The Devil's Cursed Witch

Various curse words were at the tip of Morpheus' tongue. A strong urge to look for his little sister's mate and confront that good-for-nothing man enveloped him, but given that it was physically impossible to do so at the moment--mostly because he didn't have any idea of that person's identity--and he lacked an understanding of how that imbecile wronged his sister, he had no choice but to stifle his anger. For now.

Morpheus changed the subject. "It must have been hard to survive on your own."

However, Aureus shook his head at that, a small smile lifting the corner of his handsome face. "I was fortunately raised by good people."

"Oh?" The older eagle was surprised. "You seem to be living happily in the human kingdom?"

"Hmm!" Aureus nodded. "The people I am with are like my family."

The golden eagle shared brief stories about his experiences for the last two decades--about how he lived in the Royal Palace of Megaris, more specifically about the people who changed his life: Queen Esther, Drayce, and Lady Tyra.

"Good to know that you were treated well. The King of Megaris must value you a lot."

"He does. He is like a brother to me."

"Still, if you ever wish to live in Agartha, to live among your kind, you are always welcome to stay with us. After all, this is your homeland as well."

"I will think about it," Aureus half-agreed as he thought about the people on the other side of the continent. 'There might come a day when I have to leave Megaris in order to stay away from Seren. When that time comes, I will live here with my mother's memories.'

Seeing the gloomy, somewhat longing expression on his nephew's face, Morpheus raised a brow as he made a certain guess. "By the way, although you are young by our people's standards, you seem to have reached adulthood already. You must have found someone who can be your mate?"

Morpheus expected the younger eagle to be flustered, to blush even, but instead, Aureus stayed quiet, pretending to be immersed in the sea of clouds before him.

"Oh?"

As his nephew didn't deny it, it was enough for Morpheus to understand that there was indeed someone but Aureus didn't want to talk about it now.

'I don't think he feels shy or uncomfortable to share it...that means there must be a complicated situation.'

Morpheus decided to let it go. "It's fine you don't want to answer. I was just trying to know how it feels to be an uncle who tries to be nosy about his nephew's love life."

"What about you, Morph? You must have married--I apologize, I mean, taken a mate? Will you introduce me to my aunt and cousins later? Aureus asked.

"I don't have a mate. Children are out of the question."

It surprised Aureus and he looked at Morpheus. "Don't have a mate yet? From what I know, you must already be around a thousand years old. Then..."

"I choose to live a free and easy life," Morpheus answered in a manner as if he had given this same excuse one too many times. After all, as one of the strongest warriors of the Divine Eagle Clan, he was one of the most eligible men in the kingdom in terms of status and purity of bloodline. Many females of the feathered race had been set up by Chief Agraleus and the elders to be his potential mate; however, he found all those females annoying.

Aureus probed, "Or you have someone you are waiting for?"

Morpheus didn't expect Aureus to get back at him being nosy and grinned in mischief. "Are you trying to act like a nosy nephew now?"

"Maybe," Aureus answered with a similar grin. If an outsider was to see them at the moment, that person would say the two handsome men truly belong to the same family.

"By now, the news of your arrival must have reached our clan. You will have to meet the rest of our kind," Morpheus informed him.

"Is it necessary to rush?" Aureus asked. "I can meet them tomorrow."

"Unfortunately, it is. 'Necessary' is putting it lightly. You might not know the importance of your existence, but if I were to copy my uncle's words--oh, he's a granduncle to you--a golden eagle is basically the foundation of the clan. You are the most supreme, the king of our clan. You will see me kneeling to you soon. I should have done it the moment I saw you but at that time I was only thinking about my sister's son--"

"Oh, no. Don't do that!" Aureus shivered in discomfort at the image of Morpheus or a bunch of white-haired grandfathers kneeling to him. "I will appreciate it more if you tell them to treat me as they would a junior clan member or member of the younger generation."

"That won't happen. You forget that though we are divine beasts, it does not change the fact we are beastmen--we are ruled by nature and instinct. The purity of bloodline determines hierarchy. The same way the largest and strongest predator leads the pack among wild animals, it is the truth of the world that a golden eagle is the ruler of all eagles in this land."

"I hope they won't expect me to stay here which I cannot listen to."

"No one can force you," Morpheus assured him. "Rather, no one will dare upset their only king. Given your age and the fact you do not have a mate, you are the precious one who can continue the purest divine bloodline so none of those old fogeys will dare upset you. Rest assured."

Aureus flinched, but then avoided his uncle's stare. "Good to know."

Morpheus did not move his eyes away, feeling nosy once more. He had a hunch he wanted to confirm. "But...may I know the reason why you are adamant on staying in that human kingdom? Your mother is not with you and I don't think it's just because of the King of Megaris. You can always go and meet him even if you live in Agartha."

"I have someone that I need to protect," Aureus answered, "which I will do even at the cost of my life."

"Oh, I see." Seeing the way Aureus was avoiding his eyes, Morpheus smirked lightly. "Seems like it's about a female."

