Iftia: Lyx Palace, Thunder's Bedchamber

• Thunder •

Thunder bounded the crystal tightly with a black thread and wore it around his neck. Walking towards the dressing room, he changed into a fresh set of clothes and packed another two into a small sack. He moved to pick his daggers and slid them into the holsters tied to each of his thighs. With a heavy heart, he headed towards the main entrance of Lyx and waited for Elianna and Arell to return.

Arell was the first to catch sight of him as he sprinted in his incredibly fast speed towards him. The child clung to his legs tightly, throwing his head back to stare up at him, "Were you waiting for Arell?"

"Stop flattering yourself. I was waiting for your mother, little rascal," he lied, with the mischief of wanting to tease the child who was now pouting grumpily as he glared at him with his big, brilliant blue eyes that speckled with faint rings of gold in between.

"You were waiting for me?" Elianna asked, surprised.

"On a serious note, yes," Thunder requested, sighing a little. "Can I talk to you for a bit?"

"What happened?" Elianna was quick to realise when she rushed him with another question. Her expression was washed over with worry now and he noticed the frown that formed in between her brows.

"Later, Eli," Thunder brushed it off and looked towards Rowan.

"Go ahead, love. I'll take Arell back to his bedchamber," Rowan nodded slightly and nudged Elianna gently in his direction. Even though Thunder can't say that he liked Rowan a lot, but when the time called for it, this man always helped him.

"Alright then," Elianna sighed. Kneeling beside Arell, she brushed short strands of hair away and pressed a tender kiss on the child's forehead. "Goodnight, mea lux. You have to get to bed promptly, alright?"

"Okay," Arell grinned before walking towards him and tugging the hem of his shirt. "Thunder, aren't you going to wish Arell good night too?"

"Later," he smiled.

"You promise?" Arell beamed.

"I promise," Thunder said in a low voice. Stretching his arm out, Thunder ruffled the child's hair with his hand and gestured Elianna towards the receiving room.

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• Elianna •

Elianna walked into the receiving room with Thunder and he waited for her to settle down on the cushioned lounge chair. His silence hadn't sat well with her and she was dying to figure out what was the upsetting feeling that she felt the moment he told her that he wanted to talk.

"Thunder, spill it already," Elianna urged, looking fixedly at him.

Thunder dropped his head slightly and his expression darkened ominously. He ran a hand through his hair before rubbing his chin to display the trepidation within him. Drawing a long breath, he began, "I need to leave Iftia tonight."

"It's already late," she gasped. The unease stirred unpleasantly and she felt on the verge of jumping from her seat at his seriousness. Her instincts never failed her and something about Thunder felt horribly wrong. She continued to ask, "Where are you heading to?"

"I won't tell," he gave her a wry smile and dread twisted in her gut as terror mounted with every beat of her heart.

"I don't allow it." Her voice trembled. "I c-can't allow it."

"Eli—"

"You know, Jason gave me the exact same look when he wanted to leave me," she blanched. "You can't leave us, Thunder. I won't allow it."

And Thunder fell silent again, his expression indecipherable but colour drained from his face totally as he looked towards her with sadness filling within his emerald eyes. His mouth dropped, as though wanting to admit to her claim but had stopped himself before words could escape. She saw his jaw clenched tighter as he sealed his lips tight and averted his gaze away from her. A moment later, he apologised, "I'm sorry, Eli. I'm not here to ask, I'm only informing you about this. Regardless of what you say, I have to go."

"At least, tell me where you're going and why you have to go there," she pressed. "You claimed that we're family. If you still regard me as family, you would let me carry your burdens too."

From all the years she knew Thunder, she well-expected him to remain avoidant and stubborn. Silence weighted but he eventually admitted, "Mt. Lusian."

"Your birthplace?" Elianna turned her head sharply to face him again.

"Yes," he sighed heavily. "Out of boredom, I went out to hunt in the woods of the Royal Palace tonight while everyone attended the celebration. I found something that should never happen."

"Tell me more."

"I found a dead panther cub." Thunder sounded horrified. "Since the clash between therianthropes centennials ago, peace persisted and each side lived separately. The deep-seated hatred would always be there, but we never kill. Because when we do, it's a declaration of war."

"Who's on the other side?"

