Chapter 25 For The Reserved

Axios stayed silent for a moment after the talk about the prophecy. The lake breeze swirled softly around them, and sunlight danced across the shimmering water.

“Hm.”

That tone immediately concerned Amos. “What.”

“I’ve decided something. You should have access.”

Amos blinked once. “Access to what.”

The older man looked toward him calmly.

“The Archive.”

There was only one archive important enough for his grandfather to speak of in that tone—the Kyros Main Archive. A hidden library beneath the main estate, it held generations of records passed from one family head to the next. Political dealings, wars, secrets, bloodline research, private journals—everything.

“I thought only the family head could access that.”

“Normally, yes.”

Axios folded his arms afterward.

“But exceptions exist.”

Amos narrowed his eyes slightly. “You’re serious.”

“Yes.”

The older man’s expression remained calm.

“For generations, the archive was reserved for the head carrying the Eos name.”

That again.

The hidden inheritance.

The expectation.

Axios continued.

“Most only gained partial access after officially at their coming of age”

“And me?”

“You’ll receive special authorization.”

“Will father agree to this?”

“He will.”

“That sounds suspiciously confident.”

Axios snorted softly. “I am the one who gave everything your father currently manages.”

The older man slowly reached into his coat and pulled out a small object—an old signet ring. Dark silver, with the ancient Kyros crest engraved on its surface. Amos recognized it instantly.

“Former Duke authority seal.”

“Yes.” Axios placed it on the wooden dock between them.

“With this and my written authorization, your father won’t refuse.”

Amos stared quietly at the ring.

“What exactly is inside the archive.”

Axios smiled faintly.

“Everything the family deemed too important to lose.”

The older man leaned back afterward. “There are records dating back centuries.”

“Political treaties, wars, magical studies, bloodline records, and personal journals from each family head.”

That last part caught Amos’s attention immediately.

“Private journals?”

“Yes.”

Axios grinned slightly. “You’d be surprised how honest powerful people become when writing something they expect nobody else to read.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

“It is.”

Axios pointed toward him lazily.

“You wanted answers, didn’t you? There are things in that archive that your father likely never told you.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“There are also things even I was never allowed to tell you directly.”

Amos frowned slightly.

“Why.”

“Because the family heads believed some knowledge should only be discovered willingly.” Axios looked toward the lake quietly. “The archive doesn’t simply preserve history. It also preserves mistakes. For generations, the Kyros family walked very dangerous paths pursuing power for the preparations of your arrival.”

The older man’s eyes narrowed faintly.

“Some did succeed while some didn’t.”

Amos remained quiet because his grandfather rarely sounded this serious.

Axios eventually sighed. “Still.”

A faint grin returned.

“You’ll probably enjoy it.” Axios suddenly laughed again.

The older man stood slowly afterward, stretching slightly.

“I’ll write the authorization tonight and because I think the archive has been waiting for someone like you for a very long time.”

“So.”

Amos immediately became suspicious again.

“That tone has returned.”

“What is your dream?”

“What?”

“Your dream.”

The older man pointed toward him.

"You’ve got talent, resources, status, and an almost frightening amount of potential and yet, I have no clue what you actually want."

“I don’t know.”

That answer surprised even himself slightly.

Axios noticed. “Hm.”

Amos stared toward the lake quietly.

“For a long time, I was mostly trying to live.”

The older man remained silent.

“Then it became about growing stronger.”

Amos frowned faintly. “I’m not sure.”

He had never really thought about it properly.

Axios nodded slowly. “That’s normal.”

“It is?”

“Yes.”

“Still.”

His expression grew calmer afterward. “You should think about it eventually.”

“Why.”

“Because strength without direction becomes dangerous.”

“You sound like you learned that the hard way.”

Axios smiled faintly.

“I was Duke for many years. Now then.”

Amos immediately sighed.

“Next important question.”

“I dislike where this is going already.”

Axios leaned forward slightly.

“Do you like someone?”

Then Amos stared blankly. “Excuse me.”

“You heard me.”

“Grandfather.”

“Yes?”

“I genuinely believed we were having a meaningful conversation.”

“We still are.”

“This feels like sabotage.”

Axios ignored him completely.

“Well?”

“There is no ‘well.’”

“That is not an answer.”

Amos rubbed his forehead slowly.

“Why are you asking this.”

“Because I’m your grandfather.”

Axios looked deeply satisfied with himself.

“So?”

“So what.”

“What do you think about her?”

“About who.”

“Elena.”

“Grandfather.”

“Yes?”

“I am asking respectfully.”

“No you are not.”

“Please stop talking.”

Axios laughed even harder.

“Your face answers everything already.”

“It absolutely does not.”

“You became emotionally unstable from a single sentence.”

“That is slander.”

“That is observation.”

Amos folded his arms tightly.

“For your information, Elena is merely my accomplice.”

“Mm.”

“My extremely competent partner.”

“Mmhm.”

“My friend.”

Axios nodded thoughtfully.

“Interesting.”

“That was a normal sentence.”

“You described her differently from everyone else.”

Silence.

“What.”

“You speak about her carefully.”

“For the record.”

Axios immediately looked interested again.

“I genuinely do not know what Elena is to me yet.”

“But.”

Amos frowned slightly while thinking.

“When she left for the academy.”

His voice became quieter.

“The estate did feel a little emptier.”

Axios did not interrupt.

“And things felt”

Amos visibly struggled finding the right word.

“Wrong.”

“That answer is enough for now.”

Amos froze slightly. Axios smiled knowingly.

“Oh.”

“I dislike that expression.”

“You just really don’t realize it yet.”

“There is nothing to realize.”

“Sure.”

“Grandfather.”

“Yes?”

“I suddenly understand why father becomes tired around this family.”