"That..." However, the response that came from his nephew was more serious than expected. "I need to protect her. I could not protect my mother from that Black Witch but I will protect her. I am not a powerless child now."

Morpheus wanted to tease him but paused midway as he thought about what Aureus said. Putting his choice of words together with what Draven had told him earlier and the secret message from Yorian, he made an alarming guess.

'The person he needs to protect from the Black Witch sounds like the Queen of Megaris? Don't tell me he..." Morpheus looked at his nephew but didn't know what to feel about him. 'My nephew seems to be taking after my path. It's sad.'

Wife of a king.

Mate of a Dragon.

'Is it unrequited love? That Queen chose another man? Alas, pitiful nephew...and if say, even if the Queen has affection for Aureus, if the King of Megaris is truly a Dragon, then there is no chance for him to snatch her away. A Dragon will never allow his mate to be taken by someone else. He would kill him.'

Morpheus simply put his hand on the young eagle's shoulder.

"I am sure you will be able to protect that person."

Aureus said nothing.

As the two sat in silence for a while, Morpheus offered, "Would you like to fly around and check the other parts of the kingdom? Agartha is a small kingdom so it won't even take us half a day. After that, I will bring you to our clan. I am sure they must be desperately waiting for your arrival. Let them wait a bit more."

Aureus decided to accept his uncle's decision. "Sounds fine to me."

"So, the territory of the shapeshifters is here in the south of the kingdom. There are about ten villages and three cities belonging to the feathered races, and our Divine Eagle clan leads them all. Where we are heading now is called Redcrest, the main city of the feathered races. I will take you to my nest--we call them like that, though of course, they're tree houses-- and will also show you the nest that belonged to your grandparents."

"Do I get to meet them as well?"

"That's impossible." Morpheus gave him a sad smile. "I will bring you to their graves later if you want."

Aureus didn't know what to say, and Morpheus merely waved his hand to dismiss the gloomy atmosphere. "But you can meet your granduncle. He is the current leader of the Divine Eagle clan and the Chief of the Shapeshifters. Your grandfather was the former leader, but after his death, Uncle Agraleus took his place."

"Shouldn't you be the next leader and take your father's place?" Aureus asked.

"I was not interested," was what Morpheus answered. "I told you I like a free and easy life. You think I can afford to leisurely nap on this mountain peak if I become a leader?"

As the two chatted, they flew together towards the foot of the mountain. However, their plans were disrupted when Morpheus' body jerked upon hearing a strange sequence of whistles used by their clan during urgent matters.

"Hah, they must have heard I'm with you. They summoned me and ordered me to escort you. Seems we need to head straight to Redcrest."

Aureus had yet to see any settlements in Agatha when he entered the kingdom as he was guided secretly through the forest to meet the King of Agartha, ensuring he stay hidden from the sharp gazes of the feathered races or any supernatural beings who would relay news to the Divine Eagle Clan. Given his golden form, it would not be difficult for them at all to spot him if he entered the kingdom normally.

"I apologize. Once you meet our clan, I will make sure to show you the entire kingdom."

Aureus simply nodded as he followed his uncle high up towards the direction of a dense forest filled with gigantic trees. They were so huge it would have been impossible for them to grow this much if they were not enchanted with magic.

'There are nests in the form of houses on the branches of the trees,' Aureus could not help but observe the appearance of Redcrest as they got nearer the city filled with winged people. 'It's quaint, the simplicity charming even, more pleasant to the eyes than I imagined.'

Members of the feathered race--regardless if they were flying in the sky or walking on the ground or on their beast form perched on the trees--their gazes didn't fail to notice Morpheus' and Aureus' flying forms.

Given that news had already spread, they were anticipating their arrival, yet the moment they saw Aureus, many of them  could not believe their eyes.

A golden eagle!

A young golden eagle!

As they reached closer to the clan territory, more and more shapeshifters from the Divine Eagle clan came into Aureus's sight. He could clearly see how they were looking at him as if they were looking at something they would worship.

Well, it wouldn't be wrong to say that the existence of a golden eagle was a miracle. Maybe tens of thousands of years ago, those with pure bloodline were treated with only a bit of importance, but as the population grew and the divinity in the clan's bloodline weakened, their numbers grew so scarce that only one was birthed in each generation. Sometimes, there were generations with no golden eagle born.

It was unbelievable, basically a miracle, to have Myra and Aureus, two golden eagles born in succeeding generations.

Morpheus and Aureus landed in front of the clan chief's home where along with the chief many clan members were already crowding the place to see the one and only golden Divine Eagle.

The moment Aureus landed on the ground, each and everyone present there kneeled on one knee with their heads lowered to greet Aureus, their king, their god. It took Aureus by surprise. Though he had somewhat expected this because of Morpheus' warning, he did not know it was to this ridiculous extent. It was as if not only the eagles, but all the residents of the entire city were paying homage to him.

He turned to look at Morpheus who had landed next to him, his golden eyes intending to seek help from him, but Morpheus' tall form could not be seen. Aureus lowered his gaze towards the ground, only to find his uncle kneeling just like the others.