Chapter 102 He really wants to protect her
"Orion, I am letting you out of this cell," she demanded, her eyes locked on his. "And I want you to help me reach the Arctic Flaming Descend."
Orion remained motionless, the silence stretching between them until it felt like it might snap. Esperanza’s resolve wavered for a split second, her eyes softening into a pleading gaze. "You are not going to help me?"
Ezra, watching the exchange, felt a surge of inexplicable fury. He roared, his voice echoing off the damp stone. "Why are you making these eyes while saying that? He cannot see those eyes, Esperanza! He is a prisoner!"
But Orion only chuckled a low, dark sound that vibrated with a sudden, startling devotion. "I would even give my life for you," he replied, his voice steady and stripped of its earlier malice.
Esperanza offered a small, triumphant smile and a nod toward Ezra. The King’s mask of cold indifference slipped for a moment; he rolled his eyes in annoyance but finally gave the silent signal to his guards.
"I am not going to unchain him," Ezra muttered, still clinging to his last shred of control.
"Get him out of there," Esperanza countered firmly.
As the guards stepped forward, the heavy iron tumblers groaned. They stripped away Orion’s blindfold, and he squinted violently as the harsh torchlight flooded his vision for the first time in days.
His eyes flickered, adjusting to the world, until they landed on Esperanza. Seeing her face brought a visible wave of relief to his bruised features.
"Are you okay?" he rasped. She nodded, her breath hitching. "I thought I just lost you," he whispered, his eyes turning glassy with unshed tears.
Suddenly, the air was pierced by a guttural scream from the neighboring cell. "My son!" the old man shrieked, the sound so sharp it made Ezra flinch and cover his ears.
"He is my father..." Orion’s voice broke. His tears were ready to fall as he felt the primal pull of his blood. But as the old man tried to drag himself toward the bars, Orion’s expression underwent a terrifying transformation. His eyes turned pitch black, a void of darkness that froze the old man in his tracks.
"This is going to be your last" Orion began, his voice dropping into a demonic register, but Esperanza’s voice cut through the darkness.
"Orion... No. Please."
He stopped instantly, the blackness receding, but the damage was done. The "heroic" father in the next cell was so terrified that he visibly dampened his pants. Orion watched the man’s cowardice and let out a loud, mocking laugh.
"This is the reality of your men, Ezra," Orion laughed, the sound bouncing off the walls. "A coward king, a craven army."
Esperanza slumped her head into her hand, overwhelmed by the chaos. "You baseborn..." Ezra growled, his hand flying to his sword.
"My father is right there, do not you dare..." Orion warned, peeking into Ezra's flaming eyes with a smirk.
"I will kill him if he lets out another word!" Ezra demanded. Esperanza turned to Orion, her eyes pleading once more.
"Orion, please."
"I am not going to do that," Orion finally s
aid, his voice quiet.
"Promise?"
He nodded. "Promise."
Ezra, unable to handle the loss of control any longer, turned and stormed out of the dungeon without a word. The old man began to wail again, begging for one last look at his son. Esperanza felt a pang of pity, but Orion gripped her arm.
"He is a psychic demon, Esperanza," Orion warned, his voice urgent. "If I let him see me, his connection will open. He will be draining you first. It is better this way."
As they moved toward the exit, they were blocked by Raymond, the high-ranking guard.
"Golden Dragon..." Raymond bowed to Esperanza, but his eyes were full of venom as they landed on Orion. "Where are you taking that monster?"
"I let him out," Ezra said, appearing at Esperanza's side and reclaiming his authority. "That is my command. I want to talk to him."
"But you are putting her in danger, My King!" Raymond cried, dropping to one knee. "He is a monster!"
"Let me figure out who is a monster and who is not," Ezra replied coldly. Orion simply smirked as he watched the "loyal" soldier got in frustration.
The air between Ezra and Raymond turned brittle, the kind of cold that doesn't come from the weather, but from a collapsing world. Raymond remained on his knee, his head bowed in a show of ancient loyalty, but his shoulders were trembling. He could feel the shift in Ezra’s spirit—the icy, detached king was gone, replaced by a man whose foundations had been rocked by a singular, devastating truth.
"My King, please," Raymond choked out, his voice thick with a desperate plea to return to the way things were. "He is a monster. His blood is poison. You are putting the Golden Dragon in the path of a predator."
Ezra didn't look at the soldier. He didn't even look at Orion. He looked straight ahead into the graying light of the morning, his voice dropping into a hollow, haunting register that made Raymond's blood run cold.
"You knew, didn't you?" Ezra asked. It wasn't a question; it was a verdict.
Raymond’s breath hitched. He looked up, his eyes wide and filled with a sudden, flickering terror. "I... I don't know what you mean,"
Ezra watched Raymond scramble backward, his face pale with a terror that usually only followed a death sentence. But instead of the strike Raymond expected, Ezra simply let out a breath and a slow, mischievous smile spread across his lips. He wasn't the cold, grieving King in that moment; he was a man who had just found a strange, twisted amusement in the chaos of his own crumbling reality.
He had been pulling Raymond's leg, testing the old soldier's breaking point just to see if the man's loyalty would snap under the weight of the "monster" he so feared.
"Go run ...," Ezra commanded and Raymond did as he said.