28. Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ariella
“ F uck’s sake, you couldn’t have died already?” I blow out a long, grating breath. I shouldn’t hesitate—she will be killed by something else, if not me—but her presence reminds me too much of Isaiah. Memories flicker through my resistant mind, but I quickly shove away the thoughts and focus on Ally.
She frowns at whatever she finds upsetting about my words and pushes weakly to her feet. “That was rude…so glad to see you, too!”
“You shouldn’t be.” She smacks her cracking lips, coughing dryly. The tips of her eyelashes and brows are frosted over, creating an eerie aura around her eyes.
She scoffs, hunching into herself until she looks no more than a child. It would be so easy to leave her and allow the mountain to handle her death. Isaiah is no longer here to reprimand such considerations. Perhaps the Angel allows him to watch from the Aether realm, but why should I care? What is he going to do—resurrect himself just to tell me that I must be nicer to a woman he had a crush on?
That’s exactly what he’d do if the Angel permitted…just to annoy me.
“Listen,” Ally croaks, rubbing a hand over her throat. “I know I’m not going to live through this, but I truly just want off the mountain before I die. My family deserves to have my body.”
My forehead creases—this is the second time she’s said that. I may have let it go once, but twice is no coincidence. “Your family?” A slow nod. “How exactly did you come from the guild if you have a family?” Her eyes look to my left as she searches for an answer.
Her impassive laugh is a little too forced. “I forgot you wouldn’t even consider anyone at your guild a friend…but they’re my family.” I hum and tap on my blade, her eyes catching the movement.
“Is that why they sent you —the weakest member—to a deadly competition? Because they’re your family ? I remember you admitting similar thoughts only weeks ago…”
She shivers as her arms somehow slide around her torso further. Her voice shakes as she mumbles, “Whatever, Ariella. Can you just please wait to kill me until we’re down? It’s what Isaiah would want you to do… ”
I flex every muscle I can, if only to keep from sending the full force of my shadows over her to drain all the pathetic bits of essence resting under her skin.
If I found her , there are likely others nearby. Watching.
“Do not ever speak his name again, or you’ll be begging me for death long before we’re off this fucking mountain.” If it was possible for her skin to pale further, it would have. Quiet rage flashes in her eyes before she looks away. I nod behind her and change my grip on the blade. “Go—before I change my mind.”
There is no delay to her movements as she spins and stalks through the snow. The blizzard has calmed, the wind less biting, though I still cannot see too far ahead. I keep a good distance behind Ally, and the crunch of her footfalls identifies the amount of warning I would have before an attacker reaches me.
I fixate on the back of her head for the next hour, debating on whether saying fuck it and sinking my blade into her skull would be the right decision. I don’t—the prominent awareness of what happened the last time I said that sticks obnoxiously to every thought.
I’m unsure at what point every breath that entered my lungs turned from burning to only slight discomfort, though the possibility of being close to the bottom energizes my nerves. I twirl my blade through a hand, surveying the dull landscape around me .
My feet move before my mind registers the scream up ahead—I’d have to thank the Angel if another competitor killed Ally before I had to. But it’s not another person…I slide to a stop just behind her, rearing back to avoid stumbling over the cliff edge like it appears Ally did. She lies flat on the ground with her legs dangling over the edge as she clutches to a blade I was not aware she could use.
She tilts her head into the snow, eyes immediately finding mine. “Thanks for the help!” I truly was unaware that such mindless fools existed in this realm.
“Why in the Aether would I have helped?” She gapes at me as if I’m the ridiculous one.
I straighten as a prickling sensation skims down my neck. I flip my blade to hold the tip before stepping one foot back and flinging it at a barely perceptible shadow. Another blade zips past my head—where I’d just stood—before succumbing to the endless drop over the mountain. Forever lost.
My eyes narrow when the shadow grunts, muttering curses under its breath before marching closer. A figure with red hair and an arrogant swagger comes into view.
Jeth.
Fuck me, I do not wish to deal with this.
His dark eyes lock onto mine, a wicked smirk cresting his face. “Ah, my favorite cock-blocker!” He yanks my blade from his shoulder and tosses it to the side. “Well, only for a day…Sivara was more than willing to take your place.”
I raise a brow, keeping my voice as low as the storm will allow. “And where is my place, exactly?”
A toothy grin. “On your knees, of course,” he taunts, searching my face for any reaction.
He’ll find none.
“If I recall…it was you who got on your knees for me. Actually, I have been curious…” I saunter leisurely in his direction. “Was the healer able to repair every part of your cock? Or are you even more of a disappointment now?” His lip curls, a manic expression coating his eyes and features.
