Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
T he sky was devoid of any clouds, a perfect watercolor blue. I stopped only a few feet outside Uncle Thrainn's front door, taking in a mouthful of fresh air. It was so beautiful out here.
A brisk walk carried Sebastian and I through the streets of Ophelia, as we headed toward the center of town. Olag usually told his stories from the same place every day; a small rock wall in the middle of town, next to the apothecary.
Usually, the air was coated in a muddle of different herbs, today was no different. Rosemary smothered the air, itching the inside of my nose and making me sneeze.
As I rounded the corner I was inundated with a throng of children, sitting around a wiry old man, who had started to grey and thin out on top. He had a small frame, wrinkled with age and doubled over in a hunch.
Every child who sat around him was wrapped in every word from the old storyteller’s mouth. I came to a stop behind them, grateful that I hadn’t missed him for the day.
Whenever I came to town, I sought out the storytellers or passers who had a tale to wield. The stories and legends of old enticed me. Bards of battles, epics of fighters, and magnificent tales of heroism were among my favorites.
Olag usually told his stories early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Fortunately, he had only just started. Not that it would’ve mattered–this story I’d heard a million times before.
Truthfully, I doubted there was even one of Olag’s stories I hadn’t heard before, however, this one was my favorite.
“Who here has heard of the tale of Agertheria?” Olag’s voice was resonant and strong, despite his fragile demeanor.
A girl no more than six piped up enthusiastically, her hand stretched toward the sky. “It’s the story of the long-lost princess.”
“Ah yes, Gail, you’re right. I’m about to tell you the story of the long-lost princess.”
I rolled my eyes.
Ever since I heard the story of Agertheria when I was a little girl, no more than three, I’d fallen in love with it. However, not in the same way as the other young girls.
Each of them had pretended to be the long-lost princess. Convincing themselves that they would one day reunite the kingdom when they finally took the throne. I, however, was spellbound by the conquest, bravery, and heroism of the warriors. Nevertheless, I always loved hearing it.
Olag started, leaning his body forward and dropping his voice for effect, “Just under twenty years ago, we were all still under the rule of one great kingdom. Not just us but the fearsome Western Warriors, the untamed beasts of the west.” Not a sound could be heard in the small gathering as Olag mentioned the Western Warriors.
For our people, the Western Warriors were almost legends, both feared and revered for their violent upbringing that molded them into creatures that were more like predators than humans.
“Agertheria was a kingdom in which no one dared challenge,” Olag began, his voice low and sonorous, carrying easily across the clearing. “With a King and Queen who were respected and loved by all their people. For generations, the Agertherians and the Western Warriors lived in harmony, joined together in peace and prosperity.”
The stillness shaped the air around him, commanding attention the way only a master story wielder could. Even the mist curling around his boots painted him in reverence, framed by the skeletal arms of leaf-bare trees.
“With a kingdom so full of joy and an unyielding love for their leaders,” he went on, stepping forward slightly, “no one ever thought their rule would turn to ruin. But alas, it is an all-too-human trait to strive for our own personal rise to power, regardless of the consequences and havoc it will cause others.”
He paused, eyes glinting beneath his hood, then slowly began to pace—slow, measured steps through the dew-damp grass, his hands clasped behind his back, cloak trailing lightly over the ground.
“Spiteful that an Agertherian King and Queen had the gall to rule over the Western Warriors, a warlord by the name of Crixus rose an army like Agertheria had never seen.”
A few children leaned in. One of the younger boys tugged his knees to his chest, eyes wide.
“For the first time in over two centuries, Crixus was able to breach the unbreachable castle and take it for himself, obliterating the Agertherian armies in a sea of blood.”
A little girl in the front row whimpered before bursting into tears. Her shoulders trembled as she scrambled to her feet and ran to her mother, who lifted her without a word and pressed a kiss to her crown.
Olag didn’t acknowledge the interruption—his voice steady, unwavering.
“Crixus was ruthless. With not a shred of mercy, he killed every man, woman, and child that stood in his path.”
He let the silence hang—sharp, deliberate, calculated. Even the birds seemed to still, as if the forest itself leaned in to listen.
“Upon breaching the castle, he captured King Kailen and Queen Thia, dragging them through the streets before publicly killing them while their citizens watched—powerless.”
A hush rippled through the circle, a collective shiver threading through the crowd. I swallowed against the tightness in my throat, my fingers curling in the fabric of my cloak.
“Blinded by ambition, Crixus made one fatal mistake,” Olag said, his voice deepening. He turned slowly, gaze sweeping across us like a blade.
“He failed to see that the King and Queen gave themselves up willingly—sacrificing their lives so their newborn daughter could be smuggled to safety before he could claim hers.”
Goosebumps prickled across my skin. The implication of that sacrifice struck me like a blow. They’d suffered a fate worse than death... all for a daughter they’d never see again.
“It was foretold,” Olag continued, his voice soft now—almost reverent, “that in the child’s nineteenth year, she would rise again. She would reunite the Agertherians and the Western Warriors when she took her rightful place as queen.”
The air thickened around me, catching in my lungs. A murmur moved through the group like wind through grass. Some children gasped. Others sat utterly still.
