It was well into the morning by the time we left the restaurant. Elise and Bella stayed behind to oversee the redecoration of the dining room, leaving the remaining five of us to pile into the back of a Three Barrels wagon to make the trip back to the Corells’. Lia’s parents, who had become my parents as well, fell asleep almost immediately, resting with their heads leaned together. Marin followed suit soon after, snoring loudly as her head tipped back against the cloth covering of the wagon. While I knew I was well and truly drunk, the lingering adrenaline from the day’s events kept me awake. Lia gently rested her head on my shoulder, likewise too wired to succumb to her exhaustion, and the two of us sat together peacefully as the wagon rattled its way across the moonlit countryside.
When the journey was complete, we helped to usher our sleep-deprived parents to their door and said a final, teary goodbye. The silence that fell over the forest clearing when their front door closed felt strange in my ears. I scratched the back of my head and looked down at Lia. “So…” I trailed off, not knowing what to say.
Lia nodded slowly as she stared off into the woods in the direction of our house. “So…” she echoed.
“I guess we just...go home now?” I asked, offering out my hand.
She shifted the ornamental ivory box from one hand to the other and accepted the gesture, winding her fingers between mine. She began to walk forward without a word, and I followed her towards the dark of the forest. I pulled her to a stop as we reached the treeline. “Hold on,” I said, stepping forward. With a quick flourish, I bent down and scooped her up into my arms in a bridal carry. She looked up at me with a surprised smile on her face as we settled into a comfortable position. “We wouldn’t want your dress to get dirty, right?” I laughed.
As I stepped into the forest, I channeled a healthy pulse of mana through my body to increase my strength and balance, ensuring I wouldn’t drop my precious cargo. Wind whipped over my flowing rainbow cloak as I leapt forward, lithely sprinting down our well-worn dirt path. Lia gasped in delight at the sudden movement and clung tighter to my neck. I felt her warmth begin to radiate through my chest, and I savored the sensation with a renewed sense of love. My wife, I thought with a smile as I watched her excited expression.
I came to a graceful stop as I burst into the clearing and set her lightly on her feet. “After you,” I said with an exaggerated bow. She gave me an equally deep bow in return, then ran off towards the house without warning. The skirt of her dress fluttered behind her as she ran, radiating a different range of beautiful colors under the silvery moon above. I chased her across the yard and hopped up into the house behind her. An unfamiliar scent lingered in my nose as I walked through the dining room, and I laughed as I came to the amusing realization that it was the scent of our own house: raw emberwood, rain, and a light note of mint, now foreign to me after so long away.
Lia and I both sighed in relief as we kicked off our dress shoes. I loosened my ascot and unfastened the cloak from my neck while she waited patiently beside me. When I had folded the cloak on the dining table, she spun around and motioned to the middle of her back. “Could you untie me?” She pulled aside her braid as I approached, and I found a single knotted cord of fabric that ran back and forth across her back, holding the dress together tightly. I tugged on the low knot and heard a loud snap as the corset violently unstuck from her skin. She let out a loud groan of satisfaction as she slumped forward and rubbed her chest. “Ooooh, thank you. I didn’t realize until now how little I’ve been breathing today.”
We walked out to the living room, each of us massaging our respective sores. I paused in the entryway to roll out my shoulders and neck, which I had unconsciously tensed for the entire day. Lia walked ahead to the table in the center of our living room and set down our ribbon box. She ran her finger slowly across the lid, then turned and walked away to the back of the room. Without a word of explanation, she opened the door at the back wall and exited out onto the deck. Confused, I jogged across the room and left the house.
I found her leaned comfortably against the railing, staring up at the large, luminous moon that sat just above the treeline. She cut an impressive figure in the moonlight, and I couldn’t help but smile as I walked up behind her. I leaned up against the railing at her side and stared at her face, waiting for her to speak. Eventually, she obliged. “It’s beautiful,” she said quietly.
“Yes, it is,” I answered, never taking my eyes off of her.
She chuckled softly at the compliment, then fell silent for a long time. Eventually, her eyes fell from the moon and stared off into the forest, and she let out a long sigh. “We have to go back to Kaldan.”
Her sudden change of demeanor caught me off guard. I wanted to protest the statement to lift her spirits, but we both knew she was right. “Yes,” I answered, staring into the forest alongside her.
“I think I’ve known it ever since I woke up after the fight, but it’s been easy to forget with all of…” she paused, motioning down to her dress, “...this. Maybe forget isn’t the right word; ignore is more accurate.” She leaned her chin forward against her hands. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you before. If we had left for Kaldan when you first suggested it, maybe—”
“No,” I cut her off. “You were right, back then. If we had gone to Kaldan like I wanted, we wouldn’t have been here to stop those beasts.” I shuffled nearer to her and put a hand on her arm. “And we wouldn’t be married.”
She smiled. “Okay. You’re right.” She stepped close to me and leaned her head against my shoulder. “Between Aunt Ellie’s letter and the attacks we’ve seen, it seems like things are getting worse everywhere, not just in Kaldan. I don’t think we can rely on Val to take care of it anymore.”
