Elyna was anxious when she saw Tritan not reacting to all her words. Even though Georgio had helped her, no one knew what Tritan was thinking after that.
Tritan eyes looked at Val, who was standing not far from them. His wounds healed enough, and his calm face somehow annoyed Tritan every time he saw him.
The original heir to the vampire kingdom sneered. "So? Then I just took what should have been mine, right?" His cold words surprised many people. Elyna could only bite her lip. Now she was confused about whose side to take when her two loved ones suddenly fought.
Her fears came true. Elyna still had to choose one of them in the end.
But could she? Right now, she couldn't decide as she pleased. They already had Valan and Triqi. Elyna couldn't leave one of them to defend one of her partners.
"Triqi!"
Triqi, who suddenly knelt, made Elyna immediately approach her youngest child, who looked confused. Her eyes were blank, as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard. What she had done had caused a rift in her family. Tritan didn't want to acknowledge Val or Valan. Meanwhile, Triqi heard that Valan was now lying dying because half of his power was absorbed by Tritan. With his current condition, sooner or later, Valan would turn into an empty shell if he were left alone.
"Father, Valan... he's not a doll that you can throw away as you please when you're back. Sob, please return Valan to me. I... I'm the one who should have died and not Valan," Triqi babbled sadly. She continued to kneel in front of her father and everyone else.
Georgio had just opened his mouth about the secret of Triqi's birth. The baby who almost died in Elyna's womb was Triqi. As a pure vampire, the percentage of her birth was small. Triqi could only live by consuming someone's life force. In Elyna's case, Triqi unconsciously continued to take Valan's life force.
Valan himself instinctively continued to bestow his power to Triqi. Tritan, at that time, realized that Valan would die if he didn't do something. That's when he finally decided to gamble. When Tritan found out that Elyna didn't love him as much as she loved Val, he used his powers to save Valan.
Thanks to Tritan's efforts, Valan turned into his duplicate even though he was a descendant of Val. Valan's desire to protect Elyna and Triqi was also the result of Tritan's wishes. Including Tritan's memories, everything was passed down only to Valan.
In the process of Tritan's revival, it wasn't Triqi's blood that made him wake up again. Valan's uncontrolled power was what made Tritan's power return to his original body. And someone used Triqi to lure Valan. Valan wouldn't let Triqi get hurt. Especially with a wound as big as the one Triqi made.
Triqi felt fooled by her dream. Even since she was a baby, she managed to live because of Valan's protection. How... how could she let Valan go after that?
"Please... please, just let me die instead of him. Sob, I love him so much, Father... Sob, I love him so much that it hurts if I have to breathe without him in my life."
Triqi clutched her chest tightly. Her tears fell so fast that Tritan could only shut his mouth. Tritan might be disappointed in Elyna, but he was sure that Triqi was not at fault here. He loved the child for who she was. And seeing her cry and beg like that was enough to make Tritan feel hesitant.
Tritan looked at Elyna, who was crying while trying to calm Triqi down. He then looked at Georgio, who had a complicated face as he watched everything. Lastly, Tritan looked at Val, who continued to look at Elyna with love and regret. He knew from the start that the Alpha had intentionally not returned his punch. His face even looked full of relief when their eyes first met. Like, Val would be more relieved if Tritan came back to life.
As far as Tritan could remember, the werewolf race was not a race that liked to share partners. Especially when Elyna's partner was a pureblood vampire like him.
Tritan couldn't lie to himself. Something was wrong here. He could feel it, but couldn't remember what it was.
"Arkh!"
Tritan groaned in pain, holding his head. He suddenly became dizzy and sat down on the chair. Elyna, who was panicking, immediately approached Tritan. Elyna bit her lip when Tritan roughly pushed her hand away, then looked at Val angrily.
"Okay! If you want him to survive, his father must be able to win a duel against me. A duel to the death, as a male should fight for his mate."
Tritan's voice suddenly stabilized again. Elyna looked shocked to hear that statement, while Triqi's cries were getting louder in Georgio's arms, who hugged her to calm the young vampire.
"I want the duel to be held one day from now. In the fighting arena, watched by my people and yours," Tritan said coldly before getting up from his seat and stopping right next to Val.
"You will lose everything. Your child, my sister, your honor," Tritan mocked before leaving the room with the sound of the door slamming closed.
Elyna, panicking, immediately approached her father, who had only been rubbing Triqi's trembling back. Elyna didn't want the two people she loved the most to have that ridiculous duel. Tritan had just woken up, while Val's wounds still needed time to heal. Both of them were not stable. The worst possibility was that they could die in the fight, both of them, without a winner.
"Father! Sob, please stop Tritan! He, he...."
Elyna couldn't continue her words because she was crying. A disappointed and desperate face was immediately visible when Georgio shook his head slowly. Georgio then stroked Triqi's back, who was hugging him and begging like his mother.
"When Tritan was awakened, the throne returned to him. The person who trapped Triqi to resurrect Tritan must be someone who doesn't accept Valan becoming the next king. Resisting at a time like this can be considered a rebellion. That also applies to us, even though we are his family."
Elyna shook her head in disapproval. A voice suddenly distracted their attention. A low answer that Elyna didn't want to hear for now.
"I will accept it."
Elyna cried even more hysterically. She just kept shaking her head, saying no until Val managed to hug Elyna and kiss her cheek.
"Sshhhh... This is our fate, Elyna. Please let us finish it properly. I will find a way so that we can save Valan, without hurting any of us."
Elyna hit Val's chest lightly. "No, no. You guys, sob, you could get hurt. Don't... Sob, please don't leave me again..."
Val looked into Georgio's eyes for approval. The man nodded, then Val put some distance into their embrace so that Elyna could look him directly in the eye.
"Go to sleep."
Elyna was shocked but couldn't struggle any further after Georgio used his power on Elyna. Slowly, his eyes began to close, even though his mouth kept saying 'don't' and 'please'.
When Elyna fell asleep, Georgio did the same thing to Triqi. The room was quiet again when Elyna and Triqi fell asleep. Meanwhile, Val could only kiss the foreheads of his two beloved people gently and with full regret.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered with a heavy heart.
***
Tritan always loved to look at the moon from the balcony of his spacious room. His bright red eyes looked calm as his hand rose to drink blood from the glass he had been holding. After finishing it, he finally turned to look at the large painting in his room. His painting with Elyna, one of the proofs that they had indeed been close and in a relationship in the past.
Tritan stroked the painting carefully. Tritan looked at the painting for a long time before looking back at the moon that illuminated his pale white skin.
"I will miss this place..." he said softly before being frozen like a statue on the edge of his room's window. Tritan smiled painfully while squeezing his chest, which suddenly throbbed in pain.
The person he loved had truly set his heart on one person. And Tritan was sure that person was not him.