by Ben Wolf
“Even killed a sabertooth cat once. Got a nice pair of fangs from him, but had to sell them when my third cape wore out. Wish I’d kept them, though. Would’ve been worth a fortune in Aeropolis nowadays.”
Calum and Axel eyed each other.
“Anyway, you don’t mind if I come along, do you? I know I’ll come in handy more than once.” Kanton’s blue eyes glistened with delightful expectation. “What so you say?”
Calum looked back at Magnus, who nodded and said, “We could use someone like him.”
“Yeah, any time Calum gets himself injured, he’ll have a healer to patch him up,” Axel said.
“You’re the one with sore arms and a bruise on your chin. I feel fine.”
Axel glanced at Lilly, then he refocused on Calum. “Come over here, and we’ll see how fine you feel after thirty seconds of me thrashing you.”
Calum ignored Axel. “The answer is yes, Kanton. We’d love to have you join us.”
Kanton let out a whoop, launched into the air, and executed a backward loop. He landed almost exactly where he’d been standing and nodded to Calum. “Sorry for the excitement, but I thought you’d say I was too old for an adventure.”
“You think you’re old?” Axel huffed. “Magnus here is two hundred sixty-something.”
“Two hundred and three years old,” Magnus said. “Not two hundred sixty-something.”
Axel held up his hands. “My mistake. Didn’t realize you were so sensitive about it.”
“I am not sensitive about it. I just care that my age is represented accur—”
“Friends, friends,” Avian interjected. “Let’s not get sideswiped with meaningless chatter. You have your map. You have Kanton. You are free to go. The lift awaits your arrival for immediate descent. May the Overlord bless your journey.”
Calum and Axel made eye contact again. They’d both taken the meaning of Avian’s words.
Axel stepped forward and squinted at Avian. “What do you mean, ‘immediate descent?’ Are you throwing us out?”
Avian tilted his head and gave Axel a manufactured smile. “Of course not. You are welcome to stay as long as you please. I just wanted you to know you are free to go whenever you so desire.”
Axel gave an incredulous nod. “Because it really sounded like—”
“We understand,” Calum interrupted before Axel managed to get them tossed off one of the platforms. “Thank you for your generosity and hospitality so far. We’ll head out this evening.”
“It’s too bad you’ll have to miss the wedding.” Falcroné’s lips curled up in a sly grin, and he pulled Lilly close to him. “It will be an occasion like none in recent history.”
Calum’s jaw set, but he forced a smile and nodded. “We wish you all the best. Come on, guys. Let’s go pack our things.”
“Wait,” Lilly said.
Calum’s eyes found hers. What was it this time?
“Father.” She looked at Avian. “I’m going with them.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Silence overtook the throne room, and part of Lilly couldn’t even believe she’d said it.
Avian raised his eyebrows at her.
“No, you’re not.” Somehow, Falcroné managed to say the words even before her father had the chance.
Lilly looked into his blue eyes and, her voice firm, said, “Yes, I am.”
“No, you’re not.” That time her father said it. “Absolutely not. You just returned to us. If it were up to me, I’d never let you outside of the fortress walls again.”
Of course he’d say something like that. Most fathers would, wouldn’t they?
But he didn’t understand what she’d experienced out there in the rest of Kanarah. He didn’t comprehend the state of things with the King in power—the corruption, the suffering. He couldn’t even acknowledge the struggles of his own people, so how could he possibly have any sense of what the land as a whole was dealing with?
Lilly renewed her resolve. “I’m going with them, Father. I want to help them free Lumen.”
“No.” Avian waved his hand laterally in front of him as if dividing the room in half. “Not in a millennium.”
Mother stepped forward. “You have duties here. Obligations to fulfill.”
“You’re getting married in less than a month,” Avian said. “That alone is reason enough for you not to go with them, and I have hundreds more besides.”
