by Noah Layton
‘Then there is no time to spare. Kit, Ariadne, take your leave. Get your rest before tomorrow. The enemy may have us outnumbered, but we possess a force that just might be able to meet them face to face. And if not…’ The queen looked between us all, smiling at what she saw. ‘At least we will die with our wings outstretched and our spears pointed to the sky.’
With those final words Ariadne and I bid the queen goodbye and departed the chamber, heading through the palace corridors together before arriving at the entrance to the bath chamber.
‘I think this is still me,’ I said, gulping. ‘They never did set me up in a room.’
‘There are worse places to be staying than the royal bath chambers,’ Ariadne said, smiling back at me before the edges of her mouth slowly fell. ‘I can’t believe after all that… She knew all along that she was never going to make it. But she knew that you would.’
‘Either that or I’m the luckiest man alive.’
‘Luckiest, stupidest… Sometimes they line up.’
‘Well, the dying queen just asked this stupid guy to take over as the leader of the harpies… What am I supposed to even think about that?’
‘Nothing. You deal with it and push onwards… But like she said, after tomorrow it might not even matter. There’s more than a good chance that we will be charging straight to our deaths.’
‘I’ve been watching death happen my entire life, Ariadne. Every relative I’ve ever had has died, and every single time I’ve been left alone. Hell, the only reason I’m here is because another relative died on me that I didn’t even know I had in the first place, and now she’s gone too.’
A moment of silence passed between us. We were still in the dead of night, and even if the day seemed an age away, it would still eventually reach us.
‘Do you know why the harpies are the way we are?’ Ariadne said. ‘Do you know why we lie with whoever we desire? Why we don’t envy those we share our beds with?’
‘No… Why?’
‘We are warriors, all of us. And being a warrior means that the risk of death is always awaiting us just around the next corner. Always. So we cling to whoever brings us happiness, to whoever can warm our nights and bring the best of pleasures and just make us feel… Loved. Who it is does not matter. Our ways may seem strange to you, and I can understand that, but if you truly consider the harpies… We simply desire the closeness of life, so that we might stave off the promise of death for one more day.’
Ever since I had arrived in the archipelago, not only spending the night with Ariadne but Evelina alongside her during our adventure from island to island, I hadn’t exactly been against the practices of the harpies. Their way of life had given me endless pleasures, but in a few sentences Ariadne had turned my perceptions of the entire world upside down – which turned out to be the right way of seeing things.
‘I don’t know what to say…’
‘If you’re going to be king, then sometimes that’s a good thing – your advisors can help you with what to say. But before that happens, let me give you one last instruction as your trainer, and your harpy.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Stay with me tonight. If tomorrow is my last day in this world then I want to make sure that this final night is a worthy one.’
‘A worthy one?’ I smiled. ‘So what does that make me… A preoccupation?’
‘A little… And because I can see myself spending a lot more of my nights with you, if we survive, that is.’
In the hours of the night remaining we bathed in the bath chamber, clearing away the dirt and the marks of war that were well-earned from our journey across the nearby islands, before embracing in a passionate kiss in the water that led to so much more.
I had never been religious, and after meeting Ruaos and seeing the true nature of the Ancients that acted as the lost gods of the archipelago, I was even less so, but washing away the toils of battle in the steaming water beneath the palace was like a baptism of its very own. From the waters I carried Ariadne to the bed, setting her perfect form down beneath me as her wings unfolded against the silk of the bedsheets.
The first time we had had each other back in the cell there was an insatiable desire to take each other that had overwhelmed us both in an animalistic frenzy of fucking, but even now, as a much fiercer passion overtook us both, it manifested itself not in a hot mess of sharp movements but in a slow, close desire that pulled our bodies together as we experienced each other, running our hands over the contours of each other’s forms, Ariadne’s hands over my muscular body and my own over her slender figure and perfect curves as we held each other, gazing into each other’s eyes in a seemingly endless sea of pleasure.
Even if the archipelago’s edges were unseen to me, their final islands existed somewhere in the distance; no territory was endless, and the same went for myself and Ariadne’s indulgent taking of each other’s bodies as I could hold myself back no longer, filling her up once more as I emptied myself into her. We both moaned out in stifled gasps against each other’s skin, holding each other until long after it was all over, when sleep finally took us both.
Our journey for the second Harpy Core was over, but the battle of my life hadn’t even started yet – and it was only hours away.
Chapter Fourteen
A Different Man
Just as I had awoken in the cell a few days ago without Ariadne at my side, so did that happen the next morning. Back then, which now felt like a world away, I had felt a sickness in my stomach at the thought of going into battle, but now that sickness had given way to a greater weight that rested upon my shoulders.
I remained where I was among the sheets for a moment, then pushed up slowly and sat on the edge of the bed, dropping my head and closing my eyes. I looked back up, raising my hand and staring silently at it. The Savour’s Blessing was awaiting within my soul, along with the Warrior’s Rage that I could channel through it.
Whether I could use them successfully was another matter entirely.
Looking towards the staircase that ascended into the ground floor of the palace’s rooms, I saw the flickers of light streaming down, cutting into the sanctity of my hideaway.