“It’s not exactly the honeymoon I was hoping for,” I said, shaking my head.
“That’s okay,” she chuckled. “I just want to be with you. Going on an adventure is an added bonus, if you ask me.”
I gave her hand a tight squeeze, and we stood together quietly in the cold night air. Her weight gradually grew heavier against my side, and her head began to bob. After a particularly forceful dip of her head, she let out a loud yawn. “I think it’s time for bed,” I laughed, bumping her with my hip.
She nodded sleepily but remained by the railing as I moved to go inside, anchoring my arm. “Lux,” she started, turning me back around. “Thank you...for asking me to marry you.”
Warmth blossomed in my chest, and I slipped my arms beneath hers and spun her around, kissing her deeply. “Thank you for marrying me,” I replied as I set her down.
“I’m gonna make it count,” she smiled, joining me as we made our way inside. “Every second we have, for the rest of our life.”
An expectant silence grew between us as we crossed the living room and ascended the stairs. Lia paused a few feet away from our bedroom door, nervously shuffling her feet as she stared intently at the doorknob. “Are you...tired, Lux?”
The exhaustion I had felt from our whirlwind day and night of drinking instantly vanished beneath the implication of her question. “No,” I answered immediately, “not even a little.” I took a single step forward and placed a hand on the doorknob. “You?”
I heard the soft rustling of fabric behind me and turned to find her struggling to slip out of her fitted dress. When it became apparent that the effort would require a second set of hands, she paused midway through her undressing and locked eyes with me. “No. Not at all.” Her cheeks flushed deep crimson as she shuffled towards me helplessly, exposed from the waist up.
My brain emptied of all thoughts beyond its most instinctual desires, and I rushed forward and pressed my lips against hers. I traced my thumb along the line of her jaw, down her neck, and across her collarbone while she pulled against the chains fastening my cloak. Her shoulders shuddered as my fingers danced across her bare skin. My cloak fell away a moment later, and she planted a hand in the center of my chest and shoved me backwards into the bedroom door, knocking
our heads together.
I pulled away from our entanglement just long enough to unlatch the door and give her a lustful grin. “Let’s make it count.”
***
19. RETURN
“How does it fit? Too snug? Any pinching or scratching?” I stepped back and admired my work with a critical stare. “I know the epaulettes are a new addition; are they bothering you at all?”
Lia carefully rolled each of her shoulders, then shook her head. “No, I barely notice them.” She increased her range of motion with each test, eventually moving into a quick series of sword swings and acrobatic dodges. Apparently satisfied with her results, she sheathed her swords and brushed a small spec of dirt from her new armor. “I’ll miss the old cuirass, but this one is perfect. Thank you.” Her eyes scanned over the chestpiece, and a grin curled her lips. “Plus, it’s beautiful.”
I smiled. “There’s something to be said for your armor’s appearance. It might not add any physical benefits, but an imposing set of matched armor can give you an advantage on the morale side of things. I think the delay was well worth it.” With Lia’s original cuirass ruined after our encounter in the forest, I had taken it upon myself to replace it before we left for Kaldan, but the process was delayed multiple times. We spent the entirety of the first day after our wedding doing nothing at all; other than a few quick expeditions to the kitchen to find food, we remained snugly beneath the covers in bed, enjoying our first full day together as a married couple to its fullest extent.
I chose to delay the project another day in order for Elise to procure a green dye that matched the remaining pieces of Lia’s armor. When all of my materials were prepared, the work still progressed haltingly; I took frequent breaks to spend time with Lia, either sitting out on the deck or strolling through the woods. All in all, it had taken four days to finish what should have been a one-day project, but I was more than happy with the result. Her new cuirass was constructed from large, overlapping scales of dyed leather, each reinforced with thinly hammered sheets of steel. Similarly forged epaulettes covered her shoulders and upper chest, an addition I had felt was necessary after her injury.
Looking over her one final time, I sighed and nodded to myself. “Well, with that out of the way...I guess it’s finally time to leave,” I said, tossing my green-stained blacksmithing gloves onto my anvil. A wistful smile spread across my face as I stared past her at our house. “It was nice while it lasted.”
“It was,” she said, stepping forward, “but now we’ve got some work to do.” She nudged me with her elbow and grinned. “Besides, we’ll be back before you know it. Then you’ll have plenty of time to finish that Unity offering you were going to make for me. You’re not off the hook for that just because we’re already married, you know.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it,” I laughed, shrugging out of my apron. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten that you were going to make one for me, too.”
“Of course,” she giggled, joining me as we walked to the house. I changed from my smithing clothes into my armor, then spent the next few minutes hovering over our previously packed supplies for the journey to Kaldan, double- and triple-checking that all of the necessities were present. When it was clear I couldn’t delay any longer, I slung a pack over my shoulder, belted my sword to my hip, and donned my cloak. Lia waited patiently while I prepared, already dressed in her armor and confident in her packing.
