Chapter 14: Dusty Roads
The carriage wheels began to row, smooth at first as they rolled over the cobbled courtyard, then rougher once they reached the sun-baked stone roads of Solaris.
fre\e(w)ebn ov.e l\. co.m
Lan didn’t look back. Not really. But from the corner of his eye, he saw the lone figure standing atop the citadel steps.
Crowned in black and gold, arms folded behind his back, unmoving. His father.
The King of Solaris.
For a moment, Lan thought—perhaps—there would be a sign. A gesture. The slightest wave. But there was nothing. Just one glance from the older man, sharp and expressionless, before he turned away and vanished into the tower’s mouth.
Lan exhaled. Not in sorrow. In confirmation.
Figures.
"What does he feel?" Lan wondered.
Fear? Most likely.
But not fear of Lan dying. No, that would imply attachment, a bond that had long since atrophied. The king feared disgrace more than death.
Feared what it would mean for the throne, the lineage, the whispers in court when word returned that his "cursed son" had failed to survive the capital’s games.
He probably counted the days already.