“N—no,” Bridgette whimpered, clasping her shaking hands together.
“I will not harm this woman.” The lord clenched his fists, daring to defy the mad king.
King Zaeden inclined his head and sat back again, draping his hands over the arms of the wood and gold throne. “Refuse and we’ll bring in some of your friends and make you watch while they die slow, painful deaths. Trust us. This choice will be much easier for you.”
Bridgette began sobbing as the lord eyed her.
“Shall I give them weapons, Your Majesty?” the giant of a soldier, who I assumed to be Aquila’s constable, asked. I’d seen him give the others orders. He only answered to the king.
“No,” King Zaeden replied to the soldier whose armour couldn’t hide his overly large muscles. “Let them fight with their bare hands.”
Soldiers had begun passing coin around, placing bets on who would win.
The dishevelled lord put both hands up and appealed to Bridgette. “I’m sorry, but I have to keep my family safe.”
Bridgette didn’t wait for the lord to attack. With a high-pitched cry, she lunged at him and wrapped her hands around his neck.
Panic flashed across the lord’s face, but he quickly recovered by bringing his knee up and into her stomach.
She let go of his neck and bent over, coughing, trying to suck air back into her lungs.
The lord grabbed her by the hair and slammed her face into the floor.
She struggled until she was able to get onto her back and scratched at his face. Mean, red lines formed where her nails had dug into his skin.
“Bitch!” he spat and back handed her across the face. It’s amazing what one will do when the lives of their loved ones are in danger.
The woman spat out a gob of blood and tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he had her pinned down. He wasn’t budging.
The soldiers cheered and shouted at the pair. It seemed most had betted on the lord. It appeared they were going to win. But then Bridgette got her hand into the top of her simple dress and pulled out a small, hidden blade.
Before the lord could blink, she jabbed the blade into the side of his neck with a howl.
The lord released her to place a hand where the blade still protruded. Blood soaked his hand and drizzled onto Bridgette’s beige dress.
And then his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell forward onto her.
Two soldiers pulled the dead lord off the handmaiden and another helped her to stand. Her blood soaked chest rose and fell as he raised her arm above her head. “We have a winner!”
Bridgette didn’t resist. I caught a glimpse of her gaze as the room cheered, and by the nothingness in it, I knew she was gone.
One of the soldiers who held her began to take her away, but King Zaeden held up a hand. “Wait.” The soldier paused. “A gift for a true follower of Vesirus.” He pointed at me. “Her life is yours.”
Don’t think. Just do it. Do it. Do it.
She turned her empty stare on me. She didn’t beg me to spare her. She didn’t look scared. It was like she wasn’t even there… like she had already left her body and joined Celestia.
And I had no choice. So I ignored the image of Blaise’s horrified face as it blinked into my mind.
I drew my sword and drove it through Bridgette’s heart.
She blinked down at the blade, once, before collapsing to the carpeted floor.
Now… now, I hated myself even more.
Chapter 21
It was nearly dawn by the time most of Aquila’s soldiers traded celebrations for sleep. The rain had let up and the clouds parted, revealing the bright face of the full moon. Even in the lightening indigo sky, it shone like a beacon against darkness.
I led two horses to the gate. Percifal leaned against the wall, staring up at that moon. His pretend comrade, one of Aquila’s soldiers, glanced at the horses. “Have somewhere else to be?” He stepped forward and faced me. The glow in his eyes had dimmed. Though, the green-blue colour still swirled through his irises like curling smoke.
“By the orders of the king.” I grunted from beneath the hooded cloak.
“What orders?”
“None of your business.” I pointed at Percifal. “You, come with me.”
Percifal pushed off from the wall and shrugged, his helmet still on.
The soldier glanced at Percifal. “He’s terrible company. Doesn’t talk much.”
“Good,” was all I said as we mounted the horses and took off through the forest.
When the wall of Terra had disappeared from our sight, Percifal took off his helmet. “Did you have to give me a pony?” he asked, running a hand through his cropped onyx hair to fluff it up.
