Chapter 124: Leonidas Valen

The ambient moisture in the superheated air, the very oxygen feeding the flames, instantly flash-froze. A shockwave of pure, blinding white frost exploded outward from Kaelus’s lips in a 360-degree radial blast.

CRACK-SHATTER!

The flames were snuffed out in a second, replaced by towering, jagged spires of pitch-black ice that erupted from the obsidian paving stones.

The heat evaporated, instantly replaced by an arctic chill that dropped the temperature of the courtyard by a hundred degrees in a single heartbeat.

The Fire Mages, completely caught off guard by the overwhelming density of the Archduke’s aura, staggered backward. The frost coated their crimson robes, extinguishing the glowing runes on their staves.

Several of them slipped and fell onto the slick, ice-coated cobblestones, their teeth chattering violently.

Kaelus stood in the center of his newly created winter wonderland, a faint mist of freezing air curling off his lips. He looked at the shivering, defeated mages with an expression of supreme arrogance.

Inside the carriage, Seraphina’s jaw dropped so far it practically hit the floorboards.

’Oh my god,’ her mind screamed in fan-girling hysteria. ’He just breathed on them. He literally just sighed at an army of fire mages and turned their courtyard into a glacier! He is the ultimate, undisputed, most terrifying badass on the entire continent. I am so glad he’s my dad!’

The silence in the frozen courtyard was deafening. The Vanguard knights lowered their shields, smirking beneath their helmets.

And then, from the high, obsidian balcony overlooking the courtyard, a sound broke the silence.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

It was a slow, loud, incredibly obnoxious round of applause.

"Bravo! Magnificent! Ten out of ten for theatricality, Your Grace!" a voice boomed, echoing off the volcanic walls. The voice was loud, boisterous, and carried the unmistakable cadence of a man who loved the sound of his own laughter.

Seraphina pressed her face to the glass, looking up.

Standing on the balcony was a man who looked like the physical embodiment of a wildfire.

Archduke Leonidas Valen was massive. He was as tall as Kaelus, but where Kaelus was lean, sharp, and tightly coiled, Leonidas was broad, heavily muscled, and bursting with raw, kinetic energy.

He possessed a wild, untamed mane of blazing, saturated red hair that flowed past his shoulders like a lion’s mane. His face was rugged, and slashed with a pale, jagged scar that ran directly over the bridge of his nose.

He wasn’t wearing heavy armor.

He wore a loose, open-chested vest of crimson silk and trousers, completely ignoring the freezing temperature Kaelus had just inflicted upon his courtyard.

Leonidas didn’t take the stairs.

He placed his hands on the obsidian railing, vaulted entirely over the edge of the forty-foot balcony, and plummeted toward the ground.

BOOM!

He landed in a crouch, the kinetic force of his impact shattering the black ice Kaelus had created, sending shards of frost flying into the air.

He stood up, his amber eyes locking onto Kaelus.

A massive, feral, and utterly unhinged grin split his face.

"You brooding, miserable, freezing icicle!" Leonidas roared, spreading his arms wide.

He didn’t draw a weapon or summon fire.

He charged forward like a runaway rhinoceros.

Kaelus didn’t even have time to blink.

Leonidas Valen slammed into Kaelus von Nacht, throwing his arms around the terrifying Reaper of the North in a crushing, bone-rattling, aggressive bear hug.

"AHAHAHA!" Leonidas laughed, physically lifting Kaelus an inch off the ground, slapping the Archduke on the back of his armor hard enough to dent a lesser metal. "Look at you! You haven’t aged a day! Your face is still permanently stuck in that constipated scowl! I missed you, you miserable bastard!"

The courtyard, which had been poised on the absolute razor-edge of a continental civil war seconds ago, plunged into a state of absurdity.

The Fire Mages stared in utter bewilderment.

Sir Lucas and Sir Boris lowered their swords, completely failing to suppress their groans of exasperation.

Inside the carriage, Seraphina’s brain completely rebooted.

’Wait. What? Hugging? The zealot is hugging him?!’

Kaelus, currently trapped in the crushing embrace of the fire-mage, looked like a man who had just been forced to swallow a live wasp. His eyes were wide with pure disgust. His arms were pinned to his sides.

"Release me, Leonidas," Kaelus hissed, his voice a lethal, vibrating threat. "Release me this instant, or I swear upon the Light, I will freeze your internal organs and shatter your ribcage."

"Oh, stop your dramatic whining!" Leonidas barked, setting Kaelus down and taking a step back, keeping his hands on Kaelus’s shoulders, beaming brightly. "You love me! Admit it! You’ve missed my sunny disposition!"

Kaelus slapped Leonidas’s hands off his shoulders, taking a step backward, brushing his armor as if trying to wipe away a foul disease.

"I would rather bathe in acid than spend another minute in your presence," Kaelus snarled, though the killing intent was entirely absent from his aura. It wasn’t the rage of an enemy; it was the exhausting irritation of a man dealing with an incredibly annoying sibling.

"Lies!" Leonidas laughed, turning to face the bewildered Vanguard. "Look at them! Your knights are as stiff as you are! Tell them to relax, Kaelus! This is my house!"

Seraphina slowly pushed the carriage door open, stepping out onto the icy cobblestones.

She stared at the red-haired Archduke.

She looked at Kaelus, who was currently massaging his temples, looking like he wanted to jump into the nearest volcano.

"Papa?" Seraphina squeaked, completely breaking the tension. "I thought you were fighting."

Leonidas whipped his head around.

His bright amber eyes widened to comical proportions as they landed on the tiny, dark-haired girl in the navy dress.

"By the blazing hells," Leonidas breathed, his loud, boisterous demeanor pausing for a fraction of a second. He looked from Seraphina to Kaelus, a delighted grin breaking across his face.

"So it’s true!" Leonidas bellowed, slapping his thigh. "The rumors were true! The great, emotionless block of ice went and adopted a stray! And she’s absolutely adorable!"