Chapter 740: The King of Thorn |
“I see. In that case, I’d very much like to meet with this Dusk Wolf,” Edil said.
Mylaril gave him a strange look, then gestured at Stryg. “He is sitting right there.”
“Hello, Mylaril. It’s good to see you,” Stryg said.
“Oh shit,” General Maud whispered.
Mylaril smashed her fist across her chest and bowed. “I have done as you asked, Dusk. Our warriors are ready to march into battle at your command.”
Stryg turned to the other three at the table, a smug look spreading across his face at their surprised expressions. “Good to know.”
“You? You did this?” Edil looked Stryg over, as if seeing him for the first time, his eyes measuring the young man before him.
“What the fuck is going on?!” Sera exclaimed. “What sort of lies have you told this woman?”
“I have not lied to Mylaril,” Stryg said with a voice that brooked no sense of unease.
“Really? So the chieftess knows that you led the Sylvan army into battle during the siege of Hollow Shade? And that you are responsible for murdering countless valley warriors that night?” Sera pointed an accusing finger at Aurelia, “This woman is an Ebon Lord, for fuck’s sake! Her kind destroyed your people!”
“I am aware of our past history,” Mylaril answered instead.
“And you’re alright working with their ilk?” Sera asked.
“I do not trust Hollow Shade, nor do I put my faith in the Ebon Lords. I trust him,” Mylaril glanced at Stryg.
“Why? What could he have possibly promised you?” Sera asked.
“A better future for my people. One free from the Great Cities. Something that none of you would ever be willing to give us,” Mylaril said.
Sera scoffed. “And what makes him so different? He is an Ebon Aspirant. He’ll inherit the same position as his mother. He is not different from the Ebon Lords that came before him.”
“No. He is the Dusk Wolf. He could have come to us as a conqueror, but he came as a man seeking our help, not demanding it. As far as I’m concerned, that is the mark of a trustworthy individual,” Mylaril said.
“And you believe he’ll keep his word?” Sera asked.
Mylaril nodded. “I do.”
Sera clicked her tongue, “Then you’re an imbecile.”
“The way I see it, it is you who cannot be trusted,” Mylaril said.
“Lord Aldine, have you nothing to say?” Sera demanded.
Yet Edil stayed quiet, simply watching the situation unfold.
“General Winter?” Sera turned to her friend.
“King Thorn, were you aware of this—development?” Maud asked.
Calex glanced at Stryg, then turned to face the Frost Rim nobles. “I was…”
~~~
…Last night…
“What really happened? And don’t lie to me again or this conversation will be over.” Calex gripped Nightshade’s hilt and aimed the blade at Stryg’s feet.
Stryg looked him in the eye with a leveled stare. “Calex, I have no interest or need to lie to you. Honestly, it’s getting tiring trying to convince people. Whether Lunae is my mother or not has no impact on what is going to happen next.”
Calex leaned forward on his chair, ready to bolt up at a moment’s notice. “And what’s going to happen next?”
“That depends on you.”
“What is it that you want?”
“Peace.”
“Is that all?” Calex chuckled, though it did not reach his eyes. “Let me guess, you want my armies to retreat and spare your city?”
“It will not only be my people that die tomorrow.”
“I get it. You don’t want your loved ones to die. I didn’t want my mother to die either,” Calex growled.
“Calex, I don’t regret killing your mother. She tried to kill the people I’ve come to love.”
“And you expect me to be understanding? To forgive you for that?” Calex cocked an eyebrow.
“No. You want revenge, I don’t blame you. Your mother would have sacrificed anything to get what she wanted, to become queen of the Hollow Shade, even if she had to rule over the ashes. But I don’t think you’re like her.”
“You don’t know me.”
“No, but Veronica Sientia does. She told me about you… and your sister, Lerdea.”
Calex’s whole countenance shifted and his expression grew dark. “Don’t talk about things you do not know.”
“What I know…?” Stryg mused at the thought. “I’m not like you, Calex. I don’t know what it was like to be born gifted or beloved by my people.”
“You, the Ebon Aspirant? Untalented?” Calex made a face of disbelief.
Stryg nodded and smiled bittersweetly. “They used to call me the odd goblin, the bad omen of my village. In many ways, I was more like your sister; Desperate for my mother’s approval, training as hard as I could for a sliver of recognition, only to never achieve it.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I don’t think you want this war. I think you want to protect the only person left in the world that truly matters to you. If you march to war tomorrow, you will not survive.”
“Are you threatening me?” Calex gripped the hilt of his sword.
“No. I’m telling you that there are powers residing in Hollow Shade that no mortal in your army can protect you from. If you attack, they will come find you on the battlefield and they will kill you.”
“...Even if what you say is true, those are the risks one takes when going to war.”
“Is this what you want? To die in an attempt to avenge your mother? What will happen to your sister? Do you think the Undergrowth nobles will accept her as their new queen? Does she have the power to keep them in line? What happens when your nobility finds out that the Thorns lost another war?”
“We won’t lose.”
“Then say you win. Say the spoils of Hollow Shade are there for the taking. You think the nobles will bend to your sister’s will? Or will they usurp her and take all the wealth for themselves?”
Calex frowned but sat back in thought at his words.
“Your mother just died. The transition of power is tenuous at best. Losing another leader will only lead to infighting. I don’t think you want that.”
“You don’t know what I want,” Calex said, though there was little energy in his words.
“I don’t think you want to sacrifice your people to avenge Ophelia.”
