Realm of Monsters - Chapter 730: Secret Gambit

Chapter 730: Secret Gambit

  The royal guest beds of Morrigan Castle, rather, Lunae’s castle, were much softer than the accommodations that Lord Corvus had given them. Too soft, if they asked Stryg. Still, there were some advantages. 

  Stryg lay with Tauri on the bed of feathers and silken sheets, their naked bodies entwined. He had his arm wrapped around her body as she nestled close to him, her head on his shoulder, and her leg wrapped around his own.

  He stared up at the ceiling, noting the accurate display of stars painted all across it. Lunae must have chosen this particular room for him on purpose.

  “What are we going to do?” Tauri whispered as she played with his silver hair.

  “Hm?”

  “Undergrowth and Frost Rim. What are we going to do to stop them?”

  “Right…” It was the question Tauri had asked him after he had told her about his conversation with Lunae. He had none. No plan. No strategy. Only questions and a mounting stress that threatened to swallow him whole. Tauri had picked up on his anxiety and had taken him to bed to relax. While it had worked, it hadn’t gifted him any ideas.

  Now, here she was, asking him the question once more. 

  “Stryg…?”

  “Yeah?”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “That star is slightly off.”

  “Huh? What are you talking about?”

  “That one. Right there,” he pointed at the ceiling. “It should be about a finger-width to the left.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “What do you mean, how do I—? It’s obvious. Just look at it.”

  “I am, sweetheart. And it just looks like another star to me.”

  “…Huh.”

  She pushed herself up on her elbow and glanced down at him, staring into his lilac eyes. “Sometimes I wish I could see the world like you do. Your mind is so different from ours.”

  “Is that a bad thing?”

  She leaned back down and snuggled a tad closer. “No. I like that about you. You’re nothing like the nobles back home.”

  “I’m not really like the goblins back where I come from either.”

  “Yeah. You’re crazier than any of them, noble or goblin.”

  “Okay, now I know you’re insulting me.”

  Tauri grinned. “It’s payback for biting me.” As if to prove her point, she bit him on his cheek.

  “Ow.” He played along and winced. “I think you broke something.”

  “It’s just a love bite, you big baby.”

  “Then maybe I should give you one,” he bared his fangs in a hungry smile.

  “Stryg, no.” Tauri flicked his nose. “I am covered in like a dozen bites already.”

  “So, what’s one more?”

  “No.”

  “Come on, it’s not like I bit you that hard. There was no blood this time.”

  “You almost exclusively bit my ass. Do you know how hard it is to sleep face up when your ass is covered in bitemarks?” She poked his eye.

  “Ow,” Stryg winced.

  “Come on, it’s not like I poked you that hard. There was no blood.”

  “Yeah, but it’s still bothersome— Ooh, I see what you did there.”

  “Yeah.”

  “…I could heal you with magic, if you’d like?”

  “No, don’t bother,” Tauri sighed. 

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. I know you like leaving bitemarks on me.” 

  Stryg had never said that out loud, but he supposed it did give him satisfaction to see his mark on her lovely crimson skin.

  “Gale told me it’s something vampires like to do with their lovers. I don’t really get it, but if you’re into it, then I’ll leave them.” Tauri crossed her arms, “Don’t know why they all have to be on my ass, though,” she mumbled.

  “I love you.” He kissed her.

  “You better.”

  “Also, I am not a baby.”

  “What?” Tauri laughed.

  “You called me a big baby. I’m not a baby.”

  “Your mom thinks so.”

  “Yeah, well, she’s over 2,000 years old. Maybe way more. I don’t know.”

  “We must all look like babies to the gods, huh?” Tauri mused quietly.

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Stryg?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you feel more like one of them or more like us mortals?”

  The question reminded Stryg of Lunae’s words. Be a god.

  “I don’t know. I guess I feel like me. My whole life, I didn’t want to be different. But I am. And I’m alright with that,” he admitted.

  Tauri closed her eyes and interlaced her fingers with his. “So am I.”

  “Did I ever tell you I love you?”

  “Not that I can recall.” She smirked, eyes still closed.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  They stayed in comfortable silence, the cool winds of the summer evening flowing through their open window. Her skin was warm to the touch and he found himself tracing his fingers over her back, simply enjoying her presence.

  “Stryg?” Tauri whispered.

  “Yeah?”

  “What are we going to do about Undergrowth and Frost Rim?”

  “….I don’t know.”

  “Whatever you decide, we’ll do it together.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Get some rest.”

  The hours of the evening slipped by, but sleep evaded Stryg. He listened to the quiet breaths of his lover as she slept. Dreams offered an escape from the present. That was the problem. He was done running away from his past or present.

  Ideas ran listlessly through his mind, falling from one problem or another. The two armies marching towards Hollow Shade threatened to destroy the city. Even if individuals like Holo and Atlas defended the city, many would die.

  There was one option that Stryg kept circling back to. One he refused to truly contemplate. The Astral Light. Holo and Melantha had warned him not to use it. He had no control over the Light. He could not wield it. Even summoning such destructive power could kill him. It had killed the few children who had been lucky enough to have inherited the gift. Or unlucky enough, depending on how one saw it. 

  Yet, unlike his long-dead siblings, Stryg had survived igniting the Astral Light once. Melantha had warned he wouldn’t be so lucky the second time. But he wasn’t the same person from back then. He had found a new control over his powers. A very limited amount of control, he hated to admit.

  Was it enough?

  Did it have to be?

