Chapter 4
Royal Court, Kingdom of Naxos, Continent: Barat, the Year 2041, Planet: Grimoire
For almost six months, Clarence had the peace he'd so desperately craved until about two weeks ago. Then, he began noticing recognizable signs of a chase in motion. Only he hadn't realized that perhaps it was he who was the damn target of all things.
Clarence raked a hand through his hair, which had grown to the middle of his back. He hadn't needed to worry about keeping it short anymore, but now he regretted it because his bangs were hindering his vision. That wasn't something he appreciated right at the moment.
He knelt on a knot of branches while surveying an area that he thought was secured from intruders. No such luck, apparently. What an aggravation. Now, he had to put up with them, deciding to come after his home and ruin his privacy? Clarence didn't think so.
First, though, he had to determine who his pursuers were and their purpose. "Argh, who are these persistent people?" That would be simple enough, especially if anyone showed adverse effects to his dragon scent as an Alpha.
If there was one thing that Clarence learned to recognize, it was the signs of intruders in his territory. After several hours of checking footprints and identifying various scents belonging to the men and women in the group, he shook his head in disbelief. "Why the hell is that narcissistic bastard doing on my turf?"
What annoyed him even more was that he recognized at least one of those intruders. "Strike that. Why do I have to even put up with having a mated Alpha wandering around in this area?" Clarence realized that the mated Alpha didn't even want to be there and had been silently protesting the situation until now.
Likely, that was the only reason he'd been able to recognize the party members. A sigh escaped Clarence as he double-checked to ensure he had identified the group's prominent leader. He wasn't happy when he verified the identity. The royal had more than a few loose screws. Not only that but somehow, he'd become obsessed with Clarence in the past few decades. He'd finally lost his sanity if he was coming this far out of his comfort zone to track him down.
"What the hell is that fool crown prince doing outside of Bellonia?" he growled in aggravation. "Isn't it enough for him to continually attack the Republic of Shantu?" Clarence grumbled in frustration.
Now, what should he do? It wasn't like he was going to toss fire on them. That wouldn't solve anything except leave them with more unwanted burnt rubbish to get rid of.
"Hmm, what is that odd scent now? Why am I being enticed?" A flash of brilliant color caught his eye. Amber, violet? What in the world was that? Right then, Clarence was distracted by a most oddly thrilling sight when he looked to his left—a sight he hadn't anticipated when glancing at an area he'd designed to be a spa within a sacred private space. "How long has it been since I've seen a griffin wandering around here? This time, it's a changeling?" Now, he identified the scent. It was likely another Alpha, but this fellow was one that could easily switch secondary genders depending on what was more dominant, Alpha or Omega. The situation hadn't been helped by the narcissistic crown prince calling the shots either.
Deep in the primordial woods stood picturesque, majestic frosted turrets, and amongst them stood a long brown-blond-haired griffin-winged male with violet eyes and tanned skin. He has a muscular body, a tan vest, black pants, and boots. His right-hand holds a beige knapsack.
Clarence stared dumbfounded. Then he spun and vanished from sight. Would they go looking for him or not?
*
There was an opportunity here. Chester realized. Yet it was almost missed due to bad timing on his twin's part. So many questions buzzed through his brain and were discarded as useless, except for one pertinent thought that occurred to him. "When did you notice the territorial marking?" Chester was pissed.
If he'd recognized the signs, he would've found an excuse to have Firenze go home early. Instead, they'd been stuck in Bellonia and then Galos for almost six months. Chester feared that Firenze's mate would think he'd been lost to war or some such paranoid flight of fancy.
Firenze made a rude noise. "Would it really make a difference?" He growled right back. "No, it wouldn't. You need to start paying attention when your senses start registering fragrances and other things that aren't natural to this area."
"Hmm," Chester cleared his throat. "See that?" He gestured with his left hand, which wasn't encumbered by a knapsack.
"What?" Firenze tilted his head upward. "Turrets? Huh, didn't know those even existed."
Since an early age, he'd been interested in the prehistory of the continent they resided within. As a result, Chester learned more about the draconic races than he ever thought possible. That also included the Griffin heritage. The two were closely intertwined, so Chester found out about this place.
"Errm, I did quite a bit of research since I was curious." Chester shrugged. "They've been there for over a millennia, perhaps even longer. There used to be a dragon kingdom around here. This might've been the royal palace. Those turrets are recently rebuilt, if I'm not mistaken."
Firenze glanced at them with a sigh. He stiffened. "That one is watching us again," he bristled in discomfort. "What should we do about this?"
Chester sighed. "Let's go for a walk." He is tired of this entire sham.
Firenze rose to his feet with alacrity. "I don't mind doing that at all." He'd collected all the cloaks with the image-altering runes and dispersed all the remaining mana. Then he'd stowed them somewhere that only one would find without alerting him.
Chester cleared his throat. "Thanks for putting up with that selfish jerk all this time, Firenze. I know it wasn't easy."
Firenze sighed. "In the future, don't get me involved in any more crazy schemes." He growled. "I've probably missed the birth of my kids." He folded his arms with a scowl.
Upon hearing of impending nieces or nephews, he winced. What a mess. Chester hadn't even wanted to participate in this chase. "It might be our only chance to leave without harsh consequences."
Their original reason for going to the Bellonia Empire was accomplished long ago. Now the crown prince just wasted their damn time with his selfish obsession.