CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX #2
Maybe the silence was what we needed. A calm reflective time to face the havoc of war.
It was calm, I knew, that would always come before a storm, but I hoped the storm would work in our favor.
There was too much loss in my life and the lives of the realm’s people to endure more, especially at the hands of a tyrant.
“One last game before the end?” Calvin finally asked, sending a jagged crack into the silence.
“It will not be our last,” Noctis assured confidently at my side.
“Two armies against seven of us? I think it is safe to assume that we will not be walking away from this,” Calvin joked, but it fell short.
“I’ve demanded and came out brilliantly on top of battles where the odds were more against us. Have you never learned of the Severance War?”
We all sat there quietly, not knowing of the war, so Noctis went on.
“Four thousand Illerites marched into Roscoe, preparing to blaze the entire town. Before borders were placed across the land, a vague omen was read as predicting succession, which caused a stir as the current ruler was dying. One place of land disputed the heir up for the throne, arguing the prophecy was describing in riddles someone else that was not the supposed heir.”
“Does this story get better at any point, or should I leave now?” Calvin murmured under his breath.
But Noctis ignored it. “When they marched, the one who argued against the heirship blasted the four thousand armies to cinders with flame power like Jun’s.
The prophecy? ‘With flame the crown will fall and crash, and he who cast will win the hash. The throne is theirs for if it comes, but only when you hear the war drums drum.’ That one man killed four thousand to take the throne the realm believed belonged to someone else. ”
“And the point of the story?” Calvin asked louder.
“All it takes is one, even if it is against thousands. And we happen to have a few powerful beings,” Noctis responded, looking over at me, who listened to the history with interest. “Now when he became king, he killed all of his people, but that’s a story for another time when it would be needed.”
“When would anybody need that story as a lesson?” I gasped.
“Anyway,” Calvin drawled, “the game is simple. Verity or venture. You choose one and do it. Jun, you’re up.”
Jun’s tired eyes scanned the crew, landing on Calvin. His eyebrows fell slightly looking at his friend, eyes full of sorrow. “Verity.”
“My favorite,” Calvin said excitedly. “Is it true you have never kissed anyone?”
Jun’s eyes shot open wide. “What? How would you know that?”
“That’s enough confirmation for me. Caelyn, verity or venture?”
I was terrified in all the best ways to partake in the game. Did I want my secrets out for the crew to know? But if I chose venture, I knew Calvin would require me to do something outlandish.
“Verity.”
“Tell Noctis how you really feel about him,” Calvin ordered with mischievous glee.
My head snapped toward Noctis before I could even help it. Yet, he couldn’t help the aching want that covered his face to know the answer. Words failed, my eyes pleading for him to take over.
“It doesn’t matter… well, it does matter,” Noctis fumbled his words. “But the information belongs to us.”
“Super smooth, tough guy,” Calvin laughed, but I was appreciative of the interruption.
It wasn’t that I didn’t care about him, but I didn’t want a declaration to be so opposite of intimate or seem like I only made it because we were facing death.
I made a conscious effort to put those emotions in a box, guarding them until it was an appropriate time to express them.
I had a hard time trusting and handing over my heart.
It wasn’t that long ago that I was brutally hurt by almost everyone that was supposed to care for me.
“I’ll allow it this time,” Calvin chided between squinted, scrutinizing eyes.
“Her turn.” Zahara gestured toward the titan woman who sat uncomfortably against the wooden deck. The pirate seemed eager to learn more of the towering titan who rode on her ship.
Raveeka interrupted before Noctis or Calvin could push further, almost as if she knew she kept secrets that could destroy all the realms if spoken. “Venture.”
They sat in silence for a few seconds before Calvin gave her a task.
He looked between the crew, a wry smile stretching across his face.
“Well, now I’m intrigued.” His eyes caught back on Jun, and I didn’t miss the way they flickered across his face, a lingering moment between the two.
“We can’t let you go down today untouched.
” He met Raveeka’s waiting gaze. “Your venture is to kiss Jun.”
“I’ll kill him first.”
Calvin jumped up. “Nevermind. Game over.”
Echoing war drums bounced off the waves before Brigg Isle even loomed on the horizon. The rhythmic beats rippled the ocean’s surface and synced with the frantic pumping of my heart. As Zahara’s ship approached and the island grew in the distance, clanking metal added to the horrific symphony.
I gripped the ship’s railing, silver plated armor stiffening my body after Noctis’s plea of safety.
A necessity he begged of me to use in the hours leading up to arrival.
I fought at first but gave in once he reminded me that our lives were tied together.
I knew he didn’t care as much about his own life—that it was me he cared the most about—but if we were in confidence earlier that day, I would have admitted how my heart raced when I saw him, how my life made sense with him around, and how I would swallow the end of a blade in his stead.
“Here, love,” his voice interrupted my growing panic as I overlooked the growing island.
I turned and met Noctis’s outstretched hand. He offered me the Sunder Coin.
“Our curse is broken…”
“It’s not for our curse, darling.” He wrapped his fingers through mine, carefully pulling apart each finger and sliding the relic into my palm. “It’s for you. In case I fall, I want you to sever our bond and save yourself.”
“No.”
His black armor creaked as he dropped his hand, mine still holding the coin.
“I’ve lived so many lives—the son, the god, the banished—but my favorite is the life I’ve gotten to live with you.” He stepped closer, our breastplates clinking at touch. My breath hitched, wishing the metal didn’t separate us. That I could feel his warmth before we jumped into war. “And love?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t forget that we have a destination to visit still.”
“I look forward to it.”