Slaughtering mischievous fae equaled saving the world and sparing more men who would have crossed their home. I tried telling myself that doing all of this was for the greater good, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was betraying Alzera’s will. Shit was so much easier when my days with Jezz consisted of slashing cyber monsters to the ground or killing dragon guards for self-defense. But now, I had to really get my hands dirty, and that meant killing all of the maidens and goblins and even orcs who’d stop me from reaching our ultimate goal.
Saving Thalian, saving Senterra...
Hmm, maybe I was overthinking it.
If Alzera wanted me to make ties with the nymphs, she would have given me a mission to do so.
Speaking of ties, it was important for me to keep my eyes open for Rufian. He might have tried to save me, but I had to remember he had his own agenda and reason for this partnership. And saving the dungeon core didn’t seem to be on top of his priorities list.
.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Steal the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden after killing the evil snake and burning paradise to the ground. Or maybe Rufian was the snake.
Once we reached the western half of the forest, my ankle was starting to feel better. The sight of our prize speeded my recovery, a tree loaded with fresh plums ripe for the plucking. Rufian glided over to the tree using a bed of ice to grab two of them. When his feet met the ground, he tossed me one. “As sweet as the nectar of those who guard them!”
I scoffed. “Man, I don’t even want to know what that means.”
He chuckled. “You need to learn when to live and live loosely. Now, before we lose ground, I need you to take the shield from your inventory.”
I tried not to cast a skeptical glare his way, turning my eyes down to the plum in my fist instead. My thumb stroked its smooth skin as I thought about Rufian’s request, and then thought about how easily it would be for him to take it and then dash out into those flames, leaving me here to suffocate.
“Hurry, Silas. The fire is spreading quickly,” he insisted, walking over to me with his hand stretched out.
“You need to be careful with it,” I reminded him, then looked over my shoulder left and right.
“I’m not a child, hero. I know what I’m doing.” He smiled. “Please, hand it over so I may cast the spell and secure our protection in Mavriel.”
My heart was racing. There was a stalemate, and I swear I felt a sweat drop trickle down my temple.
“You don’t trust me?” he asked, his smirk grew wider. And then he brought two hands up like he was surrendering. “Fair enough. I understand. But unless you have a better way of infiltrating enemy lines, then I suggest you review your very limited options very carefully.”
I took a deep breath and reluctantly handed him the shield from my secret box. My eyes were locked on his, studying any sudden movement on his part. Trust was such a twisted concept in Thalian. Between the spy in our camp zone and putting everything on a lying mage, I was fucked. But Rufian didn’t feed me an icy hook shot at my jaw when he took it, so, there was that.
Still, I couldn't help but feel a shiver run down my spine when his glance wouldn’t peel off of me.
When he drew the crystal shield to him, the marvel in his face grew tenfold. I could relate, the first time I met a part of Alzera-Kar in person was breath-taking for me as well. The crystal shimmered and shined in the reflection of his growing eyes, the mage grinning ear to ear.
“It’s…magnificent… a spectacle of pure power…” He traced his finger over the jagged edges, the body of the shield resembling a semi-concave stone raindrop.
“Hey, quit gawking over it and do your mumbo jumbo already,” I retorted, my nerves running high the more he studied the piece. And then suddenly the shield began to glow with a soft blue light, my body absorbing the energy emanating from it.
“I must be cautious. Activating the crystal at its fullest will put off a great wave of energy that will alert everyone in a 300 mile radius.”
“Shit! Then I don’t think you should be rubbing it like a goddamn genie lamp!” I hissed, his statement making my chest skip a couple beats.
“Don’t worry, hero. I am no amateur. I will utilize my body to serve as a channel. It’s risky, but with the proper care, I should be able to dampen her strength.”
“Using your body to tether godly energy? Into what?”
“The plum of course! Here, have a bite,” he offered, reaching over my fruit while his hand glowed with the same energy as the crystal shard. With two of his fingers on the plum in my fist, the whole fruit was swallowed in blue glowing light, fading just as fast as it came. My body felt a surge of energy, like light waves of electric currents shooting down my limbs. I wasn’t sure if that was the dungeon core responding to her own light, and if it was, I didn’t want that sensation happening again. It felt weird, even had my hair standing on their ends. My hand shuffled through my hair as I tried to ignore the awareness that came and went, like my body went on ultra-superpower saga mode for a few seconds.
I became hyper sensitive to the blood rushing through my vessels, my muscles contracting, my guts converting food into energy—yeah, no thanks.
Given that, I wasn’t sure if Rufian even knew that I’d get such a reaction, nor did I know exactly what it meant. Dormant godly essence meets pairing godly shield—hopefully the next time it happened, I wouldn’t blow up.
Rufian spoke a few lines that sounded like gibberish to me, and then nodded with a smile. “Go on then, Silas. Take a bite. It’s not like it’s radioactive or anything!”
I’d take his word for it. It did stop glowing.
That being said, I was still skeptical about the lingo he used. There was no telling if biting into this thing would leave me furry like Jezz or a monstrous hybrid like those Zangaws. I took a chance and bit into it anyway, hoping the goddess got my back if anything did fuck up. It was hopeful thinking, but luckily, Rufian stayed true to his words.
When I chewed and swallowed the juicy fruit, I felt a change in my appearance. My ears tingled, and then boom! They grew a few inches. My ears were pointed and long, and my eyesight became sharper. The world appeared more vivid, like I was seeing it in high definition.
Rufian grinned at me with content all over his beaming face. “Well, Silas, it looks like you've unlocked your elven heritage! I knew it was in you all along!”
I touched my new ears, still in disbelief. “I-I'm an actual fae?”
“Minus the ability to wield magic. The spell isn’t that good.”
The ability to change into another race without my disguise charm took some time to process. Unlike the charm, I wasn’t able to change my stats. However, I was allowed to change my name for free. Syodas Baewyn. I thought that might sound fae enough. Without abandoning my initials, I created something smooth and simple off the top of my head. Following these next few days, I needed to get acclimated with my new features. I tucked the hardware away, and embraced my new title.
Syodas Baewyn, the fae brawler.
Rufian said that not every fae was blessed with a magical path. It was rare, but they did exist. It’d have to do for now, at least until we got the book of spells.
“I wonder how Jezz would have looked, seeing as she was already a fae…” I whispered to myself, before I noticed I wasn’t done growing.
