Chapter 323: The Bastard and The Scumbag
The silence in the room thickened, coiled like smoke.
Kasmeri lay on the ground, breath ragged beneath the weight of the masked figure. Then the pressure eased, and the stranger rose fluidly, standing tall before the king.
"Rise," King Heimdal commanded. Kasmeri struggled to get up as his hands were bound by a rope. The more he tried to untie it, the tighter it became.
Heimdal remained still, one hand resting over the subtle ache in his chest, the other gripping the hilt of a ceremonial dagger hidden beneath his robe. His eyes never left Kasmeri.
"Why did you return? Aren’t you scared of the consequence?" the king finally said to the black clad man before him.
"If I hadn’t come, then wouldn’t you become a corpse?" He snickered. "What do you intend to do with him?" He gestured to the man who had just stood.
"What else? He attempted to murder the king and set fires within the palace." The king paused and scanned the man from head to toe. "He impersonated the first prince to commit these crimes."
"Father." The man in black bowed his head and respectfully called out to the king.
Kasmeri’s eyes behind his mask widened. "Prince Alaric?"
Alaric did not spare him a glance. His full focus was on the king. "He saved my life once. And I saved your life today. I am asking, Father, to let him go this once and let him find the truth himself."
He approached King Heimdal and spoke the words that only the king heard. "Then you will have an indispensable ally."