by Shakyra Dunn
“Every moment,” Sien repeated with assurance before suddenly rushing up to the two, bringing them into a joint embrace. “You both better come back alive. I refuse to let my child grow up without knowing you in person. Stories will never be enough.”
Solus laid a hand atop the girl’s head while Leilana laid one on her back, Leilana resting her chin on the girl’s shoulder.
“We’ll do our best,” Leilana told her. “I promise.”
They took the first boat to Kinsley and arrived just after midnight. The city was left virtually unchanged from the last time that they set foot in the battered region. Electricity was nonexistent, the city cloaked in darkness. The citizens had been reduced to life on the streets, scavenging for their food and water. Those that allowed themselves to be lost in the hunt sat at the pier, their expressions void. Life had changed too much for them. How far they had fallen.
Leilana and Solus found the sight too depressing to stick around. In time, they would be able to mend the wounds that had besieged the people of this once lively town. Mountain plains came into view within hours, the morning sun peaking over the virtuous landscapes, the bridge to Nilu carrying them into the tiny mining town. Not a single hut was out of place from when they last stumbled upon the home of the Orb of Concord, but the silence washing over the area was almost unbearable.
Sitting atop a nearby hut was a man with sandy brown hair tied into a thick braid reaching the middle of his back, a formidable-sized sword over his right shoulder.
“I was wondering when you’d reach the highlands,” the younger man piped up, landing in front of the two, resting his hands on his hips. “I was getting tired of waiting.”
Leilana was eyeing the stranger’s weapon assortment with concern—she wasn’t even sure she’d seen so many at once outside of a weapon’s shop. “Solus, who is this?”
“That would be my younger brother,” his voice cracked at the last word in his sentence, and he cleared his throat, tugging on his collar. Leilana curiously raised an eyebrow. So, this was the famed younger brother that Solus told her about.
Kinaju lowered himself into a proper bow. “Kinaju Leerus, pleasure to make your acquaintance. I take it that you’re Princess Leilana Erovina. You look a bit scary, but you’re certainly radiant enough. Solus went through a lot to save you, you know. It was like something out of an epic, really charming-”
“And that’s enough out of you,” Solus cut in. Kinaju smiled apologetically.
“Was there a reason that you stuck around waiting all this time?” Leilana piped up.
“I figured that Solus would come back here, so I decided to make this my new resting ground. I’m here to guide you to Linmus. The leader of the Order of Helix is waiting for you. So, where’s the prince?”
Silence befell them. Neither wanted to speak the truth despite it being beaten into their heads already. They were still adjusting and accepting the fate of their fallen friend, but to say the words aloud was still a hassle. It was Solus who stepped up to the plate to swing, knowing that he needed to face the information the most between them.
“Rem isn’t here.” Kinaju raised an eyebrow. “Five years ago, we were here in Nilu, and when we were attacked by the Order of Helix, Rem took matters into his own hands. It cost him his life. It wasn’t long thereafter that we all fell into a deep sleep. That was how you found me.”
Kinaju’s face sank, and he lowered his hands to rest at his sides. Remiel was dead?
“He left behind a decree,” Leilana continued. “That allowed Solus to take up the mantle. Rem left him with the opportunity to act as the new Prince of Adrylis in his place.”
And now Solus is the prince?
“…Oh.” Kinaju wasn’t certain what to make of the new information. It was a tad confusing to process. Still, any wrong move or reaction would make them turn their backs on him, and the last thing that he wanted was for Solus to distrust him. His eyes traced over Solus; his older brother was paling considerably, staring at the ground as he attempted to diffuse the statement. The reaction wasn’t unexpected. He knew that Solus and Prince Remiel were close.
“You can’t tell anyone, especially not Hinju,” Leilana warned Kinaju while rubbing Solus’s back. “There’s a lot that we need to finish once we arrive in Linmus, and we can’t have anything unravel before we’ve accomplished our goals. We can’t let Rem’s last wish be in vain.”
“If what you say is true, then at least let me find you safe passage into Linmus,” Kinaju tried to reason. “You can trust me. I’ve been supporting Solus as much and as often as I can.”
Solus met Leilana’s hesitant gaze, reaching down to brush some loose strands of hair out of her face. “Kinaju is the reason why I was able to find you. He’s saved my life.”
“You’ve seen or heard about the state of the kingdom already, I imagine. There wouldn’t be many places for you to hide, plan, and think about your first move on Hinju. The dead walk aimlessly in Linmus, clinging to the living. I may not have magic like either of you, but-”
“Very well then,” Leilana chimed in, catching the boys by surprise. “You can travel with us. But if you prove untrustworthy, then I will execute you with my own hands, regardless of who you are or what you know.”
Kinaju rested a hand on his chest and arched his back, lowering into a bow. “I will keep my word.” Leilana sighed, folding her hands in front of her. She felt like a third wheel despite the obvious fondness that Solus had for her. She would remain true to her word as well—Kinaju had to be trustworthy.