The battle was awaiting. Dawn had come knocking.
Pulling on my undergarments and fitting my armour into place, I threw my shield over my back and mentally prepared myself.
Suddenly I remembered the wine that had been stowed away beneath the bed – rounding it and retrieving the bottle, I took a few long swigs of the heavy, decadent juice before capping it throwing the half-full bottle down on the bed.
If I made it back alive I would finish it off.
With nothing else to dwell on or distract me, I rounded the pool and exited the bath chamber, a moving silhouette against the palace walls in the early morning light.
I didn’t know what to expect upon exiting the palace – a hubbub of movement as the harpies prepared, the battle to have already commenced, maybe even a drake onslaught in the event that they had mounted a surprise attack.
But it was none of those things.
The sprawling citadel was entirely silent. It was a sunny day like all the others that I had experienced since my arrival, but there wasn’t a shred of life to speak of beyond the light breeze that swept through the streets and stone alleys, rustling the leaves of the trees in the plaza’s centre.
Then, startled by a shadow that travelled sharply across the plaza’s brickwork, I looked up to see a lone harpy soaring towards the nearby walled edge of the citadel.
I set off at a jog, hurrying along the streets and paths until finally the wall came into sight, and so did the entire population of Aries Island.
The harpies were lining the wall, looking out with their spears in hand towards the ocean, where Caros, around which we had sailed two nights ago, resided.
I jogged further to the steps and headed up, seeing Ariadne and Evelina side by side among the harpies. Upon reaching them I almost went to ask what was going on, but t
he view onto Caros was more than enough of an answer.
Hundreds of drakes were stationed across the shores of Caros, some flying, some standing upon the sand, but all facing us from four or five hundred yards away. From here they looked like nothing but ants, an insignificant force that could never reach us, but in this world I was the only one that felt like an insignificant force. With no wings to speak of I was at a serious disadvantage, especially considering Queen Athina’s desire for me to be the harpies’ hidden weapon.
‘How is she?’ I asked Evelina, dispensing with the pleasantries. We spoke without facing other, our eyes glued to the battle lines ahead where the drakes outnumbered us two-to-one.
‘Clinging on,’ Evelina said quietly, stoically. ‘A few more hours, perhaps… The cleric is staying with her.’
‘You should be with her.’
‘No. This is where I am needed. This is where she would want me… If she could still speak.’
I exhaled deeply.
‘So what happens now?’
‘Somebody makes the first move,’ Ariadne said flatly. ‘Who it is, well, that’s another matter… Wait… Do you see that?’
She pointed out towards the area of ocean that separated Aries from Caros. A patch of sand had begun to emerge as the tide fell away, revealing a small, temporary island no more than thirty yards long and ten wide.
And beyond it, upon the shores of the opposing island, the drakes separated to make way for a small party of three, two flanking a sole drake that stood at their helm, a drake with familiar wings, so large and wide that we could see them even from this distance.
‘It’s him,’ I said simply. The girls both nodded, and a moment later the three drakes leaped from the shore and soared through the air towards the sand island that had appeared at a leisurely pace, deftly landing upon it and waiting at their respective end.
‘They wish to parlay with us,’ Evelina said.
‘They want to talk?’ I replied. ‘After what we heard about an attack? What if this is an ambush?’
‘Morals between factions in the archipelago don’t exactly mean a whole lot these days,’ Ariadne said, ‘but one notion that everyone tends to agree on is that wilful negotiations aren’t a time for backstabbing… But we’ve been wrong before. Tends being the key word, there.’
‘What do you think?’ Evelina said, looking over at me.
I exhaled deeply again, analysing the situation.
‘Even if they choose to betray this agreement that Ariadne mentioned, they’ll have two hundred harpies chasing them down. We may be outnumbered but it’s still a force to be reckoned with. I say we go down there and see what they have to say.’
‘We’re with you,’ Evelina said.
‘You’re with me?’ I repeated. ‘Wait, am I the one making the decisions here?’
‘What do you think?’
If it already felt like a weight was resting on my shoulders, now it felt like the entire island was atop me.
‘Okay… But even if I did scare off the drakes using my powers last night, I really don’t think I’m gonna look all that intimidating when you consider that I still don’t have wings… And it’s not exactly like I can grow them in the next few minutes, is it?’
‘Channel the Warrior’s Rage correctly and you’ll be fine.’
‘Easier said than done.’
From the wall we took off together, Ariadne wrapping her arms around me and flying us alongside Evelina to the patch of sand that had been revealed by the receding tide, where our enemy awaited.
Touching down lightly and looking between the girls, we changed positions and formed a small rank with Evelina taking the lead and I and Ariadne following closely behind.
I expected to hear the hysterical sounds of laughter from our enemies at the sight of me being carried. It was a common way to break the spirit of a rival – make them feel literally laughable in the face of adversary.
But not a single sound emanated from the two drakes and their leader as they stared back at us from the other end of the island, the master’s face still shrouded by the cloak and hood that he donned. Even with his stooping posture, he still stood tall above his minions.
