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“Xen, I’m not sure I can handle watching you like this,” Darius sighed as he applied some of the ointment on Xen’s wounds. “I know I said I’ll wait till you’re ready, but this is breaking my heart. Please, let’s just take the odds and complete the Mate Bond now.”

A while ago, it had taken a lot out of him to control himself and not interfere with seeing Xen struggle against the group of sharks that attacked her as soon as she escaped the cage. He was barely breathing as he watched, constantly reminding himself that it wasn’t yet time for him to interfere in Xen’s training.

It had all worked out in the end, thankfully. He had witnessed how she used some of her spells to get out, but she had a hard time keeping her breath underwater. It would’ve been much easier if he could at least talk to her through a mind link, but such a thing was impossible unless they completed the Mate Bond._.

“These are nothing but scratches. It’s not like I lost a limb or something,” Xen scoffed, shrugging off her injuries with a wink. “You’re making me feel sad, you know. Did you honestly think those sharks could kill?”

Darius’s face dimmed more as he replied, “Mermaids won’t spare you. You’ll encounter dangerous and wicked mermaids in the Element Forest, Xen. It’s either you encounter a good one who could help you out of the water or a wicked one who will try and make you its slave.”

There was a knock on the door, taking them both out of their musings.

“Your Majesty. This is Osman.”

“Yes, come in,” Darius answered, signaling for Osman to take a seat as soon as the man entered the room.

“From what I can recall, Osman here was lucky enough to encounter a good mermaid. Of course, that doesn’t mean you’ll have the same luck,” Darius gravely reminded her. “To date, no human has ever escaped the Element Forest except for Osman, and even that is a stretch considering he was as good as dead by the time he got out.”

Xen’s eyes widened as she dragged her gaze towards Osman’s direction.”Osman? Isn’t he a werewolf?

Darius looked at Osman and gave him a nod, signaling the latter to speak.

“I’m not a pureblooded werewolf, but a Lycan, Your Highness,” Osman explained with a sigh. “King Darius turned me into one thirteen years ago. I was a notorious pirate with a huge bounty on my head. That night, I was on the run till I reached a dead end… Said dead end being the Element Forest, which is known as being one of the deadliest routes to consider for a mere human. After all, the said forest is a place notoriously inhabited by various mythical creatures.”

He then continued, “Those creatures are bound to live the rest of their lives inside that forest. They’re not allowed outside, or else they would die. That forest is their life, so of course, they’ll be guarding it with their all.”

“But you survived the forest,” Xen murmured. “I heard no one survived.”

“No one knew about him except for me,” Darius explained.

“I breathed my last the moment I stepped out of that forest,” Osman stated. “Like I said, I was as good as dead if it weren’t for His Majesty coming to my aid at just the right moment.”

“I was eighteen at the time. I can still remember the desperate look in his eyes when he said the words, ‘Please, I want to live…’ Right that instant, I didn’t hesitate in giving him my venom, healing him at that instant, but also turning him into a Lycan,” Darius reminisced with a smile. “It was fortunate that I was around the area, a curious boy who stepped out of the borders to check the so-called dangerous forest out of naive curiosity.”

Osman chuckled, “Yes, and I’m forever grateful for that lucky encounter we had, Your Majesty.”

The admiral then looked at Xen and added, “His Majesty and I decided to keep that incident a secret between us, and we agreed that it would be best that we just told everyone that he found me almost dead while running away from bounty hunters. Since then, His Majesty took care of me, giving me a life to start anew with the help of his father who was still King at that point.”

“Osman is exceptional. And he had earned his position of being Admiral five years ago due to his superb capabilities,” Darius genuinely praised.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Osman gratefully thanked with a curt bow.

“Uhm… Please continue. I want to know more about your experiences at Element Forest,” Xenia eagerly inquired. “I understand that Cordon chose it for the Trials because it’s the only forest where you should pass by the energy of the four elements on your way out, but surely that’s not all.”

Smiling, Osman filled his lungs with air before he relaxed his body, trying to recall every bit of memory and experience he had inside the Element Forest from start to finish.

Beside him, Darius also looked at Osman keenly. He had never pondered on nor required Osman to tell him what really happened inside the Element Forest until now. Although he was aware of some details that the admiral would occasionally share with him, those were far from even half of the entire story.

Unknowingly, Darius let out some air as he anticipated hearing more about Osman’s experiences. He was more than grateful that the man was even willing to share everything tonight, leaving no details unsaid despite how it would bring back his past traumas after so many years.

Honestly, it even took Darius a good while before he even decided to ask Osman to share all the details regarding the Element Forest with Xen. He balanced everything out, and Osman warned him of how he was still having nightmares even after all these years due to his experience with the Element Forest.

Yet, in the end, for him, it was still better that Xen knew what she was about face inside that place. Despite how terrifying it was as a forest, awareness of its dangers was still the best option they had for her to survive.