“He… hurt me!” cried Karnas. “Hally!”
“No!” shouted Hal. “No fighting! Everybody… just calm down.”
“Are you insane?” shouted Mauve. “Hal, it’s one of them! These… monsters. They took everything from us! Lilith, Maddy…”
“Just give me a chance to explain,” said Hal. “Please.”
Mauve kept his pistol aimed at Karnas, but it was an empty gesture. It would take him at least half a minute to reload it. The rest of Mauve’s party stayed hidden behind the boulder, with only the man with glasses poking his head up to watch what was happening.
“Aangavar, the dragon who attacked our estate is dead,” said Hal. “I went after him. Spent time training, found others to help, and we brought him down. Karnas… is his son.”
Reactions came on both sides of the conflict. Karnas made a strange noise, and it was only then that Hal realized that he’d never told the dragon the full story about he’d come into their care.
This isn’t a good way of breaking it to him. Not in the slightest.
“You named that monster after Karnas?” shouted Mauve. “After your father? How little is your respect for his memory? To spit in the face of his corpse, like this. By giving his name to that… thing.”
“He isn’t evil,” said Hal. “He’s a dragon, yes, but you have to see past that.”
“See past what?” shouted Mauve. “See past the face and the eyes of the monster? If that satisfies you, so be it, but I haven’t found my revenge yet, Halrin. It’s right here, in front of me. Do you expect me to ignore it?”
“Mauve!” said Hal. Karnas roared and reared up on his back legs.
“My… father,” said Karnas. “Aangavar?”
“Karnas, I can explain everything to you,” he said. “Just hold on. Please. If you have any trust for me, or for Laurel, just–”
The dragon didn’t give him a chance to finish. He jumped straight into the air, his hind limbs launching him upward with surprising force. His wings broke tree branches as he flapped them, taking off at a breakneck pace. Hal felt an ache in his heart as he watched Karnas disappear from his view.
“You’re a fool, Hal,” said Mauve. “Though I don’t suppose I can blame you for all of it, after what you’ve been through. I’ll give you a chance. You can come home with us. You’d be welcomed back with open arms in the Collected Provinces.”
Hal was already shaking his head. He rested his palms against his forehead, feeling overwhelmed by the sudden, tumultuous turn of events.
“This is my home, now,” he said. For some reason, he felt the urge to look at Laurel as he spoke the words. She wasn’t the only one who noticed. Mauve’s attention flickered across her for a moment, and then he shook his head.
“Maybe it’s for the best, then,” said Mauve. “We aren’t done with our expedition yet, but we will be soon. Hal… my brother… come to your senses. Find us if you change your mind.”
There was so much more that Hal wanted to say to him, and yet at the same time, there was nothing at all left to be said. Hal watched Mauve heading over to join the rest of his group, reassuring them in a quiet voice. He felt Laurel’s hand close against his.
“We should go,” she whispered.
“Don’t you need to carry out your diplomacy?” asked Hal.
Laurel frowned slightly. “There isn’t much help I can see them providing to us, in the near term. They at least know now that we’ll welcome them as diplomats if they decide to travel on to Meldence.”
Hal hesitated as she pulled him back in the direction they’d come from, but only for a moment. The sinking feeling hadn’t left his stomach. He was worried for Karnas, and unsure of what the dragon would do after hearing the circumstances of his origin.
He walked hand in hand with Laurel through the forest, and then back out across the bridge. The trip out had taken barely an hour, but walking back would easily cost them the rest of the day. He appreciated the fact that she held back from pointing out how much better off they’d be if they’d taken horses, as she’d suggested.
“It could have gone worse, Hal,” said Laurel. “Don’t worry.”
“You think he’ll forgive me?” asked Hal.
“There isn’t anything to forgive,” said Laurel. “We raised him. We are closer to being his family, his parents, even, then any dragon, living or dead. He’s upset right now, but he has no more right to blame us for his circumstances than we have to blame him for ours.”
