Chapter 156

"It is different." Zezi finally declared and Lord Rosil frowned, taking a step closer to her. "Are there any other bonds you know of that could be mistaken as a matebond?"

"No... This..."

Zezi shook her head. This wasn't the time to get overwhelmed by sadness or Lord Rosil's stuttering answer. This was the time to get her head straight and think probably.

Lord Rosil snapped her fingers like she had just gotten a groundbreaking idea.

"Well, of course, it is different! Both of you are different." Her green eyes glinted with excitement at her coming explanation and for that brief moment, Zezi remembered Gwen and missed her. "The King is a Soul Seizer and you, are his mate."

Zezi nodded, waiting for more, there just had to be more.

"And?"

"Your Majesty, the King had to make a really big sacrifice to kill his father." Everything somehow felt a little quieter to Zezi, and all her focus zeroed in on Lord Rosil as she approached her. "Only self-sacrifice could kill him and he made that. He sacrificed his soul." Lord Rosil's brows furrowed. "You didn't know of this?"

Jabbed with the words, Zezi attacked, "How did you know of this?"

Lord Rosil stopped in her path. "I was the witch who helped him with his sacrifice."

"Oh."

It made more sense now.

Letting that sink in, Lord Rosil continued, taking a loose curl of her gray hair between her fingers. "Without a soul, there is no soulmate."

Absolving the new information and the impact of it, Zezi pinched the fabric of her dress, trying not to get swayed by her emotions once again.

Was she once again in a deceitful relationship? Had she been lied to just like George had lied to her all those years while she had been his mate?

That didn't make sense. Her thoughts weren't making sense, right now. She mustn't jump to conclusions just yet.

This was crazy?! Why was she just finding out about this? What other thing about him did she not know?

She knew the King was a Soul Seizer but she never knew how he came to be one or the sacrifices he had to make to be one.

"So what am I?"

Lord Rosil looked on thoughtfully, her arms folded across her.

"Well, you are his mate right from the start even though you hadn't met back then. It was fated." She emphasized with a gentle tilt head, as different thoughts ran wild in her head. "So I believe--- wait! Before I go on, what does your wolf feel like? Does it feel like a different being that resides in you?"

"No." The answer was easy. Zezi had known that her wolf was different a long time ago. A sharp contrast to George's wolf, who liked to make a distinct appearance all the time. "We are one."

With a frown, Zezi stood up. This time around, Lord Rosil didn't stop her. "What do you know about wolves? Were you once one of us?"

"No, I was a human before I met Dorious."

"Human."

"Yes, your Majesty, we exist." She chuckled lightly, trying to bring some humour to the tension.

"I know."

The energy had not been returned, and just like that, the humour vanished.

"I have studied vastly and experimented with many things. That is what happens when you are a widow with so much time to kill." This time she didn't laugh to ease the tension, knowing fully well how it would be received or returned.

"Anyways, Your Majesty, I think the connection between the King and you is one of a kind, very deep even before you met." She paused. "The King had been kept in his father's dungeon. He and his stepmother would drain his soul and powers whenever they wanted. It went on for so many years. Some of this draining might have seeped through the fated bond, making your wolf develop in a way that is more connected to you. With both of you more in sync, you can offer each other protection."

A sigh slipped past Zezi's lips and she leaned against the wall.

Well, that explanation made more sense than anything she had ever told herself.

"Well, this bond you claim to exist..."

"That I claim?"

"That exists between the King and I, what is it? You know, I once met a witch and she told me that I was a lone soul? I think it makes sense since he sacrificed his soul."

In a flash, Lord Rosil was in front of her.

Great. Vampire speed.

It didn't feel sickening to Zezi as it used to though. Didn't feel sickening to her at all.

"Maybe not all of it." Lord Rosil's cold fingers hovered over the mark on Zezi's neck and something in her eyes seemed to have changed.

Was she using her magic right now?

"Maybe there was still some left. You are his mate and your bond feels different, that is understandable, but you must understand that are both different from everyone. The drainings have caused your link to be created differently, shaped into something that can be shut down for your protection. It is nature's response to your unique situation. Spending more time together and bringing in the feeling of safety should fix it."

Once again, an explanation she couldn't find it in herself to fight with.

"The moment you approached the witch might have been one of his draining times or the time he sacrificed his soul. All that witch would have been able to see at that time would have been emptiness at the other side." Lord Rosil concluded and stepped away.

This was so much to take in. She had never thought about all this in this way before, but it made sense and nothing in her fought to argue with it.

"Do you know about the King's time in his Father's dungeon?"

Guilt stabbed Zezi's chest squarely.

"No." Just like she didn't know about many things that related to him.

Why should she care?

She did though. It was something she couldn't lie to herself about anymore. That part of her cared a lot more than it should.

"Shame. You should know more about your mate, Your Majesty. My goodness, life is so unbalanced. For some, they put obstacles in the way of loving each other while nature pulls them together, and for others, nature is their very own enemy. They are each other's death." It almost seemed like she was talking about someone, but Zezi was too occupied with the thoughts of Valerick and the horrors he must have faced in his father's dungeon to care.

His stepmother and his father must have put him through a lot!

Wait, his stepmother.

Wasn't that Smoky - Laura's mother?!

"...and here you are, being silly with the Universe's blessing---"

"Did the King kill Laura's mother too?" Zezi's questions cut her off and it took Lord Rosil a second to recover from off course the question had thrown her.

"Yes, the King killed both his father and his stepmother in the same night."

Well, there was a problem, because Smoky was alive, could that mean that Valerick's father was alive too?

"Although," Lord Rosil's voice drew her away from her train of thought. "Only the former King's body was burnt to ashes, his wife's body was never found. It was probably part of the explosion."

"What explosion?"

"The King's Soul seizing powers collided with his stepmother's power to protect her mate. The force was too much and the clash had led to an explosion."

Zezi's fingers pressed against her forehead as she felt a wave of headache hit her. Her thoughts spiraled as she tried to recollect all the shady things that the White Circle was probably getting involved in.

The Volakys extract, the poisoning of the King, the way they were keeping some of their actions a secret from her - a fur creature- even though she was a part of the White Circle and had made a deadly oath to them, and finally, Riza's seemingly loyalty to her former King.

Fuck, how could she be so stupid?!

The White Circle was trying to bring back the Dark Times!

Smoky was trying to bring her chosen mate back to life!

Well, that would have to happen over Zezi's dead body and she wasn't planning to die anytime soon.