“Crixus was so afraid of the prophecy,” Olag said, pivoting back toward the center, “that he sent his men across the realm to hunt and kill any girl who might be the Princess of Agertheria. All while hiding behind the walls of his stone fortress—untouched. Unbeaten.”
He drew in a slow breath, shoulders rising with the weight of the memory.
“Especially since the Western Warriors and our people had become divided again, each claiming their own God, their own laws.”
He stilled now, folding his arms, voice heavier.
“The Western Warriors believe Noctharis to be the true ruler of the Gods. While Agertheria worships Elessandria, the one true Goddess. But a formidable army could never rise while we warred amongst ourselves.”
The quiet held. Even the breeze seemed to falter.
“Seventeen long years after the King and Queen’s fall, a new warrior emerged. Born of the West, but fueled by something far deeper.”
He stepped forward again, brow furrowed in shadow.
“His name was Oryx. And his only purpose… was to destroy Crixus. He trained for years. Waited. And when the moment came, he struck.”
“Revenge… for what?” a boy with shaggy curls blurted, his voice cracking the stillness.
Olag turned to him slowly, eyes gleaming with something darker, and took a haunting step closer.
“Crixus took the life of the woman Oryx loved,” he said. “And from that day on, Oryx swore that he would be the one to end him. To liberate Agertheria.”
The boy’s mouth parted, but no more words came.
“Did he win?” he asked finally, barely above a whisper. “Did Oryx defeat Crixus?”
A roguish smile curved Olag’s lips—half truth, half legend.
“No one knows the details,” he said. “Only that Oryx emerged victorious. The only rumor that remains is that he breached the fortress without a single casualty. That he stormed the castle before Crixus even realized he’d been attacked.”
A hush deeper than before rippled through the circle.
“Does that mean Oryx is King now?”
A whimsical laugh—lighter than it should’ve been—escaped Olag’s throat.
“Agertheria has not had a ruler since Crixus fell. Oryx disappeared—vanished like smoke. Some say he died. Others believe he walks among us still, biding his time.”
“What about the princess?” a girl with golden ringlets asked, her voice small and filled with awe.
Olag turned toward her, crouching low, knees creaking slightly as he met her gaze. The morning light caught the worn lines of his face, sharpening the gravity of his expression.
“She’s never been found,” he said gently. “But they say she’s out there. And that one day, when the time is right, she’ll return to the throne—and peace will come again.”
He stood slowly, breath clouding in the cool air.
“Others whisper that the Goddess Elessandria hid her away in Elinthia, behind gates no man can breach. Waiting for the day the prophecy comes true.”
I was so immersed in the story that I didn’t hear someone come to a halt behind me until a finger gently tapped on my shoulder, a familiar voice accompanying it.
“Hey.” Maalikai’s piercing eyes sent my stomach roiling viciously.
“Hey.” I could almost feel Sebastian roll his eyes next to me.
I cleared my throat and stepped away from Olag as he started to tell his next story about an ancient set of twins, a boy and girl, who rewrote the history of Agertheria some eons ago and used magik to save the realm–another favorite of mine.
“Soo…” Sebastian dragged out the word for effect, following after us as we broke away from the crowd. “What’s up?”
He was trying—Gods, he was trying —to sound casual. Like he wasn’t unraveling slowly behind his easy tone.
But it was all wrong.
Too tight.
Too stretched.
The kind of voice someone used when they were holding something in so tightly, they didn’t trust what would happen if they slipped, even for a second.
Maalikai looked between the two of us. “Thrainn said everything is safe. We’re allowed to teach Emylia how to make a bow.”
My mouth gaped. “Are you serious?”
I absently fidgeted with the green thread on my dress, wishing I could rip the whole damn thing off and go hunting in Aelinthian Forrest.
Miniscule crinkles creased the side of Maalikai’s eyes as he smiled. “Yep, they finished examining the wreckage in Mera a couple of hours ago.”
“Any signs of the warlord?” Sebastian was all business, arms crossed against his chest.
Maalikai shook his head. “Nothing. They must’ve headed north. Ophelia is so far south that maybe they decided not to bother with it. But Mera… it was razed to the ground. I’ve suggested to Thrainn to search the mountains.”
“You think they’re hiding in the cliffs?” Sebastian murmured, looking pensive.
“Or beneath it.” He added without inflection. “Everyone except for the man who made it here, was killed. There is no sign of where they fled, so that’s what I’d put my money on.”
“Damn it,” Sebastian spat out.
We all stayed silent, considering the horrors they could commit if they were successfully hiding in the mountains.
This was a game changer.
And certainly not to our advantage.
Sebastian was the first to interrupt our dark thoughts. “Well, let’s go make a warrioress out of her then.”
He sent me a sideways glance. No doubt he was gloating about his new nickname for me if I knew him well enough.
Which I did.
Not wasting a second, I followed my two bodyguards through the streets until we reached the stables.
Calling over his shoulder, Sebastian beckoned to a man almost a decade older than himself. “
Watch her; don’t let her out of your sight. I need to talk to this one while we saddle the horses,” he commanded, authority oozing from him like he was born to be a leader.