  If it meant protecting all the people he had come to care for in Hollow Shade, would he ignite the Astral Light? He thought of Kamilo and the orphans of Cinderbrood. Of his mother and the Gales. Of Plum and his other friends.

  Would he destroy thousands in order to protect them?

  The answer was emphatically yes.

  “There has to be another way,” he sighed quietly.

  Stryga’s memories had shown him the cost of such obliteration. The destruction left in its wake would ripple across all the Ebon Realm. Was that the sort of god he wanted to be? One of destruction? Of Death?

  The idea didn’t sit well with him. If he had to kill, he would. It hadn’t come to that. Not yet. This was something else. This was a choice. One he didn’t know the answers to.

  Before he knew it, the night had disappeared, and the dawn had broken through the horizon. The rays of the sun washed over the city of Lunis, leaving its sapphire stonework shining in a blaze of blue.

  Stryg stared at the sun, his irises and pupils widening at the radiant sight. Like a seed, an idea bloomed in his mind, taking root with every second. There was a way. Slim as it seemed. There was a choice that only he could take. One that could change everything.

~~~

  It only took a few hours to enact the beginnings of his plan. He shared a morning walk with Lunae and asked her for three things. A small ship, a map of the rivers stretching from the Silent Marshes all the way to the Dire River that flowed through Dusk Valley, and finally, a particular ancient tome. He spent the rest of his morning speaking at length with Veronica Sientia regarding the nature of Undergrowth’s nobility and the Thorn family.

  By early afternoon, Stryg and his friends were on a ship of carved ice, preparing to set sail back home. Though the Water Market and the city’s gates had been destroyed, the water levels in the lake had returned to around their usual levels. The docks had remained surprisingly undamaged.

  Stryg sat on the ship’s ledge, his feet dangling in the air, as he watched the city of  Murkton— no, Lunis, sprawled across the horizon. How he wished to stay and live in the city of his ancestors. To connect with his history in a way that had been denied to his people for centuries. Someday, he would return. He promised himself that.

  “You know,” Freya said, staring at the icy hull with skepticism. “We could always sail in the Dragon’s Hoard instead. I already sent word to the ship. With the Sylvan having secured the main river routes, the Dragon’s Hoard could be here by sunset.”

  “We don’t have time to wait, Freya. We need to get home as fast as possible,” Stryg said.

  “Exactly. The Dragon’s Hoard is fast. Even if we had to wait a few extra hours, my ship would make up for loss of time with ease. You know that. Why do you think we managed to even get to Murkton in time?”

  “You’re right. The Dragon’s Hoard is fast and we wouldn’t have gotten this far without your help. But this ship is the fastest vessel we’ve got.”

  “Faster than my ship?” Freya kicked the ice and crossed her arms. “I don’t know about that.”

  “Trust me,” he smiled.

  “Ugh, fine.” Freya rolled her eyes and turned around. “I’m gonna get a drink. Gods, I hope somebody packed a lot of alcohol.”

  “Way ahead of you,” Callum lifted a crate that jingled with the sound of glass inside.

  “Yes! The Veres and Goldelm friendship lives on!” Freya rushed over to him with a spring to her step.

  “Someone seems excited.” Tauri walked over and took a seat next to Stryg. She winced in pain and settled on standing instead while leaning on the railing.

  “They deserve to celebrate. We won,” Stryg said.

  “And now we have to go fight another battle. Sometimes I wonder when all of this will end.”

  “Soon. I promise.”

  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

  Stryg cracked a grin, “Fair enough. How’s your brother settling in?”

  “Lucas is sleeping off his injuries below deck. A lot of us were pretty hurt in the attack. Freya’s strong, so she doesn’t show it, but I think she wants to drink to take the edge off her pain.”

  “You know, I can’t say I miss healing slowly.”

  “Show a bit of compassion for us mortals.” She smacked his shoulder.

  “I’ll try— Wait, is that…?” Stryg narrowed his eyes. A figure was running down the docks at breakneck speed.

  The figure leaped the last several meters and landed on the boat in a roll, crashing into a couple of crates. The woman staggered to her feet and leaned on her knees as she took panted breaths. Her scarlet hair fell over her face, but Stryg recognized the giant woman easily.

  “Belle? What are you doing here?” Stryg asked.

  She brushed the hair from her face and grinned. “Cousin! Great to see you. I’m glad I made it on time. Let’s go, before we lose any more daylight.”

  “I thought you were staying behind with your mother,” Stryg said.

  “Whaaaat? Pfft. I don’t remember saying that,” Belle said.

  A howl erupted from the castle and echoed across the city. It sounded more like a guttural roar than a howl.

  Tauri swallowed hard. “Was that Lunae?”

  “No. It’s Bellum.” Stryg cocked an eyebrow at Belle.

  “I may have escaped,” Belle shrugged nonchalantly.

  “Does that mean the goddess of war is after us?” Kegrog asked.

  Kithina paled. “Oh, fuck me. Not again.”

  “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go. Go! Go!” Belle said.

  “Gale?” Stryg called out.

  “We’re ready to set sail, my lord,” Gale replied.

  Stryg threw himself backwards and landed nimbly on the ship. Chaos flowed from the scar on his palm and filled him with a touch of cold. He threw his arms out wide and channeled Lunae’s power. Water swelled beneath the ship. Winds swirled with life and crashed into the sails. Everyone but Stryg was jerked back as the ship shot forward.

  Stryg took one last look at Lunis before shifting his gaze to the path that lay ahead.