Chapter 13: Your mother’s eyes.

The fear of facing his father only grew stronger and stronger as he was dragged closer and closer to the outer walls of the palace. He looked up at the large tower that was sitting at the forefront of the town. That was the imperial court and where all the decisions were made for the Sylton empire.

The thought of entering his birthplace once again was more frightening than the battle that he had just fought against the two home invaders for some reason and that was partly because of his lack of memories of the place. It all seemed like a distant memory to him and that was what frightened him the most. He didn’t know how he used to interact with his father and didn’t know how he should do so from now on.

He didn’t want to upset him by being too distant with him but he also didn’t want to be too familiar and seem like he was trying to get on his good side to gain benefits. It was quite the dilemma that he had found himself in and he was confused more than anything.

“It’s going to be okay I promise you.” Luna tried to reassure him some more now that they had reached the palace as she felt him begin to sweat from the palms of his hands and his fingers began to twitch. She held his hand a little tighter as she led him to the gate.

“Princess Luna, it's a pleasure to see you. And… Prince Kalon? Isn’t he forbidden from?” One of the guards said and then turned to the other after noticing that Kalon was with her.

“Stand down Lark, It’s fine. By the orders of the emperor, I am here by announcing that Prince Kalon is no longer forbidden from stepping foot within the palace.” Captain Moro shouted from the wall above the gate. He looked down at Kalon and Luna with a look of disgust before getting back to whatever he was doing on top of the wall.

The guards looked at each other yet again before looking back at Kalon who was looking down at the ground.

“Welcome home Prince Kalon.” One of the guards said as the other bowed his head as a sign of respect. It was crazy how just a single order from the emperor could change the attitude of people in just a few seconds. Kalon looked up confused by what had just happened.

He can’t remember the last time someone had welcomed him home and quite honestly he started to doubt if he had ever heard those words in his life. He couldn’t help but crack a smile as he walked through the gates with Luna and into the courtyard of the palace.

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The palace was more like a community than a traditional palace. Not only did the emperor live there with his children but so did his most trusted friends and all of the members of the imperial court. The emperor was so confident in his strength that he didn’t care about his own privacy and wanted to be the centre of attention while he was at home because he knew that no one was capable of standing up to him.

Although he seemed quite cocky on the outside, he was in fact a smart and scheming man who was always one step ahead of his enemy. And Kalon knew that there must have been a reason why he was called to the palace even if he did hope it was just to catch up with his father.

As they walked out into the courtyard many of the people stopped dead in their tracks upon sight of him and Luna walking hand in hand. It was common knowledge that Kalon wasn’t allowed into the palace and they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

It seemed like not everyone got the memo that he was called by the emperor. They began to whisper to each other as they both walked towards the main building of the palace and a few people pointed out the way that Kalon was walking since he was limping and holding his ribs with bandages wrapped around his whole body.

But that didn’t slow down his stride since Luna was guiding him. They made their way inside the emperor's residence and then stopped at a large wooden door. Luna looked down at Kalon and saw him gulp as his face went pale upon seeing the imposing door. He knew what was on the other side and he was so nervous that he felt like he was about to throw up.

Luna flashed him a gentle and caring smile before knocking on the door three times and then waiting for a reply.

“Come in.” A deep voice called out from behind the door. So she did as she was told and pulled down on the handle and pushed the door open.

The door swung open with a creak from a lack of oil in the hinges and Kalon flinched as he saw the dark silhouette of a man with glowing red eyes sitting behind a desk on the far side of the room.

“Luna… And you must be Kalon?” The voice called out again as Luna dragged Kalon into the room behind her and then suddenly the door slammed shut after they were out of the doorway.

‘Stop pulling me so much…’ Kalon whispered to Luna but she didn’t listen at all as she pulled him across the room until the silhouette began to fade and the face of their father came into view.

He hadn’t aged a day since Kalon had last seen him and that fact scared him a little. He knew that vampires didn’t age but he was expecting him to look a little different but the only thing that had changed was the fact that he was wearing a pair of glasses upon the ridge of his nose as he looked up from a stack of papers that was sitting on his desk.

“Luna sat down at the desk and then gestured for Kalon to do the same but he didn’t dare to move.

His father’s presence was too overpowering for him to do something. It was like he was looking into the eyes of death as he gazed into Kalon’s eyes from his desk. The room was silent for a few moments before Dorian spoke up

“You have your mother's eyes.” He said in a gentle tone. It was a total one-eighty from the way he spoke when he told them both to come into the room. That was all it took for Kalon to ease up a little bit as he stared at his fathers face.

He had long black slicked-back hair, glowing red eyes with dark circles beneath them and pale white skin that made him look like a corpse. But the circular glasses on his face took away from his intimidating look a little bit and made him look slightly more alive.

“Won’t you come and sit down with me? I feel like we have a lot to talk about don’t we?” Dorian spoke in the same soft-sounding tone as he asked his son to sit across from him at the desk.