Val couldn’t help grinning. “Remember that talk you gave me about not making waves?”
Chris couldn’t help chuckling. “After what we’ve all been through tonight? I’ll fucking surf the waves! Anyway, I’ve killed enough enemies for one night, so no point in making new ones. Here he is now.”
“Wait! Chris! Don’t go yet. First, could you meet up with us? Alone?”
A momentary pause. “Sure. Not sure where you are, though.”
Val grinned. “No worries. Julia will head up to the manor and form a party with you. And get Dirk and Yin while you're at it."
“Seriously?”
“Dead serious,” Julia snapped. “And how’s my mom? Elise?”
“They’re fine, Julia. Don’t worry about a thing! I’m sure your mom will give you an earful once you get to the back entrance. Now the front entrance. I’ll meet you there as soon as I find Yin and Dirk, probably celebrating just surviving the fight.” A rueful chuckle. “Oh, I don’t doubt they’ll be pissed when I tell them they’re still on duty! Now here’s your friend. Chris out.”
“Valor Hunter. Please tell me you’re hale and whole.”
Val gave an exhausted chuckle. “I’m alive, Lucius. I can say that much.”
“Good.” His tone was curt, and Val could tell he was almost as drained as Val was. “We’ve managed to take the field, our enemies captured or fleeing. A remarkable victory, all things considered. But you know the peril we face, should certain facts come to light.”
Val swallowed, suddenly chilled.
“It is fortunate indeed that we boast a contender walking the Mystic’s path,” Lucius said, “with access to exotic magics most Highlords can’t even fathom.”
Val nodded. With Titan’s Blast and Starfall both in play that night, who was to say that the explosions ripping through the horde of enemy soldiers that had been so desperate to overload the house force field hadn’t been due to similar high-level battle magics? No one. No one alive, at least, if they were fortunate. He could almost feel Lucius’s grim smile as he spoke on.
"Of course, none of Tiberius's men near the manor survived the tactical spells in play." A grim pause. "Not even the contingent of soldiers facing off against my men just a short distance away, stunned by the resulting shockwave, as were my own, though we had the advantage of distance and a constant stream of reinforcements. Sadly, it seems that some aspect of that spell included a death curse that assured every enemy soldier even to hear those explosions perished in the battle.”
“I understand,” Val said, knowing exactly how this game had to be played, as much as he hated the move.
A thoughtful pause. "I'm sure you do. And though I regret our lack of communication while you did what needed to be done in Newford..." Val flushed at that. "You still managed to secure twenty pristine battle-mechs and the pilots to fly them. Had you not brought those reinforcements when you did, had you not done exactly what you felt compelled to, I have no doubt that Highblood Province would be lost. Perhaps my daughter's life as well. Blackenthorp Province would no doubt have been the next target of that army. And even with our battle-mechs and force field, we would have been effectively pinned down, Kentric’s other dogs soon joining the hunt, and it would only have been a matter of time before we fell.”
Val turned to Julia, who nodded in silent agreement with Lucius’s analysis.
“You did well, Valor Hunter. When you take the Crown, I will be proud to call you king.”
Val blinked, strangely touched. “Thank you, Lucius.”
He could almost sense the Highlord’s grim smile. “You’re welcome. Now get back here, Valor. We have a council of war to manage, and we must plan our next moves carefully.”
Val grimaced. “No can do, Lucius. I’m in a bit of a bind.”
“Explain.”
“Okay. But please tell Angelica and Bethany that under no circumstances are they to try to meet up with me, especially not piloting battle-mechs or with their units, or I’m a dead man.”
“Explain what you mean, Valor.”
“I’m under a curse,” Val said. “A death curse. If anyone approaches, they’ll be filled with the overwhelming urge to kill me for the sake of an imaginary bounty. It was linked to Tiberius’s powers as a contender for the throne. Like me, he also dared to walk the Path of Kings, and no mundane magic could possibly free me. The only way to sunder this curse is to consume the root of my enemy’s power, just as his dying wish was to consume me. In short, I have to claim Tiberius’s lands for myself.”
