by Candy Crum
Arryn sat next to him, wondering what to say because she wanted to know the same thing. "One of your men chased you down after Echo came to get help. They found you unconscious just outside the gates. Four guards had been killed."
Cathillian’s brows furrowed, his eyes wandering around the room. He looked confused, like he was trying to remember.
"You've been unconscious for the better part of three days. I've tried healing you every morning and every night, but I'm not nearly as good at it as you. Something was different this time. It was like I could feel what had happened to you."
Cathillian’s eyes met hers as he turned his head. His expression still looked confused, but now he seemed more curious. "And? What happened?"
"It felt like someone had sucked the life out of you. There weren't really any bruises on you. It didn't look like any real damage had been done on the outside to cause you to be unconscious for that long. But when I healed you, I could feel something dark in there. I don't know how to explain it."
Cathillian’s eyes closed then as he sighed heavily. His hands lifted to his face, and he groaned before brushing his long hair back and pulling it out from under him.
"I remember. I remember what happened."
Cathillian tried to sit up, and Arryn moved to help him, but he smiled and waved her off. It seemed that he was able to move around relatively easily now.
Once he was situated, he continued, "Jenna has left the Dark Forest. She joined her brother, Aeris, and went with the dark druids. That darkness that you're talking about... it's dark nature magic. It's essentially the total opposite of healing. My grandfather told me about it once, but it was a long time ago, and I'd forgotten about it entirely until you said you felt darkness."
"What was the darkness that I felt? Shouldn't it have dissipated as soon as your magic left?" Arryn asked.
Cathillian nodded. "If a magician throws a fireball, it will naturally burn hotter than normal fire, so you can tell the difference between the scorch marks the fireball leaves and scorch marks from an actual fire. The same thing can be said of nature magic. The actual dark magic she used was gone, but you could feel what had caused the damage. It leaves the equivalent of a scorch mark on anything that it touches, even down to the arrows they make. Touching a wound made by them, you can feel how the energy has been drained. It feels like death. That's what you felt when your magic touched me. Excellent job, by the way."
Arryn smiled. Always the teacher, even when he was the victim. "So, Jenna did this? What was she even doing here?"
"I need to send word to my mother. Jenna came here to give me a warning that I needed to choose between staying here and protecting you or going home and protecting the Dark Forest. It seems that both are in danger. She came here hoping that I would leave with her, I think."
Arryn rolled her eyes and shook her head. "That bitch always was crazy. So, what do we do?"
There was a pause as Cathillian mulled things over. "We carry on as normal. I'm not giving in to her. We send word to my mother. If there is any kind of problem or emergency, she'll let us know that we need to come back. Otherwise, the two of us are not gonna make a difference in the Dark Forest. But if something happens here, where the army is weak, we could make a huge difference."
It surprised Arryn that Cathillian wasn't ready to abandon the city and rush back to the Dark Forest. That was his home, and it was where his family lived. She couldn't imagine just letting it go, but then again, he was right.
The druid warriors were fierce fighters. There was no way they would go down easily, and a single druid and an Arcadian-turned-druid weren't going to make a difference. Well, as far she could tell, anyway.
“It’s the shower, isn’t it?” Arryn smiled. “That’s the real reason you’re staying in Arcadia.”
Cathillian sleepily returned the smile. “Ya got me. That’s totally why. I just really don’t think I can give ‘em up. It’s how I relax after a hard day of dealing with you.”
Arryn laughed. “Dealing with me? Sir, dealing with you is a full-time job.”
He shook his head. “You don’t know you like I do. Hell, I’ve been debating on going down to the factory and applying for a job. I’ll go hang out with sweaty men all day.”
Quirking an eyebrow, Arryn asked, “Oh! I get it… You’re considering our business plan! Damn, I’d nearly forgotten. Rest that pretty face of yours, and we’ll put it right to work. You’ll make a fortune now that the Arcadian men have a solid income.”
Cathillian sighed, his expression still amused. “Not even death excuses me from your prostitution jokes, I see.”
Arryn shrugged. “Well, death would have.” She patted him on the shoulder. “But you aren’t dying. Not today, anyway. I saw to that. We all did.”
She winked, but was quite surprised when he pulled her down into a tight hug. His body had been quite chilled the past few days, but he finally felt warm—very warm.
“Thank you,” he whispered before letting her go after several long moments.
"I have to get out of here," Arryn told him. "I want you to get something to eat and drink, but then I want you to rest. Samuel will be here soon, and Celine is here, of course. I've been leaving the Academy early in the afternoon, so I will today, too."
"Well, look at you. Taking care of me even though you hate me." He laughed.
Arryn sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Don't remind me."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Amelia sat in her office, staring at the box that Arryn had brought back to her. Her eyes were locked on it as though it might grow legs and run away. The past few days had been quite eventful, and it didn't look as though there would be an end anytime soon.
Cathillian had been attacked, and she had no idea who or what did it. Four guards had been lost as well, and Amelia couldn't deny the signs any longer. The Guard needed to be more heavily trained, and someone definitely had it in for the city.
