Chapter 11: Scars From The Past

Helios had written the letters himself. He usually tasked one of his more educated servants with doing the job for him, but the information was too confidential for him to leave in the hands of someone else.

The first he wrote bore the question he had been carrying in his mind all morning. Whatever answer he received in the coming days would determine his mood. He hoped his instincts were wrong.

The rest of the letters were summonses for the other kings. Whether the Crow's response was good or not, Helios wanted to talk to them face-to-face. Lies could be easily written on parchment. But an expression says a thousand words.

He had then sealed the letters with his sigil, a burning phoenix with outstretched wings, before handing them over to Elias. The man took them and nodded, understanding his assignment. Bowing, he left Helios alone in his war chamber.

Helios looked across the large table in front of him. It had once held mini-statues representing both his forces and the forces they had conquered. Now, the only thing there was was the faded map of the world they lived in.

Unconsciously, Helios drummed his fingers on the map as his mind wandered to the past.

The room was once filled with the kings and their highest-ranking men. He could remember the days they spent in the chamber, yelling at the top of their voices and arguing with one another over what they should do. A small smile played across his lips. As terrible as those days were, the sense of togetherness washed over Helios like a cold shower.

Helios was so lost in memories of the past that he didn't notice someone enter the chamber, banging the door shut as he entered. The man called Helios' name three times, rolling his eyes when he realized he was daydreaming yet again.

"My lord!" the man said sarcastically, punching Helios in the shoulder, effectively snapping him out of his trance.

Helios flinched, fire bursting from his fist as he swiveled around. But as soon as he saw who had interrupted his thoughts, he shook his fist, snuffing out the flames.

"You scared me," he snorted. "How many times have I told you to stop doing that?"

"How many times have I told you to stop living in the past?" the man asked, crossing his arms.

Helios looked back toward the map on the table. "It's hard not to, Sol."

Sol placed his hand on Helios' shoulder and stared down at the map as well. "Everything we've done, everything we fought for, everything was for a good cause. If you're regretting killing millions of innocents for the future of our world, then-"

"That's not it," Helios said, shaking his head.

Now that Sol mentioned it, there had been many casualties in the war he could've done without. Only determined to do what they thought was best, they had set their morals aside and slaughtered every single soul that they viewed as a threat. A decision Helios knew he'd make over and over given the chance.

"It's just," he paused, clenching his fist. "Perhaps we should have killed Averys when we had the chance."

Sol frowned. "I thought you had settled your differences."

Averys, the Crow King, had once been Helios' rival. The two had wanted nothing but to see each other dead. But they both possessed the power to bring about change. Helios had come to respect that power, and they had decided to put their soiled past behind them and join hands.

"That damned Crow is plotting something that goes against everything we've worked for."

"And what might that be?" Sol said, lifting his eyebrow. He assumed Helios was overreacting.

"Word arrived this morning as a gateway to another realm. It seems Averys has already made contact."

"Well, that's good, isn't it? If we can ally ourselves with whatever is in there, we can expand our forces."

"I wonder why they'd ally themselves with us after Averys had their welcoming party slaughtered like animals."

Sol frowned. "Slaughtered? Are you sure?"

"Elias' sources are never wrong," Helios affirmed. "I don't want to believe it either, but you know how impulsive Averys can be."

"Perhaps they attacked us first?" Sol reasoned, worry burning behind his sky-blue eyes. If Elias was right, the situation could unfold into something ugly.

"I hope that's the case," Helios said. "I've called for all the kings to be present in a fortnight at the Land of the Moon. I'll know then what happened."

"You're worried a war will start," Sol realized. "Will you go against Averys over this?"

Helios shrugged. "We were once enslaved and subject to suffering. We changed that and swore to keep peace at all costs."

"Knowing Averys, another realm has no business with that pact."

"If he truly felt that way, he would not need to hide the information from us."

Sol ruffled his hand through his long, black hair. "I assumed he had informed you of the gateway but left out the part about the slaughter."

Helios shook his head. "He didn't breathe a word about it to me."

"What about the others?"

"If the Wolf, Dragon or Chicken were aware, I'm sure they would have informed me. Clearly, he's working on his own. As always."

"You didn't mention the Beast King," Sol pointed out.

"Typhon and Averys have always been close. I don't expect much from him."

Sol stood in silence. Helios couldn't blame him. He was the one man in the entire world that Helios trusted completely. They had grown up together, fighting off their oppressors side by side till Helios awakened his powers and found the other kings. Even with them by his side, Helios still retained Sol as his right-hand man throughout the course of the war.

He knew how much Helios had come to care for the kings after the war had ended. Which was why it was surprising to hear him speak so bitterly about two of them. Sol knew Helios always had reservations about Averys, but he was sure it was something of the past.

"Let's hope this ends well," Sol finally said, sighing.

Helios looked up at him and gave a weak smile. He wanted to hope, but he knew deep down that things were about to take a turn for the worse.

And he knew there was nothing he could do to prevent it.