Hal glanced over at her. She was absentmindedly running a finger along the length of the scar on her cheek. Aangavar had nearly torn the bottom right section of her face off when he’d given it to her. She was right. He just hoped that Karnas would eventually see it in the same way.
“You called that man your brother,” said Laurel, shifting their conversation in another direction.
“He is my brother, in all but blood,” said Hal. “We grew up together. He’s the same as me, in so many ways.”
And different, in so many others. I’ve changed since coming here.
“We could go back,” said Laurel. “Try to talk to him some more?”
Hal shook his head. As much as he missed Mauve, being around him was the last thing he needed, at that moment. He sighed and tried to keep his frustration from overwhelming him.
“Are you okay?” asked Laurel.
“I’m fine,” said Hal. “I just need… some time to think.”
The walk back to Meldence was long and silent. Hal and Laurel were both tired and hungry when the city gates came into view. The guards were on high alert on the walls, a stark reminder of how precarious the situation with the elves was.
They were at war, and they were desperate. It made Hal wonder if he should have tried harder to convince Mauve to come to Meldence, though doing so without revealing the full situation would have made him feel deceptive and manipulative.
“Busher will probably panic if he heads back to the castle only to find that I haven’t returned,” said Laurel. “I should check in with him, and with the Maxim.”
“I need some time to think,” said Hal.
She gave him a strange look. He’d had all the time he could need to think on the long walk back. What Hal really meant was that he needed some time to think alone, without having to consider how each of his actions would affect those around him.
Laurel nodded, her eyes filling with compassion and understanding. She leaned in close and planted a kiss on his cheek.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” she whispered. “At least not without telling me, first.”
“I’ll do my best,” said Hal.
She split off from him, heading up toward the castle, while Hal meandered through the ruined city streets. The city was even more abandoned than it had been that morning. People were fleeing in droves, taking their families with them. It left only the guards, militia, and merchants crazy enough to capitalize on the chaos.
It took him a while to find an open tavern, and even then, he was one of only three patrons. He took a seat at the bar, and a chubby woman wearing an apron over her dress took his order. The beer was twice the normal price, but tending to the homestead had left Hal with a decent amount of spending money, and he paid without complaint.
How many times had he dreamed of being reunited with Mauve, Lilith, and his father? It was always perfect in his dreams, the events unfolding in a way that undid everything that had happened since the attack on the Kentar estate and dropped him back into the life he’d lost.
What if he did decide to head back to the Collected Provinces with Mauve? Was that even a possibility? It almost felt like a betrayal now, as though he’d be turning his back on Laurel, and trampling all over Karnas’s loyalty. He thought about Mauve and the others in his party attacking Karnas, holding him prisoner out of a misguided sense of vengeance. It made him feel angry, and so very confused.
Strangely, what Hal wanted more than anything was for Mauve to be there in the tavern with him. If they’d
just had a chance to drink ale, share stories, reminisce, and maybe move through some Kye Lornis flows, everything could be simple again. It could all make sense.
He thought back to some of their more intense Kye Lornis battles. At the end of each, when the drumming stopped and both of them were sweaty and out of breath, they’d always been friends, regardless of how heated or competitive they were with each other in the moment. Was this just part of life? Growing up, and growing apart?
Hal was still thinking about Mauve as he waved the barkeep over to refill his mug a fifth time. She frowned, but took his money and did as asked. The ale had tasted a touch bitter at the start of the evening, but he was thoroughly drunk and drinking it as easily as water.
Someone sat down next to him. It was a woman, dressed in a green robe, with a long, intricate black braid.
“Hello, Halrin,” said Cadrian.
CHAPTER 15
Hal’s first reaction didn’t involve attacking or defending. He slowly turned his head, staring at her, the alcohol blurring his vision just enough to make him question whether it was really her.
