Vengeance of The Broken Lycan Prince [BL]-Chapter 422: Water’s Colder, Let Me In Your Ocean, Swim

Chapter 422: Water’s Colder, Let Me In Your Ocean, Swim
[TAMIKO]
Zaffuto had been watching it all in controlled silence. He had so much to say.
So many dangerous things lined up in his head that he could feel every calm space, but as he looked at his son, the boy he had barely gotten back after so many years, the king wasn’t sure he had any other options left for him.
He wasn’t sure if this was how life was supposed to be for him and his son.
Honestly, he was worried about what the future looked like for both of them. It was almost like life was slowly losing its meaning, and Zaffuto was losing everything that was making him who he had been.
He was a father and a king, yet as he stood there, he had the rage, not of a king, but of a father who had watched his son lay down his weapons; the mad king had never been this defeated.
So, when he heard his son call to him, even in the pretext of what Kosta had spoken of, Zaffuto did not hesitate. He didn’t have to think twice about what he needed to do.
’My little prince,’ the king breathed in despair as he looked in the direction of his summoner.
For years, he had always wished for her to be seeking him out when he was in trouble, and now, he was getting that call, though it wasn’t the way that Zaffuto had ever wanted it.
This was how he had envisioned his first response to his son’s plea for help, but he wasn’t in the position to choose it all, was he? The warriors parted as the mad king showed up, heading towards his son.
He didn’t have anything to say to them, even when his blade had blood on it, and his cloak was so worn it was almost a reminder of the position they all were in at the moment.
But that didn’t matter to Zaffuto, because even as he headed to his son, even as he made confident steps toward the only living reminder of his Liana, Zaffuto didn’t feel confident.
He felt weak.
He felt low, and his shaking hands were evidence of what he was feeling; the kind of rage that no one would ever truly understand in one day.
The gift of love that had him wondering if this was what life was bound to be for him and his crazy son, but at least his son had sought him out.
That was the only consolation in the middle of all this, even as he reached Tamiko, who was cradled in Kosta’s arms. This wasn’t a regular sight for the king, and anyone with eyes could see the way his heart shattered for the hundredth time.
Lord Sadako, Danny, and the councilmen, along with the other Lycans, were still not sure what they were supposed to do. The battlefield had somewhat slowed down, and gods, was it a terrifying space.
But the Lycans knew they had to be ready for anything.
The Grealors were known for their cunning nature, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they ever took the momentary pause for the king and assumed it was for them to keep at whatever the fuck they were aiming for.
But who in their right mind would try to mess with that which belonged to the mad Zaffuto Hinata?
"Tamiko... my little kid," the king said, his voice barely whispering.
It was as if he were scared that if he talked louder, his son would disappear in front of him. He didn’t want to lose the kid before him; he didn’t know how to live a life that didn’t have Tamiko again.
"Papa," Tamiko voiced weakly, his steady stone making his father have an aghast smile on his face. But that didn’t make the king forget about the fight before him, his dear son, his little boy, so defeated and tired.
His son battled with his Erasthai even when the tides were greatly against them, but the king didn’t say that anymore. He wasn’t here for the recollection. He was here to fix his son; he was here to see what could be and what couldn’t be.
"Yo— oh, gods," King Zaffuto breathed as he went on his knees right before his son and everyone else.
He stretched out his hand to his son’s chest, where the wound was open and looked terrible as hell. The king felt his breath hitch at the sight, and he felt like all that had once meant anything about to be doomed.
He wasn’t even a king at this moment.
Here with his son, the mad king was a father. One who was so confused and torn between vengeance and mercy. A father who was not sure a scolding would fix this shit, yet he doesn’t understand the strong bond between his son and his Lycan chief.
He was at a crossroads and wished this seemed any simpler than it already was. Maybe the king needed to take a step back and think, because that was not the moment for him to be weak.
A father on his knees, a son who was already wounded, a Lycan chief who was so heartbroken. Those were some of the key pillars of the Kawai kingdom, and it seemed like they were getting weaker with every moment.
But then Lord Sadako was watching, along with Lord Daniel, not to mention the royal council that Tamiko had long formed by rallying the strongest and most insane of warlords in the Kawai and the realm’s history.
It was a team of delinquents, truly, and right now, even when the king had set his weapon aside momentarily, the danger levels were still the same.
The Lycans of Kawai were still the most unhinged of all. The warriors Kawai were still the bloodthirsty animals they had been trained to be, beasts with only one master, the mad king of Kawai.
"Papa..." Tamiko trailed off slowly when he noticed the way his father was flinching. The mad king touched his chest once and pulled back instantly, like he was scared of hurting his own son.
Now his hand was hovering over Tamiko’s chest, while the pain on the mad king’s face was there for his son to see. This was not what any father wanted to come home to, but they didn’t even have the most normal of relationships, no?
Surely that wasn’t supposed to be a basis for the madness that had already started lingering at the moment, right?
"You scared me," the mad king admitted shamelessly, his hands still trembling as he tried to steady himself.
He was a father who had once lost everything.
A father who had lost his wife and his son.
A father who had once upon a time failed his family, and now this was the second time it was happening.
Granted, this time it wasn’t his fault, but then he was a father, and he had his regrets even then. Maybe if he had been a good father, if things had been better, he would have been alright. His son would have been alright.
"You’re doing that thing again, papa," Tamiko forced out, weightlessly, and the king struggled to understand what that meant.
Maybe it was just another day for his son, so why couldn’t it be just another day for him as the father too? Why did things have to be so complicated? Was it not enough that they both had suffered through the years and had been in so much pain?
"Don’t... Don’t you dare leave me again, kid. Not after I just got you back. I... I only wanted to... please don’t leave. I wouldn’t bear it if I lost you again. I’m only just learning how to be a father, kid," King Zaffuto said, his voice breaking.
Tamiko stiffened.
He hadn’t intended for anything to be like this. He had not intended to put his father through such again.
Hell, it wasn’t what he had wanted, and now, as he looked at his father, the prince realized that there was always going to be so many lives affected by his decisions, and gods, he felt horrible again.
"Please, just this once, let me be your father, not your king. I only ever wanted to be your father," the king said in defeat, his voice once again cracking. He hated what had happened, and he didn’t have the strength to scold his crazy son.
So the king channeled his magic, aiming for the very chest that had been hurt. Light bloomed from the king’s palms and seeped into Tamiko’s wounds and chest.
Even then, the mad king’s hands were unsteady.
Like he was worried about what this would be like for his son. He was scared of what would happen, and coming from a king with a long history of power, that was just insane to an extent that even the gods would dare to intervene.
The king poured everything into the rejuvenation of his son. He wasn’t leaving anything to chance because he knew what hell would exist for his child. He refused to watch Tamiko suffer, and while he healed his son, the king made his son invincible.
Way too invincible than he had been earlier.
So invincible to the point that the only person the prince was a match for was the mad king himself.
His son had the power, the strength, the abilities like him, and it was the reminder everyone who was watching needed to understand that the ad prince was not to be played with.
The king was not here to play games where his son was involved, and frankly, it was a beautiful sight.
"Papa... you’re shaking," Tamiko pointed out.