I grabbed the stick of wood and started stabbing at the corpses, leaving charred marks that resembled dragon claws. It was a gruesome task, but I had learned to disassociate myself from the gore of war. This was just another day in the life of Clave's apprentice.
Once we had finished making it look like a dragon attack, we gathered all the valuable items we could find and stored them in our inventories. As a whole, they didn’t have many sammies, but they did have some pretty cool items we could use against those HO pricks! Though as I went on about having the Order on our tail, Clave corrected me and said they weren’t associated with them. From the conversation he’d eavesdropped in between Gam and Syodas, they were just travelers looking to dismantle the Fae Council, too. But Clave had a feeling that something was off with the human. He mentioned fighting him one on one, and it wasn’t easy.
“You’ve gotten lucky, Pixie,” Clave said as Pixie recollected when she fought Syodas. “Lan was there to help you escape. Otherwise, the both of you would have been dead.”
“Please, let’s change the topic,” Pixie growled. “Just thinking of that puny human is making me sick to my stomach!”
“He used your prism to have his mage craft the locator spell, you know.”
Pixie stopped short, panic in her eyes as she padded down her collar bone, not even having realized it was gone.
And then, pure rage!
She shot her fists in the air and fumed. “FILTHY MONKEY!”
“Hey! I’m a human, too, big mama!” I pouted, Clave turning to me with a warm smile.
“Yes, that might be so, but you’re different, Lan. You’re nothing like that disgusting Senterrian.” He patted me on the head lovingly. “I’m proud of how much you’ve grown. You’re turning out to be a true fae warrior.”
“Thanks, big bro!” I grinned. “I’ll make you proud, I promise!”
“You already have, Lan.” he said, affecting a smile of pride. “But you must be exhausted. Let’s find some place to crash in Ezdalise and have some food, then rest for the night.”
“What about the troubling duo?”
“They can wait a couple hours. Even with the locator spell, maneuvering in Ezdalise won’t be easy.”
As we walked, Pixie chattered incessantly about the codex and the powerful spells it contained. Clave remained silent, lost in thought. I could tell he was thinking about his sister and the revenge he sought.
But I couldn't help myself from wondering about the human and his mage. Who were they? And why did they want to dismantle the High Order? Was there something more to their story that we just weren’t seeing?
We left the barracks a complete mess for other fae soldiers to find. As we passed the wagon, I looked down to the beheaded body of Gam and felt sorry for him. I wished he was committed to us like we were committed to him. I saw him as family too, and I thought he felt the same way about us.
Oh well…
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Lucyna
I dreaded staying in my bedroom while I healed, but the infirmary was ten times worse. It had been two nights since the goblins attacked the palace, and I was getting annoyed at my slow recovery. No amount of sun, magical fae items, or annoying doctors could help me heal faster.
After my caged fight with that aggravating mutt in the Blood Games, I had stunted my healing. So instead of going out in the field, my body insisted on rest and relaxation. Standing still wasn’t a talent I was necessarily good at. But I didn’t waste my time in these halls. I had Matissa undergo another round of torment for the fae, the second time yielding the same results. Having little progress with breaking the fae wolf, I was limited with answers to explain the unforeseeable attack. The goblins had access to a powerful weapon that could extract shards of a blood knight’s sword in the form of an explosion. I had no reliable sources and zero clue who they were associated with. Only fae and humans could become blood knights, the stronger of the two being humans.
It was then I wondered if the Senterrian hero had anything to do with this…
The idea infuriated me even more. A worthless low life like him couldn't possibly have access to such a deadly weapon.
No, not Silas. It wasn’t him.
I was being paranoid—remembering what Jezz had said to me two nights ago, I was confident that he wasn’t behind the attack. There was no reason I should doubt my deduction skills now. A low-leveled man like him wasn’t appointed a blood blade.
“The same low-leveled man I swore would never get his hands on a crystal shield…”
My breath locked in my throat before I let out an irritable sigh as my fingers raked through my ivory hair. I left my desk at the corner of my room and opened the door to my balcony, staring intensely at the full radiant moon. Do I just believe Jezz really had no idea how those goblins attacked us? Or do I go with my intuition and fabricate lies about capturing Silas to make her talk?
My next course of action was vital to the stronghold of my kingdom. If news of a bomb to neutralize dragons spread, a bomb so strong that it could weaken the dragon conclave, then other races would take notice and attempt their own variations of the same weaponry.
We’d be seen as weak, and the fae would overturn everything we’d worked so hard to build…
We’d lose our control over Guedmar, pushing us decades back.
I gritted my teeth, my body aching from the thought of us losing and my persistent wounds. Lifting the bottom of my lavender blouse, I looked down at the raw gashes that had struck me from the blast. The bleeding had stopped, but my power was still in much need of repair.
Under my breath, I cursed the existence of those forsaken goblins. If only my father would have listened to reason, then my operation wouldn’t have come to an unforeseeable halt.
I hate wasting precious time… The world feels like it’s crumbing underneath my feet, and I’m over here burning hours away…
My mind raced with questions and doubts, until I heard a soft knock on my door. “Come in,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
In walked Matissa, her long jet black hair falling over her shoulders like a raging waterfall. She bowed in my presence, holding something in her hands. “My lady,” she said almost ashamed, before she lifted her head up and gave me that look I hated so much.
The look of a horse needed to be put out of its misery.
“How are you feeling?” she asked as she approached me, concern written on her face.
“Like a prisoner in my own body,” I grumbled, propping myself up on my elbows along the railing.
Matissa smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “Well, I come bearing good news,” she said, holding up a small vial filled with a glowing blue liquid. “I had one of the arcane fae prisoners whip this up for you.”
