XXV
White, Red, & Black

It's the next day and I don't waste time. Jaejin and I are heading to Bely Glacier for a meeting with Anastasiya and Rurik but Jaejin doesn't have Seung with him. So here I am in the stables with Orion and we are looking for a double seater saddle. Jaejin offered to go bareback and the way my eyes narrowed made him change his mind. He knew better. With the way that Jaejin knew me like the back of his hand, he should've known not to make such a joke. As if I would ever ride bareback or even let him ride with no saddle to harness him in. I was in the closet in the Stables, we are looking for the saddle and Orion is quietly humming to himself as we look for it.

"So," Orion says and I look over to him, "How do you feel? Jaejin being here?" He asked me and I grabbed the saddle, placing it on top of the counter in the closet. I huff as I unwrap the reins that were attached to them and sigh as I look over to him. How do I easily tell my brother that I have no idea how to feel about Jaejin coming to say he loves me. That Pluto Kwon would've been over the three moons that roam the sky but, Pluto Kardos? I can't speak for him. It's like the words are on my tongue ready to be expressed like I always tell but they fall short. It's hard to find the words that will make sense to Orion. As far as I knew, Jaejin was helping Zsoka, my adoptive mother, with breakfast. He seemed wary about me leaving with my brother but Nova was quick to shut down that attitude. She told him,'You've had 15 plus years with our brother. We've had three. Back off, Cha.' I didn't exactly argue with her. I knew better.

"I'm.. I don't know. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited, happy that he's here. Happy that he knows I am his Mate and that we can be together now, gods know how long I have been waiting for Aphion to bless my prayers." Aphion was our Queen of the Gods, she was the goddess of motherhood and love. I prayed to her when it came to Jaejin more times than I liked to admit if I was being honest. The Pantheon was really only one of the things that we kept from the Fae Bastards that tried to take from us.

"But?" Orion prods.

"Do you think he expects me to be like the other Queens? Obey his word? Take care of his children? Does he expect me to.. I don't know. Change myself? I can't do that, Orion. I'm not the same.. I'm not the same boy that I was in that Castle. I'm not Pluto Kwon anymore, I'm a Kardos. I'm a Pyromatic. I'm the first Kardos who isn't an heir to do full-body flames for fuck's sake!" I sigh heavily, I'm not meaning to raise my voice but it happens. I've always been attracted to fire but now it makes so much more sense why it never burned me. The fire lives in me, as it does with my father, and all of the wonderful Royal beings born before me in my family line. Fire has a mind of its own, it always has, especially when my hand is the one to conjure it. Fire is purifying, it was always taught to us as a change, a new beginning, rebirth. It always makes me wonder when I had those full body flames in that forest in Black Soul if that was my rebirth. My brother puts his hand on top of mine, squeezing it.

"Pluto, anybody with eyes can see how much Jaejin loves you, okay? Just because you are someone new, you are still the same Pluto. You can't change you, you still are the annoying snot monster that you were when you were 3 years old. If anything, Jaejin should see how incredibly strong this visit back home has made you. How this you coming home has made you more than worthy to be his King at his side. No one is going to be able to question you, you realize that? You ride a Red Dragon, you can control fire! You can fight on Kígyó's tail! I mean this Pluto because if anything, all of this makes you ten times more lovable okay? If anything, I would be worried to see if he doesn't try to put that mark on your neck before the meeting." Orion expressed to me and I nodded. I have to listen and understand this as well. Jaejin is my Mate, and our souls were literally destined to love each other. That means all the new as well. The anxiety in me can't just accept it though, not without hearing what my Mate has to say about it. Jaejin and I have always been very good at communication and this is no different. I need to talk to him.

"You're right. I know you are but I just-"

"Feel insecure? That's normal, Pluto. You guys have been friends since you were kids, best friends after that, and now you guys are Mates? Even if you've been in love with him this whole time, that's going to take him and you some time to get used to. Okay? If it really does bother you though-"

"Who's bothering you?" Jaejin comes in and he's in leathers, it's his fighting leathers he must've brought in his duffel bag but by the gods. Jaejin looks handsome in them. They are all black but with dark green trim. They have many harnesses along his thigh, his arm, and I know he has pouches to have dual axes on his back but he isn't wearing them today. He has a few throwing knives in almost every harness on his leg but I try not to stare at his muscular thighs for too long.

"No one. Orion is being dramatic, as per usual." I roll my eyes at my older brother and he just scoffs.

"Tell Ru-"

"I know, I know, tell Rurik you said hey. Yet you are still trying to convince me that you won't be with a guy? Could've fooled me." I tell my brother and that's when he rolls his eyes.

