Gazing at her retreating back, as she effortlessly blended in with the surrounding crowd, I grew both regretful for her once again absent self, and excited for the coming night, where we would have our first private conversation in centuries.

But before I could think of anything else, a swarm of ecstatic and impatient figures encircled me.

"Brother! Was that...?! Was that her?!" Cyrus whisperingly screamed, as he almost began jumping in place to discharge the empowering waves of energy now pulsing rabidly through his system.

"Yes." I said happily with a smile they could not see, but could imagine.

"Thank the Gods." Darius then muttered in reassurance, as a breath of insurmountable relief escaped his lips, for if there was one man that feared for the future of the empire's succession the most in this mortal plain, then he would undoubtedly take first place without exception every time.

"We should go greet her!" Cyrus nearly exclaimed out loud, as he wanted to rush past me.

"Not now little brother, and certainly not here." I held out my hand, barring him from passing me, as my eyes coldly traced the faces of the surrounding wolves, already salivating with greed hazed eyes, as they eagerly itched to leaping upon the fresh target they've just spotted.

"Follow me." I commanded, as I turned to take my leave for the night, yet the most cunning wolf of all would not allow his picked prey to escape so easily, as he then approached us with light footed steps and a disarming voice.

"Greetings lord of the Eclipse Empire." Marius' unwanted voice boomed in my ears, as he courteously bowed before us.

The frown that marred my face then was clear even through my mask, as I halted my steps and replied "And greetings to you too, lord Marius."

Neither of us spoke for a moment, both of us simply glaring at each other in a silent battle of resolve, making the entire hall grow unnaturally quiet at the tension of our standoff, that began to visibly unnerve the hosting royal family of the Astrapi Kingdom, as the king Aegaeon and Queen Aella stood a little ways off, fretfully awaiting the proceeding fallout of our confrontation, yet not daring to stand in between our colliding eyes.

And for a while nothing happened, making everyone either grow increasingly restless or foolishly delude themselves that all was well and no disaster would be birthed this evening, as we remained in this dreadful silence; but that was until the terrifying sound of Darius' ancient voice thundered in everyone's ears, as he nonchalantly stepped forward, dauntlessly sliding in between our wrestling stares with the comfort of a silken glove.

Yet instead of appeasing everyone's now restless nerves, by thinking that the wise old Grand Vizier of the southern empire would smooth over the situation with his centuries of experience, it only achieved the opposite, stretching their already taught nerves to even more extraordinary lengths, almost to the point where some felt them about to snap in apprehension.

For unlike me, whose terror was built upon my ability to herald the coming of ruin upon all my enemies with ruthless and rueful methods, no matter who they are; men like Darius were instead dreaded for their uncanny ability to deliver that same wroth without anyone's notice; as you would simply awaken one day from your peaceful sleep and behold a nightmare even your most twisted of imaginations could ever comprehend, let alone devise.

"Can I help with something Prime Minister of the Luminous Empire?" Darius asked with a harmless tone of voice, one that sent the hall hurling into a cold sweat, as everyone suddenly felt the seeming tightening of silent wires around their necks, digging uncomfortably into their skin, which didn't relent even as they massaged their throats.

"...No. Thank you for your consideration, lord Darius. Please pardon my untimely intrusion lord Alexander." Marius replied a second later, before he unceremoniously turned around and took his leave, yet instead of returning to his prior place, next to the Luminous crown prince, he nonchalantly made his way to the west door, quietly taking his leave with a menacingly jovial hum escaping his lips.

Similarly, we didn't dally either, as we headed out as well, but the weight of our presence never left the hearts and minds of all those still present, for they all sensed the coming silent massacre that was about to take place in these once intended harmonious halls, that were undoubtedly about to be dyed the colour of red and deceit from the crashing of the two giants.

But we cared not for woes of the weak, as we made our way to our allocated wing, saying "Horus, go fetch Isaac, and tell him to no longer bother with his current missions."