“I don’t care what I’m supposed to do or what your reasons are for wanting me to stay.” Lilly’s stern tone shocked even her, but she’d stated her plans and refused to back down now. “You tried to force me into a life I didn’t want months ago, and look what happened: I got kidnapped by slave traders when I left here. You’re not going to dictate my life to me anymore. I’m going with them, and that’s final.”
“Nothing is final until I say it is final, Lilliana!” Avian thundered. He leaned in close to her, his voice calmer as he said, “When you left, my heart broke. I will not allow it to happen again.”
“Then hear me, Father,” Lilly pleaded. “I left because you gave me no choice. I’ve agreed to your terms regarding my marriage, but with this delay. That’s all. Can’t you grant me leeway in this?”
Avian’s eyes narrowed. “No. You are staying here, and you are marrying Falcroné on the eve of your eighteenth birthday. That is not negotiable.”
“I’ll marry him, but I’ll do it when we return from freeing Lumen.” Lilly glanced at Falcroné, whose sullen expression had softened at her most recent comment. She might have won him over, but how could she convince her father? “Kanarah is in a state of confusion and disarray. Lumen will—”
“You don’t know what you’re saying. Lumen will overthrow the King, and he intends to reign over all Kanarah. All of it. That includes our realm, Lilly.” Avian’s hot breath hit her face when he spoke. “Why would you free someone who intends to overthrow your own father?”
Lilly hadn’t thought about it that way before. “He’s… he’s not going to overthrow anyone. Calum said he’s going to bring order and peace to Kanarah by defeating the King.”
“And you believe what Calum says? Why?” Falcroné asked.
“He’s dreamt of Lumen multiple times. He’s seen him, spoken to him, followed his instructions—and now I’m back home, safe because of what Calum has seen in his sleep.” Lilly unclenched her fists. She didn’t remember clenching them in the first place. “I know Calum is going to set Lumen free. I can feel it inside of me. I want to be there when it happens.”
Falcroné huffed and folded his arms. “If it happens.”
“Oh, it’ll happen alright, Sunshine.” Axel muttered.
“What did you just say?” Falcroné stepped off the platform toward Axel until they stood face-to-face.
“All that hair must make it hard to hear.” Undeterred, Axel’s eyes narrowed. “I said, ‘oh, it’ll happen, al—”
“Enough, both of you,” Avian said. “Falcroné, come back up here.”
Falcroné obeyed, but he snarled at Axel as he hovered back to the platform.
“Lilly, we don’t know what Lumen is going to do if—or when he gets freed.” Her mother frowned. “There’s just no telling what’s going to be affected by his return.”
“Then who better to put right near the action than your own daughter? I can make sure we’re in his good graces when the time comes to—”
“You are the worst person to have near the action,” Avian said. “You are my only heir, who together with Falcroné must produce the next in our lineage to rule after you. What if you’re stuck down or wounded, and are unable to have children? What will happen to our house then?”
Finally, a question Lilly had practiced answering in advance. “Falcroné can rule in my stead. He’s my cousin, after all, and shares my ancestry.”
“No, I can’t.” Falcroné reached for her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. “Because if you go, I’m going with you.”
“What?” Avian yelled
. “No! She’s not going, and neither are you.”
“I think she may have a point, Premier,” Falcroné said. “The prophecy regarding Lumen is clear—he will be freed 1,000 years from the day he was banished. Wouldn’t it be better to help free him and side with him in his rebellion than to try to remain neutral in a conflict that will engulf the whole of Kanarah?”
“The prophecy says nothing about whether or not he will defeat the King, just that he will be released from his prison.” Avian rubbed his forehead with his index finger and his thumb. “You want to go to your deaths, both of you. What did I do to make you wish to die far away from your home? Name your deepest desire and I will grant it, but not this. Anything but this.”
“Father.” Lilly let go of Falcroné’s hand and took Avian’s hands in hers. She stared into his eyes. “This is what I want. This is my deepest desire. I promise that when Kanarah sees justice, Falcroné and I will be wed, and in doing so, we will ensure the future of not only our line but also of the entire Sky Realm.”
