Chapter 292: Heading Out

It was sunny, and the sun was still out, but by the next morning they would all be heading out."We’ve made all preparations," she said, dropping her tone even lower as she spoke.

"...Zyren will die! There is no way he can survive the artifact. It can only be used once more, but it should be enough!" she said, aware that it was an artifact used in the last war.

Remnants—and a reminder—of just how hard vampires and werewolves had once done their best to wipe each other out.

Clara stepped closer to King Jared when, even after speaking, he still refused to respond and simply continued to stand by the window, staring out.

"...no matter how powerful he is, even he won’t be able to heal from such a thing," Clara said, convinced by her own words as she looked at Jared, who continued to ignore her—something that was slowly getting on her last nerves.

She had already bottled in her hatred at the fact that not only was Aira his mate, but it was the way he looked at her.

No one else might know, but she had been with him for years, preparing to be his Luna. There was no way she didn’t know how to read his most minute expressions.

"After Zyren is dead, the vampires will have no choice but to join forces with us to wipe out the Zygons. Once the Zygons are all dead, then we can kill them all!" she continued to speak, no longer expecting a response as she stared outside the window.

A cruel expression flashed across her face as she spoke.

I’ll kill her though! she thought to herself. ...the second Zyren is dead, I’ll kill Aira too!

She swore it silently, even as her eyes stared blankly ahead.

Aware that it was the only way she would have any chance to get Jared to look at her—and take his duty and responsibilities seriously.

"Clara!" Jared finally said, to her astonishment, as she turned to look at him, surprise flashing across her face as she instantly responded.

"Yes..." knowing it had to be important if he deemed it necessary to finally acknowledge her presence.

Only to be taken aback when she heard him speak.

"You don’t love me. Why stay?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"Your mate is dead, but the Moon Goddess can grant you another," he said, his tone low and filled with concern. Had he turned to see Clara’s expression, he would have known to stop speaking—but he didn’t, even as he continued.

"Isn’t it better for the both of us to stop pretending and—"

But Clara didn’t let him finish. She simply shook her head and fixed her gaze on him.

Now blank and neutral, with the faintest hint of a smile, she turned her gaze back to the window as she spoke in a lighthearted manner.

"...we’ll speak of that later!" she promised him with a sigh that sounded tired. "...right now, we need to focus on Zyren!" she said, and Jared instantly agreed, letting out a sigh of his own.

"Of course. I just felt like I needed to bring it up," he said before turning around to leave, not saying another word—about anything, or Zyren himself.

But the door had barely slammed shut when all the emotions Clara had buried inside came bubbling out in waves as she stared out the window.

Nothing but cruel, ice-cold anger filled her eyes as she whispered under her breath to herself, a smile curling her lips.

I guess I will have to kill you much sooner than I thought.

The next day came faster than anyone expected—especially after a peaceful dinner that went surprisingly well, with both sides maintaining an aura of calm between them.

Each side took care of their own matters, preparing horses and carriages, food and extra clothes—but above all, weapons.

Especially the vampires, who made it a point to openly pack silver weapons that would hurt werewolves terribly and make it difficult for them to heal from their wounds.

The werewolves looked like they didn’t care at all as they went ahead to do the very same.

Making a show of packing silver Elmatium daggers that would kill vampires with a single, deep stab to the heart.

Either side seemed peaceful, but both made sure to show that—just in case—they were prepared for war.

Finally, at the break of dawn, King Jared stepped out in flowing gold garments that made him look truly majestic and went perfectly with his gold-colored eyes and light brown hair.

His furry ears made him look extremely handsome, so much so that even some vampires couldn’t help but internally note it to themselves, not daring to say it out loud.

Clara stepped out beside him with a smile on her face, wearing garments of the same color and looking just as beautiful in a way that made it clear that all was perfectly well.

But by the time Zyren stepped out, none were surprised to see him dressed in all black. The only other distinct color was his eyes, which were blood red.

Apart from the black shirt and pants, the cloak he wore was just as dark, with seams of gold that were barely discernible—yet no one could ever mistake him for anything other than a king simply from how he looked.

His aura alone spoke volumes of who he was as he stepped out, looking at everyone with arrogance and superiority in a way that made it clear he wasn’t even trying.

Aira stepped out right beside him with a neutral expression on her face, doing her best not to frown, since Zyren had gone out of his way to ensure she accompanied him when he appeared.

He turned to look at her with a pleased expression he didn’t bother to hide, allowing his gaze to roam from her head to her feet, lingering on the red gown he had practically demanded she wear.

Before going ahead to announce in a loud tone that everyone could hear:

"You are the most beautiful woman in the world!"

He said it like a declaration—one no one could object to—and what made it harder was the fact that his gaze made it clear he truly meant it.