I smirked. “I admit your mount is short. I took the first two I could catch.” While that was partially true, I had given him the pony on purpose too. If I changed my mind and decided I didn’t want to join him and his little group, I could easily out run him.
Percifal grunted. “I should’ve gotten the horse.”
I responded by edging my mount faster. He trailed me through the trees and out onto the small path I knew led to the farmland west of Terra.
The sun crept into the sky and warmed my face, flickering through the branches as though darkness hadn’t just fallen on Sarantoa. Birds continued to serenade the morning with their songs, animals still poked their heads up from eating grass to watch us ride by. Celestia had not yet turned her back on her world. I decided that though my heart may have darkened, the rest of the world didn’t deserve to. I would ensure my unborn cousin had a future in this realm. Blaise’s death wouldn’t be in vain.
I couldn’t forget the look of utter nothingness in Bridgette’s eyes right before I took her life. Her blood stained my hands. Along with Claudia’s and Cedric’s and every other person’s life I’d ended. My hands were clean of Blaise’s blood. But her death hurt the most. I hadn’t let myself think much about it until now. There hadn’t been time. I was so angry that she was gone. Angry at her for getting herself killed, angry at King Zaeden for starting this war… most of all, I was angry at myself. Angry for not being able to stop that woman soldier from slitting her throat.
I nudged my horse into a gallop, shoving those useless emotions down. The time would come. King Zaeden and his army of dark spirits would regret their decision to steal my kingdom.
The forest thinned and the land flattened as we rode west. We pushed our horses through meadows of knee-high grass. By late afternoon, we crossed through fields of corn and hay.
The first abandoned farm we came upon had been empty. The house had collapsed, but the old barn would still make for a decent shelter. I held onto our mounts while Percifal checked the faded wooden barn to see if the women were inside. He came out shaking his head. “No one’s been here.”
We refilled our water skins from a small creek and continued on through the fields of green. I kept silent and Percifal didn’t press for conversation. We reached the second farm as the evening sun said its goodbyes. The house was still intact, and I wondered if perhaps someone still dwelled there. We hobbled our mounts and let them munch on fresh grass while we inspected the little house with a peaked roof. Dust covered every piece of furniture, every drape. The floor was coated with dirt… untouched. No sign of a farmer or an elemental woman.
“No one’s been here,” I said, stepping back outside.
“Let’s check the stable.” Percifal didn’t bother waiting for me.
I followed him. I still didn’t understand why he was with the elementals. If he had magic of his own, he had yet to show it. I didn’t really care why he was helping them, to be honest. He didn’t ask questions, so neither did I.
The stable was large enough to hold about a dozen horses. Dust floated in the beams of sunlight peeking in through the spaces in the boards of the walls and ceiling. I swore I heard a whisper as we passed by the stalls, but each stall we passed was empty.
Percifal came out from the room used
to store grain and tack as I peered over the last stall. The fire elemental sat beside the lady she’d rode off with… the elemental who’d formed water into a whip. She lay curled beside Zephyra, her face covered in streaks of dry, dirty tears.
“Phyra?” Percifal came up behind me and pushed the stall door open.
“Percifal!” She threw her arms around his neck, bits of old straw clinging to her fire red hair.
The water elemental moaned and put her hand over her face before rolling over to face the stall wall. Her obsidian hair was tangled like the cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. She and Zephyra both still wore the leather armour they’d donned for battle.
Percifal released Zephyra and tilted his head at the water elemental. “Is she all right?”
Zephyra bit her bottom lip before answering, “No, not really.” She crouched back down beside the water elemental. “Chel, Percifal’s brought the earth elemental here.”
“I can see that,” the water elemental—Chel—mumbled, still facing the wall.
Zephyra winced at me. “Sorry. She hasn’t been herself since Thaimis died. Chelela is the water elemental and Percifal’s sister. And who are you?” She cocked her head.
