Chapter 137 On the Way to the Roots

Chapter 137 On the Way to the Roots
The castle awoke restless once more.
Guards crisscrossed the corridors carrying weapons and supplies while servants organized provisions for the journey to the northern mountains.
The ancient Eleryon temple lay distant.
Isolated.
And, according to Kael, surrounded by regions where shadows appeared more frequently during the night.
That alone was enough to keep Conrad on constant alert.
Maya watched the activity from the balcony of her room while holding Lysander in her arms.
The baby slept peacefully.
Oblivious to the growing chaos around him.
Conrad entered soon after.
His eyes immediately meeting his son before anything else.
Always like that now.
As if he needed to constantly confirm that Lysander was still safe.
“Kael believes we will leave before nightfall,” Conrad said as he approached.
Maya nodded slowly.
But she barely seemed to hear him.
Her fingers caressed Lysander's small, dark hair distractedly as restless thoughts raced through her mind.
Conrad noticed immediately.
“What is it?”
Maya took a deep breath before finally asking,
“What are we going to do with him?”
Silence fell over the room immediately.
Because the two had been avoiding that conversation since the previous night.
Conrad's eyes shifted to Lysander.
His expression slowly hardening.
“He can't go.”
Maya felt her chest tighten instantly.
“Conrad…”
“The rift is already reacting to him.” His voice grew lower. More tense. “Shadows appear near him. Voices speak about him.” Conrad approached more slowly. “I'm not going to take our son directly to a temple connected to the origin of all this.”
Maya instinctively hugged Lysander tightly.
“And where are we going to leave him?”
Conrad remained silent for a few seconds. Because that was precisely the impossible part.
There was no truly safe place now.
Not anymore.
“The castle is protected,” he finally replied. “The barriers are still working.”
“Do you really believe that?”
His golden eyes met hers immediately.
And Maya realized it.
He didn't completely believe it.
Not after the shadows appeared even in the library.
“I don't want to be separated from him,” she finally admitted.
Her voice faltering slightly on that last sentence.
Conrad closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Because he didn't want to either.
Maya understood this clearly.
Perhaps no one understood Conrad as she did at that moment.
All his fear.
All his obsession with protection.
It all stemmed from that single silent terror:
losing his family.
“If we take him…” Conrad began softly, “…we might bring him even closer to the rift.”
“And if we leave him?” Maya retorted immediately. “What if something happens while we’re away?”
The room fell silent again.
Lysander stirred sleepily in her arms before partially opening his golden eyes.
Calm.
Too small to bear the weight of the decisions being made about him.
Conrad slowly approached until he touched his son’s tiny hand.
The baby immediately grasped one of his fingers.
And that seemed to hit Conrad harder than any argument.
His expression wavered.
Fear.
Pure fear.
“I just wanted him to have a normal life,” Conrad murmured.
Maya’s heart clenched violently.
Because she wanted that too.
More than anything else.
But they were both beginning to understand the cruel truth.
Lysander would never have a normal life.
Not while he was connected to the rift.
Not while he carried Eleryon blood. Maya slowly approached until her forehead rested on Conrad's shoulder.
"Perhaps there is no right choice."
Conrad slowly put his arm around her and the baby.
Instinctively protecting them both.
But his golden eyes remained distant.
Thoughtful.
As if a part of him already knew that any decision made at that moment would have dangerous consequences.
The following hours passed too quickly.
The entire castle seemed to breathe tension as preparations for the journey continued.
Kael remained in the library gathering old maps and records about the Eleryon temple, while Conrad personally reinforced the security of the walls.
Maya noticed.
He was trying to occupy his mind.
Because whenever his eyes met Lysander…
the fear returned.
In the late afternoon, the discussion finally happened.
Not aggressive.
Not explosive like before.
But perhaps worse precisely because of that.
“You still want to take him,” Conrad said as he entered the room again.
Maya was organizing some of Lysander's small clothes in a travel bag.
That alone answered the question.
She paused for a few seconds before facing him.
“And you still want to leave him behind.”
Conrad sighed heavily.
Tired.
“Maya…”
“I know why you’re doing this.” Her voice was lower this time. “I understand your fear.”
And that made Conrad hesitate immediately.
Because months ago she would have just argued.
Now she understood.
Perhaps too deeply.
“But this is still destroying me,” Maya confessed. “Every time you try to decide everything alone to protect us both… it feels like you’re pushing us away from the world.”
Her golden eyes met hers slowly.
Filled with guilt.
“I don’t know how to do this the right way.”
The honesty in that sentence made her anger almost completely disappear.
Conrad looked exhausted.
More human than king.
More man than alpha.
Maya slowly approached until she held his hands.
“You don’t have to carry this alone.”
He let out a small, tired laugh.
“I am the king. I literally have to.”
“Not when it comes to our family.”
Silence filled the room.
Lysander slept peacefully in his crib near the window as the cold night wind began to seep through the curtains.
Conrad watched his son for long seconds.
Then he finally spoke:
“If he comes with us…” His eyes remained fixed on the baby. “…I want to guard him at all times.”
Maya felt her heart race slightly.
“Conrad…”
“No one approaches him without our permission.” His voice hardened again. “And if anything happens, we come back immediately.”
That wasn’t complete acceptance.
But it was the closest she could get.
Maya nodded slowly.
And for the first time that day…
Conrad seemed to breathe a little better.
But then Lysander opened his eyes.
His small golden eyes slowly turned to a dark corner of the room.
And the baby smiled.
A small smile.
Quiet.
As if looking at someone familiar.
Maya frowned slightly.
Because there was no one there.
Only silent shadows gathered in the corners of the walls.
And for a brief moment…
one of them seemed to move.