novelraw Chapter 309: _Let’s Take Deep Breaths
Chapter 309: _Let’s Take Deep Breaths
Elian’s POV
*****
His heart thudded heavily as he watched Lucian step further away from the moon well. Silver water stuck to his body, slick and illuminating his muscles like a god ascending from the very depths.
When the Alpha Prince was a few meters away from the pool’s edge—time seemingly froze. Not only did his power reflect in the brightened light in his eyes... But it also reflected in the power he subconsciously expended.
The Alpha Prince’s mere existence made the runic symbols carved into the chamber walls shift. They pulsated, one second bright with silver divine energy, the other dull and weak.
Elian glanced back. Elowen was frozen in place beside him, as if even she was unable to believe her son’s ascension to power. As for the spiritual leader, he remained bowed on the floor, muttering some incoherent words.
Possibly a prayer.
Dear gods.
"L–Lucian," the Luna Queen finally called out, her heels echoing when she took a step forward. Hesitation filled her voice but she pushed through it, taking another step, then another. "Are you... Are you okay? How do you feel right now?"
Even with her son leaking literal divine energy residue, she barely registered that. All she saw was her sweet Alpha Prince. Her baby boy.
[The woman feels strongly for her children, I can tell you that.]
"I’ve never felt better, mother," Lucian responded with a confident smile, Alpha aura flaring until his skin lit up like porcelain under moonlight. "Never felt... More alive." He stretched out his arms, clenching and unclenching his fists a few times.
[If I hadn’t upgraded, this would be the point where I tell you I can’t scan him because of his power level. But now... Let’s see what we’ve got, hey?]
Elian could barely answer the system, watching as Lucian strutted past his mother. He brushed a hand on the woman’s shoulder, but through it all his eyes were fixed.
On him.
Swallowing hard, Elian forced a smile, trying not to feel pressured by the encroaching energy.
[As a mid-level Alpha and Alpha Prince, he could already compel weaker wolves easily to obey him. But now? Damn... He’s not doing anything and I can already pick tremendous changes in the minds of the servants, guards and other staff in the palace.]
Elian’s eyes widened. ’You... You can do that—?’
"Elian," Lucian’s domineering but soft voice sliced through their conversation like butter. The Alpha Prince stood a few feet in front of him now, making Elian’s nostrils flare. His muscles tightened, fists curling beside him. "You’ve been... Silent. Didn’t even say anything about my evolution..."
Stretching a hand, Lucian touched his cheek first. Then his fingers extended, coiling around strands of his hair. Strands which included the silver streaks.
[Warning: Divine energy residues are still active on the Alpha king’s skin. Contact with the host may cause unforeseen effects... Including sharpening the silver streaks present in your hair already.]
Well, fuck.
"Your..." Lucian’s glowing silver eyes glinted. With something soft. "... Your hair. It’s—"
"Glowing?" Elian’s eyes flicked to the Luna Queen behind Lucian, hand gripping the Alpha Prince’s wrist. Pushing his hand away from his hair, he whispered. "You... Can’t touch me. Not yet. You need to give the divinity time to fully integrate and change you."
Lucian’s follow-up frown made him chuckle nervously. "At least, I think that’s the case here."
Not arguing, the Alpha Prince took a couple of steps back. He nodded, raising his right hand in front of his face.
Sparks of silver energy—sizzling between each finger like mini lightning bolts—flickered to life. They flashed, glowing on Lucian’s face for a few seconds.
"I feel... Much more powerful." The latter said softly to himself. "So much more in control. Like I could make and break—and even so much more."
He raised his head again, staring into Elian’s eyes as he lowered his hand.
Silence. One second. Then two. Then several.
After that—
"Standing around here is pointless now," Lucian mumbled, walking past Elian. "I’ve gotten what I wanted. Now we need to find Aurora."
Elian’s pulse jumped, body spinning around to follow Lucian’s tracks. When the Alpha Prince got to the Ascension platform, he didn’t even look back, clicking it open.
"Lucian!" Elowen yelled before Elian could, walking close in mere seconds. "Where do you think you’re going?"
But Lucian didn’t answer, gaze trailing to Elder Gaius who had begun getting on his feet. He let his eyes settle on the older man for a breath too long before speaking:
"Keep this place sealed like it’s always been."
Gauis nodded, bowing once. "No one outside the Stormborn Bloodline will be able to access this well, even if they tried, your majesty."
Lucian barely let him finish, stepping into the lift. Elian panicked, rushing toward the open silver doors alongside his soon to be mother in law.
They both managed to get in, watching as the doors slid closed.
"Lucian, I asked you a question." The Luna Queen’s voice was piercing but shaky at the edges. "Don’t do anything rash. Or stupid. That’s the last thing a Celestial sovereign does—charging without a plan."
Meanwhile, Elian’s brows furrowed with curiosity. Something Lucian told the spiritual leader caught his attention. And now he needed an answer.
’Hey, system.’ he began mentally while Elowen scolded her son. ’Remember Garrick having control of the palace wards as we speak, right? Does that mean he and Amara could slip control into the moon well—’
[I like how sharp you’ve been thinking since my upgrade. Almost as if it brushed up on your horny brain as well.]
