Mated To The Cruel Prince novel Chapter 920

Chapter 920: King Meet King

Zal’therak, Islinda’s half-brother, stood at a distance, mounted on his beast, an unsettling creature with ridged scales and bone spines, its eyes glowing an unnatural shade of green. The beast snorted, its nostrils flaring as it shifted uneasily beneath its rider, but neither man moved. The stare between Aldric and Zal’therak was full of silent calculation.

Unlike Aldric, who had come with a battalion of soldiers, Zal’therak was alone. It rankled him. The Wraith king didn’t fear him. It was a bitter pill to swallow, and Aldric’s gaze hardened as he stood still, allowing the tension to stretch.

Aldric assumed that Zal’therak’s arrogance was borne not just of his own confidence, but from the knowledge that he had Islinda. If anything happened to him, Islinda would die. That knowledge must have given him the boldness to stand alone. And now, here they were, two kings, staring at each other from across the distance.

Aldric moved, but just as he took a step forward, Issac’s hand shot out, gripping his arm and stopping him. Aldric turned to face him, his eyes narrowing.

"Aldric, wait," Issac warned urgently with a lowered tone. "We don’t know him. You don’t know what he might do."

Aldric smiled, his lips curving into a grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes. "Don’t worry. I’ll be fine," he assured him.

Issac hesitated, but he nodded, stepping back as Aldric walked toward Zal’therak.

The distance between them closed, and just as Aldric took a few steps closer, he stopped. The silence stretched between them before Aldric spoke, his voice cool but assertive. "You came, Zal’therak."

Zal’therak’s eyes never left Aldric’s, and for a long moment, he didn’t respond. The tension in the air was thick, both men measuring each other, perhaps for the first time, without the veil of animosity or mutual distrust. But then, to Aldric’s surprise, Zal’therak slid off his beast, the creature staying perfectly still. And just as quickly Zal’therak’s monstrous form began to change.

His bony, skeletal structure shifted, his features shrinking and smoothing. It was an unsettling sight as the rough, jagged edges of his form faded, and was replaced with a familiar form. A handsome Fae with sharp but fair features, now stood in front of Aldric. Horns curled from his forehead, gleaming like polished bone, and his presence was domineering, yet undeniably elegant.

"It’s nice to finally meet my brother-in-law, Prince..." Zal’therak began, but then he corrected himself. "No, King Aldric. I believe congratulations are in order."

A smirk tugged at Aldric’s lips at the mention of his new title. He didn’t expect to feel such a sense of camaraderie, yet for a brief moment, he did. The man, though a stranger, had a presence that was difficult to ignore. "We have a tent set up for this conversation if you don’t mind," Aldric announced, gesturing to the structure nearby.

Zal’therak gave him a nod, a hint of approval in his eyes. "Let’s go then." He didn’t hesitate, even though this might all be a set-up. But there was only one way to find out.

Before they left, Aldric glanced back at his beast.

"Don’t worry," Zal’therak said, as if sensing Aldric’s unease. "Ajah and I share a bond. As long as no one bothers him, he’ll be a good boy."

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