Rairin stared ahead thoughtfully.
– Majesty? Will you go too?
– If there's that kind of business in my territory, of course I'll have to see for myself.
Rairin walked steadily and quickly to the immense courtyard behind the palace, a courtyard made for the landing of his top officers.
Bavellis had an idea of what he would do, and although the law did not allow his transformation, Rairin had carte blanche in cases of serious emergency.
The prince's disappearance was indeed an emergency case, but since this situation would not be made public, how would they explain the king's presence in the skies of Zhenan?
Rairin threw off his cloak as he approached the center of the courtyard, transforming shortly thereafter. Under the gazes of his subordinates, Rairin took flight, his golden scales reflecting the sunlight, his entire body seemed to glow like gold.
Those present were enchanted by his brilliance, but Rairin knew that was the biggest problem with his form, no matter what the occasion, drawing attention was never a good idea.
Rairin frowned and landed lightly in the courtyard, turning his gaze to Jiaohui.
She smiled as she delighted her eyes on the creature in front of her.
Long possessed Rairin's scales, that's what she noticed when he was born, he was beautiful, really beautiful, but it was indeed a handicap.
Jiaohui then transformed, and a black dragon with a long body appeared in the courtyard, similar to a gigantic snake, in addition to the scales, the fur gave that creature a different appearance and even a little solemn, this was a characteristic of the dragons of the east.
It was seconds before she suddenly disappeared, and only her voice could be heard.
– I'll cover you.
Rairin then turned and took flight, going as fast as he could towards the clouds, his appearance now a little transparent, but not completely invisible like Jiaohui.
Jiaohui flew beside him, it was hard to notice them after they passed the thick clouds of the northern skies. Bavellis just took the direction they had gone, leading more of his most loyal soldiers with him to the south.
– My lord, the reports we obtained was that five more dragons disappeared in this region – A man dressed in long robes and orange colors pointed to a part of a huge map laid out on a table – Of these five, two were water dragons, we cannot afford to lose these people in this way.
A group of ten men was gathered, sitting at a round table, among them was Daren, the lord of these lands and Lia's father. Another man stood up, placing both hands on the table as he looked at the map – This incident has been frequent, water dragons are becoming rarer and rarer, and we need this part of our race...
– My lord, if we had reported this to his majesty right at the beginning, we wouldn't have this problem now, if the king finds out...
– Find out what?
The men seated at the table rose quickly, bowing to Rairin
– Answer me, counselor.
The one Rairin was addressing was one of the advisors to the leader of the southern lands. Seeking help, he glanced sideways at his leader.
Rairin raised an eyebrow, looking at Daren, one of the noble leaders of the dragons – I want to know everything about this trafficking, I want all the notes, all the denunciations, and statements, all the information of the victims here and now.
Daren nodded, and soon everyone in the Southland palace was working hard to get everything the king had asked for.
Soon, a pile of documents was carefully read by Rairin. Jiaohui helped him with some documents, while both looked for a clue to the possible location of this place.
Rairin had thought that there were few cases, but the amount that had appeared before him left him a little shocked. This information dates back to a long time ago, even before your grandfather's reign.
It was night when he managed to finish a large part of the documents.
Looking to the side, Rairin watched his wife sleeping with a frown. Sighing, he got to his feet, walking a few laps thoughtfully. Bavellis entered at this time, but before he could say anything, Rairin motioned him to be silent.
Jiaohui, overcome by exhaustion, was sleeping a bitter sleep, but Rairin still wanted her to rest.
Leaving, they talked in the hall.
– My king, we obtained some information about a clandestine port in the city of Florimia, but we found nothing but hidden brothels and gambling. We already took care of this problem, but we didn't find any sign of his highness.
Rairin nodded slightly – Send more soldiers to the search. It will be dawn soon, call all the ministers present in this palace for a meeting, you must also participate.
– Yes, Your Highness.
Returning to the small room, Rairin looked for his wife. Jiaohui was sitting, staring out the window.
Rairin walked over to her, letting her lay her head on his chest – No sign of him.
Jiaohui closed her eyes, tired – I should have been more firm with him.
– Long has a free heart, he must learn for himself the dangers he will face, and unfortunately for both of us, we only have to learn how to deal with it.
Jiaohui pursed her lips – If I forbid him...
– He will do the same, not because he disrespects you, but because he is like that, let him have some fun...
Laughing lightly, Jiaohui replied – He must be really enjoying himself, he has a friend Rairin, isn't that great?
Rairin nodded. Izrun was a good boy, Long wouldn't be in danger if he was with him, well, that's what he hoped – Mm. It's great.
☙✨❧ ☾☙✨❧☾☙✨❧☾☙✨❧☾☙✨❧☾☙✨❧☾☙✨❧☾☙✨❧☾☙✨❧☾☙✨❧☾☙✨❧
– Your majesty, we got some more reports, maybe you want to take a look?
Rairin glanced at yet another pile of documents in the minister's hands, and with a death glare, he forced him back in fear.
– They won't do, I don't need more reports.
One of the ministers approached - Maybe we should go back to the port and get some more...
Rairin glared at him. Soon the minister also backed away, scared.
Jiaohui narrowed her eyes – If this matter had come to the king from the beginning, there wouldn't have been any of these problems.
The ministers present quickly bowed their heads. Bavellis, standing in front of the door, carefully observed each of them. Suspecting that they were probably aware and that they were acting together to enrich themselves at the expense of their own people.
A heinous crime, if they were still under the old law, this would be a passive crime of death.
That was why Rairin wanted him at the meeting, Bavellis was very good at reading people.
– My queen, what do you mean by that? – She accuses us under the eyes of the king himself.
– Please my queen, we didn't think that this was a matter that required the effort of their majesties.
– It was our mistake, Your Highness, we were worried about His Majesty's health…
Jiaohui chuckled lightly, this man really dared to lie in front of his monarchs. She was ready to speak when a sudden sound was heard.
– What was this?
The sound was more like the sound of a geyser, hence the estrangement.
Noticing something wrong, Jiaohui quickly approached Rairin, but before he could say anything, the impact came.
The palace shook with the sudden movement. In the south, everyone felt a strong earthquake, their dwellings, built to support the strength of their race fortunately did not give in, but it left its inhabitants terrified.
What caused the entire South to suddenly tremble?
The areas closest to where the big explosion occurred ended up suffering a little more, but nothing that couldn't be fixed.
From the palace, the view of what had caused all this was splendid, an immense rock of ice, glistening in the sunlight, now occupying what was once a small forest.
After recovering from the impact, Rairin looked at the rock in a daze and soon came back to his senses.
Transforming, he quickly flew towards the huge piece of pure ice. And with his attitude, the others were not left behind, promptly following him.