16. Blood and Bargains #2
"Thais," Aelix said, his voice tight with warning. "Stay exactly where you are."
But the largest hound was still advancing, its massive form blocking out the moonlight. I could see intelligence in those glowing eyes, an awareness that made it infinitely more terrifying than any mindless beast.
Fuck. I was going to be ripped apart by wolves before the Trials even started.
My breathing grew ragged despite my efforts to control it. One more step and those teeth would be at my throat.
I started to reach for my power?—
Marx stepped forward.
She was at my side instantly, drawing attention to herself. Slowly, she raised her hands. Her fingers curved just slightly, tracing invisible patterns in the air.
The largest hound's head swung toward her, those burning eyes narrowing.
A faint distortion permeated the air around Marx, like heat clinging to a summer road. A pungent, rotten odor wafted off her. Decay.
The hound's growl faltered. Its massive head tilted, nostrils flaring.
Marx's lips curved in the barest hint of a smile. Still silent, still motionless except for those almost-invisible movements of her fingers. But the air thickened around her, charged with a power that felt like spiders crawling over my skin.
The largest hound took a step back.
Whatever she was doing, it was working. The other hounds began to shift restlessly, their aggressive postures wavering into uncertainty. One by one, they started to withdraw, melting back into the forest as silently as they'd appeared.
But I could see the cost. Sweat beaded on Marx's forehead despite the cool night air. Her breathing had grown shallow. Whatever power she was channeling, it was taking everything she had to maintain it.
The largest hound remained for a moment longer, its burning gaze fixed on her face. Then it too turned and padded away into the shadows. And I sucked in a giant breath.
Only when the last of the glowing eyes disappeared did Marx let whatever she'd been holding collapse. She swayed slightly, one hand bracing against a nearby tree. Aelix took a sharp step toward her.
"Marx—"
"I'm fine." Her voice was hoarse but steady. She straightened slowly, wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.
“Thank you, Marx.” I managed, at a loss for words. “I thought for sure I was…”
I stood in silence for a moment.
"Well," Marx said finally, her voice carrying the faintest hint of humor. "Haven't had that many eyes on me since my last orgy."
A snort escaped me. Then another. Within seconds I was doubled over, shaking with laughter I couldn't control, adrenaline finally finding its release. My sides ached, but I couldn't stop. The absurdity of it. It was insane. She was insane.
Marx's lips twitched in what might have been satisfaction.
"Absolutely reckless," Aelix said, but his tone carried more exasperation than anger. "You could have killed yourself."
Marx agreed with a shrug. "Didn't though. And now we're all still breathing instead of decorating the forest floor."
"You’re not going to make it to the Trials if you continue to behave like this, Marxene."
Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t call me that.” She pushed away from the tree, apparently recovered from whatever toll her magic had taken. "We had a problem. I solved it. Everyone survived. What more do you want?"
Aelix ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident in every line of his body.
Marx started walking back toward the castle, leaving us to follow in her wake. But I caught the way her hand trembled as she brushed a stray lock of hair from her face .
"Is she always like that?" I asked Aelix quietly as we fell into step behind her.
"Unfortunately." His voice carried a hint of admiration. "Marx doesn't just risk her life—she gambles with it."
I watched her moving through the shadows ahead of us, silent and graceful. "What’s her deal?"
Aelix was quiet for a long moment. "Her story to tell," he said finally. "She certainly hasn’t explained any of it to me."
We walked in comfortable silence for a while, the castle's lights growing brighter through the trees.
"Can I ask you something?" I said eventually.
"Depends on the question." He smiled.
"Why do you even know this stuff? Tracking, survival skills. Why would you need to learn how to read animal tracks or move quietly through a forest?"
Aelix's laugh was warm, genuine. "Honestly?
Because I enjoy it. It's a hobby of mine—always has been.
There's something satisfying about tracking prey, matching wits with creatures that don't want to be found.
" He gestured to the forest around us. "I could simply feel the location of any animal in this wood, but where's the fun in that?
The challenge is in the pursuit. Divine senses be damned. "
I frowned, trying to understand. "But you could just... know where everything is. Instantly."
"I could," he agreed, raking his hand across the bark of a tree. "Sometimes the mortal way of doing things is more rewarding than the divine shortcut." He continued on, brushing dirt from his hands. "It has a purity to it, I suppose."