“I will see it done, Premier.” Falcroné stepped forward, next to Lilly. “I will not allow any harm to come to her. I let her go once, and it is not a mistake I intend to repeat.”
Falcroné really wanted to come along? Lilly hadn’t figured on that. Not in a millennium.
Zephyrra touched Avian’s arm and nodded, then Avian exhaled a long sigh. “Who will lead the Royal Guard in your place?”
“Promote Helion. He is a remarkable warrior of great strength and wisdom for his age,” Falcroné said.
Avian’s scowl deepened. “The boy is fifteen years old, Falcroné.”
“All the same, he is as fit to succeed me as anyone. General Balena can provide him with extra insight as he did for me. Helion will excel if given more responsibility.”
“He’ll also beat Condor’s record for youngest Captain of the Royal Guard by three years.” Avian squinted at him. “Does that factor into your suggestion?”
Falcroné shrugged but donned a wry grin. “It couldn’t hurt to wipe Condor from the realm’s memory entirely.”
“Please, Father?” Lilly employed her sad-eyes-pouty-lip face. It was a cheap ploy, but it almost always worked on him.
Avian frowned at her. “Lilly, I don’t want anything to happen to you. I just got you back, and now you want to leave on a journey far more dangerous than the one which brought you home.”
It almost always worked. “Father, Falcroné will protect me. Plus, I’ll be traveling with Calum, Axel, Magnus, Riley, and Kanton, the former of which have already proven that they can keep me safe.”
“None of them give me half as much comfort as knowing Falcroné would be with you. Even so, I would send a contingent of soldiers with you for extra protec—”
“No, Father,” Lilly shook her head. “We’ll draw too much attention that way. Better to keep a low profile.”
“She’s right, you know.” A deep, almost melancholy voice sounded from behind Calum. He stepped aside, and Riley tilted his head.
“Excuse me—she’s right, you know, Premier.” Riley gave a modest bow. “I know a little something about stealth, and I can tell you it’s much easier with fewer people to go unnoticed. The more men you send with us, the more of us won’t make it back, in my opinion. Group’s already too big for my taste without the happy couple.”
Avian narrowed his eyes at Riley.
“That’s—that’s just what I think.” Riley’s voice quivered at the end of his sentence. Then he slunk behind Calum and murmured, “I’m gonna shut up now.”
“Avian, let them go.” Zephyrra touched his shoulder. “You can’t protect her forever. She needs to discover the world and find her place in it. If you deny her this, you may lose her again for good, and our line will be lost with her.”
Avian sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Even you are convinced now?”
Zephyrra nodded.
“I had hoped she would’ve ‘found her place in our world’ in the last few months she was gone, but now she wants to leave again.” Avian shook his head and let out another sigh. He leveled his gaze at Lilly. “Promise me you’ll come back unscathed.”
Lilly didn’t fight the smile that cracked her lips. “I promise.”
Avian grabbed the sides of Falcroné’s breastplate and yanked him close. “And you, boy. Promise me you’ll bring her back unscathed, or so help me, your fate will be even worse than Condor’s.”
Falcroné nodded. “I swear on my mother’s grave.”
Avian released him. “Then you both may go.”
Calum wasn’t surprised that Avian’s attitude toward them didn’t change all that much after he agreed to let Lilly go with them, but his approach certainly did. Specifically, he did everything possible to ensure they were well prepared and well stocked for their journey.
He ordered Ganosh to take Axel, Kanton, and Calum to the Royal Armory to update their armor and weaponry. By the time they left, Calum and Axel wore new lightweight armor—navy blue for Axel, in addition to Magnus’s old light-blue Blood Ore leg and arm plating, deep forest-green for Kanton, and crimson red for Calum.
They’d tried to get Calum to replace his old boots for new ones, but he refused. Instead, they compromised at repairing and resoling his old ones. They also dyed the leather black at his request. He hadn’t minded the brown, but Lilly had said black would look better with his new armor, so he’d gone for it.
