Chapter 223: Broken Friendship

A hand tapped Kithina’s shoulder. She turned around.

Stryg bowed his head and offered his hand, “May I have this dance?”

Kithina wiped her tears and sniffed, “Stryg…?”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor.

The hundreds of dancers fell into the rhythm of the music as the musicians played a soft, almost melancholic tune. Kithina spotted Sylvie and Callum in the crowd, her heart clenched up in pain.

“Don’t look at them, Kitty. Eyes on me,” Stryg shifted his feet and blocked Kithina’s sight.

“Stryg, I…” her lips trembled, she tried to smile and fell into a quiet sob.

Stryg gently pulled her into his shoulder and hid her broken expression from wandering eyes. “You’re okay, deep breaths,” he whispered.

She wheezed a few shaky breaths and clenched her eyes tight. Her body felt cold, numb, almost as if she couldn’t move. But Stryg danced and pulled her along, step by step, moment by moment.

“...What are you doing here?” she mumbled into his shoulder.

Stryg looked past her shoulder, past the onlookers, and stared at Callum dancing happily with Sylvie in her crimson dress. “...When a tribemate is injured, you cover their back until they can stand.”

“I’m not part of your tribe,” she smiled bitterly.

“No, you’re my friend. And friends cover each other’s backs too… Cly taught me that.”

Kithina bit her lip, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. This is my fault, when you asked Cal to the dance a few days ago, I noticed he didn’t hear you. I told him to talk to you, but I should have pushed the matter.”

She laughed bitterly, “This isn’t your fault. It’s mine… it’s always been mine.”

“What?” Stryg furrowed his brow.

She looked up at him, eyes red from tears, and smiled half-heartedly, “Thanks for covering my back. I’ll return the favor someday.”

Stryg glanced at the dancers all around. “Don’t mention it.”

Kithina bit her lip and traced her fingers across his chest, “...They stabbed you right here. And they killed Clypeus… You must have been in so much pain. But we all looked away, we were too focused on our own wounds. I had never killed someone before that night, and then I saw so many people die… I was shocked, scared, but we should have never let you carry all the guilt on your own. I’m so sorry.”

Stryg swallowed the lump in his throat, “I led us to that cliff. The guilt is mine alone.”

“No,” she shook her head. “We shouldn’t have left you alone. We’re your friends, we should have been there for you.”

He closed his eyes, “I don’t deserve it.”

“Stryg…”

The music died, the song’s final note fell, the dancers slowed to a stop.

Stryg stepped back, “I should get going, Feli’s probably wondering where I’ve gone.”

Kithina smiled, “Thank you for the dance. I’m gonna head over to the balcony, get some fresh air and a bit of peace.”

“I see,” he nodded. “Take care of yourself.”

Stryg turned and walked away.

“Stryg!” Kithina called out.

He paused and glanced back at her, a questioning look on his face.

She looked him straight in the eye, “Plum was wrong about you. You’re not a monster, this Realm doesn’t deserve you.”

He smiled ruefully, “I’m not sure about that.”

The music picked back up, the dancers swung back into their rhythm, Stryg disappeared into the crowd.

He made his way through the dancers, glancing at each face he passed by, looking for Feli; until he spotted Callum and Sylvie, dancing happily. Stryg gritted his teeth, his pupils shrank to thin blades.

~~~

Feli sipped her glass of wine and surveyed the crowd, hoping to spot the 5’ 3 in blue hybrid.

She puffed her cheeks, “‘Be right back’ my ass.”

The air suddenly felt tight, as if it was vibrating in place, trying to break out. Feli looked down at her glass and frowned in confusion. Droplets of wine floated into the air like snow falling up into the sky.

“Oi, Cal!” the shout echoed through the ballroom.

Feli recognized that voice from anywhere. “Oh no,” she whispered.

Callum stopped in the middle of the dance, Sylvie in his arms.

Stryg marched over to them, anger clear in his eyes.

Callum looked at him, confused, “Stryg?”

Stryg snatched the vampire’s red collar and lifted him up. Callum’s eyes widened in panic, he kicked the air helplessly.

“I warned you, but you hurt our friend anyway,” Stryg said coldly. “Fix things with Kitty.”

“What are you talking about?” Callum choked out.

“Hey what are you doing!?” Sylvie yelled angrily.

“Fix. Things. With. Kitty. You owe her that much.” Stryg let go, Callum fell and landed on his back with a hard thud.

Callum groaned and rubbed his lower back. “Right… I’ll see what I can do,” he winced.

“Good,” Stryg nodded and walked away.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Sylvie reached out and grabbed his shoulder. “You don’t just get to beat up my date and walk away!”

Stryg snarled, “Get your hand off me, this doesn’t concern you.”

She bared her fangs, “If you don- Agh!”

Stryg gripped her wrist and squeezed, her bones cracked with a sickening crunch. Sylvie screamed and fell to her knees.

Loh pushed through the crowd, “Stryg! Let go of her, now!” she yelled.

“Tch.” Stryg released Sylvie’s wrist.

“How many times do we have to talk about this,” Loh said. “You can’t just keep hurting people for no good reason!”

“...Fine,” Stryg muttered.

“No, not fine,” Loh crossed her arms. “Sylvie, are you okay?”

“...Yeah, I’m alright,” she rubbed her wrist and glanced at Stryg. Since when was his grip so strong?

Vayu clapped his hands loudly. “Musicians, where is the music? Do we need to discuss your pay?”

The lead musician nodded nervously and began to play, the others soon followed.

Elzri walked over next to Loh. “Is this an incident that needs taking care of?” he whispered calmly.

“No, we’ll be fine,” Loh shook her head.

Feli ran over and wrapped her arm around Stryg, “Come on, darling, let’s go for a walk.”

Stryg glared at Sylvie. He turned around and let himself get dragged away by his wife.

“What was that all about?” Sylvie asked.

“I don’t know,” Callum sighed. “I guess I’ll find out soon enough.”