“Then why don’t I just avenge her right now, right here?” Calex pointed Nightshade’s blade at Stryg.
Stryg didn’t react and stayed seated. “You could try. Say you even manage to kill me. What then? Do you think this ends with my death? The Sylvan Tribes aren’t here in Hollow Shade, that’s true. It’s why your Frost Rim allies chose to attack now. But do you think the Sylvan Tribes won’t return? Murkton has fallen. Had it not been for me, every single orc in that city would be dead.”
Stryg clasped his hands together and leaned forward, the edge of Nightshade only a few centimeters from his face. “So I want you to imagine what would happen if I’m not there. Whether it takes a month or a decade, Lunis will attack. There is nothing in this world that will protect you or your sister from the wrath that my mother will inflict. Your city will be razed to the ground and not a single soul will survive.”
“Are you trying to convince me to spare your life, Veres?”
Stryg looked him in the eye. “Is that what you think?”
Calex sighed and withdrew his sword. “What do you suggest then? I make no attempt to avenge my mother? That I abandon her memory? What sort of a son would I be?”
“You’d be the king that put his people before himself.” Stryg looked away, his eyes distant. “I killed the mother of a friend of mine. Her name was Byrel. She tried to harm me and almost killed me. So I had her executed. At the time, I didn’t know she was my friend’s mother. Had I known, I would have spared her. But that doesn’t change what I did. We cannot change the past, we must live with our actions. I’m not asking you to forgive me, Calex. I’m asking you to be better than me.”
“...What happened to your friend?”
Stryg ran a hand across the back of his neck. “She hated me for a long time. But somehow, in the end, she forgave me. I’m glad to call her my friend still.”
“I’m never going to forgive you for what you did, Veres. Nor will we ever become friends.”
Stryg reached out his hand, “I’ll settle for a truce.”
Calex stared at the offered hand. “Truce, huh…?”
~~~
…Present day….
“I was. In fact, I was hoping we could all come to a peaceful resolution regarding this affair,” Calex said.
“Excuse me?” Sera twisted her red lips.
“Undergrowth has decided to step away from the war against Hollow Shade. Whether you decide to join me or press your war efforts, I assure you, my forces will not interfere,” Calex said.
“And we’re supposed to trust anything you have to say after you outright betrayed us to this arrogant brat?” Sera gestured to Stryg.
“Arrogant?” Stryg asked.
“Does that surprise you, pretty boy?” Sera asked.
Stryg shrugged. “No, I just thought the same about you. Archmages like yourself have a level of power that makes you appear almost like gods to ordinary folk. But the truth is, no matter how powerful you become, you're still just a mortal. Flesh soft, bones easily broken. A little cut this deep,” Stryg pinched his fingers and slightly pulled them apart, “and you’ll bleed out, just like any commoner.”
“Are you asking for a duel? I will gladly give you one,” Sera bared her fangs in a vicious smile.
“Ahem. I was hoping we could come to some sort of peaceful agreement? My city would like to continue its good standing with Frost Rim—” Calex clicked his tongue and glanced at the guards, “Can someone get me a chair? I’d really prefer to be sitting down at the table while discussing such delicate matters.”
“You can have mine.” Stryg stood up from the wooden chair carved with vine-shaped embellishments that had clearly been meant for Calex.
“Thanks,” Calex said wryly.
“Don’t worry.” Stryg placed a hand on Holo’s shoulder and looked pointedly at Sera.
Holo didn’t hesitate. She Flickered them both behind Sera’s chair in a burst of orange light and ash. Sera spun around in surprise, but Stryg was faster. He grabbed the back of her neck and slammed her forehead down into the heavy oak table. Her head bounced up from the sheer force. Blood trickled down her pale forehead and her eyes swam in a daze before landing on Stryg.
Without giving her a second to breathe, hand still on her neck, Stryg squeezed and jerked her neck to the side. It broke with a loud snap. Her body went limp, save for the quiet rise and fall of her breathing.
Maud and Edil had jumped up from their chairs, magic coiling around their hands. The soldiers had drawn their swords. But no one had moved. Not yet.
Stryg glanced at a stunned Calex, “I’ve found another.” He lifted Sera by her waist and threw her face-up on the table, scattering the shadows that Edil had used to conceal their war plans.
Sera grunted weakly and stared daggers up at Stryg. He paid her no mind and sat down in her chair. “It’s difficult coming to terms with how fragile you really are, isn’t it? I imagine it’s even more difficult to channel mana when you're in such pain. Only a mage who has endured pain throughout their lives can push through it and conjure a spell. Can you do that?”
Stryg watched her patiently as wisps of shadows wrapped around her fingertips but failed to coalesce into anything more. “I thought not.” He gestured to Gale, who walked over and brought him a chalice.
Stryg pulled her by the hair until her head was partially dangling over the table. He placed his fingertip on her throat and pushed down. The claw easily pierced her flesh. Panic filled Sera’s eyes and she groaned desperately for her life.
Stryg leaned forward and looked down into her eyes. “I told you. I will show you fear.” He ran the claw across her pale throat, leaving behind a bright red line. Sera choked as blood flowed down her neck and dripped into Stryg’s awaiting chalice. When it was halfway full, he downed the vampire blood and then handed the chalice to Gale, who held it back under Sera’s throat.
“Now,” Stryg licked his blood-stained lips and turned to Edil and Maud, who were still standing, staring at what had become of their colleague. “Let’s continue.”
Authors Note:
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