by Aaron Crash
Della landed with her robes floating around her slender frame, her blood-stained sword out. The Princept couldn’t answer. Tears streamed down her face. Emotion had choked her voice.
Gatha went to cut the dragon’s great throat.
Ymir was faster. He had another ability, AnimusChain. He wasn’t sure it would work, but Unger had the ability to convert energies. Ymir pulled energy from the dragon, and then he was running over the courtyard, full of this burning feeling in his dusza. It hurt. It felt like he’d swallowed fire.
He heard the splash of blood on the pavement. Gatha had ended Unger. She was Gatha the Dragonslayer now. The she-orc would like that.
Ymir lost his dragon body as he ran. The tail was gone, his wings were gone, and instead of talons he came down on flat feet. Ymir was naked except for the rings on his fingers as he staggered over to the fairies. One ring, a swirling hoop of orange, black, and white metals, glowed brightly. He still had the dragon’s powers.
Queen Deedee had turned into her Winkle Self, and she held Ziziva on her tiny lap. Professor Lola was awake and small as well. Both were weeping.
The fairy queen glanced up at Ymir. “She is dead. My daughter, my life, my love...is dead.”
Ymir bent. Behind him came his wives.
Gatha let out a shriek of sorrow. Lillee wept quietly. Ribby was also crying, hadn’t stopped since she’d taken her first breath.
Tori spoke. “Oh, gosh, oh my heart. Oh, Ziziva. Oh, my Zee.” Then she too fell into sobbing.
Jennybelle hissed, “Oh, fuck me. Don’t tell me she saved us only to die.”
Only Ziziva wasn’t dead yet. Her eyes flickered open. She coughed and blood trailed down her chin. She touched it and frowned. “I won’t be pretty this way, won’t be pretty this day. While I die, while I die. While I cry, while I cry.”
Tears joined the blood on her face.
Ymir reached down and took the fairy’s tiny hand between his finger and thumb. The energy in his dusza felt too hot to use, but if he didn’t use it, it would destroy him. He had to be careful, though. This was such delicate work.
And it didn’t help that his eyes were blurred with tears.
Ziziva focused on his face. She sighed. “I love you, Ymir, Ymir, I love you, my Ymir. My wogglesparks will be all gone, except one. Find the one, she will be looking for us, for me, but I’ll be gone. You will be there. You will be...”
Ymir didn’t know the words. He didn’t know this dragon magic, not really, and his school magic wasn’t up to the task in front of him. He prayed that the Shieldmaiden would guide him. The words just came to him, and of course when saving a fairy, it was best to rhyme. “I’ve come to heal you just in time. So you can be a mother, and so you can be mine.”
The power left him, and he knew he wasn’t going to survive it. Would he give his life up for this troublesome fucking fairy? Perhaps not for Ziziva as a lover. No. But for Ziziva as a mother? Yes—without any doubts and without any regrets—yes.
Chapter Forty-Five
A WEEK LATER, DELLA Pennez stood at the Sun Gate and watched as Arribelle Josen’s carriage, pulled by six bright white geldings—which was no accident, by the way—trundled down Vempor’s Road. With her stood Darisbeau Cujan and Nellybelle Tucker, who looked a little worn after a week fucking Arribelle.
Daris let out a sigh. “Sorry to see her go, Princept. I’m very sorry to see that fine woman go.”
Nellybelle was looking at Della closely, to see if she reacted to Daris calling that conniving swamp witch “fine.”
Della gave her nothing. The Princept had a great many secrets and she had assassin’s training. Unger had taught her that it was best to show no emotion. One’s face was just another weapon. Show people nothing and people would assume you were strong, somewhat cruel, and impervious to any comment.
But Della wasn’t about to let these two little fuckers, who were playing at politics, leave unscathed by a few barbs of her own. “I think I heard Queen Arribelle mention something about a secret army. I find it odd that she would mention that to Ymir of all people.”
Nellybelle snorted. “Oh, that was just talk. We have our armies, and they ain’t secret. We got our Josentown regulars, and Cujantown witches, not to mention warlocks. If this King Shapta comes anywhere near us, we’ll take care of that demon right quick and in a hurry.”
