‘Did you get the shard?’ Jezz asked me, and I pulled it out for her to see.
“I have no words…” Gerald stuttered, its celestial luster reflecting in his beady red eyes.
Jezz changed back into her humanoid form and took the shield from me, the ice wolf in absolute awe. “I can’t believe this…” her voice broke, tears falling down her cheeks. “We are only one crystal away from salvation…”
“We’re almost there…” I reassured her. “We can do this…”
“Mayes?!” someone behind us cried out, one of the mage girls named Ecara dropping to her knees at the sight of her friend splattered on the ground. “W-what?! W-why?!”
My heart sank, feeling the weight of her pain and loss. After Jezz handed me back the shard and I tucked it in my safety box, I walked over to her and placed a hand on her shaking shoulder. The ground beneath us continued to shake, but I couldn't leave her like this.
“I'm so sorry for your loss,” I said, trying to find the right words to comfort her. “We tried to keep all of you safe, but the titans were—”
“The fae council…” she sobbed, “Those weren’t titans, those were phony manipulative tyrants trying to play god!”
Her response took me by surprise. For a second there, I thought she was going to blame us for his death.
“This place is about to come down on us!” Red shouted, and I helped the woman up.
“We have to go now. Jezz will take us someplace safe. I promise.”
She looked around, her head stopping at the sight of Gerald helping the rest of her unconscious friends out. He plucked one up but Red and I had to help him with the other two. After tossing the other girl over my shoulder, Jezz gathered us around, and we teleported out.
Being on the other side of the sub realm felt super rewarding. Even though we did have a few casualties, overall, we did a fucking amazing job together. The other mages began to stir awake, and we explained to them what had happened. It was pretty difficult omitting the whole having the crystal shard, especially seeing as they knew what they were protecting when the titans had mind-controlled them.
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us,” the redhead Ecara said with a half-smile, still mourning over Mayes’ death. “After all, you saved our lives.”
“Are you sure you can find the dragon shard? The dragon kingdom is the strongest kingdom in Thalian,” Gregot, the tallest of the four, said.
“We need to. Our world depends on it.”
“I can’t believe Thalian is dying,” Zessi, the shortest of the four, whimpered. “I knew something wasn’t right! I just knew it! HO was feeding us lies!”
“That’s nothing new,” Koem, the brawnier of the four added. “The fae council will pay for their crimes against our nation. The lies, the manipulation, all of it!”
“We are soldiers of the Kyruz branch,” Ecara followed, “the branch with the most powerful influence in all of our sectors. We are held with high regard and respect, and if we funnel the truth of Thalian through the right channels, we can open people’s eyes to this sickening delusion and help those who are suffering from our dying world.”
“Instead of ignoring the signs,” Zessi piggy-backed in her perky voice.
“Maybe then, people will start to lose faith in the council,” Ecara sighed. “It will take time.”
“It’s better than doing nothing,” I reminded her.
She looked up to me with a genuine smile. “I still can’t believe an actual human protected a bunch of warrior fae. Pinch me, I must be dreaming. OUCH!” She jumped, snapping her head at Jezz who stood there with a cheeky grin on her face.
“What? You said to do it!”
Ecara looked at her guilt-ridden. “I hope you’re not still upset about me attacking you. You know it was an accident, right?”
“Sure,” Jezz said with a pouty face. “Accident.”
“Seriously?”
Jezz flat-eyed her. “I dunno, looked like you were enjoying yourself back there.”
“Trust me, I’m not an asshole! Just ask Koem, Zessi, and Gregot!”
Gregot strummed his chin in thought. “Now, define asshole…”
Ecara tossed him a playful punch in his arm and Koem laughed. “Well, we should really get to work then, shouldn’t we?” He offered me his hand and I took it, his grip strong. “We can’t thank you enough for this. It’s a lot to chew on, but we are strong. We’ll heal.”
“It’s nice to meet people who are also open-minded to the idea of unity.”
“We’ve suffered a great deal. It’s time we move toward universal peace.”
“I couldn’t agree more. I hope to see you and your team soon.”
“Heh, maybe sooner than you think.”
++++
We parted ways with Koem’s squad, and then Jezz teleported us to Remlus, an abandoned port town in Senterria. She had a checkpoint there that had been ransacked not too long ago, but it was still a good temporary place for Red and Gerald.
“I know someone who could stitch you right up,” I reassured the titan guard, “but Madeem would have to be teleported into the badlands.” This was a precautionary step. Even if Gerald had saved us big time, his reputation followed him. Prism Point would not welcome him as a hero of Senterra. “I hope you don’t take it any type of way. It’s just that our people wouldn’t be as understanding about your—”
“There’s no need to explain, I understand.” He nodded.
I snickered. “You were savage today, Gerald. In a good way. You saved our asses.”