“Alright,” I said with a slight groan as I exited the house behind her, “let’s go save Kaldan. Again.” She chuckled and took my hand, leading the way into the forest towards her parents’ house. We had said our goodbyes the previous night over dinner; while we avoided telling her parents the specifics of the danger we were heading towards, it felt wrong to lie about the nature of our trip, so we had settled on saying we had unspecified business in Kaldan that might keep us away for a few weeks. Hana and Marten were surprisingly accepting of the news and simply wished us safe travels and good luck with our work. Marin had agreed to check in on our house occasionally while we were gone, and in a later, private conversation, agreed to keep Elise, Marten, and Hana safe in the event that more monsters arrived in Mayaan.
When we arrived at the Corells’ house, I stayed at the edge of the clearing while Lia made her way to the front door. Marin appeared in the doorway before Lia had a chance to knock, and the two shared a quick embrace. They spoke for a few moments, gesturing out into the woods a few times before they both turned to stare in my direction. I immediately shrank beneath the weight of Marin’s eyes and looked away. Since our conversation the day before the wedding, I could hear the fear and disappointment in her voice echoing in my head whenever she looked at me, rekindling the shame that continually smoldered in my gut.
After another minute of conversation, the girls hugged again, and Marin returned to the house and closed the door. Lia skipped across the yard with a wide smile. “We’re all set,” she called out. My eyes lingered on the door behind her as I struggled to move past the rift I had created between Marin and me. The difficulty must have been written plainly on my face, because Lia placed a hand on my chest and patted it softly. “Time,” she reminded me.
“Right.” I closed my eyes and immersed myself in Lia’s aura, which I found ready to support me with an enveloping warmth. The feeling soothed the ragged edges of my psyche, and my eyes reopened a moment later filled with renewed determination. I clapped my hands together hard enough to sting my fingers through my leather gloves and looked out through the forest. “Let’s go.”
The beginning of our journey progressed quickly. After leaving the forest, we found the road leading towards the Mountain Gate entirely deserted, which allowed us to travel at enhanced speeds without drawing any undue attention. It was a strange feeling to reflect on how far we had come since our arrival in Lybesa only a few months prior; what felt like a casual jog in the moment was bordering on the top speed we could have sprinted back then, and my Detection scanned miles further in every direction with little effort. Although we were headed towards certain danger in Shadowmine, the prospect of meeting Virram’s forces again with our new skills excited me.
As we approached the site of our most recent battle, Lia skidded to a halt and held out her hand. “Something’s wrong,” she murmured, her brow deeply furrowed. “There’s a hole in my Detection, but it feels different. It’s not like the monsters from before.”
“It’s the black glass,” I answered.
“The what?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Right.” After her recovery, she had asked sparing few questions about the events that transpired while she was unconscious, and I had avoided the topic entirely. “I’ll show you.” I led her off the road into the woods towards the void in our mental maps. It wasn’t long until the yawning crater appeared before us, glittering like black diamond beneath the afternoon sun.
Lia stared at the gleaming expanse with wide eyes. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “When I woke up, it was just...here. The fire must have created it somehow. Whatever it is, it completely blocks mana from passing over it.”
“That’s...strange.” She knelt down at the edge of the crater and tapped her finger against the glass. “I know this is probably an uncomfortable idea for you, but we should try to take some of this to study, right?”
“Yeah, you’re right.” I looked back towards the road behind us. “Everybody in Mayaan already knows it’s here. If this stuff is dangerous, we should find out sooner rather than later.” I crouched down beside her and gripped the protruding edge of glass at the rim of the crater. My initial instinct to simply invoke the Shatter rune to remove a small, measured section of glass predictably failed when my mana refused to move past the edge of my gloves, so I resorted to cracking off a chunk by force. The task took a surprising amount of effort, requiring me to flare my Strength enhancement before a jagged, fist-sized section broke off beneath my weight.
I turned the glass over in
my hand and examined its strangely smooth faces. Despite its sinister origin, it was an oddly beautiful artifact that seemed to greedily drink in the sunlight around us. I wrinkled up my nose and hid it in a pouch on my belt, then looked back to Lia. “A mystery for after we’ve returned home.”
Lia gave me a reassuring smile, and we returned to the main road. The mountains that lined the Maw loomed over us to the east about an hour’s run away from our position, which meant we’d arrive in Kaldan just before sundown. According to Elise, both the Lybesian and Kaldanic sides of the border had reopened to foot traffic, but they remained closed to wagons due to the ongoing repair of the Mountain Gate. A small part of me had worried about meeting resistance on our initial crossing into Kaldan, but the feeling was quickly dismissed as the wall came into view through my Detection. Despite months of reconstruction efforts, the gate remained entirely dislodged and unusable, blocking all but the smallest footpath between its massive metal prongs.
We approached the Lybesian gate hand in hand, smiling to the attendants that watched the road. As opposed to the towering, military-style Mountain Gate, the checkpoint on the Lybesian side was a simple stone gatehouse manned by four guards, all dressed in matching red and white enameled plate armor and wielding long, double-bladed spears. The lone man watching the road from Mayaan pushed off from the wall he was leaning against as we approached. “Ho there, travelers,” he called out. “A bit late to be crossing into Kaldan, don’t you think?”
Restart Again: Volume 3 Page 43