Draven, Aldrich, and Lyriana walked silently through the garden, each draped in heavy cloaks that concealed their entire bodies. Nestled inside Lyriana's cloak, baby Lucifer lay quietly in her arms. Inside Draven's, little Elenya wriggled, her tiny hands tugging at the fabric.
"Ele, stop— that," Draven muttered softly, shifting her closer to his chest as he gently pushed her hands back with his free hand. "Just wait a little longer. We're almost at the pavilion."
But she wouldn't stop. Her tiny fingers kept reaching, pulling, fussing.
Soon, the pavilion came into view. they reached the pavilion Draven saw his parents there—his father, Kaelen, calmly feeding apple slices to his mother, Elliana, who smiled as she took a bite.
Hmph, Draven thought. Guess I was worried for nothing.
Elliana smiled warmly when she saw him. "Hi, honey."
Still squirming under the cloak, Elenya grabbed at the fabric again.
Draven sighed. "We're already here, Ele. I'm going to take it off now."
He carefully opened the cloak, revealing Elenya in his arms. Lyriana followed suit, gently pulling back her cloak to show Lucifer resting quietly.
But the warmth quickly vanished from Kaelen's expression. His eyes narrowed as he saw the babies exposed to the open air.
"You brought them outside?" he growled. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? If even the smallest bit of sunlight touches them, they could be seriously harmed."
Draven stepped forward casually, trying to downplay it. "Yeah, I know. That's why we wore the cloaks." He picked up an apple from the table, took a bite, and chewed slowly.
Kaelen stood, voice tightening. "Brat. You still don't understand. A wound from sunlight isn't just any injury. They're infants. They can't regenerate like adults. It's not something they will easily recover from."
Draven swallowed, a flicker of doubt creeping into his mind. Damn... The old man is pissed. I didn't think it was that serious.
Elliana looked at him with concern. "He's right, her tone sharp with concern.
"That was really reckless of you, honey. They could've been badly hurt. Fortunately, it's cloudy today—the sun was hidden."
"CRAP"
She's pissed too, Draven thought.
Kaelen walked past him, his tone low but forceful. "You're supposed to protect them, not endanger them. Next time, think it through. And don't make such mistake again."
Elenya reached up toward the apple. Draven raised it out of her grasp and took another bite, still trying to stay calm.
They warned me not to take them out, but I thought it was fine... since they're both pure bloods, just like the old. And he can stay in the sun without trouble so I figured they'd be fine. Guess that was careless of me.
He swallowed
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't know it was that dangerous."
Kaelen's turned his attention to Lyriana and Aldric, standing at Draven's side.
"And the two of you?" he said sharply. "You were both there and let him do this and did nothing?"
give him to me "He side gently"
Lyriana bowed her head, holding Lucifer out gently. Aldrich dropped his gaze he bowls.
Kaelen gently took him from her arms, his movements careful but firm.
"Your Highness, we—" Aldrich began, but was cut off by a sudden, crushing force.
A sudden burst of invisible force struck both Lyriana and Aldrich, slamming them to the ground. Blood spilled from their mouths as their eyes widened in shock.
Draven turned quickly from the sounds, startled.
Damm
He's really pissed.
Kaelen towered above the two, his gaze like ice.
"If you're both so useless that you can't even stop a reckless act like this," he said coldly, "then perhaps you're better off dead."
Draven's grip on Elenya tightened confusion flickering in his gaze.
CRAP
Is the old man really going to kill them…?