The Serpent's Enigma

54 | The Big Twist

.·。.·゜·༺♥༻ ·゜·。.

CAL VELIUS LEROY

As Cal Senior and Gigi were off on their honeymoon, Cal Junior almost regretted his decision to not come along. It was his father's fault! Had he not been babying him too much, he would've been there enjoying the seaside with them! Now, he had to wait one more year to get that vacation. If only he lived in an ever-sunny place, like Praja, where they didn't have to hunt for only two short months each year just to enjoy the sun.

Papa might've taken it so lightly, but as the Heir of the Empire, he had a reputation to keep. People whose opinions mattered to him, like Fate.

"Mind telling me why can I touch your cat but not you?" He tickled Bast behind her ears as Fate visited him that evening; the cat purred with delight.

"Oh," Fate laughed. "Because what you see is just an illusion; a shadow of my real self. It's easier to teleport an animal, and Bast is descended from the Great Sphinx so she can endure magic really well. Mother said it's better for me to wait until I can transport myself."

Now Cal wished he had a magical kitty of his own. One that would keep him company when his parents had forgotten him, getting lost in their own world.

"Why do you look so cranky? Something upsetting?" she asked with amusement. "I mean you've always looked angry, but tonight, you look particularly cross!"

"No! This is just my face, that's all! My face!" he pouted.

"I don't think you know which angles flatter your face," she rubbed the underside of her chin.

Perhaps, but she certainly knew which flattered her face, Cal thought. Especially under the moonlight.

"Um, Fate, I need to tell you something," he bit his lip as the girl looked on with interest. "You look... um— I think you look like a dinosaur."

The anticipation on Fate's face was gone. "...I beg your pardon?"

"I mean— not just any dinosaur, but Tyrannosaurus Rex!" He tried to make it up. "The name means 'Tyrant King Lizard', the ruler of all the dinosaurs!"

"So not only a tyrant, but I am also a lizard?"

Cal nodded, beaming. "My favourite."

Fate looked away, avoiding his gaze. "Anyways, I asked my mother about the identity of the person who attacked you, and yes, she said they might be a follower of the traitors. Now, is there any reason in particular why they went after you?"

Besides the fact that they might be related so they wanted him to come along?

"I'm not sure," he hesitated, trying to make up some reasons. "Because they're bad guys?"

"It must be because you're one of us." Fate clenched her fists. "They hate us; the followers of Xero and Megis. They've been hunting us down since the dawn of time."

Now Cal felt very conflicted. On one side, he was scared that he was related to the people who killed Maximillian Leroy, but now he was also afraid that he was born into Fate's blood enemy and would lose the friendship of the only person he could relate to.

"I'm also very curious about something. If none of your parents possesses the power of the mystic arts, then how are you able to learn these skills? You sure none of your grandmothers was a sorceress?"

"...I think maybe the woman who gave birth to me was."

Fate looked at him with sympathy. "I'm sorry, to make you remember her again."