“You stupid bit—”
“Ah, ah,” I lilt, holding up a mocking finger. “You’d do well to remember the consequences of such words.” I’m sure his thighs press together, though I am too focused on his snarling face to check.
He lunges for me, swinging his arms like a crazed beast. Under normal circumstances, it would be easy to block him—but these are not normal circumstances, and my feet slip on a sheet of ice just as he reaches me. I fall back into the snow, grunting when Jeth's weight drops onto me. He snickers, and I expect him to pull out a weapon or hit me, but he does neither. Instead, he reaches for the buttons on my pants, yanking at them frantically as he mutters about the things he's going to do to my dying body. I drive my knee into his ass hard enough that he screams and use his distraction to slam my fist in the center of his throat. He chokes, scrambling to the side as jump up and run to grab my blade.
“I do not have time for your stupid games—it is too fucking cold,” I bark, grabbing his hair and dragging him to his feet. “Give the Angel my worst wishes.” He makes to grab for me, but I drop my hold on him to kick his chest hard enough that he falls off the side of the mountain. His piercing scream is the best thing I've heard in the last day.
“Oh shit,” Ally whispers as she steps next to me and peers over the edge. “Please don’t do that to me.” I almost laugh.
Strands of my hair whip around my face as a strong updraft curves over the mountain’s mouth, as if to thank us for the sacrifice.
Perhaps it will allow us to descend now.
The sun rises, the snow finally ceasing—my breath catches. I knew the Elysaran Mountains swept across days worth of travel, but I think it is impossible to imagine the kind of beauty in front of me. Ranges of summits that stretch significantly further than even the Angel could see, creating a valley where part of the river runs through. The barely peeking sun highlights opposite sides of the mountains that surround the river, their ridges blinding. I spin—each direction but one filled with the same vastness. Above, not a single cloud threatens to cover the orange morning light .
I wonder if my mother ever saw this….she always loved being outside. She’d tell me stories of grand adventures in the lands and homes resting in the clouds themselves—they were never but fables to me, but now I’m not so sure.
I clear my throat when another gust of wind stings my tired eyes, and I turn left to continue walking.
“Thank the fucking Angel,” I announce. Ally startles at the coarse sound in place of peaceful silence. I snort—as if anything about this is peaceful. I wave Ally along when she pauses to look at me, eager to finish the last bit of our journey off this merciless mountain. The rows of buildings that make up Valoria are much closer than I’d expected, so there is maybe an hour left before we reach the base.
The snow melts to jagged terrain, the muscles in my legs trembling by the last step before I drop onto the path that connects Grenport to Valoria and Meridian. I rest my hands just above my hips, greedily breathing in the significantly warmer air. I squint at the mocking sky—it’s barely morning, yet now so hot that beads of sweat slide down my neck. I sigh at the crunch of footsteps next to me. What to do with her…
“Okay, how do you—” my question ends on a gasp as sharp pain radiates through my upper arm. My blade is in my hand before I spin to block Ally’s advance, slicing deeply down her forearm. She screams and pulls back, clutching the wound to her chest .
“Really? You actually thought to try something so foolish?” I reach over my chest to pull her blade from where it impaled me, wincing at the sting.
She laughs as her teeth pull a piece of torn fabric tightly around her arm. “You truly think so highly of yourself… Valoria’s Silver Wraith is someone to be feared , they told me. She’s the deadliest, most skilled killer this realm has ever known , they said.” She cackles, sliding a handful of star blades from her pockets. “You know what I see? Someone who makes everyone else think she is this strong, fearsome assassin, but is only just a weak whore of a woman who throws herself on every royal cock she can find.” My brows raise as a giddy smile tugs at my lips—she has my attention.
“Is that so? Well, certainly feel free to kill me now, as I am too weak to defend myself.”
Someone else settles in Ally’s light eyes…no, this is the real her. The person she’s been hiding behind some feeble, idiotic mask as she feigned ignorance in everything.
She smirks. “When the king came to me with his offer, I would have agreed without the promise of a throne. Your reputation is a topic of everyday conversation in the rest of the Kingdom—the people, they’re scared of you, but they love to talk about you. It’s disgusting…so many lies spoken of your talents .
“Anyway,” she sighs, stretching her neck from side to side. “When the king asked me to get close to you before finally killing you…it was one of my happiest days. I would be the one to show the kingdom just how pathetic you actually are. Show them that your name truly means nothing; just scary stories woven by fools with nothing better to do.”