The armorist even outfitted Riley’s right foreleg with a steel cast of sorts that started just above his paw, covered his shoulder, and reached almost back to his hind leg along his torso. It more than covered the wound he’d take from Condor’s blade, but the armorist warned that a blow to his right side would likely still hurt because of the original wound’s severity.
Riley growled a bit and grumbled something about his stealth and speed abilities suffering as a result, but he kept the armor on nonetheless and nodded to the armorist in thanks.
Next, they visited the Sky Fortress’s quartermaster, who took their old swords and exchanged them for lighter-weight blades.
Axel protested at first, saying that the lighter weight would mean less heft behind his swings, but the quartermaster assured him the blade’s sharpness and speed would more than account for its lower weight. Both of them also received a curved dagger, which they strapped to their belts.
Calum gladly traded Tyburon’s red blade for a new one. After so many battles, its once sharp edge had both dulled and sustained a variety of gashes and nicks that reduced its effectiveness in fights. A part of him regretted letting it go, but when he received his new weapon, he forgot all about it.
The quartermaster handed him a sword very similar in shape to the one Calum had given up, only it weighed two-thirds what Tyburon’s did. Its blade gleamed silver with golden engravings of swirls and wispy designs befitting the Sky Realm.
Kanton received a short sword and a steel spear that had a hollow shaft. A broad-headed spearhead topped it off. The quartermaster pointed out a slight curve on the bottom of one of the spearhead’s edges near the shaft and told Kanton he could use it to lock his opponents’ weapons in place or even disarm them entirely.
The only one of their group who did not accept anything new was Magnus. He insisted that his Blood Ore breastplate and broadsword were more than sufficient, despite both the quartermaster and the armorist arguing otherwise.
He did, however, accept a new vial of veromine from the royal apothecary when Kanton requested a variety of medical supplies to bring along. Over time, he could’ve extracted some from his own blood, he’d explained, but the process was long and tedious, and not an ideal undertaking for a journey through the wilds.
By the time they made it back into the throne room, the sun had just begun to set. As before, Lilly stood next to her father, only this time she wore the same light pink armor she’d worn before they arrived.
Avian beckoned them forward, and as Calum approached, he noticed that Lilly’s armor was indeed the
same, only the various nicks and gashes had been repaired and retouched with pink lacquer the same color as the rest of the armor. When Calum got closer, he noticed the chips in the armor’s faint white engravings of eagles and hawks had also been retouched.
Her new bow, a long white recurve with silver designs etched into its sides, hung with its string across her chest. A quiver full of arrows with silver shafts and white fletching hung from her hip.
The short sword she’d used before their arrival was gone, replaced by a curved blade with a white hilt that hung from her belt in its sheath. It looked like the same style as the daggers Calum and Axel had received.
She looked every bit as beautiful as she had the first time Calum saw her, only she now exuded a renewed sense of strength and confidence as well.
“What a transformation,” Avian said. “Were you in orange or purple armor instead, you could have passed for General Balena’s soldiers or Royal Guards.”
Calum performed the Windgale salute and bowed low. “We appreciate your generosity, Premier. We’re far better equipped than we’ve ever been.”
“This is only the beginning, Calum.” Avian smiled and leaned back in his throne. “You haven’t seen the provisions I’ve had Ganosh and the kitchen prepare for your journey.”
“We are very grateful.”
Falcroné soared in from behind them and landed next to Lilly. He still wore his charcoal armor, only now he carried a spear like Kanton’s in addition to the sword strapped to his belt. “Everything is ready. Are we heading out tonight or tomorrow morning?”
“Tonight,” Axel said.
“Tomorrow morning.” Avian’s eyes narrowed at Axel. “Get a good night’s rest here before you head out.”
“Father.” Lilly clasped Avian’s hands in hers. “You have to let us go at some point.”
“I definitely prefer to travel at night,” Riley said. When Avian glared at him, Riley added, “But that’s just me. We can leave whenever.”
Avian cupped Lilly’s cheek with his hand. “Are you so eager to leave me behind that you won’t even stay one more night?”
