Chapter 106

Chapter 106: Chapter 106

Valrena rose to her feet with hope in her eyes when she heard a knock on her door, opening it with a smile. "How did you like your room?"

"It was pleasant. Thank you for recovering my hammer."

"I had another made for you," His mother said with a hint of nervousness, walking deeper into her room.

Kath’tan went after her, his gaze lingering on the battle axes on the walls. He had seen his mother’s strength, his lips parted, about to speak, only to quiet down again.

"Here," Valrena held out an exquisitely carved maul.

It had a metal handle, amethysts embedded in it, and it was engraved, the markings familiar. Kath’tan should know, he had similar markings on his left arm.

"Thank you," He murmured, taking it from her. It felt weighty in his hands, familiar, almost like his mother had used his old hammer as a reference for this.

"Want to try it out?" Valrena asked with a mischievous light in her eyes.

Kath’tan hesitated, he wanted to ask his mother to spar with him but the words were unfamiliar. "Yes."

"Come," Valrena grabbed his hand, starting for the door.

Kath’tan was caught off guard, getting easily pulled around by his mother. "Wait-" He mumbled as she pulled him into the hallway and down it, marching down the deep blue carpets with purpose.

It was hard not to notice the generous use of color in the castle when he had especially felt the ostracization when his room was done in different colors from the rest of the castle in Threnval.

"Lady Valrena?" A Demon called out in surprise when they darted past them, too quickly for Kath’tan to get a good look at them.

His mother stopped at an indoor training grounds, her explosive entrance drawing the attention of everyone inside.

There was a long stretch of silence before the room exploded into shouts of her name, the training soldiers ditching their routines to request that she spar with them.

"Out of my way," She harmlessly shoved past them. "If you want to spar with me, go convince that old fogey to let me fight again."

Kath’tan didn’t notice the faint smile on his face until he frowned, his hammer resting against his shoulder as his mother led them to a metal training dummy. "Grand Duke Yamra stopped you from fighting?" He lowered his voice to ask.

The soldiers in the training room were so happy to see Valrena again that it took them a moment to register Kath’tan’s presence.

"Is that a Wrath faction Demon?" One of them blurted out from the sheer shock of it.

"No, that’s my son. Now away with all of you." She shooed them out.

They obeyed instinctively, barely paying attention to the doors because they were too busy craning their necks to get a better look at Kath’tan before they had to leave.

Kath’tan held his mother’s hand when she tried to pull away, his gaze intense.

Valrena returned his questioning look sheepishly, "It has nothing to do with you being in Ashford. My father was just worried that I would go on a rampage and trigger a war, so he banned me from fighting for a year." She explained, "So let’s keep my conversation with Zazrel a secret between us, alright?" She urged.

Kath’tan was stunned by the harmless explanation, he kept expecting consequences but they never came.

"Try swinging your hammer," His mother urged him with excitement in her eyes. "If it’s faulty, I’ll replace Istral’s spine with it."

"You’re not supposed to be fighting, remember?" Kath’tan said dryly.

"Of course, I’ll simply be having a conversation with him." Valrena placed her hands on her waist.

Kath’tan spun the maul in his hands, pleased with how comfortable the weapon felt in his hands. He no longer grieved his old hammer, his new one a vast improvement from what he had had to manage for several years.

He swung the hammer, once, twice, self-conscious about the eyes on him, even if it was his mother’s.

Valrena watched him closely, at first it had been to judge the quality of the hammer but then her attention was diverted by her son’s technique. "Don’t be concerned about Istral’s spine," She said lightly, "Use your full strength, if the hammer is faulty, that’s all his fault."

The tension in Kath’tan’s shoulders eased somewhat, attempting another strike.

"Good, the hammer isn’t a complete failure," Valrena muttered, approaching him. She gently adjusted his grip on his hammer, "This will better improve the sweep of your hammer, using the hammer’s momentum as well as your strength. Swing again."

Kath’tan did as he was directed without hesitation, an intent focus in his purple eyes. He soaked up every correction and every instruction his mother generously dished out, quickly forgetting that their original intent was to test the quality of the hammer.

For hours, Valrena’s calm but steady voice rang out monotonously, the resounding clang of Kath’tan’s hammer occasionally ringing out. He hit harder and faster, sparks flying on every impact.

"Valrena!" A gruff voice interrupted them, making them both whip around.

Sweat beaded and ran down Kath’tan’s face and arms, too focused on his training session to notice it.

Grand Duke Yamra was a towering Fiend, his bushy beard doing little to hide his displeasure. It didn’t help that his only daughter and her bastard son wore the same expression as they turned to him, their startled purple eyes the exact same.

"You’re restricted from battling," He said in a quieter voice when he had her attention.

Valrena instinctively stepped in front of her son, crossing her arms. "And I wasn’t. I was simply watching Kath’tan try out his new hammer, am I not allowed to do even that?"

Yamra expelled a breath, silently urging himself to remain patient. He was still a strapping Fiend in his prime, yet his hair and beard had gone silver. It was why he paid no mind to his court advisors urging him to take another Queen and sire a ’true heir’.

His only child was already a handful, he had no interest in adding to his burdens.

"Is that why you left me waiting at the dining table?" He calmly handed to her.

Valrena shared a panicked look with her son, "I-"

"Don’t bother," He cut her off but it wasn’t in anger, it was in mild exasperation. Valrena always had an explanation in hand, the outcome was always her getting her way so he had grown accustomed to skipping past her excuses and just letting her have her way.

"Clean up and come have lunch," He went on, pausing for a moment to look Kath’tan over. "Hmph, have your son dressed properly as well. Don’t keep me waiting."

Kath’tan glanced down, he had worn another cloak shirt, it wrapped around his upper chest and shoulders, leaving his torso bare. His clothes were a little worn but not improper.

Valrena patted his shoulder, "He wants you dressed as the grandchild of the Grand Duke. Come, let’s go get ready."

Kath’tan went with her, hammer in hand, a growing light in his eyes. Perhaps he would spend more time in Ashford, he had achieved more in a single training session than he had in years, he wasn’t as eager to leave as he was earlier.

"I got your measurements from that fool, let me know if the clothes are unsuitable. I’ll also have clothes prepared for the mage." Valrena said when they slowed to a stop in front of her room.

Kath’tan turned away to his room, his hammer weightless against his shoulder from how light he felt. He walked into his room, too focused on seeking out Dulce to notice his mother’s proud lingering gaze on his back.

He stepped in, his gaze immediately scanning the room. He slowed down when he didn’t right away see the Vampire, easily finding a stand that had already been prepared for his hammer.

"Dulce?" He called out, the name unfamiliar on his tongue. The balcony caught his attention, drawing him in. The brightness cleared to reveal Dulce curled up on a marble bench, startlingly asleep.

He froze, the five suns of Flaeris were at their peak, blinding but the Vampire was perfectly at home underneath their strength, his eyes closed.

Dulce pried open an eye, sensing the presence of someone else. "Kath’tan, you’re back." He sat up, wide awake.

Kath’tan backtracked, of course Dulce couldn’t sleep, he was a Vampire. "I’m about to have lunch with my mother and the Grand Duke, do you want lunch as well?"

Dulce laid back down, uneager to leave his bench so soon. "I don’t, I’m satiated." He answered honestly.

The flush to his face backed up his words, his hair falling over the edge of the bench.

Kath’tan hesitated, pulled in by the Vampire, but he was in a hurry, he needed to get ready for lunch. So he reluctantly turned away, the sweat on his skin long cooled, brimming with energy after his brief training session.