It occurred to her that since the attack had happened at the entry to the city, just outside its walls, it had been an outsider who had attacked, but that didn't matter as much as a few other things.
Were they gone?
Had they come into the city and stayed?
Were they from outside the city?
Was it a resident?
There were far too many variables, and she would have no answers until Cathillian was ready to talk. The Matriarch knew that the dead sure as hell weren't talking.
But that hadn't been the only thing…
That whole mess had started when Amelia had tried to take Arryn to see Elon. She wanted Arryn to be able to talk to him and try to get answers. After everything that had happened with Doyle, Amelia had needed time to try to get anything out of him that she could, but it was obvious he had no plans to help her unless she helped him first.
But her attempt to get him to talk to Arryn had been thwarted by the attack on the gate. She and Arryn rushed to the medical building to see Cathillian and find out what happened. There weren’t many answers to be had, but Amelia had helped Arryn get the druid home safely.
When it was obvious that Arryn wouldn't be back to speak to Elon right away, Amelia had taken it upon herself to do it for her. As she sat there in her office, staring at the box that she had looked through a hundred times, she thought back over everything he’d told her.
Elon had paced back and forth in his cell that day, ignoring Amelia’s presence. That hadn't shocked her, though. She wasn't his biggest fan, and he knew it. And until Amelia gave him what he wanted, he didn't plan to give her any information.
But what he wanted wasn't in Amelia’s power to give. He wanted his son, Gregory.
When the airship was being built and Adrien had needed more power for it, Elon had tethered his own child to it, sucking the power—and the life—directly out of his son to fuel the airship. Gregory had been betrayed by his own father and there was no fixing that, but it didn't stop Elon from trying to use Gregory as a bargaining chip.
He
wanted to beg his son for forgiveness.
Elon refused to believe that Gregory was no longer in the city. He'd left with Hannah, Parker, and the Founder to go on another quest. There were bigger things at stake now, and Gregory wanted to be a part of them, and there was little left for him in Arcadia.
No matter how much Amelia wished she could give Elon what he wanted so she could get the answers that she so desperately needed, there was no way for her to make that happen.
And when she'd gone to see him just after Cathillian was attacked, after making sure he was settled and safe at home, she was pissed. She wasn't taking no for an answer this time.
"I didn't come here for me this time," Amelia began. "This time, I'm here for someone else."
"Is that so?" Elon asked incredulously. It was obvious that he still didn't care. "And do you have Gregory? Because if you don't, I don't give a damn who you're here for."
Amelia had exhaled heavily. The past couple weeks of irritation had already brought her rage to the front. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she took a moment to steel herself, knowing that it would take patience to get anything at all out of him.
"I know you don't care. I'm just hoping that somewhere in the blackened heart that was capable of trying to murder his own son for nothing more than a moment of appreciation from the monster he served I will find even the tiniest shred of humanity. I doubt I will, but I have to try. For her."
"Her who?" he asked, stopping his pacing for a moment.
"Her name is Arryn. Ten years ago, she fled the city with her mother on horseback. Two Hunters chased her into the woods to the west as they rode for the Dark Forest. Her mother was killed, but Arryn made it the rest of the way to the Dark Forest, where she was raised with the druids. Now she's back, and she wants answers."
Amelia watched as his face turned from disgusted confusion in the beginning of her statement to donning realization at the end of it.
He knew who she was.
"Christopher and Elayne," was all he said.
Amelia's eyes narrowed as she looked at him. That was the first bit of information she'd ever been able to get out of him. Slowly, she nodded her head. "Yes. Christopher and Elayne."
Elon sighed as he sat down on his bed. Staring at the floor, he began to wring his hands as he shook his head.
Amelia shifted her weight from one foot to the other, debating on taking a step closer to the cell. "If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think you were feeling something other than disdain. It almost looks like guilt or sadness."
Elon looked up then, his eyes suddenly glassy as though he might start crying at any moment. "Arryn is alive? She's here?"
Amelia cleared her throat, realizing that not only had she discovered the perfect person for Arryn to talk to, he also knew much more than she had expected. The tone in his voice when asking about Arryn had sounded almost concerned. Worried.
"Yes, she is. She came back because she wanted answers. In reality, she wanted to come back and destroy Adrien, but that had already been done."
Elon had laughed, but it wasn't amused. It seemed to hold more disbelief than humor. He leaned back against the wall, his eyes staring at the ceiling as his hands clasped over his torso. "You know, if it had been her instead of the Boulevard girl, I would've helped. I would have destroyed everything."
That was news.
Amelia couldn't help the shock that crossed her face. "What? Are you serious? I know that you and I aren't exactly the best of friends, but I'm gonna need you to tell me what the hell happened. Why would you betray Adrien for Arryn but not for Hannah? What happened to turn you from hating him to worshipping him?"
Elon took a deep breath before releasing it in a heavy sigh. "Christopher was my best friend. In fact, Arryn and Gregory use to play together often, though I doubt she would remember. She was too young back then. Christopher was one of those rare men who would lay down his life for anyone he called friend, and his wife wasn't any different. Hell, I actually saw Arryn punch a kid straight in the face when he stole one of Gregory's toys and made him cry. I knew right then that Arryn was gonna be just like them."