Daris just grinned and grinned, though his eyes were as cold as the dead dragon they’d had to remove from the Flow Courtyard. There was so much work to be done—mending buildings, fixing the entryway to the Librarium Citadel, restoring the Sea Stair Market.
And of course, mourning the dead.
Nelly patted her lover’s hand. “Don’t worry, my soon-to-be king. Arri will be back. It’s not that long of a trip from Josentown to here.”
It was a week, at least, and that was hurrying through the days. A ship was faster, but only by a couple days or so. On the land route, you didn’t need to worry about Myrran pirates or merfolk family squabbles.
Despite the distance, Della knew Arri would be back.
Darisbeau and Nellybelle tipped their heads to show their Princept deference, then left, whispering and casting glances back at her. They were planning something, along with Arribelle, and the Princept had the idea that it would extend beyond their plans to rule the Swamp Coast.
Della regarded the Sun Gate and thought it was ironic that there hadn’t been battles along the Red Wall. During the Age of Discord, the college had been a fortress, critical to Aegel Akkridor’s success. So far, the Flow Courtyard and the Librarium Citadel itself had drawn the most action. And this time, the most deaths.
Twenty-one students had lost their lives in the dragon attack. That didn’t include the many fairies that had also been killed.
Both Queen Deedee and Professor Lola survived, though their wings had nearly been burned off. It wasn’t known if they’d be able to heal those wounds.
In a very real sense, the fairy queen had been changed by the dragon’s attack. Both Jacinta Sugartime and Zorynda Gold were dead, along with three other fairies that had worked for Deedee in the Undergem Guild. And that didn’t include Anny Prettytoad, who had been working with Unger the entire time.
A spy in the royal family to complement the assassin—to think, Unger killed Jayke and took his place using his flesh magic. The dragon then killed the Grand Vempor Acadius. All to gain access to Old Ironbound. Of course, Della and Ymir couldn’t tell the investigators that the dragon had come for the seventh Akkiric Ring.
Like always, Ymir had the perfect story for what had happened.
Unger, the last leader of the Midnight Guild, had come to steal magical items from the Illuminates Spire so he could murder everyone at the assemblage. With all the leaders dead, the dragon would rule. Anny Prettytoad’s duplicity wasn’t mentioned. She died with the other fairies, trying to save the Theran continent.
Ymir and his wives had come up with a body for Jayke, taken from the crypt and burned to a crisp. Della herself had used a few of the more advanced Obanathy cantrips to protect the truth. It was one more sin added to her soul, but she didn’t worry too much about it.
As for the Glow Rain? It wasn’t tied to the dragon, not officially, and it became another strange occurrence. Della and Ymir promised Queen Deedee that they wouldn’t share any Fayee secrets with the rest of the world. In that way, both could enjoy the fruits of their alliance.
Yes, Queen Deedee had changed since that fateful night. She felt awful about what Unger had done, and that the fairies hadn’t tried to find him sooner, find him and eliminate him.
Della turned from the gate and walked to the Librarium Citadel. She stopped at the stairs that led to her mezzanine office. A very cowed, very sullen Yannc Winslo was working up there, writing up her report.
Della suggested that Mrs. Winslo did not mention being fucked by a big orc warrior while licking a busty scholar half her age. For once, Mrs. Winslo agreed that she might not provide the exact details.
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Winslo was also nicer to Della. The old woman now understood how strange the last three school years had been. While the barbarian with a dusza was powerful beyond belief, he also stank of destiny, which drew trouble to the school. It was to be expected.
Della kept walking, not out onto the Flow Courtyard, which was still being worked on by Form scholars. She went out the back of the feasting hall and ambled by the Chapel of the Tree. For a moment, she wondered at what Professor Albatross was teaching in her religion class. There were many stories about the Gamemaster and his game. Or was it a Seedmaster who started their world? The uncaused cause.
To think, they grew the Flesh Steal Ring out of a book. Were those seeds in The Arboris Almaris Almanac originally from the Seedmaster? Or were they just part of the Gamemaster’s unknowable game?