"Just go and come back, if you aren't back in three hours, I'm coming to get you both." Orion says as he pulls Kígyó out of her stall. Orion must've mounted her with the double saddle already, and Jaejin is the first to climb up my dragon. He sits in the back and I'm next to climb up her red scales. As I call Kígyó to fly up in the skies, and I am there gliding in the clouds, that annoying as it is, my brother is right. Maybe I'll throw something at him later.

"Ukitu" I give the command for Kígyó to touch down in the frost of Bely Glacier. Today, we are meeting at the Castle, and the historical books weren't wrong. The Castle seems to be made of steel but just with ice covering it. It's not actually made of ice, but it seems as if the castle flourishes with all the ice that covers it. It has three different buildings that are a part of the castle with walkways connecting all of the buildings together. I land where it seems to be in front of their Stables, Jaejin is the first to get off Kígyó and I get off after him. I pull my jacket tighter across my chest, fuck it was cold here. I fix the crown that seems like it's digging its blood stained claws into my scalp. I look over to Jaejin and his black crown looks so beautiful on him. It's black and has emeralds that wrap around the band of the crown. He reaches out and grabs my hand, holding my hand tight in his grasp. I feel like I am dreaming when the boy that I've loved since I was 10 years old touches me.

We head up the stairs, the ice isn't too bad. There were a few times I felt like I was going to slip, bust my ass, and possibly bring down Jaejin with me. Luckily, Jaejin was slow with me while we walked up the flight of stairs. The double doors are made of stained glass and the edges of the doors are crusted with ice. They pull open, scraping against the snow and pushing forward into the castle. The throne room is made in an open floor plan, the floor is made of the purest white of marble, small black lines that you can hardly tell are there in the floor. A silver staff bangs into the floor, and I am looking up to the King and Queen of Bely Glacier, sitting in their thrones. They are holding hands, Anastasiya is on the left side and Rurik sits on the throne next to her, on the right. Her crown has a silver headband that is pushed into her hair, 18 icicle spikes that are pointing up in the air that are glued onto the headband. They stand at 15 inches high and in the center of the headband are six dark blue sapphires that seem to sparkle at me. Her crown has four blue roses, skipping icicles so they aren't bunched together. Her hair is laid down, it rests right at her midsection. She wears a white dress, a sweetheart neckline with a cape that is bejeweled. The mid-section is sheer but jewels cover her torso. Rurik's crown seemed to match his wife's wonderful crown. He wears a silver crown that sits on top of his dark hair, his brown eyes seem to see through me but they don't, not like Jaejin does. His silver crown has three dark blue sapphires that sit in the middle of the crown. He wears a matching outfit to unify a unit with his Mate. The thrones are made of white steel but also have icicles hanging off the arm rests of the throne.

"Prince Jaejin Cha of the Black Soul Kingdom and Prince Pluto Kardos III of the Red Blaze Kingdom." They announce and I bow my head in respect to both of them.

"My brother wanted me to express a greeting to you both and he apologizes he couldn't come this time." I express to the royalty in front of me. Rurik just smiles and nods. He knows.

"It's a bit warmer in the meeting room, would you like to go there? We can sit and eat the lunch that was prepared for us." Queen Anastasiya suggests and we all nod. I wonder what delicious meal they made this time. We follow behind Rurik and Ana; they are holding hands as they walk, both of their heads are held high. Jaejin then proceeds to grab my hand, his hands surprisingly warm as he rubs a thumb over my hand. All of this just feels so overwhelming but I don't know how I am going to tell my other half that. The walls are painted, they aren't made of marble like the other castles, they are drywall. The wall is painted the purest of white, and there's no chipping away at the paint either. The floors are still made of the white marble with black streaks that you can barely see, like in the throne room. As we walk, we walk down the hallway and I take note to look at the walls, there are multiple family portraits that line the hallway. It starts with the very first King, the one who took over the Fae King who was killing innocents. He's pictured with his Mate, and his heir. Kesar Vasiliev is a brunette and that sort of surprises me, I always pictured the white blonde hair that Anastasiya has. Then it goes in order after Kesar, it highlights emphasis on the Queen or King who ruled during the three other wars that Eclia has seen. Kesar Vasiliev fought in the Revolution of the Dragons, Misha Vasiliev fought in the Battle of the Saddle, Katya Vasiliev fought in the World War of Wings, and then Alexei Vasiliev III fought in the Blood and Claw War. Katya was the one to bring the blonde hair to the family, ever since then it seems as if the heir is born with the same white-blonde hair, along with the blue eyes that seem to look into your soul.

