*LYCIA*It had taken us around an hour more to find Lars' house and when we had reached there we found that he had been waiting outside for us to let us in through the protection dome he had built around his small house.He had ushered us in his small house and made us sit, finally taking a seat on a chair adjacent to Dad.Now that we had settled, I finally got the chance to examine him closely. Long tresses, raven and lustrous framed a thin bony face with slender eyes, deep set and peering at us with joy.“I can’t believe it has been so long since I last saw you! You haven’t aged a day,” Dad cheered, making me wonder just how long it had been since this man had looked this old.“Oh you shouldn’t flatter me, I always looked like an old man but years had always been kind to you and they still are,” he said and then flicking his eyes towards Mom he smirked, “Or does love help you maintain that youth?”“As brash as ever, huh?,” Mom muttered and this time I couldn’t stop myself as I blur

*LYCIA*“Alright I’ll look for more ways to search about the neighboring cults and try to find anything about them on my own while we wait for Lars to wake up,” dad said standing up to get to work.“Yes, I’ll see what I can find about all this too,” Mom said standing up along with him.“No, you both should rest for today,” I said, taking in how tired and weary they looked. I am sure I can’t understand what they feel as parents who are desperate to help their child but I hope they would understand that as their child I didn’t want them to be hurting as well.“We will do that later-”“No, I agree with Lycia, if the King and Queen of the coven are in a weak state then the coven itself is also weak. You also need to think about the people,” Seff backed me up and sighing they agreed.“Looks like our daughter has grown up enough to advise us now,” Mom merrily chided me, making me smile but all of a sudden the expression fell from my face.What was this pain?It was a dull wave at first but

*LYCIA*Neither Laverna nor dad had expanded on the new information they had bestowed on me. I think it shouldn’t matter to me much about who Dad’s ex was and how she was doing now but somehow this particular lady had shaken my guts. Something about her was amiss to me. “It truly is fate that has linked us together then. That is all I can determine from this situation and since we are family now worry not I will do everything in my bounds to help you.” King Roz’s words brought me back to reality and from my straying thoughts making me take a bite of the dessert that was served to us after dinner. At last he had finally spoken his mind after listening to the whole situation and everything that had conspired. From the lack of surprise on his face I could imagine that he was already aware of this to some extent.“Thank you brother, I knew you would agree,” Seff said from beside me.“To begin with, Seff you never needed my permission at all. This is as much as your home as it is mine an

*LYCIA*I am pretty sure he could hear my heart beating sporadically in my chest and yet he didn’t give me a word that could help me feel at ease.I could feel his eyes on me but I couldn’t dare to look at him. I guess it had been five whole minutes since I had been sitting here waiting for him to tell me why he had called me but till now it didn’t seem like he was in a mood to talk except to maybe scare me.I hated feeling inferior to someone and I wouldn’t have if not for the case that he was Seff’s brother. I had embarrassed myself in front of him before I couldn't afford to do that again. Therefore deciding to take matters in my own hand or rather to use this opportunity that he had provided me I said, “Your majesty, I understand that you have called me here for some reason but before that I would like to apologize for my behavior before. I was unaware of your identity as my mate’s brother and therefore couldn’t give you the respect that I should have given you as the new member o

*LYCIA*“Do we have to go home so soon?” I asked, slightly surprised at how easily it was for me to adapt to calling that gigantic palace my home.Seff on the other hand loved it, he didn’t say it but I could see the corners of his lips rise a little every time that I said something in context to accepting the fact that I was soon going to be the princess of this unfamiliar kingdom.“Unfortunately I was just told that the dress designer had arrived earlier than scheduled so it should be only right to head back or do you wish to keep her waiting?” he asked but the choice only made me feel guilty. I wouldn’t want to seem like a rude stereotypic royal.“No, it's fine, let's go back,” I said, pulling on his hand to take me back to the palace.The mini surprise he gave me was fun but I really wanted to spend more time with him alone. Roaming outside like this on these unversed streets almost made me forget about the hardships that had been circling our lives.The peace that this brought m