Della didn’t know. But she knew the Age of Isolation was ending. She’d never thought she’d stand at the turning of the ages, and yet, she was here, right in the middle of these battles, making difficult decisions and helping to shape their world.
Being close to the temple, she thought of her transgressions. She couldn’t be blamed for the sex she’d had with Ymir and Gatha. She could be blamed for kissing Lillee, Tori, and Ymir. Yet it was in service to a greater purpose. Now, more than ever, she knew the importance of the rings.
And she knew that once Ymir and his women graduated, they could all be together—that was only a year and a handful of months away. She could hardly stand the idea of he and his women not gracing the corridors of her school. At the same time, she knew that without Ymir, Old Ironbound would be far more peaceful. Hopefully the same could be said about all of Thera.
Ymir would finish his judician year in a couple months. Then he would have one year left. One year to craft the eighth Akkiric Ring. How much trouble could they get into during that time?
A great deal, it would seem.
The Princept didn’t think the demon conqueror would stay on Reytah long. The continent of Thera was the jewel of the world. Certainly, Reytah had its Wingkin and sky cities, and Ethra had its exotic peoples and beautiful ports—places like Foulwater, an unlikely name for the jewel of the Dawn Coast.
However, when it came to knowledge, to history, to the arts, to magic, Thera was unparalleled. It would be up to Della, Ymir, and their allies to keep it safe.
Della missed the lust she felt around Ymir and his harem, but the Princept had found a new lover, a series of them, all fairies and all insatiable.
Della’s alliance with Queen Deedee was based on three very important principles:
Della wanted to protect her school and do what she could to keep Thera peaceful and stable.
Queen Deedee wanted to keep her empire a secret and provide a good home for her people.
Lastly, both Della and Deedee wanted good sex, with each other, and with other fairies that the queen invited into her room at the Undergem Guild hall in StormCry.
However, after the trouble with the dragon, the fairy queen would soon be leaving to return to Four Roads. She would return, of course, because Deedee had a granddaughter at Old Ironbound now. The queen was rethinking the ways of the Fayee, and while Della didn’t think things would change anytime soon, she was glad to see that Ziziva hadn’t been exiled from her people.
Unlike the families of Ymir’s other wives, Queen Deedee had far more compassion and a far more open mind than the Princept would’ve thought possible.
Della enjoyed her thoughts, and she enjoyed the sunshine. It was winter, but spring was only a few weeks away, and the sky seemed to be practicing for it.
Della glanced around to make sure no one was looking, and then she used her key to enter the Zoo. Ymir suggested she have her own key. He knew that they needed to keep their friendship a secret for any number of reasons, and it wouldn’t do for the Princept to stand knocking on the Zoo’s front door.
Della closed the door behind her. No one was in the kitchen, but she heard voices from deeper down. She knocked on the table. “Hello to the house! Your Princept is here!”
Not many months ago, she’d asked them to call her Della. That now felt a bit too intimate. She’d asked they refer to her as Princept. She’d hope that would put some much-needed distance between them.
“Come on down, Princept!” Tori yelled up cheerily.
Della descended the stairs, smelling the perfume and remembering her time as scholar. Some of the rooms were messy, some were clean, and the various bathrooms were equally uneven. Walking through the barbarian’s room, she paused to consider his bed.
It was big and wide, and looked very comfortable. And it was a mess. He must’ve slept in. He was still healing. His fight against the dragon had very nearly killed them all, but Ymir had come out of it wounded to his very soul.
That last trick had been far too risky.
Della walked the last steps to the bottom room. It was Ribby’s room once more, with her sleeping net in one corner, lots of seats, couches, and a big window that showed Angel Bay. It was a clear morning, and they could see all the way to StormLight Island. It was a beautiful room, very nicely decorated.
Ymir sat with his back to the desk. All of his women clustered around him.
The very tall, very slender, and very beautiful Charibda Delphino smiled at her. “You were fucking right, Princept, those many, many months ago on the dock. You were fucking right.”
Della remembered their conversation on the hidden docks. The Princept had suggested Ribby find friends. The Princept dipped her head. “I was fucking right. Now, I want to see our little girl.”