"This should be good enough for you both, I hope," Ana speaks up and I nod to agree. The room has a long table, a meeting table, I guess. It seems to fit 6 people on each side, along with two people at one end then at the other end. It's made of aspen bark and it's beautifully crafted. "This won't be where we are holding the Annual meeting. That will be a different room, but it's under construction to get it ready." Ana explains, we all sit down, Jaejin and I are on the left side of the table, sitting next to each other. Anastasiya and Rurik sit across from us, there's mats and serving plates in front of us along with silverware and chalices. The chalice and silverware are made of the finest silver but that's expected since Bely Glacier is known for their Silver and the trade they make with other Kingdoms.

"Your lunch is served." Bowls of soup are placed in front of us with a slice of bread. It's a beautiful red color and you can see along with smell the delicious herbs that seasoned the soup. They also pour a white wine that seems to have an aroma of vanilla.

"Ah, Solyanka, my favorite." Anastasiya smiles and isn't shy to dig into the soup. I'm not either. It had chicken and pork in the soup, veggies and a beautiful beef broth. I curse my adoptive mother for making me notice the difference in quality ingredients but that's what happens when your mother is a chef. We eat the soup in silence and I know I should be the first to speak, that I should be the first to say something but my tongue falls short. Jaejin is the first one to put his spoon down next to his bowl and pushes his bowl to the side.

"We want to make relations," Jaejin starts off, "When the meeting comes, I plan on telling my father about the mating bond that I share with Prince Pluto." Rurik lets out a deep sigh and a low whistle.

"You are going to tell your father, the Acid King, that you have a mating bond with the Ember King's son at the meeting in a week?" Rurik asks and then he throws his head back, laughing at us both.

"Can I not rely on you both to support us?" Jaejin's voice changes and I know that tone of voice. That tone of voice is him losing his patience and him about to lose it on King Rurik. I reach out and grab Jaejin's hand, holding it close to me.

"You have both of our support there is no doubt-" Ana starts but Rurik is the one to hold up his hand.

"You do realize the kind of man your father is, politically?" Rurik asks, his brows narrow at Jaejin. "Your father had an abusive father who abused his power! Do you not remember the Black Death? Or did you suddenly forget about that? Did you forget about that, Prince Pluto? That was your mother's Kingdom. You do realize that, correct?" Rurik is snapping at me and Jaejin opens his mouth but I hold my hand up.

"I do realize that. What's your point, Rurik?" I snapped at him back.

"What makes you think even if we give you our support that he isn't going to burn a Kingdom down? You, Cha men, are known for destruction." Rurik points at Jaejin and Jaejin's lip lifts up in the corner of his mouth. He doesn't like the disrespect that comes out of his mouth and I'm not a fan of it but I know where Rurik is coming from, it's not like he's lying.

"You know the rumors-"

"Rumors?!" Rurik slaps his hand down on the table, "Did you meet Astraea Kallis-Kardos at the Castle of Red Blaze in Lángok?"

"Technically, no."

"Is she not in your basement at Black Soul? Did your father not send you down there as a tactic to talk to her?"

"My father is-"

"A bastard. Your father? Is a damn monster. So my question is one thing, Jaejin Cha."

"What?"

"When he has your mate's spine in your hand, are you going to burn down his Kingdom, your Kingdom to ashes?"

"My father won't get the chance to take my mate's spine out of his hands. I will acid burn my father into liquid before he will get the chance to touch my mate. So I will ask again, King Consort," Jaejin's lips twist into a snarl and his canines flash at the the couple across from us, "Do I have the House of Vasillev's support when I tell my father that Pluto Kardos is mine, my Mate, and if I have to, I would burn down his Kingdom to prove a damn point." My mate has stood up at this point, both of his hands slamming onto the dinner table but Rurik is obviously as psychotic as my older brother because his lips spread in a wide grin.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Because then I can tell Crown Prince Orion that he has nothing to worry about when it comes to how you feel about the Lost Prince."

"So do we have your support or not? Tell my brother that he can ask Jaejin his damn self instead of sending his lover on him." I snap at Rurik and he chuckles at me. I try to hide the fact that I want to reach over and choke Rurik out but I'm trying to hide it better.

"Of course you have our support Pluto, even when you take the throne with Prince Jaejin. I look forward to seeing you at the meeting next week."

"Where does your father think you are? Surely he wouldn't be okay with you staying with King Kardos."

"He thinks I am here in Bely Glacier, helping you set up for the meeting, I'll fly here the night before so my father believes it." Jaejin explains to the couple and they both nod in agreement. We all stand up and shake hands, say our goodbyes and then we are heading outside to get on my dragon. Jaejin again is on Kigyo first and then I am on next. We are flying up in the air and back to the castle when I speak up.

"That's what the other Kings are going to bring up at the meeting, you do know that don't you Jae?" I ask him.

"I know. I'm counting on it, my little Pyro."