Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The journey through Pyros had turned into endless festivities. Every town or city we reached along the river was empty, but with every new celebration that broke out among our army, the more bored I became.
This wasn’t true victory. We were planting flags and declaring sovereignty over a nation that wasn’t being defended. It pissed me off in all honesty. We were acting like pigs in a mud pen, rollicking in our own shit while never realising that we were next on the menu.
The warriors of Pyros were no meek creatures.
They were going to fight back, but Father wouldn’t listen to my ideas of leaving a full battalion at each location.
He left his shining flags with just a handful of Cascadians in each town and on we sailed as if no Pyros sword was ever going to be swung against us.
His ego was going to be our downfall if he didn’t start preparing for attack. We were underestimating the most powerful warriors of the land of fire and I’d seen firsthand what they were capable of.
There was a change in the wind at least. After a long journey north, we were closing in on the northern boundary that divided Pyros from Stormfell, Father’s self-assuredness leading us on to the land of air.
We had only truly seized a strip of land running through Pyros but Father wouldn’t listen to reason when I’d tried to encourage him to spend more time in the land of fire to claim it fully.
But he dismissed me, acting as if it was his already.
It was arrogance in its maddest form but even the word of the Void couldn’t sway him this time.
There was one small positive to be gleaned from this insane plan.
The people of Pyros may have vanished, but I was confident that the Skyforgers would meet us head on.
At long last I might partake in my first true battle and prove my prowess.
I’d been born for this moment after all, the gift of the Void in my veins only confirmation that I had always been fated for glory on the battlefield.
“Oh bother, good golly, this is a bother.”
I looked up at the voice I knew so well with a thrum of excitement, gazing over the edge of the White Mare and knocking away the Fae who had been braiding my hair with flowers.
Down among the cavalry who had been following us along the river, my dear friend Galomp was working to untie his boots where they hung from a cherry tree.
I’d know him anywhere, from his pale skin to his equally pale hair and his impressive height.
The cavalry was marching past him, war horses swerving around his large form as he tried to climb the tree and unsnag them.
A few warriors sniggered at him as they passed by, sharing looks that made my lip hook up into a snarl.
I hurled myself over the side of the ship to a chorus of gasps, wielding the river to catch me and carry me to the water’s edge. I flung myself onto the bank and horses reared up to avoid me, their riders crying out in shock as I went racing through them.
I made it to the tree Galomp was struggling to climb, grabbing hold of a branch and hauling myself up to the top where the boots were hanging, frozen in ice.
With a growl in my throat, I melted the ice with my magic, and they fell to the ground with a soft thump.
Galomp didn’t look at them though, he was staring directly at me, eyes wide and jaw agape.
“Hello,” I said brightly, so damn glad to see a friendly face. Someone who wouldn’t fawn all over me for the sole reason of my newfound power.
I leapt from branch to branch, and he climbed down too until we were standing in front of each other with a tide of war horses sweeping past us on both sides.
“Oh boy,” he gasped, then he fell to his knees, bowing low to me. “Praise the stars for our Kysharna.”
“No,” I groaned, my heart sinking at his reaction. “Kaské, please don’t.” I tugged on his arm, trying to pull him to his feet, but he wouldn’t budge.
“Quick – salute the crack of dawn,” a woman with icy blonde hair crowed, tipping a salute and nodding to Galomp’s ass. Several warriors around her followed suit, then they all broke into heinous giggles.
I stepped around Galomp as he hurriedly tugged the back of his trousers up to hide his ass crack.
“Hey,” I barked at the blonde woman, and her giggles fell dead in her mouth as her eyes found me. Perhaps she hadn’t expected to find me among their ranks, her gaze missing me before. But she sure realised who I was now.
“Kysharna,” she whispered in horror.
“I’m not your saviour, tiska.” I blasted her with water, sending her flying off of her horse, over the heads of her friends and right into the river.
Her shriek was akin to a dying cockroach and drew attention from all around.
Laughter broke out as her head breached the surface and I set my gaze on her friends.
“If anyone harasses him again – anyone – you’ll answer to me,” I growled. “Spread the word. Because I’m not afraid to have your rank stripped.”
I turned my back on their paling faces and found that Galomp had finally gotten to his feet.
