Chapter 295: 295: Return of the King
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"Or just me," Vel added.
"I can build houses," Sha said. "And cook."
"I brought many eggs," one of the injured ant girls called out helpfully.
Luna turned her back on all of them. She rubbed her temples. She breathed. She shook her head slowly.
Kai reached out and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "I love you."
She did not look at him, but her body relaxed under his touch. "Just... go to the courtyard," she said. "I need to think. And make a map of where you’re all sleeping."
"You are not kicking me out?"
"I should," she snapped. "But I know you. And I know you didn’t do any of this to betray me. You’re just... stupid. And powerful. And women follow you like ants to sugar."
Akayoroi made a thoughtful sound.
"I take no offense to that."
"Good," Luna snapped. "Because you are sleeping outside."
Kai winced.
Vel made a small noise of protest. "Outside."
Naaro whispered to the cactus, "We shall build a tent of shame."
Sha sighed and pulled a tarp from her bag. Azhara skipped ahead, humming like she was thrilled to be banished.
Miryam finally looked up at Luna and said nothing. But she did hop down and curl up at Luna’s feet, quietly nuzzling against her leg.
Luna’s hand found the baby wyrmling’s head. She stroked it gently. And for now, that was enough.
The situation has gone quiet for now.
Luna stood alone in the archway, her hands resting on the stone frame as the cool mountain wind played with her hair. She could still hear the faint chatter of the girls settling in the lower chambers, the echo of Azhara’s laughter as she tried to convince Vel and Sha that their tent of shame needed silk drapes.
She turned when she felt his presence.
Kai stepped into the shadows of the arch, his white silver hair catching the last rays of the morning sun. For a moment, he said nothing. He only looked at her with the steady gaze of a man who had faced monsters and survived, but feared this quiet moment more than any battlefield.
Luna’s arms crossed beneath her chest. Her voice came soft, but sharp. "Do you understand what you have done?"
Kai lowered his head slightly. "I do."
"You have brought danger and chaos into our home. Their enemies will be our enemies now. You have brought women, the one who once hunted us. And you have slept with her. You made me wait and worry... and then came back with this."
He did not defend himself. He only stepped closer, his boots brushing the stone floor with a quiet, deliberate weight. He hugged her tightly.
"I am sorry," he said. "Not for surviving. Not for building allies. But for the hurt it caused you. For the storm you feel in your chest right now."
Her jaw trembled. She wanted to stay angry. She wanted to scream. But the sight of him hugging her and his chest, his breathing, with his hands slightly trembling because he feared she might turn away, had softened her in ways she did not want to admit.
"You are an idiot," she whispered.
"I am," he agreed.
"And you are mine first."
"I was never anyone else’s."
Luna inhaled, her breath shaking. "Then make this right. Make this home safe. Make me believe that bringing them here will not break what we have."
"I will," he said. His voice carried no hesitation. "I will show you."
She finally reached out and touched his cheek. "You better."
After that, Kai walked the familiar corridors of the hollow mountain, his boots echoing softly against stone smoothed by days of labor and devotion. He made his way to the central hall where the scent of earth, metal, and faint pheromones filled the air. The torches along the walls flickered as he entered the heart of his domain.
The first to greet him was Shadeclaw, the shadowy assassin hybrid who had been his closest companion. He emerged from the darkness of a high alcove, his mandibles clicking softly in excitement.
"Welcome home, my king," he whispered, lowering his head. "I felt your aura long before I saw you."
Then Silvershadow arrived, leaping from a pillar to land beside Kai with the fluidity of a living shadow. His antennae twitched, and his voice was deep with satisfaction. "You returned. As promised."
Kai smiled faintly. "Did you doubt me?"
"Never," Silvershadow said. "But the mountain is quieter without you. I almost missed the way the air trembles when you walk."
A low hoot echoed from above as Skyweaver glided down from a ventilation shaft. The sleek aerial scout landed softly, her wings folding against his back. "Welcome back, commander. The skies were empty without you. We all miss you."
Kai took a moment to look at them all. His family of subordinates. The ones who had stayed. The ones who had waited.
"It is good to be home," he said.
And then, from deeper in the hall, came his old comrades from Mia’s team, the four soldier ants who had fought with him before he left the ant kingdom. Before they thought he was dead.
Vexor, the stalwart three star soldier, gave a booming laugh. Shale, a four star warrior, thumped his chest proudly. Flint and Needle marched in behind them, both grinning like mischievous recruits.
"Look who finally returned," Vexor said, voice carrying a teasing edge. "And look at all the trouble he brought with him."
Shale grinned. "I counted at least ten new females trailing behind you."
"Eleven," Needle corrected with a sly smirk. "Excluding the scary rabbit."
Flint shook his head in mock disbelief. "We leave you alone for a few weeks, and you start your own empire of women."
Kai groaned. "I see your sense of humor... but I survived Luna’s anger."
They surrounded him, tapping his shoulders, tugging at his cloak, and pulling his leg— literally, in Needle’s case.
"We missed you," Vexor said finally, his voice softening. "The mountain feels alive now."
Kai placed a hand on his shoulder. "I missed all of you too."