“My name is Sepheus.” I didn’t bother giving her my last name—Dirva, a royal last name which still didn’t feel right. “I know what it’s like to lose someone.”
“Do you really?” Chel mocked in a hoarse voice, sitting up enough to pin me with a cold, sapphire stare. “Do you know what it feels like to have the person you loved more than anything ripped from your life?”
I narrowed my own eyes at her. She had no idea.
She mistook my silence for denial. “That’s what I thought. Leave me alone.” She plopped back into the dusty, old straw.
Zephyra grabbed Percifal and I both by an arm and led us out of the stable. “She needs time.”
“We don’t have time,” Percifal argued. I couldn’t agree more. I had lost the only person I’d ever loved, but I wasn’t wallowing in self-pity. No, I would take my pain out on my enemies.
“She’s not in her right mind right now.” Zephyra swung her arms out.
I waited silently while the two bickered.
“I understand she’s grieving, but while we sit here waiting, King Zaeden’s planning his next move. I saw it, Phyra.” He took her by the shoulders. “I saw the portal open and Vesirus bestow King Zaeden with more power.”
Zephyra opened and closed her mouth once before saying, “It’s true, then? There is a gate to Mnyama in Terra?”
“Yes, it was under some tree in the courtyard.”
“The Tree of Ends,” I muttered beneath my breath.
Both turned to look at me.
“It’s the tree where we hang criminals once King Corbin gives the order for execution.”
Zephyra looked to the sky and shook her head. “You used the tree to send dark spirits to Vesirus. It’s no wonder it’s a gate to the Dark Lord’s world!”
“No one knew such a thing was possible,” I challenged.
The fire elemental threw her hands up in the air. “Did you not believe in our gods?”
“No…”
Her emerald eyes sizzled as she gave me a pointed look.
“Yes? I’m not sure.”
“They’re real.” She put a hand to her forehead and sighed. “I’ve been visited by Celestia.”
“Have you?” I asked incredulously.
“Yes, I have. She’s come to me in my dreams.”
“In your dreams?” I smirked. Who did she take me for?
“Watch yourself,” Percifal warned.
But we all stopped as Chel walked between us with two packed sacks. “Are you people going to stand here and bicker all day, or are we going to go make King Zaeden wish he were never born.”
Zephyra raised a red eyebrow at Percifal. He shrugged and followed his sister without another word.
It seemed our conversation had ended. It didn’t matter what I once thought about our goddess and her brother, Vesirus. I knew at least one of them existed. I’d seen all the proof I’d needed. And if Vesirus was real, Celestia likely was too. So I said to the woman staring after her friend and lover, “We all want the same thing. So how about you stop questioning me and focus on figuring out how to kill King Zaeden and send Vesirus back to Mnyama.”
She sized me up, not backing down, but in the end she relented. “I find you rude, but you’re right. Let us focus on the task at hand.” She jogged after the others. I followed her. When she caught up with Chel, she touched her elbow. “Are you sure you’re ready?”
The dark-haired woman kept walking. She either didn’t notice, or didn’t care that her appearance was out of sorts. “I have no choice. I heard your conversation. There’s no time. A gate has been opened.”
Zephyra’s expression turned sympathetic. “I’m sorry. I wish we didn’t need your help.”
“I would help even if you didn’t need me. I will exact my vengeance on King Zaeden for the deaths of Thaimis and my father, and I will enjoy every moment of it. Perhaps I’ll join them by Celestia’s side once the realm is safe.”
“You shouldn’t say such things,” Zephyra replied.
“There’s a high chance we could all die in battle.” Chel approached the horse they’d ridden to the farm together, who currently chomped on a mouthful of grass in the pasture. The two were still hobbled by the house.
Zephyra gave up on trying to console her friend. She was right of course. We could all be giving our lives up to save Sarantoa. It was the cost every soldier was willing to pay. Was Zephyra a soldier though? Was Chel? I guessed we’d all find out soon enough.
