Forged in the Flames by Karima Sa'ad Usman

Chapter 29

I spent the night tossing and turning, thinking of everything my father had told me.

One thing that stuck with me was why Mathias would fall on his sword.

Did they not fight in their wolf form? I knew I would not have peace without an answer, so I planned to speak to my father in the morning before I left.

Sleep never came due to anxiety. I was anxious to see Nikolas the next day, and I was anxious to find out why my father said Mathias fell on his sword.

I needed to understand the battle because, based on my father’s accounts, Mathias seemed confused, and he was behaving as if they hadn’t spoken in a while.

I needed to be sure of certain things. I also wondered if Isabelle was in Snow with her child or if something terrible had happened that prevented her from returning to claim Forest over the past twenty-nine years.

I wondered what Nikolas would do if that should happen.

Would he hand over to Mathias’ heir, or would he insist and push back?

If I wasn’t in love with him, I wouldn’t have bothered, and it might have been a relief, but it didn’t feel like it.

Typically, Kings inherit the throne when they are Thirty-three years of age, so there was a possibility the heir was yet to come. Regardless, I knew I would have to give Nikolas the heads up on the matter when I could because speaking to him of my father in that context always triggered him.

No matter how he cared for me, his hatred and mistrust was deeply embedded, and his emotions could not be handled. It was something that I would have to discuss with him when the opportunity presented

itself.

I would ask my father what happened that made Mathias fall on his sword and keep the information to myself. Then I would compare everything and present my understanding to Nikolas if he ever brings up the past. One thing I am sure of is that I won’t be able to tell Nikolas until he brings it up.

I heard movement in the early morning, and I knew my father was preparing for work. I knew my entire day would be messed up, and I might have to close early just to catch up on my sleep.

I rushed out of bed and went to the bathroom to rinse my mouth. I hurried to the kitchen to prepare breakfast and pack lunch for my father.

He came to the living room around the time that I had finished packing his lunch. “Good morning,” I said, plating his breakfast on the kitchen island so he could sit on the high stool and eat.

“Good morning, Princess. Did you sleep well?” he asked me, picking up his fork and admiring the content of his plate. This was my opportunity to ask him what had troubled me all night.

“I didn’t sleep at all. I stayed up wondering about what you told me last night,” I said, and he sighed and put down his fork. I think I had messed his appetite up.

“I am sorry, Father,” I said quickly, and he looked at me.

“What do you want to know?” he asked, lifting his fork again, ready to eat. I studied him a bit and then decided to ask him.

“Why did Mathias fall on his sword? I assumed he would fight in his wolf form. Why with a sword?” I asked him, and my father nodded.

“That was a brilliant observation, my dear. Now I will tell you a truth that the werewolves refused to accept, my truth,” he said, and I picked up my fork to eat. I wasn’t hungry, but I knew watching him eatnovelbin

would be awkward.

“We gathered ourselves to head to Woodland. We didn’t have much, and we didn’t have weapons either. So, we headed to the palace in multitude to tell the King we would leave Riverhead and go to Woodland.

We wanted to tell him we would no longer mingle with the Lycans, but to our surprise, Mathias was already coming for us with his army of Lycans.

When he faced us, he accused us of wanting to attack him.

Someone had informed him that we were coming, but the person did not tell him what we were planning to do. The person told him that we planned to attack and take over.

Mathias didn’t have many Lycan warriors, and his army of werewolves was with me. Fighting in his wolf form would not favor him, so he chose to fight with galvanised silver swords.

They could use it to injure and kill many wolves more quickly than fighting combat in wolf form.

Remaining in his human form would make him swift on his feet, so it became a sword fight, but we had none.

He did not want us to have a fighting chance, so he chose the only weapon to make it easy. A weapon we did not have.

We did not have silver swords because of the underfunding of the army, so we had to rely partially on our wolves, but there was just saw much Jaws, teeth, and claws could do.

Many of us died in that battle, but we obtained some swords from the fallen lycan soldiers, which helped us.

The Lycans Mathais was using were newly recruited, so they weren’t as skilled as the werewolves that had years of training. We were able to wipe them out with their swords,” He said, sighing.

“I took Mathias on, and we fought until we were away from the others. Some werewolves wanted to help me, but I knew they would aim to kill, so I ran towards the woods, knowing Mathias would follow to kill me because he believed I was the group’s leader.

