Everyone''s attention was now on Nih. Those who knew her were a little surprised that she had dared to speak in front of strangers, that also to the King.


    She turned to look at the King and continued, "Our body is not in control of our mind when we transform for the first time. And some of the unfortunate ones do things that we don''t mean to. The worst part is that we don''t even remember what we did when we are in our wolf form."


    "Princess Nih, did you also do something that you shouldn''t have?" the King asked with a little hesitation.


    She shook her head and turned her gaze towards Keh. He was also looking back at her.


    She looked down at her te and sympathetically said, "No, but I was told that I was about to kill a man. Luckily, Joyce was there to save me. Else, I would have lost my life because of the werewolf curse."


    The Queen suddenly looked concerned because her son had actually killed a woman. The wizards who had rescued her son from his miserable life in the dungeon had never mentioned anything about the werewolf curse.


    And as Keh was a part werewolf, she was worried for him. She was afraid that that curse might be affecting Keh as they spoke.


    Queen Florence had a dreaded look on her face when she asked in a whisper, "Werewolf curse? What is that?"


    Princess Nih looked a little shaken after recalling what she had heard from her parents after reverting back to her human form.


    So Ramon answered in her stead, "It''s a curse that all of us werewolves bear. If our fangs touch human flesh or blood then we will get stuck in our werewolf form forever."


    The Queen drew in a sharp breath and covered her mouth with her palm. She was terrified, thinking that Keh would turn into a wolf and would stay like that in the near future.


    Nih could sense her fear. So she nced at her. She then nced back at the King. He wasn''t scared. But his facial expression didn''t look as stiff as before. Rather, he looked somewhat concerned.


    "Do you mean that our son…" the Queen asked in a shaken whisper to the twins.


    Nih shook her head and then rified, "Your Majesty, both of you should think of yourselves as the lucky ones because Keh is a Hybrid. Else, your son would have been lost forever. He would have been stuck in a wolf''s body the moment he..."


    King Walter felt a pang in his heart upon hearing that. He was d that such a horrible fate didn''t happen to his son.


    He didn''t say it, but he looked sorry for always being a little harsh on Keh… a little too harsh.


    Queen Florence, on the other hand, heaved a sigh of relief. She was d that her son had unknowingly escaped that werewolf curse. She was thankful that Keh was part Vampire as well.


    Keh gave an appreciative nod to Nih and Ramon. He was happy that he had friends who would speak for him, who would support him.


    After that, the Royals didn''t talk much apart from sharing small pleasantries like appreciating the food and castles, and things like that.


    When they finished having dinner, the King got up from his seat and weed the guests once more, and said goodnight to them. He then patted on his son''s shoulder and walked out of the hall.


    The Queen gave a tight hug to her son and said, "I missed you so much, Ken."


    Keh also hugged his mother back and whispered, "I missed you too, mother."


    Queen Florence then nced at her son and asked, "You haven''t taken your father''s words to your heart, right? No matter how rudely he talks, he doesn''t mean to hurt you. He is just bad at choosing his words."


    "I know, mother," Keh kissed his mother on her forehead. And he bid her goodnight, "You should rest for the night. I wille and find you tomorrow morning. And we will talk about everything that we missed."


    "Okay. Goodnight, Ken." Queen Florence gave a loving smile and caressed Keh''s cheek. And she also walked out of the hall.


    The dinner ended in a bitter-sweet way.


    After the monarchs left the hall, Keh led his guests out of there. They all walked in silence because although it was not his intention, King Walter had managed to open almost everyone''s healed wounds again.


    As they neared their rooms, Keh turned to look at everyone and then asked, "Shall we go for a walk? I can feel my head bulging. I need some fresh and cold air before going to bed."


    Everyone else instantly agreed because they were also feeling the same way as Keh.


    And so, they all walked down the torch-lit corridor and the spiral stairs. They were outside the residential keep in no time.


    "Ah! The cool breeze hits the right spot!" Ariel spread out her arms and let that cold air fill her lungs to the fullest.


    Zach also copied her and repeated what she had said, "Yes. The cold breeze hits the right spot."


    The other three walked past those two talkative ones. They kept on walking quietly and letting the breeze do its wonders.


    Ariel looked up at the sky. The sky looked foggy but the stars and the moon were still visible. "The sky looks closer from here," shemented.


    Keh also looked up and finally uttered a sentence, "Right… it looks closer."


    Ariel felt a little sad when she saw those three''s aurae. It was a confirmation that the King''s words had somewhat affected them.


    Zach ran ahead and put his arm around Keh''s shoulder. He also felt bad to see him and the twins like that. So he tried to cheer them up, "Ken, don''t look so sad. You know that we all are just like you. Well, I and Ramon aren''t yet like you but you know what I mean."


    Zach turned towards the twins and yfully scolded them, "And you two, stop sulking and cheer Ken up."N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Keh didn''t like it that he was affecting everyone else''s mood. So he tried to cheer everyone up. He chuckled and loudly said, "Ariel, when are you going to address me as Ken? Zach has beaten you to it."


    He waited for a while but there was no answer. So he turned around to check on her. But she was nowhere to be seen.


    He furrowed his brows and asked, "Where''s Ariel?"