An early-morning downpour set them back a few hours away from Linmus, and though Kinaju was certain that they could brave the storm and make it to the kingdom before the sun broke through the clouds, Leilana was adamant on stopping for the sake of their already drenched and weighed down clothing deterring them from moving any further. They took refuge in an abandoned cottage, the thunder rolling across the sky well into the following afternoon, lightning bolts striking the ground, unhindered by the trees shielding them from harm.
Kinaju kept the curtains closed and the window cracked to let in a draft, which Solus favored the most. Leilana buried herself under the sheets of one of the three cots in their fair-sized lodgings, the cold air overbearing. Solus didn’t leave his bed, not even to eat, and barely acknowledged anyone. It was abnormal. No matter how strong and stalwart he was, he was grieving over Rem in his own way. Still, they found themselves checking on him every so often to find him either sleeping or staring at the curtains as they drifted through the fierce winds.
Every dream was the same nowadays, and he was keeping it bottled up inside. They would start with Rem becoming consumed by the Orb of Concord’s power, Solus helplessly reaching out his hand to pull him back into the light. Rem was still able to fight, and the Orb was draining his life away rapidly. He was strong. He was adaptable and prodigious, why was this any different? Why was it so hard for him to come to his senses? Solus could only call his name, but the familiarity was lost on his close friend. The moment that Solus’s fingertips grazed Rem’s cheeks, he was dragged through darkness, and everything slipped away.
The voices would chime in directly after. ‘Save them. Free their souls. Heal them.’ Not an ounce of remorse seeped through the cracks. Not a single image flowed into his memory about what they were referring to. How long would he be left stumbling on his own, trapped in wonder and ruin? How long would it be before he got to see Rem again?
He was about to step out of the room when Kinaju entered, nearly running into him. Kinaju folded his hands behind his back and cleared his throat.
“Didn’t think you’d be up. Feeling better?” he settled with. Solus opened his mouth to speak, but closed his lips shut, sighing. What kind of question was that? “Right… I don’t know why I thought that was okay to ask.” At least he knew it too. “I want to ask you something.”
“Shoot,” Solus replied.
“What do you remember from when you fell asleep in Nilu?”
“You didn’t really sleep,” Kinaju told him, folding his hands. “The day that we found you, you were awake. Your eyes were blank, you mindlessly listened, and you didn’t speak to anyone in return. You were like a ghost. And then you slipped away.” Solus couldn’t wrap his head around Kinaju’s words. He was awake, if only for a moment, while Sien and Leilana were incapacitated, and he couldn’t remember anything about it. Why was his head still so foggy?
“Father wanted to make sure that you were ready to go back into the world. Your powers were still evolving.” He was inside of the castle, defending Hinju from certain death. Linmus was regarded as a kingdom of the walking dead. He always had a sinking suspicion that his own hand was dealt into the state of the kingdom.
“I see,” Solus mumbled.
“But right before you fell back to sleep, there was a mention of Leilana. Something in you sparked. Your eyes were ignited. You were trapped within yourself, but hearing her name brought some sense back to you. Not Rem, not Sien, not even for yourself. You fought to see her again.” Kinaju folded his hands. “Love is a powerful emotion. I’ve always known that, but that was the first time that I got to see it with my own eyes. I envy you, and it’s funny because we don’t even know each other that well.”
“We don’t have to,” Solus insisted. “I know how it feels to have a younger sibling, so this feels like a breath of revival. It gives me a lot of insight as to what I’ve missed, and what I’ve learned since I woke up, something that I’ll find the courage to tell Leilana and Sien someday.”
“Kind of crazy how they got ensnared. I mean, not knocking down that they’re women, of course, but I wonder what Prince Remiel was thinking, bringing them along on this journey.”
“Actually, I’m the one that suggested that Leilana joined us.”
“So, you were into her from the start.”
“Not from the very beginning,” he reasoned. “But I did always think that there was something special about her. She started off so hesitant about using her powers for the greater good, and even now, she has a fear of senseless murder. I wasn’t disappointed by her development. Somehow, the bond between us grew right along with it.”
“You keep letting it then. She knows you, Solus, and you need someone to guide you down the right path. Don’t lose sight of her.” Solus almost laughed. He would never have taken Kinaju as the romantic type given his experiences and unnerving personality, but he supposed there was no harm in seeing another side of the rough-looking weapons-master. Kinaju got up from the bed and pulled back the curtain, staring at the dewdrops on the window. “Looks like the storm is finally slowing down. Think we should get back out there?”
“No, let Leilana rest for the night. We’ll need to conserve as much energy as we can if we want to make it through Linmus.” Kinaju nodded to himself before settling on the idea of allowing his older brother to rest. They did have a long walk ahead. “Oh, and Kinaju?”
“Yes?”
“About what you said, envying me… I’m the one that should be envying you. You don’t have to worry about carrying so much weight on your shoulders, and you get to see Adrylis without limitations. You’re living the life that I wish I could have had. But there is one thing that bothers me about you.”
“And what’s that?”
“When we first met, you acted as an opponent. You murdered a girl directly in front of me-”
“A girl that was already long dead, her soul trapped in time, and she was going to kill you to be reborn,” Kinaju reiterated.