Val turned to Julia, the horror of all they had endured somehow easing with her smile. “Should she prove to be free of the curse, Julia will be there after we talk to our friend. She can explain.”
“There is no need, Valor. I’ve seen your power firsthand. I do not doubt your words that the dying curse of another contender who actually dared the King’s Path would catalyze magics beyond anyone’s ability to counter. Fear not. I will relay your words to Christine and the others. Is there anything you wish me to convey to your father?”
Val smiled, strangely touched by the man’s thoughtfulness. “No. Just… that I love them, and I’m doing the best I can to fulfill my oath as a soldier.” His father would know exactly what he meant. “And please, tell Angelica that I am glad she is safe, and I am grateful that she chose to fight by my side.”
“I will,” he said. “My Angelica can be ruthless to her foes. But she cherishes her friends. She will fight fiercely for the man who won her heart, Valor. And she would make you a fine wife.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Val assured. “And she already knows how I feel about her. It’s just that...”
“Your first-wife doesn’t approve. Our ways are not her ways, and until your Julia accepts being first among several, hers will be a lonely pride.”
Val winced, catching Julia’s flustered gaze. “That’s one way of putting it.”
“Very well, Valor. I think what you are contemplating is madness, but if there was anyone who could pull it off, it will be you. I will give Julia the coordinates of your targets when she arrives. Blackenthorp out.”
And a short time later, Chris was riding a velimobile back to Val’s location, the smoking crater an obvious landmark. Stealth check successful! Since Shadowmind will do you no good against roving eyes, with a retributive mark upon your soul! He kept himself low, the waving grass and the lip of the crater keeping him out of obvious view, the nighttime sky helping as well.
He could hear Chris grumbling when Julia asked him to put on the cuffs he had brought and step away from the veli, leaving his weapons in the vehicle. The powerfully built man looked as tired as Val could remember, glaring down at his cuffs.
Now it was time for the moment of truth.
Julia slowly stood up, forceshield activated, forcing herself to meet Chris’s exasperated gaze. “How do you feel, Chris?”
Chris rolled his eyes. “Come on, Julia. We partied up! Do you really think I’d ever do anything to hurt you? I’d sooner break my own arm than hit you. Read my mind. Sense it for yourself.”
Julia peered intently at him, anxious gaze breaking into a relieved smile, deactivating her forcefield and racing forward to give her friend a big hug. “Thank god, Chris! I can’t tell you what a relief it is, knowing you’re not going to turn into a bloodthirsty lunatic.”
Chris chuckled softly. “Feel better? Good. Now how about we take these cuffs off? You know I wouldn’t do shit to Val, no matter what some asshole offered me. He’s a friend. Besides, wild as his plan is, him taking the throne might be the only damn leverage we have against Caesar crushing Earth under his heel.” Chris sighed and shook his head. “And I owe him my life.”
Julia flashed a mirthless smile. Val’s heart ached to see how exhausted she looked, dark circles under her eyes, soot-stained cheeks marked by all the tears she had shed not so long ago, sobbing in his arms. “Please, Chris. Just humor me. It’s been a long night.”
Chris chuckled. �
�You got that one right. I’ll just be glad to see the other side of it.”
“Me too,” Julia said, her beautiful green-gold eyes instantly snapping towards Val, his camouflage doing nothing to counter her haunting gaze. “Val, come out. Let’s test this.”
Val took a deep breath, slowly standing up, approaching the veli.
Chris’s eyes suddenly widened. He clenched his fists and jerked up on the balls of his feet, as if struggling against the urge to charge. His bemused smile was tainted by an awful hunger. But it was still Chris, that Val knew already.
“Damn, kid. You weren’t kidding! A ten million dollar bounty, my brain blazing with memories of message boards I know I’ve never seen, and a part of me wants nothing more than to claim that prize.” His chuckle turned bitter. His face twisted in a snarl, powerful muscles straining against his cuffs. "If that mind-fucking Highlord was here right now, I'd rip his head off myself!” He swallowed and looked away.