Elian’s cheeks flushed, but as usual, he ignored it.
[Short answer? No. Long answer? The ritual chamber and the moon well itself aren’t powered by the same ward system as the rest of the palace. It’s an intentional design, marked by millennia of history.]
Huh... Well, that’s relieving.
"For the gods’ sake, Lucian!" Elowen shrieked, making Elian shrink back. He felt so small before these two royal powerhouses. "You said it yourself... We can’t charge into Arcadia. Not with all we know about Amara."
Elian’s eyes shifted to his mate.
The man was calm. Too calm. A kind of calm that said he was struggling just to stay sane, his eyes the only window to the storm brewing within.
Eventually, when the Ascension platform breached into the upper parts of the palace, it came to a halt. The doors opened and Lucian stepped out first.
Just when Elian and Elowen waltzed after his shirtless form, the Alpha Prince’s ring buzzed.
He glanced at a holographic screen projected out of the ring, pausing. "Hm... a report from the palace tech experts."
Elowen rushed forward, grabbing his shoulder and craning her neck to peep the screen. "What does it say? Did they track her? Any... Anything on—"
"They were unable to get a signal from her communication necklace." Lucian’s tone was almost deadpan. With a wrist flick, he made the screen disappear.
The hallway was empty.
It wasn’t the floor to the royal bedrooms, or Elian’s room or the throne room. Just a random floor even Elian hasn’t been to, paintings of Luna Queens hung on the walls.
"Her aether craft was tracked to a forest exactly one hundred and twenty miles southwest of Moon Haven." Lucian went on. "Close to Shine Town. The nearest settlement being—"
"Solrune city," Elowen mumbled with a frown. "Could that be where she and Sera made their home?"
With each passing second, Elian could feel it. Rage was building up in Lucian, pulsing through the mate bond and the Bond Resonance skill like a ticking bomb.
He almost forgot that the skill gave him ten per cent access to the abilities of his mates within two hundred feet. Including Lucian with his current Celestial sovereign power.
"Mother... I don’t know." Lucian finally breathed out heavily. "We’re running in circles and time is running out. There’s no telling what that hag is doing to Aurora as we speak."
His eyes flashed with a cold light, crystal lights on the ceilings flickering erratically. "I swear on my life, if she touches even a hair on Aurora’s head I’ll burn—"
Elian didn’t let him finish. He placed his hand on the Alpha Prince’s broad shoulder—ignoring the real lingering presence of divine energy.
As long as he doesn’t tap into divinity... He should be fine.
"Let’s... Let’s take deep breaths, Lucian." Elian stuttered, hoping with everything that he didn’t say anything that would irk him more. Success. "We’re walking in circles right now because we haven’t been able to answer one question."
He paused, swerving his head to Elowen. She arched a curious brow, eyes heavy with grief—and now, a renewed hope burning brighter than ever.
After a few more seconds, Elian dropped the question: "What does Amara want with Aurora? What’s her end goal?"
The corridor seemed to hold its breath.
[Sigh, if only I could track her. I mean, it’s above my current grade level... Unless you purchase a tracker beam. Only 500 ascension points.]
’Do I even have up to a hundred right now?’
[Cute. But no, you don’t. Besides, we’re forgetting who we’re talking about here. I’m pretty sure Amara would’ve put measures to hide the Princess better than any trophy.]
"Argh..." Lucian groaned, rubbing his scalp. "And to think Aurora had a vision after dad’s death but couldn’t divine herself getting kidnapped."
No sooner had Lucian said that than Elowen gasped. She turned. "What... What did you say?"
Wow... She was WAY out of the loop.
After a quick look at Elian, Lucian revealed what Aurora told them. About her dream where she saw her dead ex, Magnus, shift into Arian and then a woman in a black cloak.
And then the black-cloaked woman was talking about what sleeps beneath the Dark Lands and the "moon blessed".
Each new part of the vision he explained to the Luna Queen made her expression twist deeper.
"We think the cloaked woman represented Amara somehow." Lucian scratched his chin. Elian squinted at his mother while he did that. She did not look pleased. "We’re not sure though. Aurora didn’t seem keen on explaining more details and only said we should be careful—"
A flick of her fingers on his head shut him up. Elian blinked, swallowing when he saw her demeanour.
Lucian didn’t flinch at his mother’s mini assault, instead gawking with shock as she snapped.
"Just how many secrets have you all kept from me?" She spun from Elian to Lucian. The former hid his face, folding his arms as she continued. "If Aurora is having visions it makes so much sense why Amara has her!"
Wait... It did?
She paused, scanning the hallway for a second. When she was certain there was no one, she drew closer. "The women in the Stormborn bloodline are known for their ability of foresight. Visions and prophecies that can predict the future. If... If Aurora has this gift—"
"Then she’s beyond valuable to someone like Amara right now." Lucian’s jaw tightened, his previous predatory seriousness locking back in. With a tap on his belt buckle, nanites spread through his body, covering him in a buttoned-up black blazer.
Adjusting the sleeve, he murmured, although Elian caught the words. "I don’t care how many crystal balls that witch has. I’ll break them all to get my sister back. Solara mark my words."