"What?" Neoma asked.
"It's nothing difficult. I just want to visit her grave."
Neoma stared at Aeneas who then looked at his mother. Lyra had been a silent observer since they entered the room, "Of course you can," she said.
Linus turned to Ander, bowed and uttered the word, "Sun king," then proceeded to leave the room. When he reached the door, he looked back at the others who remained sitting.
"Aren't we going?"
"Wait, you mean now?" Lyra said.
"Yes. I need to return before dawn."
With that, the others once again bowed to the Panteran king and followed behind Linus.
"Lyra, wait," said Ander.
Lyra halted. She signaled the others to leave before her. Once they were gone, Ander spoke.
"What's the deal with your son?"
"Aeneas?"
Ander nodded in reply.
"What do you mean?"
Ander stared at Lyra. He wanted to tell her that he could feel something from her child that he couldn't explain. But, when he saw her worried expression, he decided not to.
"I think it was nothing, I apologize."
"Then, if there's nothing else, my king," Lyra said before trying to leave the room.
"You haven't visited us since you left."
Lyra stopped in her tracks and faced Ander once again.
"Don't you remember that father disowned me and said himself that I must not come back when I decided to marry against his will?"
"I remember," Ander paused, "Still, he and mother miss you. I also do."
Lyra sighed, he couldn't look straight to Ander's eyes.
"I also miss you and Mother. And I'm thankful that you've honored your promise of leaving me and my family alone."
"It was hard. I wanted to introduce my son to his direct cousins," Ander looked at Lyra with a longing stare. He knows that Lyra also misses their father but doesn't want to say it. "You know, I've never seen Father as proud when he learned about your eldest. He'd be happy if you came to visit with his grandchildren."
With a gulp, "Of course, my son is far a better man than he is," she said.
"I know that you still despise him for trying to control who you marry, but, in the end, he didn't force you."
"Because I left!" Even Lyra was surprised with her loud voice, "He tried to marry me to some old, rich man because he didn't approve of the one I love. It took him one glimpse at Adrian to decide that he was a poor Zeal-less merchant who would never amount to anything. But guess what? Adrian became far richer than him."
"Father was blinded by the need to grow his influence and power. But, he's changed."
Tears coated Lyra's eyes, making them appear as if they were made of glass, "Because his son became king. Even if you were speaking the truth, I never want anything to do with our family. I have renounced the name Aurusmane."
"That's a shame," Ander sighed, "Still, it was great seeing you again," he continued.
A sad smile formed on Lyra's face, "It was great seeing you as well, brother," she said before leaving the room.
Since Linus appeared to be in haste, the group didn't waste a second to take their stuff from the king's manor, say their farewell to his spouse and son, and go on their way back to Heos.
Linus boarded the carriage together with Lyra, Theresa, and Neoma. While the others rode their mounts, Tiriara sat behind Aeneas on Orion's back.
Once they were outside the city of Khrysos, Linus asked them to stop. He got out of the carriage, cleared his throat, then howled. An action so strange it made even the lord of Arsida question if the silver-haired man had lost his wits. But, Nireus's assumption was never been far off. From the group of trees near the city's gate, came a huge gray wolf. It was Fen. Linus left him there with the supervision of two knights under the king's command. Fen was a terrifying creature but appeared cuddly as he jogged his way towards his friend. At least to those who knew that he wasn't there to attack.
Tiriara screamed at the sight of Fen. She began frantically shaking Aeneas, "A—a beast!" she exclaimed.
Arsen, Theresa, Eluard, and even Konon, who was the carriage's coachman, were prepared to draw their weapons. The three knights had their hands on the hilt of their swords, while Eluard had his bow in his hands.
Fen detected their actions. He sensed danger and stopped in his tracks. Observing the group from a good distance while staring at Linus. Although Linus didn't mention that his companion was a wolf, Nireus, Lyra, and Aeneas immediately knew that it was the case since Linus called for him.
"At ease," Nireus commanded, "It's sir Linus's companion," he continued.