"Right away, sire." He instantly replied, before he eerily vanished like a silver wraith from our side.

"You attracted too much attention, my emperor. That was unwise." Darius gravely said, as his eyes flashed with sickeningly devious lights the shape of writhing strings.

"I am aware." I replied, yet my tone held no sense of remorse, for I held none; even if I could undo the past yet again, and face that decision a second time I would still choose the same thorny road I have laid before me today, as nothing mattered to me more at that moment than satisfying my longing for her.

Even if it was a sickeningly selfish thing to do, and even though it had eventually led to a weakness of mine being shown so publicly to my enemies.

'We will teach them the hefty price of even glancing upon a dragon's reverse scale!' The tyrant coldly remarked in my mind, and I nodded in return.

"We will indeed defend her with our very lives this time, and nothing may take her from me again." I murderously muttered, as a flickering flash of my roiling bloodlust momentarily materialized around me in a crimson cloak; that made a few of my guards shudder for a moment, before thinking their eyes had deceived them.

"Did you say something sire?" Leonid quizzically asked with a slightly strained voice, not fully capturing what I had muttered, but having perfectly sensed the mammoth wave of killing hunger that momentarily erupted from me.

"I said that from now on a second shadow shall always be following you, and whispering all of your actions into Marius' ear, for that wolf's fangs would never release once he's sensed that he's drawn blood; so from now on, none of you may leave on your own, and without proper guards by your side at all times." I spoke the last sentence while looking at my brothers. who I'd been allowing to do their own thing for the past few days, but not anymore, not without a dozen Palace Guard surrounding them at all times.

"We understand brother." Nizam instantly replied, his tone gave, clearly reflecting his understanding of the situation.

Cyrus then nodded with the same conviction as his older brother, yet then he asked with some concern "But what about sister in law? Shouldn't we warn her as well?!"

"Eve will be fine." I confidently replied.

"If even lord Isaac can't find her, then you be certain that Marius and his goons won't be able to. I can guarantee it. For if they had that ability in the first place, my sister and I wouldn't have been able to escape their watch three years ago, now would we." Leonid confidently added with a degrading tone, trying to reassure my worried brother.

"But we should still send a few men to protect her majesty, wouldn't you agree sire?" Abraham then suggested.

"I concur with the Place Guard Captain." Darius quickly said.

But I still shook my head, saying "If all goes well tonight, then she will remain by our side from now on, so there is no need to divide our strength."

"She will come tonight?" Nizam asked in surprise.

I nodded, bringing a small smile to my masked face yet again, as I then stressed "And none of you are allowed to intrude, am I clear?"

"Yes!" They unanimously replied, with the exception of Cyrus, who naggingly said.

"Come on brother! We didn't even see the smallest semblance of her face tonight, and now you even forbid us from meeting her?!"

"You will naturally be introduced to her, and see her face tomorrow morning." I promised him, silently feeling inexplicably happy that he was so excited to meet my Eve for some reason I could not explain.

Yet his words seemed to have awoken some buried questions in the minds of the more attentive among my group as Nizam suddenly asked "Wait a second brother, you said our sister in law would be a woman of blonde hair, but wasn't the woman you danced with tonight brown headed?"

"She must have dyed her hair to mask it." Darius instantly said, already guessing the answer.

"Then why was her majesty wearing such a mask that didn't even allow her eyes to be visible?" Leonid then questioned.

"Could it be because she wished to hide her peculiar eye colour?" Cyrus unconfidently reasoned, since even if that was the case, why resort to wearing something that would utterly block a person's most used and arguably most useful sense, when one could have easily done the same with a see through clothe.

"It's because she neither requires her sense of sight and nor is she able to make use of it temporarily." I answered their

"What do you mean sire?" Darius gravely asked, just as we reached our private wing and closed the doors behind us.

"Eve is a descendant of the Goddess of the Night, Shadows and Secrets." I calmly revealed, much to the shock of some and the bewilderment of others.