Chapter 61 The forgotten
DARIAN
I stride into the corridors of the Haven, boots thudding on stone. My cloak flutters behind me. A soldier falls in step beside me, grim and silent. His voice cracks the hush.
“You’ve been summoned, Prince Darian. The King wants you in the Throne Room.”
Summoned. The word tastes bitter. I nod once.
“By whose command?”
“He didn’t say. Just that everyone is there.”
My brows furrowed in confusion. Who is everyone? I nod. “Thank you.” I turn, stride growing heavier with each step.
The Throne Room doors stand open, guards lining either side. I push inside. The room is grand, oppressive this time, torchlight casting flickers over marble, banners hanging heavy.
Seated on the throne is the Lycan King; beside him are my brothers.
Zeus with that sharp edge in his eyes, Adrian has an unreadable expression and Kelvin, uneasy, shifting. Adira is there, her father standing just beyond her. The circle feels tight, suffocating.
My father’s expression is strange: unreadable. His lips pressed thin.
He gestures. “Stand.” I comply. “Where have you been these past few days?”
I lift my chin. “Out.”
There’s a pause. A weight behind the words. My father’s eyes narrow.
“Didn’t I make it clear you were not to leave the Haven until further notice?”
His voice echoes. It's an accusation.
I bristle. “I’m not a child to be grounded.”
A murmur ripples through the assembled. My stomach twists.
“You treat this Haven like a cage.” My father’s voice is low, but every syllable cuts. “I expected obedience. You are Prince.”
“And I expected respect,” I fire back, eyes locked on his. “Respect for my freedom.”
Kelvin steps forward slightly, looking pained. I can tell he sees the breach between us, but doesn’t know which side to want.
Father’s voice tightens. “Is this about that girl? The one you marked?”
I draw in a breath, heavy. “Iris has nothing to do with this.”
Laughter ripples, quiet and derisive, from Zeus’s corner.
My father’s gaze lands on me, stern. “She has everything to do with it. I stripped your duties as punishment so you’d stay away from her. But instead you spend more time with her.”
I feel heat flood my cheeks. “You think removing responsibility keeps me away?”
“You preserve dignity by distance,” he says. “I hoped isolation would remind you of your role. But you disobeyed.”
I take a step forward. “My obligations, my duties, were never the problem. It was your rules.”
Adira’s father shifts, clears his throat. I glance at her; there’s worry in her eyes. I should feel some of my resolve weaken, but I don’t.
My father’s voice rises. “You parade your autonomy like a banner, stepping out at your leisure, ignoring orders-”
I snap. “Orders given then broken. Commands misused when your priorities shifted.”
The room stills. Zeus’s face is impassive but I see something flicker. Triumph or pain? I can’t tell.
My father holds up a hand. Silence rings. “I want to know your loyalty, Darian. To this Haven. To your title.”
“Loyalty doesn’t mean obeying blindly,” I say, my voice rawer than I intend. “I am loyal. My heart is loyal.”
He leans forward, fingers curled around the arms of the throne. “Is your heart loyal to duty? Or to a girl?”
I open my mouth. I hesitate.
“She’s not a distraction!” I say through gritted teeth, voice dropping so low, I wasn’t sure anybody heard. “Iris… she’s–”
But he cuts me off with a sharp gesture.
“Enough.” His tone is final. “You are relieved of all duties, effective immediately. Orders will go to Zeus in your stead until such time as you prove your priorities align with our expectations.”
A shout nearly chokes me. “You can’t-”
“You will address your conduct,” he says. “And you will show restraint.”
Zeus shifts slightly, expression unreadable. Adira looks shocked; her father’s jaw clenches.
I stare at my father, at the throne, at the sudden gulf between us.
“You are dismissed,” he says, rising slightly. “Leave this chamber.”
I don’t move.
The silence is thick. Everyone watches me like I’m a fuse seconds from burning out.
I take a slow breath, my fists clenched at my sides. “Why do you get like this every time she’s mentioned?” My voice is low and quiet but it cuts through the stillness like a blade.
My father pauses, straightening fully now. His expression tightens into something unreadable.
“She’s dangerous to you,” he says finally.
My throat tightens. “She’s a girl.”
“She’s not just a girl.”
“Then explain it to me,” I snap. “What is it about her that makes you act like this?
“I’m as much as you fail to see it, I’m only trying to protect you.” He says and I suppress the urge to humorlessly chuckle.
“You’re what? Protecting me? From what?”
The King hesitates. It’s brief, but I catch it. That flicker of doubt. Or fear.
When he speaks again, his voice is lower, more measured. “When you were born, Darian, a prophecy surfaced. One the Seers were too afraid to fully speak out loud. We kept it hidden. Even from you.”
The room stills.
“A prophecy?” I echo, nearly scoffing. “You’ve been punishing me because of some old tale?”
He doesn’t flinch. “It resurfaced the night you killed your mate. The Seers were called again. They saw the same vision. It confirmed what we feared.”
My mouth goes dry.
Kelvin looks down. Zeus leans forward, his eyes narrowed in interest, like he’s already finding the best way to twist this to his advantage.
Adira shifts on her feet, the first flicker of unease crossing her usually neutral face.
“The prophecy,” my father says, eyes on me now, “state; The blood of the Forgotten shall rise. Her love will break the cursed bond… or seal its doom.”
I stare at him. “What does that even mean?”
“It means,” he says, “that the Moon Goddess has not forgotten your sin. You were mated before, and you ended her life with your own hands.”
“I didn’t know,” I bite out. “I didn’t know she was mine. You know that.”
“And yet the bond was broken, violently. And now you carry the consequence.”
His eyes flicker. “The punishment comes in the form of a girl. One with dormant werewolf blood, untouched by our world…until she met you. That bond awakened her. And now she walks a path tied to your fate.”
My stomach twists.
He’s talking about Iris.
“You believe she’s the punishment?” I ask, incredulous. “You think Iris is some… some curse?”
His voice sharpens. “Her love, Darian, will either redeem you or destroy you. That is the nature of the prophecy. It is not a choice.”
I take a step forward. “Don’t you dare call her that.”
“Would you rather I let her doom you?”
I laugh bitterly. “You already took my rank. My title. You isolate me. You drag me into this room like a prisoner. What else is there to lose?”
He doesn’t respond.
I look at each of them. Adira’s father, stone-faced and cold; Adira, staring at me like she still doesn’t understand who I am; Kelvin and Adrian, silent. Zeus… smug.
And then I look back at my father.
“Try harder,” I say. “Because this story you’ve just spun, it won’t scare me away from her.”
“Darian-” he starts.
“Iris is not the Moon Goddess’s punishment. She’s not a weapon. She’s not a curse. She’s a person. And whatever fate you think is written for me… I’ll face it on my own terms.”
“You think defiance makes you strong?” His voice thunders now. “You think you’re the first to fall for a bond that leads to ruin?”
“I think you’re afraid,” I say.
He freezes.
I let the words hang there.
“You’re afraid I’ll love her,” I whisper. “And that it won’t end the way your precious made up prophecy says it will.”
No one speaks.
I turn, jaw tight, and walk toward the doors.
Every step echoes.
At the threshold, I pause. “You want to protect me? Then stop trying to control me.”
Then I push the doors open and leave them behind.