The moment we began the walk towards them, they began theirs. It may have only been a short distance on a shit-splat piece of land in the middle of much more abundant islands, but that walk felt like it lasted an eternity, each step dragging out impossibly until both our party and theirs halted just five yards from each other.
‘I am Princess Evelina,’ she said from my right, holding onto the title for the time being. ‘I represent the harpies of Aries Island. The actions of the drakes suggest preparations for an attack. I must ask the meaning of this.’
Even in the face of war, the formalities were retained… For a little while, at least.
‘Suggest preparations,’ the master repeated from behind his hood. ‘Suggest preparations… Well, you would be correct.’
‘May I ask why?’
‘Because we intend to lay waste to your people once and for all. This war has been going on for too long.’
Evelina scoffed. ‘That’s your answer? What kind of response do you expect me to provide to that?’
‘It is not necessarily an order,’ the master said. ‘Rather a choice. Choose to fight, and you choose to die. That said, you may be afforded some nobility in dying for your cause. Or, you can lay down your weapons and submit to the drakes. My men are in such desire of the companionship of women, and the harpies will do finely in continuing our lines so that our inevitable reign over the archipelago may last a thousand years.’
‘There’s no fucking way that’s happening.’ I blurted it out in a kneejerk reaction, unable to contain myself.
The master’s head turned to look over at me like an animatronic robot on a swivelling stick.
‘Ahh, yes. The pilgrim without wings, come to speak for the people who are not his own.’
‘This pilgrim without wings still blinded your ass,’ I said defiantly. ‘What would you say that looked like, Ariadne?’ I turned to her sarcastically – she looked over at me with a raised eyebrow, a smile rising at the edges of her mouth when she realised what I was doing.
‘I’d say it looked like a bunch of idiots falling out of the sky.’
‘A bunch of idiots,’ I repeated. ‘You know, I think I’m inclined to agree.’
We smiled stupidly back at the master and his drakes… Only to find him smiling back at us.
‘I assume you find it amusing to mock me. Such behaviour is customary in the face of certain death.’
‘I wouldn’t say certain,’ I replied, determined to hold me nerve.
‘I have faced the promise of certain death once before,’ the master replied. ‘It is a sobering experience to endure, and if you manage to come out the other side alive like myself, you don’t change… The entire world changes before your eyes, just as it did to me. Tell me, Evelina-’ He turned to look at her once again, ‘-How is mother?’
The smiles on our faces fell away, but a large, sardonic one adorned the master’s face.
‘Ath…’ Evelina started. ‘Queen Athina isn’t my mother.’
‘But you’re the heiress, are you not?’
‘Yes…’
‘Mm… That should have been me, you know? Perhaps if that had been the course that took place then the harpies would have taken a very different direction, and I would never have seen the truth.’
The master lifted his hands to the edges of his hood and pulled it down, revealing a man who appeared to be in his early thirties. His hair was dark and matted, scattered with unhidden bald patches where innumerable scars had cut through his skin, and likely through his mind. A huge, healed cut ran down the left side of his face and through one of his eyes which had turned green in the wake of the attack upon his face, failing to stop until it reached the base of his neck. His skin was pale and washed out, unlike the tone of the harpies, or even the drakes.
Pulling
my gaze away from him, I looked over at Evelina and Ariadne. They were both staring back at our foe, struggling to keep their mouths from falling open as they gaped back at him, wide-eyed.
‘Aurelius?’
Somewhere within me I had known who this man was ever since he had removed his hood, but it took Evelina’s voice speaking his name for my mind to finally comprehend it.
‘I don’t understand…’ Ariadne said, our mocking act having gone completely out the window. ‘You died. We found part of your wing. And your hand…’
‘This hand?’
Aurelius pulled back one of his sleeves to reveal not a hand, but a steel, mechanical device. Its end comprised of a large slot flanked on either side by a pair of large metallic pincers, while the frame that it led down to seemed almost grafted onto the stub that remained of his forearm, which was scattered with purple and blackened veins.
‘Not exactly pleasant to look at, is it?’ He continued, raising his arm and admiring it. ‘After that battle I was alone, left dying and abandoned. The drakes found me and took me in, nursing me back to health, their leaders knowing full well who I was. Their cleric used a serum of experimental concoctions to return my wing to form, and my hand… Well, such a thing could not be returned, but what use is a hand without a weapon to hold? Now…’ Aurelius reached to the scabbard at his side with the mechanism latched onto his forearm. The handle locked in to the slot instantly, and Aurelius drew the blade effortlessly before him, holding it right before us. ‘Now I am the weapon. After my healing at the hands of the drakes, I became a welcome part of their community, and their way of life became clear.
‘All my life, my stupid mother and father and the rest of the idiotic harpies that they led pushed this hapless, weak way of life. Rule and provide. Welcome and coordinate. Build a society and a sense of harmony amongst the peoples of the archipelago and so-fucking-on. What a gigantic heap of shit. Well, I have known weakness, and I have known abandonment at the hands of the people I used to call my family. The drakes are the only ones who have any right to rule these lands, and the only way to do it is by force, with myself at the helm.’