“I’m sorry, Val. But if it’s hitting me this strongly, and that’s even with us partied up, even with our shared origins… shit. You don’t dare bring anyone along who isn’t from Earth, who isn’t already someone you’d trust with your life.”
Val nodded, slowly approaching the vehicle, feeling the swaying grasses brush against his feet. “I know. You’re a good man, Chris, and in any other circumstances, I’d want you by my side in a heartbeat. I just have one question. Can you keep it together? That hunger you feel. Be honest. In the middle of the night, all of us sleeping in a cavern or an abandoned field… do you think you’ll be able to resist?”
Chris paled. Haunted eyes gazing into his own. “Shit. I just don’t know, man. I want to say you’re an ass for even suggesting it, but I just don’t know.”
Val closed his eyes, holding back a sigh. His eyes were filled with warmth when he opened them a heartbeat later. "You know what? That's okay. We can work with that. If anything, you passed a damn important test, putting my safety above the perfect image of ourselves we all cling to. You can face your own shit, so it never flies on someone else. That makes you a damn fine friend in my book.”
Chris forced a chuckle. “Damn, Val, I feel like I just stabbed you in the back, and here you are, forgiving me for committing the one act that can never be forgiven—betraying a brother in arms.”
“Bullshit!” Val snapped. “You didn’t betray anything. All you did was confirm that the curse has its grip on you too. Think of it like having a cold. Of course you keep away from your friends, so you don’t spread it. It’s not personal. The good thing is I’m the only one you gotta keep away from.”
Chris smirked at those words, before nodding thoughtfully. “Cheesy as it sounds, you’ve got a point. This is why I like having you around, Val. You keep us all honest about our own shit. Just like we do you.” A pointed stare, and Val found himself flushing for some reason. “Anyway, even if I can’t work too close, I’ll do everything I can to back up your play. Even if I gotta sort of keep you out of my sight.”
Val smirked at that. “Noted.” He caught what Julia was holding, switching the transceiver on his bike with the one she had brought along. “And with the boosted transceiver we now have, thanks to your new class skills, maybe you already have.” His gaze grew intent. “When that monster fell, his destiny slammed upon the shoulders of another. I felt it. They may not have taken many steps, but they too now walk the Path of Kings. This curse won’t rest until his entire clan has fallen.”
Val squeezed the hilt of his Psiblade. “And I’m just the bastard to make that happen.”
Chris, seated once more, gazed at Val for silent moments before slowly nodding. “Damn but I think you are, Val. So what’s the plan?”
In quiet, hushed tones, Val took the map Julia handed him and laid out his strategy, Chris nodded thoughtfully, making a handful of suggestions before slowly leaning back, flashing an apologetic smile. “Alright, Val. It looks solid. Now it’s time I headed back. Being here with you guys? Let’s just say I’m getting a massive headache.”
Val nodded, clapping Chris's shoulder before stepping back, Julia unlocking the cuffs before darting behind Val on his hover-blade.
“Thank you, Chris,” Julia softly said.
Chris chuckled ruefully, not even turning around to face them. “It’s bad, but I’m no one’s goddamned puppet. Don’t worry, I’ll break it down to Yin and Dirk. And with the captain’s new ability to read my mind, he’ll feel the pull just like me. And understand why we need to keep our distance. Good luck, Val. Just keep in touch. And don’t worry, I’ll get Bethany’s comm mech running again in no time with some personal customizations. By the time I’m done, we’ll be able to keep in touch better than any of these clueless Dominion bastards. Just you wait!”
“Good,” Val said. “Have Christine and Lucius salvage every last one of these wrecks. As soon as I get this curse off my back so people aren’t trying to constantly kill me, I’ll see what I can do about doubling our battle-mech forces. And just so you know, there’s a kid tied up near where I took out Tiberius. He’s from Earth, like us. Playing the game to help out his family. He got hit with the curse too. Hopefully he’s still alive, but...”
