Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 825

Chapter 36 : The Lore of Egoren

He couldn’t have been more than eight. Long black hair fell in loose waves over his shoulders, totally unruffled and gleaming in the sunlight drifting through the thick canopy of branches above our heads. He peered down at me with dark gray eyes, black lashes brushing against his cheeks every time he blinked.

What was a kid doing out here? And alone?

I rolled over onto my belly, coughing and spitting up water as I got up onto my knees. I was still trying to process what he’d said to me. His Cryptex? No, definitely not.

The boy made no moves in my direction as I wrung out my shirtfront between my trembling hands and reached up to remove my backpack.

Everything inside would be drenched. I winced at the thought of the map and scroll, wondering if they were ruined and beyond repair.

“Where are your parents?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him against the glare of the sun that seemed to illuminate him from behind, casting most of his small body in shadow.

He shrugged, picking the bark off a stick with his fingernails.

“Where are you parents?” he mimicked, then gave me a smirk that could have belonged to a man three times his age. “Far from here, I assume. But you’re not a White Queen, no. That, you are not. But you know them, don’t you? Was it your mother Gemma who was resurrected from the dead by Maeve? I can feel the moonstone in you.”

He spoke like a well-educated diplomat… or an Alpha. I slowly straightened my back, a ripple of gooseflesh prickling up my arms as I met his eyes. They were the color of dark mist, like a thick fog reflecting moonlight. How did he know all of this? Why would he know? That had all happened before I was born.

“Where is your Dark Lord?” he asked, his mouth twitching into a devious smile.

I couldn’t answer. I didn’t know how. I reached up and rubbed my head, thinking maybe I’d smacked it on a rock or something and was losing my mind.

“Does he really think he can put my Cryptex back together again?” the boy asked, crunching a twig beneath his foot. His shoes were made of fine fabric, practically slippers, and as I slowly looked him up and down I noticed his clothes were simple, but dated, and in absolutely perfect condition.

He didn’t look like a child lost in the woods.

In fact, he didn’t look like a child at all. He was… something else.

The sunlight trickled over his skin, glimmering in a ghost-like fashion.

“Who are you?” I asked, my voice strained and hoarse from nearly drowning.

“Draven,” he replied, his eyes meeting mine. “And you’re Eliza.”

do you know

said slowly, and for a moment looked almost angry, but his expression was blurred by curiosity as he scanned my face. “Sea-glass eyes…

then took a few steps in my direction before coming to a stop. The river was to my back, so I had nowhere to go as he slowly reached his tiny hand out to brush his fingertips

him, seeing that same dark shadow that sometimes followed

I screamed.

was gone, the forest trembling and sending a blanket

of low-lying branches being ripped from the trees as something large moved in my direction. I turned my head to the sound of splashing water, and

looked back into the forest. The trees grew thick here, the sunlight barely penetrating the darkness

on the ground in front of us before sitting back on his haunches, his tongue lolling out of his mouth

I said, my voice sounding so distant, distorted by the thrumming of the blood rushing in my ears. I knew that I had. I knew it with every shred of my soul. “Draven

I slowly met his gaze, holding it

***

eyes. “But then we need to

pattered over our heads. We were still soaked. All of our clothes were wet and nothing had had a chance to dry out before the rain came. Brandt had built a fire in a small cave we’d found, but the cave

you think Jared got out?” I asked, my mouth going dry around his

Brandt breathed, his eyes set on the fire. “He wouldn’t have let Aeris take him back to the castle. I just don’t know… I don’t know what he offered in return for his freedom, or if Carmen…” He tapered off, shaking

my eyes for a

Brandt said as he poked the embers with a stick. “That’s a very old

rest of the day putting distance between us and Aeris’s territory, and now we were deep within the Dark Forest. Brandt had said Aeris’s warriors wouldn’t follow

told him about the child I’d seen, my voice trembling over his ghostlike appearance. Maybe I hadn’t

is… up for debate, even within the Church. Draven was said to

I did see a ghost,” I said to

playing tricks on you. But it is interesting that you’d just know the name Draven. I didn’t think anyone from the Realm of Light

has been pushing back against the Church of the Moon Goddess,” I said, knitting my fingers over my knees. “Even with your Alpha King’s permission for the Churches to share their artifacts and texts

breath. “Do you know the story

head, meeting his

his father’s house because Lycaon was wary of twins, being one and all. Draven was Lycaon’s first enemy in this realm.” Brandt

a soft smile. I was looking forward to the story, honestly. Brandt’s voice was the

one of the northernmost territories of our realm, an old city once called… Myrel, I believe. No one has

assured him, leaning forward in anticipation. “What happened to

while he was on that quest. He was said to have been the most powerful of his siblings, more powerful than Lycaon according to some interpretations of the legend. He killed everyone in Lycaon’s court but Lycaon fled… which explains why his tomb is in your realm. But when he returned to Myrel victorious, he found his mate dying in childbirth. His powers were no help at all. He lost both his mate and unborn child, and was so shredded by

he fled. Jonis–he was the first Dark Lord, the first Alpha King of Egoren. That’s supposedly where the