She wasn’t wearing her eyepatch, and the fact that both of her eyes were in working condition only served to remind Hal of her lies, and her betrayal. But the green robe she wore was one that he’d seen her in so many times before, during their training. Hal had taken it off her before, spread it across the grass to serve as a pallet for their love making. She still looked like his master with it on, the woman he’d learned from and trusted.
She’s not my master. She’s a monster with a pretty face.
“What do you want?” asked Hal. “Why would you come here?”
“To speak with you,” said Cadrian. She gestured to the barkeep, who hurried to get her a mug of ale. Hal’s emotions were a contained storm, shifting and swirling and affected by all he’d had to drink.
“Speak with me?” he asked, through clenched teeth. “You’re lucky I don’t attack you.”
The words made him feel small and pathetic, rather than serving as a threat. She knew him almost as well as a person could, the way he thought, the way he reacted. Was there even any truth to it?
For as much as Hal hated her, he still remembered his last encounter with her in the Upper Realm. She’d protected him, saved his life, and even risked her own in her attempt to share her cloud catch with him on their fall back down to the surface. Paradoxically, Hal hated her even more for that, for making things complicated and hollowing out the nature of his revenge.
“If you’re going to attack me, do it now,” said Cadrian. “I won’t waste your time, Halrin. All I ask is the same from you in return.”
She took a slow sip of her ale. Her face was expressionless, but she still managed to look arrogant and calm in the face of the circumstances. Hal took a shaky breath, feeling the way the ale influenced his emotions, knowing what was about to happen. He didn’t say anything for a long moment.
When he next spoke, it was with his sword. Hal drew it from its sheath and pushed back from his bar stool in a single, fluid motion. Cadrian reacted without missing a beat, raising her longsword up to catch the edge of his weapon as it arced toward her head.
The swords were a match for each other, both with similar blade widths, polished blackwood hilts, and ridged sections etched into the metal for dragging spark rings across. Cadrian had given him his sword, and he’d kept it with him all this time. He’d almost lost it when he’d been captured and taken to the Upper Realm, but Laurel had found it and his pistol, and kept both safe for him.
Hal spun, trying to slash at her with a reverse strike. Cadrian blocked it easily and retaliated with a thrust. He assumed it was a feint, and it might have started as one, but she shifted her footing, stepping forward.
He tried to block and step to the side, but his stool had fallen that way, and he couldn’t take a step and kick it out of the way at the same time. Cadrian’s sword pierced through the cloth of his shirt, coming within a hair’s length of drawing blood. She held his gaze for just long enough to make it clear that it was exactly what she’d intended.
The few patrons who’d been in the tavern when Hal first arrived were all heading for the door, keeping low as though worried about being mistaken for targets. The barkeep was nowhere to be seen. Between the tables, the furniture, and the low ceiling, there was a limit to how freely either of them could swing their swords.
Hal rushed forward, attacking Cadrian with slashes more influenced by his inebriation, than his training. Cadrian blocked the first two before spinning, neatly kicking a chair into the air. Hal’s sword sunk into it, but he stomped his foot onto the seat and pulled it loose without much trouble.
The two of them circled each other, both eyeing the tavern for anything that could be used to their advantage. Hal considered throwing one of the half-full mugs of ale at her before deciding that it would be beneath him. He had other ways to surprise her.
He whipped his short sword into a powerful, horizontal slash. Cadrian dodged it with less than an inch to spare, and immediately moved to take advantage of the opening the movement left. Hal ducked low, channeling his diamond essence and curiosity as he used Wind Dash to rush by her.
Her robe blew halfway open from the focused gust that pushed Hal forward and trailed in his wake. He moved to capitalize on his new position, twisting his sword into an overhead slash aimed at her shoulder. Cadrian blocked it without looking, and then held his blade where it was as she slowly turned to face him.
“A new thesis spell,” she said. “You’ve unlocked the diamond essence of your heartgem. What of the others? How much more of your potential have you realized?”
“None of your business,” said Hal. “You aren’t my master anymore, Cadrian.”