“Oh boy,” he exhaled. “I am not worthy of the great Kysharna’s protection.”
“Don’t call me that, I’m just Everest to you,” I insisted, brushing some twigs out of his blonde hair.
“Miss Everest.”
“Just. Everest.”
“Oh boy.”
“And you just got promoted, Galomp. You’re now my…” I scrambled for a title. “My personal sentinel. And as my sentinel, you’ll stay with me up in the White Mare.” I tugged on his arm but he didn’t move an inch, even when I dug my heels in and leaned right back.
“I cannot,” he said with three head shakes.
“I order you to,” I said, and his throat bobbed.
“Okay then, I can. But what of Lalakin?” He pointed to the sandy mare who was tethered to another tree nearby. She was a beautiful thing, her golden colour glimmering in the light. That was no cheap war horse.
“She comes too.” I shrugged, heading back for the ship, and Galomp followed me, leading his horse to the shore where I forged a bridge of water all the way up to the White Mare.
The Fae who had been braiding my hair watched with wide-eyed dismay as I led Galomp and Lalakin on board.
I directed them to feed the horse the finest apples we had and to house her somewhere comfortable for the journey.
To punctuate my words, Lalakin shat all over the deck and let out a heinous fart.
They didn’t question my word despite the horse’s turd, and Galomp followed me like a shadow as I led him to my quarters.
It was plenty big enough for both of us, and there was a hammock strung up which I was more than happy to sleep in so he could have more space in the bed.
I released a sigh of relief as I perched on the large writing desk. “I feel like I can breathe again. Can we play a game? Or do something completely normal? Even if we just comment on the weather, anything but more praise and flattery.”
Galomp regarded me warily ,then his shoulders relaxed. “Yes, my friend. I would most enjoy that.”
I grabbed a deck of cards from the drawer and tossed a few cushions on the floor so that we could sit together. He reclined on them, taking in my quarters with interest before returning his attention to me.
“So, you are the Void.”
“I am. But I don’t want that to change anything between us. I want you to see me exactly as you used to see me.”
He tilted his head to one side. “You look very much the same, Miss Everest. Apart from the flowers in your hair. Oh, is that–” His eyebrows raised as Calcifiend crawled out from my curls. “It is your blue lizard!”
He leaned in to pet Calcifiend’s head, and the Sayer Dragon chirped happily, crawling onto Galomp’s hand and giving him a lick.
“Oh boy, I think he likes me.”
I smiled the realest smile I’d smiled in weeks. “I think so too, Galomp. So, tell me everything you’ve been doing since we parted.”
“I was with my uncle for a while, Miss uh…uh… Not miss. No miss.” He tapped his forehead. “Everest.”
My smile widened a little more. “Did your uncle receive my donkey?”
“He did indeed. He would like to thank you, M-Everest. He shall be here soon, in fact. He is following along on his strongest donkey to commend us after our victory in Stormfell. In fact, Commander Rake himself has asked me to go meet with him and lead him to us. I will be sad to miss the battle.”
“He’s part of the Magistrine, right?” I blurted, hope rising as I realised I might just have a chance to tell him of the monster.
“Oh boy, yes he is.”
“I’d love to speak to him,” I said.
“You will get your chance. I am sad I cannot stay with you. Especially as you have named me your sentinel. Oh bother, I do not like to let you down.”
“You’re not, Galomp. If you fetch your uncle, you’ll be doing me one hell of a favour anyway.”
“That is good indeed. He is most excited to meet you.”
Calcifiend clicked his tongue at me, and I met the little creature’s gaze, my heart stumbling in surprise.
It was like looking into Kaiser’s eyes, as if I was seeing into death and he was staring back at me.
I took the Sayer Dragon into my palm, lifting him high to peer deeper into his eyes.
My heart thumped at the base of my throat and Calcifiend gazed back without blinking.
I could almost feel Kaiser, like he was here in this room breathing down my neck, making demands of me, summoning heat to my flesh.
It burned, this hollow ache in my chest. This hole where my enemy’s hate had once lived. Could I declare that the hate was gone now? Was his death equal to peace?
No…not even close.
Galomp cleared his throat. “Oh boy, are you going to kiss that lizard?”
I looked up, breaking the spell that had held me like a butterfly in a jar. “What?”
“You looked rather taken with him.”