After exchanging glimpses with each other, everyone followed the lord of Arsida's command. Still observing, Fen walked towards them after he felt that the previous danger was gone. On the other hand, Linus nodded his head towards Nireus. His non-verbal way of thanking him.
"So that's a wolf," Arsen muttered. It was the first time he saw one up close. Aside from Lyra, everyone was the same as Arsen. Wolves were observed to eagerly avoid humans. Because of this behavior, researchers joked about how it is these creatures' life mission not to make any contact with a human.
Fascinated, Tiriara gawked at Fen as Linus petted him. The girl's eyes were sparkling, and Aeneas could understand how she felt as he also stared with awe at the great beast.
"Can I pet him, mister?" Tiriara asked. Her voice was loud as usual.
Hearing her request, Linus stared at the girl, then back to Fen. After a couple of seconds, he agreed.
Tiriara jumped down Orion's saddle with a grin on her face. Aeneas also went down, still holding the reins of his mount.
"Can I do it too?" he asked.
Linus nodded in response.
Fen sat there, he remained calm as Tiriara and Aeneas petted his gray fur. Then, Neoma and the others went out of the carriage to take a closer look at him. The gray wolf's stare was switched to Neoma who stared back. Looking at the beast's eyes, Neoma could feel a familiar sensation one might feel towards their kin.
"Nene come," Tiriara said as she signaled for Neoma to come closer to them, "Try touching his fur, it's so soft," she continued.
"Nene?" Aeneas asked.
Tiriara nodded, "I asked her, and she agreed."
While the two girls stroked Fen's fur, Aeneas stepped back as he wanted to see the full picture of the majestic beast. All of a sudden, Tiriara hugged the gray wolf tight. She couldn't hold back the urge any longer.
"Hey, he might get annoyed," Aeneas said.
Some of the adults were also worried. But, all Fen did was turn to Linus and stare at him. He wasn't able to speak, but everyone guessed that in the gray wolf's mind must've been great disappointment towards his friend who wasn't stopping the farce. The thought of it made the lord of Arsida and the others chuckle.
"Don't worry. Fen is kind, and calm."
Assured with Linus's words, Tiriara swayed her head against Fen's fur. Neoma copied her and had a smile formed on her face.
"Alright, enough of that. We need to go," Nireus said.
"But, he's so soft," Tiriara replied, her head and body still close to Fen's.
A couple of minutes more was wasted, trying to convince the girl to let go of Fen. Once she did, Tiriara raised a question, "Where's his saddle?" she asked.
Linus said that he didn't need one. He trained to ride Fen since he was young, putting a saddle would only hinder Fen's movements.
Tiriara clicked her tongue, "That's too bad, I wanted to ride him," she said.
Already mounted, Aeneas spoke, "If you don't want to climb back up on Orion, go ride in the carriage," he said.
"No way!" Tiriara shouted as she rushed back to Orion. She was giggling while trying to climb up.
The group moved with haste as they traversed the Panteran land on their way to its outskirt village of Heos, their home. At the front leads Nireus sitting proudly on his steed, beside him were Arsen and Theresa, and behind them were Eluard, Aeneas and Tiriara on the same mount, and the carriage with the remaining people of the group. And at the rear, was Linus mounted on Fen.
They basked under the rays of the sun high above the sky. Those that bear the Proud Lion's Zeal were enjoying its light, while Aeneas, Eluard, Konon, Neoma, and Linus couldn't stop their sweat from pouring, while their water canisters were soon to be depleted.
Unlike their trip to Khrysos, the group made fewer stops and passed through cities and towns much faster. They slowed down when they entered the Lion's Tail, but were still faster than when they went through it the first time. Thankfully, they didn't encounter a single lion this time. A scenario that Nireus was nervous about since they had another beast with them.
Time passed and the sun once again hid itself behind the horizon, the moon's presence replacing it.
Then, long after the group reached the end of Lion's Tail, they heard something. The sound of a beast blowing air from its nose. Trees were pulled from the ground, and a house beside the brick road was left in shambles. And in front of it, was a huge buzgal. Its eyes were red. But what caught everyone's attention wasn't its eyes, but the beast's horn where a man was pierced in the abdomen and was hanging around its head.