Tori was beaming, Lillee was smiling, and even Jennybelle had a smile instead of a smirk.
Those young women had all been through a lot.
Ziziva, as a tiny fairy woman, a scant twelve inches tall, sat on Ymir’s lap, holding the sweetest baby, only two inches long. The miniscule baby girl had golden hair like her mother and father. And she had eyes that changed color, like her father.
It was very convenient. When the baby was angry, her eyes would glow blue, and when she was hungry, they would be green, and when she was comfortable and happy, they would have her father’s deep, brown color.
Ziziva had the scars from her battle with Unger, and it was only Ymir’s healing spell that had saved her life. Ziziva held her baby with such love and tenderness. They all had such love for each other, Della suddenly realized she had a lump in her throat. She was near tears.
This was why she’d come, and why she was spending more time in the Zoo.
Because this little life, this secret little life, filled her with such hope.
Little baby Gertrude had come from one of the glow drops that Gatha had collected in her jars before the dragon attack. On that fateful night, they’d searched everywhere for a speck of light, but they’d all been destroyed or faded away. It was Gatha herself who remembered she’d caught several of the specks, and she’d placed them on a table down in the Scrollery.
She and Ymir had raced down to find little Gertie crying in a jar—she’d only been an inch long a week ago.
They took the baby to her mother in the infirmary, and Ziziva had just enough strength to retrieve her baby from the jar, this tiny baby, and hold her at her breast. Gertie grew, Ziziva healed, and both mother and daughter lived at the Zoo now.
Tori had used Form magic to create a nice little apartment branching off from Ribby’s room. In her Winkle Self, Ziziva didn’t need much room, and she had a perch where she could fly in and fly out to get to work.
They were all helping at The Paradise Tree now that Zorynda was dead. By some miracle, that section of the Sea Stair Market hadn’t been destroyed in the dragon attack.
It was official—Ziziva had joined Ymir’s harem as one of his wives. And Ribby was back and able to breathe the air anywhere!
Tori popped up. “Let me get you a chair, Princept. And I can get you kaif. I think I still have a cherry pastry.”
Della accepted the chair, an ingenious cont
raption that Tori built herself, since they always needed a chair. It folded up flat, but with a little Form magic, it came together to form a comfortable, cushioned seat. “Thank you, Tori, but I can’t stay long. And I’ve eaten breakfast already. I’m surprised to see all of you here. Shouldn’t someone be at The Paradise Tree?”
Ribby sighed. “It should be me. But I fucking hate talking to people. Selling candy is stupid and pointless.”
Ymir had a better answer. “We decided to close this morning. We left a sign. Given the fact that there isn’t another xocalati shop on the Sorrow Coast that still has xoca beans, we can miss out on a few sales this morning.”
“Such talk! Such chatter. It’s the candy that matters, and the shecks too.” Ziziva laughed a little. “Though this is sweeter and much more true.”
Della watched the tiny baby yawn and snuggle in closer to her mother. According to Ziziva, she would grow to about six inches before the wogglebaby would be able to turn into her Verum Self. It might take six months, or it might take six years. Fairies grew at different rates, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.
“You didn’t come to simply look at the baby, did you, Princept?” Jennybelle asked with a little smirk. “Arribelle left this morning. The place smells better.”
Della nodded. “She’s gone. Erwin Appleford will be the next Holy Theranus Vempor, and he says he will mourn his brother, but I think he’s relieved. Jayke really was the best of the Applefords. Unger mirrored Jayke perfectly. So the assemblage chose Erwin, and then we talked about King Shapta. At this point, we will have to wait and see what the demon conqueror will do. Promises were made, however, that if the demon comes to Thera, we will all fight him together. Glagga the Blade is one tournament away from winning not only Ssunash, but Rukklur and Goyyoat as well. She promised orcs. The Grand Vempor Erwin also committed soldiers, as did the queen of Greenhome. The Sorrow Coast Kingdom and the Farmington Collective followed suit. Arribelle supposedly has a secret army she keeps bragging about. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t like the idea.”