CHAPTER 70: YOU ARE AERON VELZORAH [2]

Aeron was drowning in his anger with all that had happened so far, and with all he’s heard recently. He couldn’t control the fire anymore, the guards down the corridor were stepping back as the fire crept closer and closer to them.

Nyella kept screaming. "Aeron, stop! Please, stop!" she cried. Her voice cracked with desperation as she ran toward him from behind. But Aeron couldn’t hear her. Not really.

The fire kept spreading fast through the corridor. Aeron’s eyes were blind with tears, and his hands were trembling too. He wanted to stop, but he couldn’t. The pain was too much.

Then, soft arms wrapped around him.

Nyella threw herself against his back and held him tightly from behind. She pressed her head against him. "I’m here. You’re not alone," she whispered in a soft voice.

And just like that, the fire began to weaken and he cried bitterly.

Aeron slowly turned and looked at Nyella with teary eyes. They fell into each other’s arms and hugged tightly.

"You’re fine now. You’re fine," Nyella whispered repeatedly, her hands stroking his back. But Aeron could not stop crying. They stayed like that for a long while. Until....

Varek, who was badly wounded, groaned.

Aeron and Nyella quickly pulled away from each other and rushed to where he lay. His body was in very bad shape, and blood had soaked his clothes. He tried to speak but couldn’t.

"He needs help, now!" Aeron cried out.

Nyella turned to the Phoenix Guards who were far down from them. "Carry him! Quickly! Take him to the infirmary!" she commanded.

The guards rushed forward and lifted him carefully. Aeron stayed close as they moved, his heart was breaking with guilt. Together they hurried through the palace until they reached the royal infirmary.

Inside, the physicians were already waiting. They spread clean cloths and jars of herbs across the tables. "Lay him down," one of them ordered.

The guards placed Varek gently onto the bed. The physicians quickly bent over him and cut his clothes to see the wound. Nyella tried to stay, but one of the healers turned toward her. "You have to go and leave us to it, your highness."

Aeron’s chest tightened. He didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to leave Varek’s side, not when he was in such a very deadly state. But Nyella touched Aeron’s arm and whispered, "We have to let them work."

Reluctantly, Aeron stepped back and they left the chamber.

Outside the corridor, Aeron could not hold himself together. He paced back and forth. Then his strength failed him, and he sank to the floor, squatting low with his face buried in his arms.

Nyella stood a short distance away and was watching him do all that. Slowly, she walked closer and knelt beside him. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Calm yourself," she whispered softly. "It will be alright. Varek is strong. He will fight."

But Aeron shook his head. "Did you see him, Nyella? Did you see the wound? The blade went deep... too deep. He’s hurt because of me." he said in a broken voice.

Then he lifted his face. "I only wanted to protect people. That was all. I came here to keep everyone safe, to make sure no one else was in danger because of me. I thought this place... the palace... was safe. I believed they couldn’t reach me here. But they came anyway. And now Varek... Varek is lying there because of me."

"None of this is your fault," she said. "Do you hear me? None of it. The blame lies with those who attacked, not with you. And now, they’ve already paid the price for what they did, you made them fall by their own doing."

Aeron didn’t say anything at first. He bent his head, but then he raised it.

"You know..." he said quietly, "those people... before the last of them died, they said something to me."

Nyella’s brows furrowed. "What did they say?"

"They said," Aeron swallowed, "that their master wants me. That he would stop at nothing to have me... and that he could give me what I want."

Nyella’s face darkened. "Who said that?"

"The last one," Aeron answered. "The one who seemed like their leader. His final words... were almost like a promise. As if he believed it with his whole heart."

Nyella’s lips pressed into a thin line. "And this master he spoke of, do you know who it is?"

Aeron shook his head slowly. "That’s what troubles me. I don’t know. But it means they weren’t acting on their own. Someone is behind them. Someone powerful enough to send men like that into the palace. And..."

Nyella whispered, "And if that’s true... then he might send more."

Aeron nodded. But after a moment, his face twisted with confusion, as he remembered something else. He looked down, and his hands trembled slightly.

"There was something else," he said in a low voice.

Nyella turned toward him again. "Something else?"

Aeron nodded. His voice broke as he spoke. "They told me... that what I was accused of... was not a lie. They said it was the truth."

Nyella’s chest tightened. "What truth?"

"They said," Aeron took a shaky breath, "that I am a descendant of the bloodline that was wiped out. That I am... the son of Lucian Velzorah." His eyes glistened with pain as he stared at her. "They said I am the cause of what happened. That everything... everything was because of me."

Nyella’s throat went dry. She looked away and couldn’t say anything.

"Nyella..." Aeron’s voice was trembling now. He searched her face for an answer, for comfort, or even denial. But she turned her gaze aside.

The silence broke something inside him.

"No," Aeron whispered, shaking his head. He stepped back. "No... no, no, no, no, no... You can’t be serious. This can’t be happening. Tell me it’s not true, Nyella. Please... tell me they were lying. Tell me none of it was true."

Nyella’s lips trembled. She still said nothing.

"Say something!" Aeron cried, louder now. "Tell me, Nyella! Tell me that I am not the son of a house that was burned and butchered! Tell me I have nothing to do with the blood they spilled. Please... I beg you!"

Nyella’s eyes filled with tears. She tried to hold her composure, but the truth was too heavy on her. She finally looked at Aeron, straight into his eyes. Her own voice shook as she spoke.

"What they said... is true."

Aeron froze.

Nyella’s tears dropped as she continued. "You are from that house. You are who they said you are. You are Aeron Velzorah..."

"..."