Chapter 47
Jasmine's POV
“I don’t know, let me try. I found the source of the bond easily, but I don’t know what I was supposed to feel when I connected with it. Also, he is my brother, Ares. And don't ask anything else because that’s all I know.” - I took a step further, but I was still trapped inside. It didn’t work, maybe I didn’t do it right.
“What exactly can be done through this bond? I need to know every detail.”
“That’s really complicated and nothing is off limits. You can feel each other’s emotions, read each other's thoughts, persuade the other to do something, in some extreme cases even talk to each other. It’s not like the mindlink of werewolves. It feels like the other person is always by your side, like a shadow, you hear the other person clearly and it doesn’t feel like he’s talking to you in your head. If you can’t explain why you did what you did it most likely comes from the blood bond between you two. Everything that happens to one of you happens to the other one too. For example, if you cut your finger with a knife, the cut will appear on the other person’s hand too. ”
“So basically I lost my privacy. Is there any way to block the other person out for a bit?”
“You can’t block the other person out entirely, you can just tune him out, but it takes practice and can hurt the two people who are bound to each other.”
“I don’t feel anything like that. I mean I can feel the bond and find the source, but that’s all. I don’t feel different, apart from the fact that I can’t leave. You have to investigate further, but you can’t tell me anything. Axel, take this journal and see what’s in it. Dimitri is here with me.”
I sat down on the ground until we waited. I fished out my phone and searched for some music. I found Zombie by The Cranberries. I couldn’t remember the last time I listened to this song. I felt the tension leave my body and I decided to try again and searched for the bond. I found it just as easily as the first time, but something was different. I could feel him inside my soul and I had a feeling I could do anything, but I only concentrated on influencing him to let me go. I chanted it over and over again in my head, pushing it towards him. And I felt something stir inside me and suddenly pictures popped up behind my eyelids. A magnificent castle, a man and a woman wearing crowns, then a bloody battlefield, then the kingdom with two castles. What was all this? It was connected to the demon realm, but I couldn’t understand everything. The first castle I saw must have been the old one, which burned down. I didn’t recognize the man and the woman. I knew that there were two royal families, but I didn’t realize that it came with two castles. Nobody mentioned a battle, so I was clueless about that part.
“Dimitri, was there a huge battle in the realm?”
“Not that I know of, but why are you asking me this?”
“I was trying to tap into the bond again, but four different pictures popped up thanks to Ares. There was a castle, a King and a Queen, a bloody battlefield and the kingdom with the two castles. I didn’t recognize the people, but one of the castles must have been the old one that burned down. The battle was the only thing that confused me the most.”
“I’ll tell Ajax to look into it, but all of this must have happened before my ancestors took the throne and burned all the books and chronicles about the old times. They simply erased the past and now the stories that are left are just tales. I don’t think we’ll find anything, but we’ll try.”
My thoughts were revolving around the pictures. If all the information was erased, how could Ares know about all this? Unless the demon part in him knew all this and told him.
“Calypso, do you know something? You were there before Dimitri’s bloodline took the throne.”
“I’m not old enough for that. When I was born the two castles were already standing. The pictures you saw were from earlier times.”
“Do you remember reading about a battle, or why were there two castles?”
“I don’t know about the castles or why there were two Royal families, but I know that one of the two families were not true royalties. But I don’t know which family was lying. I vaguely remember a story about discovering the true Royal family, but I don’t know what was written in it. I don’t know anything about a battle.”
“By any chance, do you know a demon older than you?”
“Nobody from the old souls were reborn as far as I know, but I have a hunch that your brother’s inner demon is one of those souls. Otherwise how would he know about a battle?”
That was insane. One true and one fake Royal family ruling at the same time. Which one was the fake and how did they get the crown? And if Calypso was right and Ares had one of the oldest demons inside him, he was the answer to all our questions. The sky was darkening as the Sun was setting and I really wanted to go home, but it was still an impossible task. The evil energy from the house could no longer be felt and I was glad for that. What I didn’t understand was the fact that Sybill was poisoned. Why would my brother poison her? Maybe he didn’t know that his own sister was questioning all those traitors.
“My King, my Queen, I came back with a report. I asked the oldest demons alive about the stories passed down in their families over the centuries about the old days. All of them said that no stories about a war or battle were told, but they mentioned something interesting, but they said it was more like a bedtime story. They said that there were two Royal families and we know that too. No one knows the reason for that, but they said that one of the two families were not true Royals and it’s unknown which one. The true family got the crown from Hades, our God, but the crown was lost or stolen. They say that the true King or Queen would find it somehow and everybody will discover the truth. Like I said, they think it’s just a bedtime story.”
“I don’t think so. Calypso said the same thing about the two families. One of them is true royalty, one is fake. She didn’t mention anything about the crown though and how to find the rightful heir. If they’re still alive. Dimitri, we know that your bloodline is definitely not the one we’re looking for, but what about the one before yours? Who were they? We know that the other Royal family was Athena’s, so technically speaking I’m a royalty too. Now the question is which family was telling the truth. Mine, or the family before your ancestor took the throne? If the story you told us Ajax is hundred percent true, then the crown is still out there somewhere and all we have to do is find it, then we’ll discover which was the true Royal family.”
“It’s easier said than done Jasmine. There wasn’t a lost or stolen crown found, ever.”
“I have another question. If the crown can show us the truth, then why didn’t Athena use it to take back the throne?”
“My Queen, I assume that the crown was lost by then, if there was a crown at all. And it’s not even certain that your bloodline belongs to the true family. But I understand your skepticism. There were two families until Nicholas. There were no other children born and when Athena and his son died that Royal family died along with them or so we thought. By that time the King’s ancestor was ruling. In conclusion, the family before the King’s either wasn’t the true Royal family or the crown which could’ve proved the truth was lost already.”
“I hate this. When it feels like we would discover the truth soon something new pops up and we’re almost back to square one. Why are there so many secrets? Calypso is too young from this point of view and doesn’t know much. Her human part, Calliope, was part of the council before she was killed by your ancestor. I’ll ask her more about this.”
“Calypso, who was the King and Queen when Calliope was a council member?”
“Even though the Queen was her friend she barely said anything about how their family got the crown. There was always tension between the two Royal families, but they refused to say the exact reason I just put the pieces together when I discovered that story. It was because of the accusations that one of the two families was fake. That bloodline had five generations ruling before Dimitri’s ancestor killed them. So I guess something happened when the first King and Queen from the bloodline ascended the throne.”
“She doesn't know anything useful, only that the said bloodline had five generations of Kings and Queens and there was always some tension between the two Royal families. By the way, where was their castle located? Maybe we will find something there.”
“I will take you there as soon as your asshole of a brother releases you.”