"White wolves." Thunder reached into the collar of his shirt and took out a crystal that he tied on his neck and reached for the anklet that he had always worn around his leg. She stared at the three crystals —  one on the necklace, two on the anklet — which had strikes of silver carved through the obsidian. Thunder continued, "My parents were soldiers who fought in the clash and they were also murdered by the lycans. I was too young to remember much but they went and they didn't return, Eli."

Elianna remained silent as she watched Thunder fall into sadness. "This child must've gone out to play, to hunt hares or catch butterflies in the lush woods of Mt. Lusian. He went and he didn't return. You're a parent, Eli. I'm sure you would understand that his parents must still be waiting for him or frantically searching every corner to find him."

"I know." Elianna felt a sharp pierce through her heart but continued, "But you haven't been in contact with your kind for the longest time, Thunder. I'm worried about you."

"Don't you think that this was a message directed to me?" He let out a harsh breath and buried his hands in his hair. "Someone here wants me to send this message back to my kind."

"Thunder—"

"This is not a matter to be taken lightly, Eli," he cautioned. "The lycans are ruthless and humans are no match to therianthropes. If my kind doesn't fight back against them, blood will spill. And I'm talking about dyeing the entire Iftia red."

The seriousness in his tone caused her hands to bunch on the skirt of her dress so tightly that her knuckles paled and her body trembled. She tried to bite back on a cry, "But if your kind learns that you went against them to be with the humans, they wouldn't hesitate to kill you."

Thunder only smiled as he crossed the space between them and pulled her into a hug. He comforted, "This is a gamble I had to take."

"We can't lose you."

"If I don't respond to this, I'll lose everyone." Even when he concealed it well, Elianna could hear the edge of fear in his voice. Thunder patted her back softly and continued, "When I'm away, be careful. Those white wolves must've been contracted as mercenaries and it might as well be someone in the Royal Palace. You get what I mean?"

"The Queen?" she gasped, feeling her blood freezing in her veins when a sudden realisation crashed into her.

Thunder let go of her and faced her. His eyes stared right into hers and he nodded slightly. Then, he pushed himself to stand and said, "I promised to wish your little one good night. I'm going."

"Please be safe," Elianna pleaded. "And please come back to us, Thunder."

"I'm going to try my best, Eli," he smiled.

Elianna watched as he exited the receiving room. For the first time, Thunder wasn't brimming with playfulness and confidence. It was fear that danced on his shoulders and dread that shrouded above him.

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Iftia: Lyx Palace, Arell's Bedchamber

• Thunder •

Slowly, he pushed the door open and saw that all lights had been dimmed in the room except for the small lamp that was placed by his bed. He lifted his steps and walked quietly towards the large bed, sitting at the side while adjusting the blankets up to the child's shoulder to tuck him in. To his surprise, Arell shifted and his eyelids fluttered opened, revealing a pair of beautiful blue-gold eyes.

"Thunder," Arell grinned excitedly at him.

"Children who don't sleep enough will forever remain short," Thunder reprimanded, even though his tone was light.

"Must you always be rude?" The child pouted sadly.

"Must you always be petulant like your mother?" Thunder laughed, running a hand through the child's hair. He remained silent, just looking towards the child that he adored with the depth of his soul.

"Thunder, is something making you sad?"

"Why did you ask?"

"Arell knows when you're sad." Arell sat up from his bed and his shoulders slumped slightly as his brows knitted together into a frown. "You can tell Arell who's treating you badly and Arell would beat the bad person up!"

"You would?"

"Of course!" The child pushed on his sleeves and revealed his small arms. He even stood on his bed, jutted his chest out and planted his fists by his waist. Arell's attempt to look bigger and more confident only caused Thunder to break into a fit of laughter.

"You're a brat, what can you do?" Thunder scooped the child into his arms, settling him on his lap.

"Hey!" The child smacked his chest angrily. "You're belittling Arell!"

Instead of replying with a witty retort like how they would always bicker with one another, Thunder sighed, "I have to go somewhere far for a while."

Arell released his fist and tilted his head back to stare towards him. The child asked, "When are you coming back?"

A pang of emotions struck right through his chest and he ran a hand down his small back, feeling all the warmth that this tiny body could provide him. He replied, "I don't know, little one."

"Arell will wait for you." The child wiggled closer into his hold and wrapped his arms around his waist, breathing slowly and seemingly trying to comfort him through his little gestures. Arell asked again, "You'll be back, right?"

"I will," Thunder tried his hardest to swallow the lump of emotions that had formed in his throat and gave him a reply that sounded as propitious as he could manage.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

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