The In-Between 50 years later
Julius
I stood on the balcony, overlooking the sight before me. 50 years had passed, and I never tired of it. The city in front of me glittered in the light from the rising sun. I inhaled the fresh morning air deeply, feeling a twinge in my chest and brushing it off. I didn't have time for sentimental feelings today. It was time to visit my dear half-brother. I couldn’t hide my grin as I strode back into the master suite. I didn’t pause to admire the room as normal; my mind set on rubbing my success into my dear little brother’s face. I grabbed my crown off of its royal pillow (insert eye roll here) and placed it on my head. I hated how it felt on my head, but I knew it grated on Stefan’s nerves to see me wear it. I strode through the palace, making my way down the stairs and into the dungeons. The guards nod at me as I strode past them, walking farther and farther down until I reached the final floor. I kept Stefan in a special cell in the belly of his palace, one that could contain and slowly destroy his dragon. I knew it would take centuries, but we were immortal, so I had time to wait. An evil grin smears across my face as I squat down in front of the cell, looking into the shadows for him. Bright red eyes meet mine from the darkness and narrow. I stand up as Stefan emerges and stands to his full height. Despite being locked away for over 50 years, he still stood proud at 6 feet 8 inches, though he was a shell of the former king he was. His clothes hung off him in tatters, the many holes allowing anyone to see the severe malnutrition and numerous wounds that were never allowed to fully heal.
“Hello, dear brother, how are you feeling today?” I ask, smirking at his scowl. As usual, he doesn’t answer. I cock my head to the side and make a sad puppy dog face at him.
“Aww, are you mad at me, baby brother? That wounds me, I thought we were getting so close.” I laugh at his narrowed eyes.
“Fuck you.” He spits at me, his eyes glowing with his fury and pain. I loved seeing the hurt and pain in his eyes. He deserved everything he got, as did his whore of a mate and our father. I was the firstborn, becoming King was my birthright, and yet father had chosen Stefan because he was a pureblood, like it was my fault he took a chosen mate before he found his fated one. I growled at Stefan, crossing my arms. I wanted so bad for his dragon to leave him so I could finally be done with him. I could have easily killed him years ago, but I wanted him to suffer, and he had to stay alive for that.
“I’m surprised to see your dragon spirit so strong still, brother. What is that beast still holding on to you?” I ask, knowing I’ll never get an answer. He slowly advances on the cell door, each step on shaky legs. I stay where I am until he's stood in front of me, lowering his gaze to mine. I hated that despite being older, he was taller than me by half a foot. He smiled as his eyes flashed gold for a moment, then became a mix of red and gold.
“You want to know why I hold on, half breed?” My brother's dragon asked through him. I froze, the blood in my veins felt like ice. How can he do that? My dragon asks in shock. ‘You tell me, you’re the dragon.’ I snap at him, annoyed at both our ignorance.
“Enlighten me, please.” I drawl, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. If his dragon can talk through him, we don’t know everything we should about Stefan. I rolled my eyes at the obviousness of my dragon's comment.
“Your demise is coming, King Juluis.” He snarled, saying my name and title like an insult. “The rightful rulers of my kingdom will find their way here and you will meet your demise. YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES AGAINST THE CROWN!” He roared, reaching between the bars to grab me by my shirt and lift me off the ground. “You will die for killing my mate and denying us our daughter.” He threw me as hard as he could, sending me flying down the hall and crashing into the wall. I stood up and glared at him. Without a word, I stormed out of the dungeons, stopping at the guards.
“No food or water for 3 days, no human interaction of any kind.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” They replied, bowing their heads. I stormed back to my room, slamming the door behind me.
“You really shouldn't slam doors.” I turned around to stare at the intruder.
“What do you want, scum?” She smiled and lazily stood up, sauntering over to me.
“I just thought you should know, Stefan’s right. You didn’t hide her well enough and he’s coming for her.” Her pale eyes turned white as she placed her hand on my chest. “There will be a great tragedy that will awaken her Fae and allow him to track her down and fulfill the Prophecy you worked so hard to stop.” She removed her hand, and her eyes returned to their normal ice blue. “Tsk Tsk, you should know Fate doesn’t like when we interfere, Julius.” With that she vanished and left me in a panic. 'Well smart one, what do we do now?' He scoffs and rolls his eyes like the answer is obvious. We kill him. Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. 'Don't you think if I was powerful enough to kill him, I'd have done that instead of hiding the little brat from him?' He huffed in annoyance, he hated not being as strong as he should be as a dragon king, but only the true king would receive those gifts, and because my brother was still alive, I would never truly be king. Kill him, then we'll be strong enough to kill our niece's mate, and we'll have nothing to worry about. 'Stupid dragon, you think even with the Kings power, we can defeat Koda?' My dragon didn't truly understand the danger even trying to kill Koda would be, and I'd be damned if I set myself on a suicide mission. I would just get to work on finding out how to make sure my darling niece never came into her Fae powers, then everything would be ok again. Time to contact the witch again. Agreeing with my dragon, I grab what I need and head to contact someone I'd hope to never see again.