Richard, now king Russell Hawkins walked along the cells in the dungeon, ignoring the call of the prisoners. He came to the door at the end and entered the secluded part of the dungeon, where Ares was locked in a cell.

Ares Steele. His trusted man, not so trusted anymore had helped his daughter escape.

He came to stand in front of his cell, his eyes narrowing, studying the subject of his interest and fury. Ares stood up from where he sat in a corner and came forward, his face covered in bruises and his clothes in blood.

“Your Majesty,” he said with his usually stern voice.

“You disappoint me, Steele.”

Ares kept his head high and his gaze firm. “I did what I had to do.”

“You sent my daughter and the woman you claim to have affection for to die.”

“She won’t die.”

Richard frowned. Ares seemed sure and as much as he had read those books about breedmates he was not as sure as the man was.

“How can you be so sure?” He asked calmly.

“You read the books,” Ares said. “And your daughter is smart. She made sure to test her theories before escaping.”

Richard nodded slowly. He had no doubt that his daughter was smart but she had not seen what he had seen.

“The man you sent her with, was the one I offered peace to. King Khaos and his two sons, Malachi and Saul were the ones I offered peace to and they were the ones who burned my offer.”

Ares frowned.

“They don’t want peace if that is the aim,” Richard said.

“Maybe he will change his mind now. His breedmate is human after all.”

“Or maybe he will be more angry about it and kill her.”

Fear made his eyes tremble.

“It seems like you haven’t thought deeply about it and just sent her away. I am not underestimating a breedmate but I would be very cautious to underestimate hatred. Emotions can just be as strong as instinct.”

Ares looked deeply disturbed and distressed.

“I thought you were smarter than this,” Richard said disappointed.

“She won’t die. She will live. She is your daughter.” Ares said more to himself than to anyone else.

“Exactly. She is my daughter.” Therefore she was doomed just like him. Therefore, she might not live.

Ares stepped closer, grabbing the cell door. “I did not send her to die. She was dying here. I send her to live.”

Richard looked at him for a long moment. To live? Would she live there?

“Still a romantic at heart. You remind me of my old self. Remember?”

He had also been someone to always stay positive, believe in good, believe in the best in people, and believe that he could solve everything in a peaceful way. That belief perished.

“I remember,” Ares said. “This happened to you now. And to me. It should not happen to more people. Your daughter could bring an end to this.”

“I did not sacrifice myself to experiment on my daughter.”

“Well,” Ares said taking a step back. “You said you changed. The old you died so she isn’t your daughter anymore.”

Richard nodded slowly, while images of his old self flashed through his mind. Images of when he was a father and a husband. Now, he was only a walking corpse. A defective weapon with an expiration date.

“You are right.” He said.

He reached inside his pocket for the keys to his cell. He began to unlock the cell door and Ares watched him confused. When he opened the door, Ares remained still and looked at him questioningly.

“She might not be my daughter anymore, but she is the woman your heart desires. Are you still willing to take a chance? Guilt and regret are like parasites. Once they get inside your mind, they only feed and grow.”

Ares considered his words for a moment before stepping outside of the cell. “Then do something. Try harder to make me stay alive. I don’t want to die anymore.”

“No one wants to succeed with this more than I do,” Richard told him. He gave him one last look before leaving him behind.

He went to sit in his hidden place in the garden where he liked to think and clear his head. His memories went back to how it all started.

Richard had grown up in a cruel world where everyone lived in enslavement and fear. He had seen the destruction of his town at a young age and lost both of his parents to the dragons. He managed through the hardships because he had his twin brother by his side. They were inseparable.

Then one beautiful day, Richard met his wife. A beautiful and intelligent woman. He knew from the moment he spoke to her that she was the one and a year later they were married. The world was still in chaos and humans were still enslaved but Richard tried to block it all out and live happily with his wife. That was until his two daughters were born.

Holding his small fragile children had given him a sense of responsibility. An instinct to protect. He knew he would have to make the world a safe place for them.

Being the romantic that he was, he had hoped for peace. The safest way was to live side by side in harmony. He had tried to meet dragon leaders, and negotiate peace but every time he was met with disdain and mockery. Every time he was met with more cruelty, threats, and more deaths and destruction. As a king, he was forced to send his people to slavery and have their dead bodies returned.

Richard had enough of watching his people mourn the deaths of their families. The destruction of their homes. Negotiating for peace wasn’t working. The dragons had nothing to win from it.

So he began developing his weapons in hopes for the dragons to reconsider and know that humans could and would fight back. But even that wasn’t enough to negotiate peace. The weapons were not good enough to fight.

That was when he heard of dragon hunters. They were mysterious humans who fought dragons in the shadows. They somehow appeared every time there was a dragon attack and then they disappeared for a long time to come back again. Richard began looking into them but it was almost impossible to find anything on them. When he almost gave up he got a letter home. An invitation.

It was from a secret corporation called Pythagoras.