“But you killed someone nonetheless, all without proving anything to me. In addition, you called Rem a ‘failed prince,’ saying that he was going to get me killed. Given the situation involving Rem, and the knowledge that I was essentially brain-dead, aimlessly trailing through Adrylis under our father’s reign, I don’t know if I can write words like that off as a coincidence.”
Kinaju’s face sank. “You don’t trust me?”
Solus crossed his arms. “I don’t know your intentions, and that is dangerous. Tell me the truth. What are you thinking?”
“I’ve always been on your side, Solus.”
“If you are, then you’d tell me what your plan is. You always appear when it’s most convenient. You are guiding us to Linmus, showing us safe passage to the castle. You’re always one step ahead. The truth, Kinaju. How do you always find me?”
Kinaju lowered his head, his fingers drumming at his side. “Fine. Your ribbon.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It’s soiled with the blood of King Leones, and your fate is woven into the seams. Much like Leilana’s grimoire, it is your totem for conjuring your magic. It is an heirloom passed down from our grandfather—the last item that our father could claim before he was executed by the King of Adrylis at the time. When you woke to Necromancy, our father gave it to you.”
Unbelievable.
“There is power in the blood of Kings. A greater power than anything that we could ever hope for. It existed in them, it existed in Remiel, and it rests with you as his chosen heir. I may not be able to wake the dead, but my awareness allows you to sense your budding power so long as you have it with you.”
Solus wanted to rip the ribbon from his hair and burn it, but upon touching the fabric, he lowered his hand to rest on his lap again. Getting rid of it and effectively breaking their severed bond could free him for a while longer, but he couldn’t bring himself to let go of something he had carried for most of his life. It was always more than a mere hair tie. Much like Rem, he was lured into an unsettling fate that he couldn’t be torn from. Their ancestors held weight over their lives long after their departure from this world. The dead walked because of him, but that did not mean that their lives were being utilized. Now, their families and their actions outlived them for generations and would continue to manipulate the strings on their backs until the end of sorrows.
“You’ve always felt compelled to wear it, haven’t you? Did you ever question why you have it, why you wanted it? Why you clung to it despite having no memory of your life? It’s because you are bound to your clan, even after leaving.”
He was no different from Leilana and Rem after all. The three of them were entangled in the past, long before they had even come together.
The Wayward Prince of Adrylis. The Last Princess of Minsura. The Isolated Prince of Gularin.
They all carried noble blood in their own rights, were cast away from their homes, left without purpose before combining their efforts to save Adrylis; it was too much to consider it a coincidence. They were brought together for a reason.
Kinaju laid his hands on Solus’s shoulders. “You were always born to rule, Solus. All that you needed was the right push. Now, you can be the king.”
His plummy tone and insincere words were as hollow as his void expression. Kinaju couldn’t be read, contrasting previous moments of shared honesty. Now, he was hiding, making Solus anxious. There was something more to all of this, something that he couldn’t pinpoint. Kinaju extended his hand, cupping the ribbon, softly running his fingers along the fabric before allowing it to drape back over the man’s shoulder, not once averting his eyes from Solus. Solus almost trembled, the gesture unexpected, but held his composure by biting down on his bottom lip to extinguish some dead skin. Kinaju smiled at him.
“You should rest, Your Highness. We have a long day ahead.”
Kinaju exited the room and closed the door. Solus forced an exhale to cleanse his mind, falling back on the cot, his hair sprawling against the sheets. Rare was it that he felt so vulnerable and torn down in a battle of wits, but he supposed that Hinju’s genes and manipulative tactics never did fall far from t
he tree.
Kinaju was still a mystery within his circle of trust. He would have to keep a guard around him from here on until he could figure out what was going on in his mind.
Beyond the northern mountains lied the long-fell kingdom. The path forward held no forestry to guide them, little nature, and nothing more than Solus described to his companions as ‘a dry land.’ When the overpass of the castle came into view from the hill, Leilana was quick to comment that the land was anything but. The castle was shrouded by grey clouds, the high-tower engulfed. Large chunks of stone walls were broken off in several corners, likely from the attack five years ago, never truly resolved or cleaned up. Solus turned his focus towards the waterfalls in the distance. They were still running swiftly, the sound comforting. It was relieving that some traces of his previous life hadn’t been completely lost. Still, he was concerned with the state of the town itself, and he didn’t want to inquire about it from Kinaju. He would see for himself soon enough.
“I’m worried,” Leilana began. “The town is cataclysmic, and stepping in will be a hassle, but what if we’re getting in over our heads? What if we’re walking into a death sentence before we even reach the castle?”
Solus rested his hands on her cheeks, smiling. “You can’t think like that. We’re going to be fine. You have to believe it.”
“I do. But I still can’t help being worried.”
“Just keep on your toes, and all shall be fine,” Kinaju replied, his arms behind his back as he paced on. “Leave everything to me as we approach the city.”
Solus stayed on the hilltop a moment longer, watching the sun begin to rise, reflecting over the waterfalls. They were finally near the end, and Rem wasn’t around to see it. Time was moving forward without him, and life was going to change again. What he wouldn’t give to go back one more time, to apologize, to prevent things from reaching this point.
One day they would be able to talk again, but for now, he could only alter the will that his best friend carried for so long and adhere it to his own.