When we got to the woods, I pointed my sword at Mathias and pleaded with him to yield. I told him we did not want his kingdom, we just wanted to live in Woodland. I told him of all he had done to us and why we wanted to be apart from him. He was in disbelief.

He did not trust me, so he held on to his grudge, but there was a look of realisation in his eyes, and it haunted me ever since.

He was an Alpha and a King. He knew he had lost the battle, and alphas had their pride. There were two things for him to do to keep his honour, run away or die. He chose to die, and when I refused to kill him. He pierced his heart with the silver-coated sword he held and fell on it until the hilt was at his chest and the blade had gone through him completely.

I screamed and knelt by his body, weeping. His last words hunted me.

Mathias told me, ‘I am sorry, Gabriel. They said you were coming for me’,” my father said and wept.

“Someone was feeding him lies, telling him we wanted to usurp power. Someone told him we were coming to fight him, so he prepared.

But by the time we could figure it out, a war had broken out, and he had to keep his honour. I pulled the sword out when Israel and Austin came to where we fought; I was about to tell them what happened when the others came and started hailing that I had ended the mad King.

I tried to tell them it wasn’t like that, but they refused. They thought I was just being modest. They thought I was being kind.

They carried Mathis’s body and his sword and headed back to the entrance, where Isabelle was made to kneel while pregnant with her baby.

They wanted to execute her, but Mathia’s last words made me realise we had all been played.

I wanted her to remain and continue to lead until her child was of age. However, I knew whoever planned the unfortunate war might still be alive and might eliminate her and Mathais’ only heir. The werewolves might kill them too. Mathias had already lost an heir once I could not let his bloodline end. So, I asked for her trusted maids to send them off to Snow.

The werewolves fought me for my decision, claiming that The Snow King would come for me and that if he failed, the child in her womb would seek revenge.

I did not care.

I was grieving my friend, and I was willing to die in those moments because I felt like a traitor. A name that was alien to me had become my reality.

I had no will to live until I met Gwendolyn, and we had you, Princess.” He said and wiped away his tears. He continued to eat the food until he finished.

“Your boyfriend will be returning today?” He asked, and I nodded.

“He said he won’t be away for more than two days, so I expect him to be back today,” I said, and he nodded.

“Good. I like that. You do not deserve how the werewolves are treating you. If his being sincere, I would pray for the day he would finally claim you, but if not, I will try to be here to shield you from everything that will happen after,” He said with a promise, and I smiled at him. “The people never really liked me anyway. It doesn’t matter,” I said, and he laughed.

“I am sure they are just jealous,” he said, and we laughed.

It was good to laugh. He left the house, and I cleaned up and returned to the palace to attend to Nikolas’ mother.

I showered in a hurry and headed to the Queen’s room. While I walked, I thought of all my father had told me and worried about what would happen to Nikolas and his poor mother when the heir suddenly appeared.

I learned that Nikolas and his mother lived in the wilderness all their lives, so this was a beautiful gift he could give her, making her a queen even though it isn’t a recognised title. I would feel awful for them if everything was taken away from them.

It also crossed my mind that the heir could be a girl; maybe they might insist he marries her. Perhaps that was why the Snow King refused to sign his coronation request and insisted he visits him.

Did the Snow King want to introduce Nikolas to the true heir? I paused midway, and my heart began to beat fast.

I doubted Nikolas would walk away from everything for my sake. I tried to steady my heartbeat and then entered the room. Ania and Lisa were already there, and I joined them to perform the chores.

A few hours later, I sat on the couch in the Queen’s room, watching over her as she slept.

Someone entered the room. I knew the scent from anywhere. I turned and saw Nikolas.

He had kept his promise and returned.

I rushed towards him and hugged him.

I noticed he smelled of the trip, meaning he had yet to settle in. He wrapped his arms around me, laughing.

“You are back,” I said, holding on tightly, and he laughed and then kissed my neck. “I could not stay away, little wolf,” He said, lifting me in his arms.

“Let Ania and Lisa do the rest of the work. You should welcome me home properly,” he teased, and I was shy immediately. Was he going to carry me in his arm and walk through the hallway to his room with everyone watching?

He opened the door and stepped out, and I knew he would do precisely that, so much for not showing our affections publicly. They were no doubt that our hearts beat the same. I held on tight.