I nodded. "It's strange, thinking of the Aesymar having hobbies."
"We're not so different from mortals in some ways." Aelix glanced toward the castle, where warm light spilled from the dining hall windows. "We have interests, passions, relationships that shape us."
The way he said it made me curious. "You've known Xül a long time? "
"Since we were children, actually." Fondness flickered across his features before disappearing. "We grew up together here in Draknavor. My parents serve as counsel to Morthus, so we became close at a young age."
I waited, sensing there was more he wanted to say.
"Xül wasn't always like this," Aelix said finally. "When we were young, he was... different. Although he was always far more fascinated with research and books than experiencing the world around us."
"Ah, so that’s why he’s such a pompous ass."
He laughed. “I’d be careful speaking so candidly.”
“I’m likely dying either way.” I shrugged. “Why stifle it?”
“I suppose that’s a fair point. And I will admit, it’s refreshing seeing him unnerved by your boldness.”
“He loathes me.” I sighed, kicking a loose rock. “And the feeling is mutual.”
Aelix was quiet for a while—so long, I wondered if the conversation was over. "He hasn’t had the easiest go at it. Growing up a mortal in Voldaris was rather… difficult. At times."
"I’m sure being a prince was very taxing."
"Kids are cruel. Even more so when they’re divine."
"That's why he's so?—"
"Bitter? Cynical? Determined to isolate himself from the rest of the Legends despite his father’s desires?" Aelix shrugged.
"And what does Morthus expect of him?"
"I fear I’ve said too much already." Aelix paused at the castle gates, smiling softly. "But you might find you have more in common with the Warden of the Damned than you realize."
“Oh, I highly doubt that.”
“You know, he was forced into the Trials too.” His eyes grew almost wistful. “Olinthar refused his ascension unless he battled it out with the rest of the mortals.”
I said nothing, absorbing his words.
"Now that he’s ascended, the other heirs have started treating him with the respect he was always owed.
Of course, that would feel hollow. How could it not?
" Aelix's expression grew thoughtful. "He knows why they changed their tune. Now he’s the legitimate heir to the second largest domain in the realm. "
I let the words wash over me, but I still couldn’t find it in myself to feel sorry for the god. Not after everything he’d done. "So, what you’re saying is that he’s extremely jaded. Understood."
“You could say that." Aelix smiled sadly, looking over his shoulder. "And this is where I leave you for the night, Miss Morvaren." He turned on his heel, beginning to walk back in the direction we came from.
“Thank you,” I called after him. “For taking me out with you.”
He simply waved a response and disappeared into the darkness with Marx.
The castle corridors felt different in the deep hours of night—shadows longer, my footsteps echoing off stone walls. Exhaustion pulled at my limbs, but my mind buzzed with everything that had happened.
I rounded the corner toward my chambers and stopped short.
Xül lounged against my door, one shoulder pressed to the frame, arms crossed. He'd shed his formal jacket for a simple scarlet shirt that clung to his lean frame, sleeves rolled up to reveal the gold rings adorning his fingers. His eyes bore into me, and that infuriating smirk curved his lips.
"Well, well," he drawled, voice low. "She returns. Tell me, starling, did you learn anything useful tonight, or did you simply provide entertainment for our neighbors?"
I narrowed my eyes. "Far more useful than anything you've bothered to teach me."
"Mm." His smirk slid into a smile. "Such fire. I do hope Aelix didn't coddle you too much."
He seemed far too eager to speak with me.
I stepped closer, close enough to see the way candlelight glimmered off the rings in his braids. "What do you want? "
"Such suspicion." He pushed off from the door. "Can't a mentor check on his devoted protégé?"
"You've never checked on me before."
His golden eye glittered. "Perhaps I'm simply more subtle than you realize."
Before I could process that unsettling implication, he was moving past me down the corridor. "Come along, starling."
"Where—"
"The laboratorium." He glanced back, that wicked smile still playing at his lips. "Unless you'd prefer to stumble through tomorrow's lesson as blindly as you did tonight's tracking expedition."
I stared after him, completely off-balance. How would he even know?—
"Are you coming?" His voice drifted through the corridor, rich and all too satisfied. Like he knew with absolution that I’d obey. "Or shall I assume you've learned all you need from playing in the woods?"
Damn him. I followed.