"What happened to your golden eyes? The blue is pretty as well but it is unsettling in an unnatural way" Su realized his mistake too late. By the time the words were out of his mouth, he had a weapon aimed at his throat.
The alpha lady seemed to be fuming and the only thing keeping Su's throat safe from her knife was the tight grip of the emperor on her hand.
"Lady Ray, we talked about this before we came in. If you cannot control yourself then you should perhaps leave the room" Ignis, no, the emperor asked but his tone was firm.
This was an order and it forced the lady to put her knife away immediately.
Su got a feeling that the alpha lady wanted nothing more than to skewer him alive but she could not because of 'reasons'. And one of those 'reasons' happened to be the emperor.
"My apologies. My hand slipped while I was not looking. I will try and make sure it does not happen again" the 'try' did not escape Su's attention but he tried not to pay it any attention.
He had a feeling that he would survive any encounter as long as the emperor happened to be there. His instincts would just not shut up about him and Ignis.
It was distracting.
"See that it does not. I won't issue another warning after this" The lady seemed to shrink back on herself but her gaze held the same fire Su had seen this whole time.
This lady would risk her life if it meant eliminating a threat aimed at her emperor.
"And now, let's come back to you. Why do you think my eyes should be golden? Do you not happen to like these blue ones. My people have often told me that I look dashing with these pair of eyes" Su flinched as the emperor addressed him.
The emperor's voice held just a hint of magic and it washed over Su. It was just as unbearable as anything else but it was easier to shake off of him.
"I don't have to answer any of your questions. Either kill me or let me go" Su forced those words out of his mouth.
He did not want to have any conversation with this beast but there was no other way to ensure Erwin's safety. Su had to know if his partner got away or not.
"And why can you not answer my question? Is it because you are not sure of it? Or are you trying to protect something? A memory you do not want to be tainted?" Su hated how his body flinched at that accusation.
His instincts conflicted his mind, pulling him all over the place. They were convinced that this alpha was Ignis and wanted him to submit but the rational part of Su protested against this.
So, Su decided to not answer the question aimed at him.
He did watch as the alpha lady tightened her fist and clenched her lower lip in anger. She seemed to be having a hard time controlling her emotions and it felt good to see her unsettled.
The emperor beside her did not have the same problem though.
"So a memory? Was he someone special to you? A mate? But you are too young to bond still and your magic is all over the place as well. So, maybe a childhood sweetheart? Tell me, did you love him?" the emperor asked in a sing-song voice.
The tone was not mocking but the words seemed to be aimed at Su to hurt. The emperor was trying to get a rise out of him and Su did not like being taken advantage of.
There had been only a few people Su had invited in his life like that and this emperor was not included in them.
And that is why Su protested against his instincts and chose to attack the emperor.
Only to be stopped by another blade right in the middle of his attack. The alpha female in front of him had taken a protective stance in front of her emperor and her eyes seemed ablaze.
She seemed to be past the point of furious now. She was aiming to kill.
"Ray! Stand down right now. Honestly, I told you to not interfere in this since I had this handled. If you can't follow simple orders then you should leave this room. In fact, please leave this room and only come back when I call for you" once again, the emperor had not raised his voice.
The same cheerful voice called out those commands but it was enough to force the female alpha to flinch.
Trouble in paradise maybe?
"But emperor, I certainly cannot-" the female began and Su missed the second part of the exchange in his irritation.
But whatever it had been was enough to make the female tremble just a little bit before she kneeled and left the room on her own.
Then it was only Su and the emperor left inside the room. It was the perfect time to try and kill the emperor without any kind of barrier in between them.
All Su had to do was to push his body forward and impale the emperor right in the chest. That was all it was going to take.
But try as he might, Su's body did not move at all. It felt as if invisible hands were holding him back.
"Out of everyone it could have been, why was it you? Honestly, I thought you would have outgrown this recklessness by now Su but you continue to prove me wrong. You do realize that nothing would get solved even if you killed me right here and now" the emperor's voice was devoid of any of his signature cheer.
It made Su feel hot and then cold. His brain refused to process any of the words being spoken to him.
All he could think about were those words and the sound of his name being spoken in that voice. It drained all the anger away from him.
"Ignis? Is it you?" Su did not even pay attention to the break in his voice. It was barely audible to him, much less to the alpha in front of him.
But somehow he got a feeling that the emperor heard every word he said.
"Ignis, huh? I'm afraid the person you are seeking no longer exists. He was me before I re-awakened and the memories from that time are a little blurry in my mind. It's better to forget that someone like that ever existed and move on" Ignis, no this was not Ignis.
The body and magic were indeed Ignis but the man inside was no longer his alpha. This was a person Su did not know.
"What does that even mean? You were him but are no longer him? Ignis was a human" Su tried to wrap his head around everything he just heard. He had been so sure that Ignis had been a human.
But his memories of that time were blurry as well and the eyes in his memories were not human. The more Su thought back to it, the clearer it became.
Had Su just never noticed all this or was there some other reason? Those memories felt as if they were being viewed from under a veil.
"Don't force yourself to remember. Ignis or the thing you knew back then was my magic that gained consciousness to protect me. That magic and my alpha instincts were what controlled me that time I got lost on earth. They no longer have their consciousness now and this was all we had to discuss" the emperor paused there and allowed Su to absorb all that.
To say it was a shock was an underestimation for Su.
Su's head refused to wrap itself around what he had heard just now and he felt as if he was going to be sick.
But he could not be sick and down right now. He had a duty to do and humans were counting on him.
"Wait. I can't allow you to live and oppress humans as you have been. It's all because of you and your people that we humans have to suffer for so long" Su had not even realized that he had been screaming.
He only realized that he had moved when he had a hand on Ignis's, no, the emperor's shoulder and a knife at his throat.
"Foolish human. I gave you a perfect out but you refused to take it. Well then, I guess it's time to end it all" The alpha's easy smile dropped and Su felt the magic build up around him.
Su braced himself for the impact and felt the magic smash right into him. It was bound to be painful and Su knew he was bound to regret it the second it was done.
Su opened his eyes at the last second and saw a familiar pair of golden eyes looking back at him and everything in him screamed the same name.
'Ignis'