“I understand. There was only so much you could do for him with an entire damn army at your back. I gotta go, Val, before I do something really stupid. Take care, bro, and keep us posted!”
With a final wave, Chris tore away from them, as if desperate to get as much ground between himself and Val as he could.
“Julia...” So much said with that one word. The fierce love and regret he both felt at that moment.
“Don’t, Val. I already know.”
Val felt his cheeks burn.
“I’m not going to lie, it really, really hurt when I first found out. But we’re not on Earth, you’re not some stupid boy who plays with girls’ hearts like it’s nothing.” Eyes blazing with sudden heat seared his own. “I know the man who pierced my heart. Your bravery, your darkness, how savagely you fought just to save my life tonight, calling upon powers I can’t even fathom, all so I could have a fighting chance of survival.” Tears flowed freely down her face as her hand reached up to touch Val’s cheek. “And unlike on Earth, where a girl never knows, here I can feel your love burning for me. To protect and cherish me.”
She swallowed, gazing back at the manor now some distance away. “Mother explained it all, you know. The hot passions that rule our tribe, how quickly we form bonds and connect, how men like you rarely have a single lover. Or wife.”
Val could bear it no more. He wrapped her in his arms, holding her tight. "I love you, Julia, with all my heart. Whatever mistakes I make, however I fuck up, I swear that's true, with every fiber of my being."
A fiercely tense Julia forced herself to relax, holding his gaze with her own. “I know, Val. I feel your love blaze like a furnace. That’s why I was able to forgive you. I understand.”
Val shuddered with relief. “Thank god.”
Soft lips pressed against his own. “But you don’t get to be with any girl I don’t approve of. Are we clear, Valor Hunter?”
Val’s eyes widened before her wry smile.
“I avoided dating in my senior year because I was tired of getting hurt, Val. Not because I was a saint. I know what it’s like to fall in love with the captain of the football team and the prom queen both. And I know what it’s like to get your heart torn out by both of them. So I gave all that up.” Julia swallowed. “Then everything changed in ways so terrible, so wonderful, I still wake up in awe every day.” She chuckled softly. “And at least now I can read people’s minds. At least now I know if an admirer likes me for me or is just looking for an advantage. And I can feel my imperfect boyfriend's love blazing like the sun. Especially when he risks his life over and over again to save my sorry ass. So if you think I’m going to just give you up for being stupid and let Angelica and Bethany snatch you for themselves, you’ve got another thing coming!”
Val was speechless, just holdin
g his love so tightly to him, fighting futilely against the tears running down his cheeks.
“It’s going to be okay,” Julia whispered, squeezing him back. “Somehow, we’re going to get through this. But for now, all that matters is breaking that curse and keeping the man I love alive. So let’s get back on the bike, lover. We’ve got a long night ahead of us.”
Val smiled, gazing at the twinkling stars overhead, so much brighter than Earth’s own, even with beautiful Phoebe shining in all her glory. A world of billowing white clouds, green continents, and vast deep oceans. Jordia’s ancient twin.
He gently squeezed the throttle of his hover-blade till its rumble became so high pitched it couldn’t be heard at all, and they slipped free of Highblood Province without making a sound. Just a pair of shadows in the night, with the entire world now eager to shoot Val on sight the moment they recognized his face, the curse pulling his body free of Shadowmind.
But it would not stop him from doing exactly what his foes would least expect a crippled Dauda to do. With features concealed, he had every intention of striking back at his foes, even if he and Julia would be forced to lead the assault on their own.
Two young hybrids daring to take on an entire planet, and Val would do all he could to see it through to the bitter end.
Victory or death. There would be no middle ground, no quarter given. He knew that already.
But at that moment, riding through the night with Julia’s arms wrapped around him, the air smelling of wildflowers and endless fields of grass, he had never felt so happy, so free in all his life.
The game of kings and thrones had begun in earnest, with a hidden jack upon the board.
And Val was determined to win.
--- End of Book 4 ---
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