I am still stuck on one thing she mentioned. “He promised a throne?”
Her eyes brighten as if she’s been waiting to tell me her next words for so long and is giddy to finally do so. “Oh, yes…I know how much you love your pretty prince, but the king promised me his hand—and bed—for your secrets and death. And now I'm going to bring him your head.” I refuse to acknowledge the nauseating rage that simmers in my gut from the image of her in Caspian’s bed.
Fuck if I would ever allow her near him.
But… “And you believed him? You didn’t take one moment to consider why he asked you, of all the people in the kingdom, to do his bidding? You’re from a distant guild, brought to a city where no one knows you…any way you die could easily be blamed on the competition, Ally. He was never going to allow you Caspian’s hand…you were just easy to convince and even easier to rid of when he’s done with you.”
I step closer as she shifts, her forehead creasing deeply. “No,” she whispers, shaking her head. “He said I’d be the prince’s wife if I did this!”
“Did he?” A resolved nod—she’s getting angry. People make mistakes when they’re angry. “Where is the contract he had you sign? Or the witnesses to the conversation he had with you?” Another step, and she notices my slow advance this time, holding a star up threateningly.
“None of that matters! I’ll just tell—” she pauses, realization drooping her features.
“Now you get it,” I say sweetly. “Even if you were to live through this, who the fuck would believe you over the king? And even if the king admitted to saying that…who is going to force him to follow through? The Angel?
“Honestly, Ally, I thought you were dense before; but this—” I gesture to the space between us with my blade. “This is pathetic. Embarrassing.”
“Shut up! You're just bitter that he'll be mine, and I'll give him enough heirs to carry our family's reign for centuries.”
I burst out laughing, the events of the last few days quickly catching up to me. “If you truly believe I'd be upset about not being the prince's breeding tool…” I chuckle again, ducking when a star blade whizzes through the air. “You'll have to do better than that—” My words cut off when she tosses several more in succession, wincing when one scrapes the top of my leg.
She runs for me when her hands are empty, jumping to catch her legs around my waist and flip us over. We roll through the dirt, both grappling for the upper-hand—she's a significantly better fighter than she ever let on. I'm almost impressed.
My elbow flies into her jaw, my other arm growing too weak to continue much longer. I may have trained myself to heal in moments like this, but actually living it is utterly different. My focus wavers when I attempt to reach for my vital strand, allowing her several hits that she shouldn't have gotten. It's useless to attempt healing my arm right now.
She must have trained hard for this, being a more worthy opponent than anyone I've ever fought. Part of me wishes to prolong our sparring, but my faltering muscles and limbs protest such a foolish idea. I crouch as she stalks toward me again, twisting up to hurl a fist full of dirt in her eyes. I do not stop to catch my wheezing breath before I grip the hilt of my blade and slice it across her throat. She sputters, all but forgetting the pain in her eyes in favor of the mass amount of blood draining from the wound. She trips as she backs away, landing with a thud on her back and attempting to find purchase along her throat—the sweet blood too slick to be anything but helpful.
I grimace, wiping my blade along her tattered shirt. I cannot keep back a yawn and sit heavily on a rock a couple of feet away—I am so fucking tired. I should hurry back to the castle, lest my collar blows my head off for taking too long, or something else just as ridiculous.
My eyes snap to the gurgling woman at my feet, rolling when she continues to struggle for breath. I lean back on a hand and silently beg for clouds to appear .
“Would you like to know something, Ally?” I wait for a hiss of air to wheeze from her lungs and nod. “I knew you weren’t nearly good enough for Isaiah…and I am quite disappointed in myself because I would have let him have you. That man has been through so much shit that even the Angel would balk, but he deserved to be happy.” I groan when she doesn’t answer, instead twitching as her body makes one last attempt for air.
I lean forward to rest my elbows atop my knees and smirk as her eyes become unfocused. The blood leaking from her throat slows to trickles, small droplets causing ripples in the pooling beneath her neck.
“As you leave this realm, I want you to remember one thing.” I push from the rock to crouch, grabbing her chin to force her eyes on me—she likely cannot see or hear me, but that’s not my problem. “If I have even an inkling of you attempting to taint Isaiah’s spirit, I won’t even bother calling to my spectral strand. I will march right into the Aether realm, find your soul, and tear it from the Aether’s grasp. Then I’ll feed it to the first creature I cross paths with, because you are worth nothing more than a beast’s disappointing snack. Stay. Away. From. Him.” I shove her face away, feeling lighter than I have in days.