Page 118 of Winter Gods & Serpents

“Will it…go into you?”

“No. I am not an…Umbra, my skillset is a bit different. I can float the emotion right back onto the spiritual flow of mana, my magic acts as conductor.”

I exhaled a long breath. Did I have too? I could live with this pain too, a new one to add to my collection.

“It will feel like nothing,” he assured, and I slowly nodded. He took both my hands in his, brown eyes veiled black and I suddenly felt my body freeing from the clutching pain since I had been in when the man touched me last night. A sigh of relief, that might have sounded a moan left my body, a bag of weights lifting from my chest and head.

“Mal, what does dahaara mean?” I asked, and his brother uncrossed his arms beginning to speak in objection to deny me the truth.

He blinked surprised for a moment. “Steel tongued. Why?”

I threw Kilian a time saving, not so very polite hand gesture that consisted of my middle finger.

Mal clutched his stomach from laughter. “Has he been calling you that?”

I nodded, irked at his brother. Tongue of steel alright, arsehole with facial expressions of a rock.

Cai kept treating me with silence all the way to Tenebrose. I’d deserved it, breaking a promise to him was not the same as breaking a promise to any other.

Soldiers through the castle stared at us nervously, almost shivering in the shells of their uniforms. My father must have voiced his anger loudly from the looks of it, just as expected.

He awaited for me in his private chambers, hands crossed on the table and a look of a mountain beast in his face. He looked like his head belonged to the wall of taxidermized beast trophies of his kills that stood proudly displayed behind him. Colourful dralgarths, enormous bird like creatures with their wings spread wide, morphs aghast with their thin long canines out, mantrals and their abnormally large antlers thrice that of their resembling unblessed counterpart, and so many more martyrs to the killer King’s seek for power. All kills and trophies of his work in Aita and his proud claim of their destruction.

Islands of Aita were heavens on the realm, endless gardens of sun and rainbows, peace, and tranquillity. It also was the second land father had destroyed after Olympia. He had captured most animals, killed the rest that had not managed to flee and burnt their sanctuary—the blessed sanctuary god Dyurin had gifted them. Animals captured by him had died shortly after from cold and grief, the rest laid displayed behind him. Had he thought to hang my grandfather’s and two uncle’s head like that after he killed them and destroyed their kingdom?

“Where have you been? Your squadron was supposed to have reported back last afternoon.” He was a moment away from nailing a dagger in my chest and I was a moment away from vividly visualizing him stuffed with cotton.

“Apologies,” I offered, and he flinched as if he had heard that word for the first time. The faces behind almost changed expression too. “While patrolling in Brisk a group of elderly came to notify us that they had seen Adriatians Aura wielding magic in one of the villages.”

He blanched, pupils wide stilled almost resembling his dead companions. For a moment I stared at his unmoving chest thinking I might get to salt up his corpse sooner than I thought for my own wall of trophies.

“We didn’t believe it at first,” I continued. “but one of my soldiers suggested that it might have been one of the trespassers Esbern had allowed in, so we went to investigate. It was too late to inquire for the list I handed to you to check the plausibility of that thought so we went blindly to check. They attacked us before we even asked a simple question. My team was forced to chase them down and eliminate all danger. They were killed separately. My soldiers have all written a report of their own.”

Putting the forged file down on his table, I backed a few steps away letting him soak on my intricate fib.

“You killed them? You killed them all?”

I frowned on command. Brows, my main actors. “Yes, is there an issue, father? I thought you established order of first kill for Adriatians?” Playing dumb was tremendously satisfying.

“No, no issue. You did well.” His voice jumped an octave up, as his eyes paced restless about the room.

I’d waited more than a week for my turn to patrol there. My hunch could have been wrong, this could have easily revealed most of my plans to him had I been caught. The ledgers from Pine inn noted every little detail and step of the Adriatians. Now confusion began blurring and separating lines. The Adriatians were stationed in Brisk, Moregan on the Islines, there were no vandals in Brisk but there was passage to Hanai, the biggest passage. Adriatian Aura recruited by my father under a very secretive general under a similarly secretive mission, nearby the gates to Hanai. They were there only for one thing, my father had eye in Hanai, wanted to take someone out without imprint or he was after something that they could easily fade back, therefore the demand for their Aura. I’d stumbled upon something, I just didn’t know what or how would it be to my advantage.

“The belongings were destroyed after they set of an explosion, but the house has been marked to be investigated, nonetheless. I would have stayed but I had to report back before you alarmed an army.”

“You did well, I will send out another captain, you can continue with your patrol normally. There would not be much to look at the ruins of trespasser scum.”

Oh but there was father dearest, so very much to look at. From maps to detailed underground tunnels and sewers of Koy, to guard rotations on the Hanaian border, perfectly proving my doubts. They were set looking for someone, something or perhaps somewhere referenced as ‘element’ all throughout the coded writing that we managed to salvage. They had been smart to set off the explosion but not lucky. How would they know my friend was a Zephyr who had sucked all the air out of the room causing the fire to put out and salvage all that was in.

“If you have questions you know where to find me, good day then.”

“Have lunch with me,” he called before I reached the doors. My heart pounded through my chest bone loudly enough he could hear it from where he was sat. What did he want now? Did he doubt it so quick? I had left no loose strands, unless he could read my mind.

“I have a wound that is killing me,” I said, showing him my back. “A medi-healer is already waiting for me in my chambers.”

He nodded. “That is alright then, have that tended.”

I climbed wearily to my bedroom, half in my victory and the other half in fatigue. The wound was indeed killing me.