“Seriously? An actual bodyguard?” My face twisted in disgust.
“If you could be trusted to stay put, maybe I wouldn’t have to give you one,” he retorted. I poked out my tongue in a juvenile outburst. “Wait here, while we get the horses.”
“Fine,” I conceded.
My ‘bodyguard’ made himself busy near me, but not too close to be in my space. He was probably on strict orders not to piss me off. Which was probably more for his sake than mine.
“Hi, Emylia.” My heart dropped. Slowly, I turned around wishing I could somehow turn invisible.
“Josephine, Evie, what a surprise.” I should’ve known wherever Maalikai or Sebastian were, that they wouldn’t be far behind.
“Where’d Maalikai and Sebastian go?” Josephine asked, no doubt already knowing the answer. No doubt, she just wanted to get under my skin.
She looked radiant today in a cornflower blue dress, that hugged her figure and was belted low on her hips. “Nice dress,” she added, looking me up and down like I was a plague on society.
I internally grumbled. The green dress I wore was nice, but I never went out of my way to make sure I kept my dresses presentable, so wrinkles crinkled almost every inch of the dress I wore.
“Into the stables; we’re going for a ride.” I didn’t dare tell her where or why.
Josephine’s neurotic smile fell for the briefest of seconds before returning in full force. “It’s kind of sad isn’t it, Evie?”
Sighing, I chose to take the bait. “What’s that?”
“That Emylia thinks she actually has a chance with Maalikai or Sebastian.” She turned to face me, no longer pretending to speak to Evie. “Maalikai looks at you once and you think that you’re special. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re not.”
I didn’t have the time or patience for this; I just wanted her to get straight to the damn point. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m not sure what Maalikai’s perverse obsession with you is at the moment but let me tell you something. One, it will be fleeting at best. And two, if I can’t win him over, there is no way in Nexus you would ever have a chance. And don’t get me started on Sebastian, if you haven’t swayed him to be with you yet, you’ve got no chance.”
Josephine struck an invisible wound I’m sure she wasn’t aware of. Her words fortified the festering self-worth issues that refused to leave me alone.
I did the only thing I could think of; pretended like it didn’t obliterate my soul.
“I’m not sure if you know this, but not all of us try to fuck every hot guy that looks our way.”
A carefree laugh escaped her. “Oh, I’d forgotten. Not a single guy has looked your way before, have they? That’s why you’re still a virgin, right?”
Red stained my face, my skin burning in embarrassment. There was no way she could know that for sure. Not unless Sebastian had spilled my secret, and he’d never do that to me. She was bluffing, but I was struggling to hide my mortification.
“Oh my gosh, I was just joking; but it’s true, isn’t it?” Her laughter rippled like a siren’s song, laced with the madness of a banshee and the bite of a Goddess scorned.
I opened my mouth to say something, but I had become completely lost for words.
Sebastian and Maalikai took that moment to saunter back into view. A relieved breath slipped from my lips, yet unease coiled in my stomach, twisting with the fear that Josephine might reveal her new discovery.
And that would be beyond mortifying.
“Hi, Josie. Hi, Evie.” Sebastian gave them both a wave as he stopped next to me, Maalikai beside him, wearily watching the two women like they were savage beasts.
Closing my eyes, I prayed to all the Gods that neither of them had overheard our conversation, but I doubted I was that lucky.
The sweetest of smiles lit up Josephine’s gorgeous features as she turned to Maalikai. “Hi, Maalikai.”
“Are we interrupting?” Sebastian asked cautiously.
“No, not at all. You guys have fun, but I seriously doubt Emylia knows how to do that.” Neither Josephine nor Evie waited for a response, instead, they left, their heckling laughter the only thing remaining.
When they were out of earshot, Maalikai turned to me. “Everything okay?”
All I managed was a nod. A rather pathetic nod.
He wasn’t having any of it. Taking a step forward, he cupped my cheek, forcing me to look straight into his soul-embracing eyes. “You can tell me.”
Taking a deep breath, I forced the whirlwind of hurt to stop churning in the deepest recesses of my stomach. It wasn’t Maalikai’s fault I was feeling like this.
It was mine.
I’d known that I’d never really had a shot with him nor Sebastian. There was no tangible reason why either of them would be interested in me. But some slither of hope had let me believe that there was something between us. For some unknown reason, probably Sebastian talking me up, I felt like they actually saw me. And, somehow, deemed me worthy.
But Josephine was right, I wasn’t worthy. Deep down, I’d always known that, but in this moment, it was soul-crushing.
Maybe it was because I wanted it so much, or maybe it was because I was sick of being nothing to everyone. Or maybe my soul was craving something more.
Either way, I couldn’t stand staring into Maalikai’s perfect midnight blue eyes and feeling nothing short of inadequate. And the worst part?
Knowing exactly how much it was tearing Sebastian apart.
“I’m fine.”
We both knew he didn’t believe me, but he didn’t push it.
“Come on, you two, or do I need to chaperon?”
I gave Sebastian a piercing glare.
Ignoring me, Sebastian offered me Stormfire’s reins. “You ready?”
I nodded.
But in that moment, I felt anything but ready.