Draven could not still be found.

Morpheus landed on one of the tree branches near Ember’s tree.

“Perhaps he has gone there…?” He sighed. “Seems like this is enough for today. Let’s leave him alone. This much I can do for the sake of our old friendship.” Morpheus flew away. “I will have more chances to get back at him.”

——

Roughly an hour after Draven and Morpheus left the King’s chamber, Erlos entered, thinking that the annoying eagle must be gone.

‘I am sure Sire’s nasty mood will be worse tonight.’

Erlos wanted to be particularly careful in attending his duties for the King, not wanting to be punished unjustly. As such, he made careful arrangements for the King’s evening meal, but when he entered the King’s chamber, he found it empty.

“Sire? What the—”

To say the chamber was a mess was an understatement. It was as if a whirlwind wreaked havoc inside. The smaller items were scattered here and there, the table and chairs were flipped, and worse, there was a crack on one of the walls. It was easy to guess what the King did based on the shape of the crack.

It was infinitely worse than the eagle’s previous visit.

‘Not like I can complain.” He sighed. The young elf looked around the chamber but no one was there. “Where has Sire gone?” He looked out of the window, but there was no one in the garden below. “Did they go out for their duel?”

His long, pointy ears twitched, trying to listen for any sounds of fighting.

“But why is everything quiet? Are they having a silent match or what? Or did they leave the palace?” He immediately threw away the thought of them merely talking. Morpheus was a frequent nuisance to the palace, and each and every one of them ended with the two fighting. “Oh spirits, I pity the clan whose territory they’re destroying at this moment.”

Erlos continued to make his own assumptions, muttering under his breath at how dedicated Morpheus was in hating the King, but he didn’t simply idly wait. He was sure his master would return soon so he got back to work.

He cleaned the entire chamber at the highest speed possible, using his powers to fix the crack on the wall, and thought to wait for the King to return. Meanwhile, he informed the other servants to keep the meal heated just in case.

However, hours passed by but Draven didn’t return. Erlos kept waiting for him outside his door.

“What is taking Sire so long?” he complained. “I know I don’t need to worry about him—he is the most powerful being in the kingdom and that eagle is an easy prey for him—but I don’t know if I should ask the kitchen to cook a new meal or if I should prepare the bath. Ugh, he should have at least told me when he’s coming back…”

Erlos continued to stand by the door, looking out a nearby window, staring at the night sky and the mountain ranges whose peaks were visible like giant shadows against the dark curtain of the sky.