An amused smile played across her lips. She almost seemed to be mocking him, as though she’d seen what he’d managed to achieve through training on his own and wasn’t impressed. It made Hal furious, and he had to force himself to stay calm and focus on fighting with good form.
He used Wind Dash to assist his next attack, flying across the floor and into range faster than Cadrian had been expecting. His sword screeched as it bounced off hers, but the slash had been intended to distract her. Hal brought his knee up, slamming it into her stomach. She’d taught him that move, and had described it as being a cheap, but effective trick.
Cadrian crumpled slightly but stayed on her feet. Hal caught her wrist with his hand as she tried to retaliate with her weapon. She twisted, slamming her elbow into his wrist and knocking Hal’s short sword loose. Her back pressed against Hal’s chest, both of them moving together, trying to pull the other off balance and gain the advantage.
They bumped into a table and fell to the floor, with Cadrian losing her grip on her sword. With both of them unarmed, the fight shifted off swordplay and into the primal, physical wrestling they’d spent so much time practicing on the grass of the clearing.
Hal was bigger than her, with a man’s physique and muscles. Which made it all the more frustrating to feel Cadrian getting the upper hand, twisting out of his grip, leveraging his body and limbs against him. He flailed, trying to grab her wrist and cupping one of her breasts instead. He tried to force his hand up toward her neck, but she turned, blocking the movement with her shoulder.
“Get out of my tavern!” The barkeep had reappeared by the door, and held a broom in the air over her head. It was more of a gesture, than anything, but Hal knew that she’d escalate to calling the guards if they ignored her, if she hadn’t already.
He pulled himself loose of Cadrian and stood up, finding his sword on the floor and sheathing it. Cadrian did the same, taking a second to adjust her robe, her face pensive.
“This was a mistake,” she said. She walked past Hal and out of the tavern.
“You too!” shouted the barkeep. “Get out of here!”
Hal resisted the urge to scowl at the woman and hurried after Cadrian. It was dark outside, with few lanterns and torches in the
street, given the lack of people. Hal could make out Cadrian’s silhouette down the street, and he followed her without really knowing why.
“Hey!” he shouted. “I’m not done with you yet!”
Cadrian didn’t stop walking as she spoke. “It’s as you said. I’m not your master anymore. We have no business with each other, unless you intend to attack me again.”
She turned a corner, and entered a section of the city that had been destroyed to the point of being abandoned. Hal followed her in between two burned-out buildings, and up to the edge of the city’s wall. She stopped and turned to face him.
“Why are you here, Cadrian?” asked Hal. “Or should I call you Elyse? Elyse Ardstone… You and your sister, playing your games! Manipulating people’s lives like it’s all just a theater show!”
He was still drunk, too drunk to be confronting her properly. Cadrian looked him over, her eyes taking him in and recognizing his current state.
“Marnella is dead,” she said.
The words gave Hal pause. He’d wondered why he hadn’t been able to get in touch with Marnella using the view crystal. He had tried several times, despite the anger he felt for Cadrian and her family. Why had he ever agreed to help them, in the first place?
Because of what the Upper Realm is like. Because of how bad the slaves have it, and how desperately they need help.
“You’re manipulating me again,” said Hal. “The fight in the bar. Leading me out here. This is all… just another trick.”
Cadrian’s eyes bore into him. She was more intense as an enemy than she’d ever been as his master. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking, whether they were about to fight again, or whether she had something up her sleeve.
“If you don’t want me to manipulate you, then don’t listen to what I have to say,” said Cadrian. “Turn around, walk away, and call it a night. Because I will use you, Halrin, if you let me. I’ll use you for all that you’re worth. And it will save lives.”
Hal gritted his teeth as he considered what she was saying. She’d chosen her words carefully, and she was probably telling the truth. There was no reason why she’d have come to Meldence to find him if she wasn’t planning something.
Eternal Palace (Sexcraft Chronicles Book 4) Page 8