“Zephyra and I will ride together,” Percifal offered. Of course he did. This way, he wasn’t stuck with the pony.
When it came time to mount the horses, Chel looked at me with eyes as blue as the sea, put her hand on her hip, and stated, “I’m not taking the pony.”
Oh, we were going to get along very well, her and I.
I caught Percifal’s smile as I climbed into the pinto’s saddle. My legs were awkwardly too long for the short mare. I sighed through my nose and clucked to get her moving. Payback was a bitch.
“We need to obtain supplies before heading north to Ventosa,” Chel advised from beside Zephyra and Percifal.
I, of course, took up the rear.
“Ventosa?” Zephyra exclaimed. “We’re going to Solis. King Zaeden will most likely attack my cousin next.”
“We need the air elemental. I’ll bet you all the jewels in the world they reside in the kingdom of air. We won’t have enough power to defeat the mad king without them,” Chel argued.
Percifal and I kept our mouths shut during the exchange.
Zephyra gripped her thigh with her hands as she twisted toward Chel from in front of Percifal. “Queen Adelaide will come to our aid. I can’t go off to Ventosa without warning her first.”
Chel brushed an invisible piece of dirt from her arm as she said, “Surely Solis knows what King Zaeden is doing by now.”
“Terra didn’t.”
“Word will have spread since the attack. If you want to help your cousin, Ventosa is your best chance.”
Zephyra didn’t answer for a few moments, but when she did, fire crackled in her voice. “You can go to Ventosa. I am going to help my queen.”
“We’re not splitting up,” Percifal broke in. “King Zaeden is more likely to invade Solis first and Queen Adelaide will need our aid. We’ll go to the kingdom of fire first. Then, we’ll make the journey to the frigid kingdom up north.”
“Fine,” Chel ground out and fell back behind them to ride by me.
Percifal pulled a compass out of one of the sacks tied to their mount and turned his and Zephyra’s horse. “This way.”
We trod through the field of weeds and grass at a steady pace.
“Seems the princess got her way,” I commented when the others were far enough ahead.
Chel urged her horse into a
trot until she was at the front, leading the way without a glance back. I guessed she didn’t wish to converse. Fine with me.
We stopped at a market in the first village we passed to obtain supplies for the rest of our journey to Solis.
I hadn’t brought any coin, but Percifal had enough to share. I accepted the plain dark green tunic he bought me after we discarded the uniforms we’d taken from King Zaeden’s fallen soldiers. We stocked up on dried meat and bread. We didn’t need to worry about water. Chel could call it up from the earth whenever we needed. Both Chel and Zephyra hadn’t said a word to each other since their argument. I could see the hurt in Zephyra’s eyes, but Chel pretended not to notice, though a storm brewed beneath the surface. She tried not to care if the other elemental was upset. I could tell Percifal felt awkward as he tip-toed around both women. I, on the other hand, welcomed the peaceful silence.
With sacks so full they were almost bursting, we mounted our horses again and left the village.
“If we shared a horse, we could use the pony to pack our stuff,” I suggested to Chel on our way out.
She scoffed, “No, thank you.”
“Unbelievable.”
We rode as fast as the horses could handle through the grassy plains between Terra and Solis. Stretching green meadows and endless blue sky was our only view for days.
We only stopped when we were too tired to go on. We slept with blankets on the grass underneath a limitless world of radiant stars.
I pulled my blanket tighter around my body and shivered. It was too dangerous to build a fire out on the open fields where the wind blew strong. It would’ve been too easy for it to spread, to burn out of control. So we made due with the wool blankets we’d purchased. Luckily, summer was almost upon us, and Solis was the second warmest kingdom in Sarantoa.
Percifal and Zephyra had the advantage of sleeping together, their bodies warming each other. When I’d looked at Chel, she simply sniffed and stomped off to find a place to set her blankets down. A place I heard soft sobs coming from as I closed my eyes, trying to sleep.
The Elemental Diaries - Complete Series Page 64