There was a pause as he stared into nothing. Finally, he looked at Amelia and asked, "Is she? Is she like them?"
Amelia swallowed, shocked at what she was hearing. "Y-yes," she stammered, clearing her throat once again. "Yes, she is. Like I said, she spent ten years in the Dark Forest training for the day she could come back to the city, destroy Adrien, and reclaim everyone's freedom in her parents’ name. I'd say from the description you just gave me, she's a hell of a lot like them."
A slow smile spread across his face as a single tear rolled down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away and looked back at the ceiling before continuing with the story.
"I don't know where, because Adrien never trusted me much. Even when I was building that damn ship for him, he still didn't trust me. So, I don't know where the warning came from, but somehow or another he found out there was a group of people trying to dethrone him. Traitors to the city, he called them. Of course, I was concerned. While I saw the issues rising in our city, I wholeheartedly believed everything Adrien told me, just like the majority of us did. Just like you did."
Amelia grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to the bars to sit. Somehow, even though Elon had done all that he had, at that moment she could feel his grief, and it didn't seem right to stand over him.
Elon continued, "Christopher came to me and told me that he needed my help. It was at that moment I realized my best friend was one of the people trying to take Adrien out. Back then Adrien wasn't quite so crazy. He was just a dick. I thought if I talked to him, he might be able to neutralize the situation by talking to Chris, trying to make him see what he did, what he made me see."
"And what was that?" Amelia asked. "What was it that you saw?"
Elon shrugged. "I guess the same thing that you did. I saw a man who was trying to keep the city safe. The Boulevard people were supposed to lack magical promise. If they tried to use it, they could hurt themselves and hurt others. I saw our fearless leader trying to keep our people safe. But I also saw my best friend not seeing that future, so I thought Adrien might be able to help him. I never in a million years thought that Adrien would do what he did."
A knock at Amelia’s door startled her, bringing her out of her memories and back to her office, her desk, and that box sitting in front of her. She took a deep breath, hand over her chest as though it would help slow her jumpy heart.
"Yes! Come in!" Amelia shouted.
Marie walked in, her smile fading as she saw Amelia’s expression. "You okay? I'm sorry if I interrupted something."
Amelia shook her head, pushing her chair back from her desk and standing. "No, no, you're fine. I need to go through this box again. It seems that I'm looking for something a little bit more specific now, but it can wait. What brings you in here?"
Marie took a step forward and smiled again. "It's the factory. It appears that the few men working inside have finished. They wanted you to come down and do a walk-through. The factory is now ready to be opened to the public for work as soon as you sign off on it."
Amelia took one last look at the box, realizing that she needed to have a long talk with Arryn about Elon and the things she had found out. It had been weighing on her since the day Cathillian had been injured, but she knew talking to Arryn while things were so hectic at home wouldn't be the best idea.
She sighed. Don't wait too long, Amelia, she thought to herself. You don't want her to hate you for keeping it from her.
"Okay, let's do this. Let's get our city back on track," Amelia told Marie as she followed her out of the room.
***
It took Talia a full day to get to the Madlands while teleporting Scarlett along with her. It required quite a bit of energy to make any kind of jump alone, but carrying someone else made it much worse.
She had to stop mid-way for rest, and then again at the border. She wanted to be fully restored
before she attempted to confront the remnant. If she showed even an ounce of weakness, she would be killed and everything would be wasted.
Talia and Scarlett stood at the edge of the mountains looking down into what was known as the Madlands, the desolate wasteland that was home to the destructive and murderous remnant.
They didn't build anything, though they were more than happy to set up camp in whatever was already there.
All they were good at was destroying, which was why their homes were dug into the sides of the mountains or in the ruins of old buildings that had fallen and crumbled away since before the Age of Madness.
Talia would need to locate the leader and get his attention without being killed in the process.
If she pulled this off, nothing could stand in her way.
Talia and Scarlett began making their way down the mountain into the remnant territory. Talia had no idea how her companion felt, but Talia was rather sure of herself.
She was nothing if not confident. Sometimes a little too confident, but it hadn't bitten her in the ass yet, so she didn't see any reason to let it start that day.
Once they neared the bottom, however, Talia began to feel slightly apprehensive.
"Don't you find it strange that we haven't been confronted yet?" Talia asked.
"What do you mean?" Scarlett asked. "Did you expect a welcoming party?"
Talia laughed. "Actually, yes, I did. Remnant are extremely territorial. If they sense even a footstep too close to their borders, they go into a frenzy. We not only made it to the border, we crossed it. We are inside the Madlands, and still no remnant. Either they’re completely clueless that we’re here, or more likely, they know and are strategizing."
Scarlett was about to say something, but was interrupted when Talia threw her hands out in front of her, a barrier exploding around both of them to deflect a battle axe just before it would have cleaved one of them in two.
"What the fuck?" Scarlett asked, clearly startled by the change of events.
Talia lowered her hands, though her barrier stayed in place. She turned with a dark smile on her face and gazed back at where they had just been. There, toward the top of a large hill in the mountainside, stood a couple dozen or more remnant looking down at them.