~~~

Kithina stared out the window, it was a beautiful winter morning. The sun’s rays blanketed the academy’s snowy grounds in a wave of golden light. She watched the peaceful sight from one of her favorite spots; a small table in the corner of the 2nd floor of the library. Plum had once shown her and their friends this spot. They used to study here a lot back when they were working on their dragon project. Things were so different back then.

Callum used to laugh often and would always bring them snacks from one of his favorite bakeries. Plum was witty and had a way of making the stubborn Stryg open up; no one had ever managed to recreate that feat, not even Feli. And Stryg was… well, he was still stubborn. But now there was a weight over him, like an impenetrable wall that stopped their words from reaching him. Kithina felt as if Stryg drifted away from them more and more every single day.

She sighed bitterly.

Her closest friends seemed to be drifting away. Plum was already long gone. Kithina rarely saw Stryg, he didn’t even visit the Merry Crescent anymore. And Callum…

“There you are. I thought I might find you here.”

Kithina looked up in surprise. “Cal?”

Callum smiled wryly, “Hey, Kitty. Mind if I sit?”

“...Sure,” she said reluctantly.

“Thanks,” he pulled up a chair across from her and sat down with a satisfied groan. “My back still hurts from last night, I should probably get it checked out by a white mage. I’d heal it myself, but I’m better at bright spells than healing spells.”

Kithina furrowed her brow, “Last night? What happened?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess you weren’t there,” Callum nodded to himself. “I was at the Winter Ball, everything was going well. Then Stryg suddenly showed up, picked me up like a child - not very flattering mind you - and then he told me to talk to you. And then he dropped me on my ass.”

“Dammit, Stryg, he’s always going way too far,” she sighed. “I’ll talk to him.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I was going to do the same. But Sylvie beat me to it.” Callum winced. “And then Stryg got violent real fast, luckily Loh stopped the whole thing before it went too far.”

“That’s good, Stryg listens to her at least.”

“Thankfully,” he chuckled. “Anyhoo, after making sure Sylvie was okay, I went looking for you. After a while, I realized you weren’t at the ball.”

“I left early,” she said quietly.

“Which is why I came looking for you this morning and I’m glad I found you. So, what’s up? Did I do something wrong?”

Kithina laughed weakly, “No, nothing wrong.”

“Are you sure?” he asked skeptically. “Because Stryg seemed pretty confident.”

“Yeah, Stryg’s anger is misplaced.”

“What does that mean?”

Kithina shrunk back into her chair, “...Do you remember when I stopped by when you and Stryg were studying last week?”

“Um… Oh! Yeah, I was a bit busy back then. Some family matters…” he finished quietly.

Kithina swallowed hard, “I had asked you to the Winter Ball and you said yes.”

Callum’s eyes widened in understanding, he reached out and grabbed her hand, “Kitty, I’m so sorry. I was out of it that day, I had just found out about something… terrible.”

Kithina pulled her hand back, “It’s fine. Really, I get it. Miscommunication, it happens.” She took a deep shaky breath, “But when I saw you with Sylvie last night, it finally hit me.”

Callum’s face paled, “You were there? Last night? …You were waiting for me?”

“None of this is your fault, Cal. Please don’t feel bad. It’s just,” she wiped her eyes. “I’ve had a crush on you ever since we met and I’ve always tried so desperately to have you like me back. And I thought you did, we’d go out together often, just you and me. You’d tell me about your family and your struggles, and I’d listen happily.”

“Kitty, look I-”

“It’s fine, Cal. I should have seen it before,” Kitty shook her head. “...You never really wanted to be with me, did you?”

Callum held his tongue and looked away in shame.

Kitty smiled, but there was pain in her eyes. “I think some part of me always knew. I just hoped… I just hoped-” She bit her lip and sighed. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m happy for you, Cal. You have Sylvie now, that’s good. She can listen to your struggles now, because I don’t think I can do that anymore. I can’t be there for you whenever you need me. I can’t keep hoping that you’ll someday see me.”

Callum held his hands together in a white-knuckle grip. His chest felt tight, a shiver ran down his spine. “What are you saying exactly?”

She looked him in the eyes and smiled sadly, “I’m saying I want to be a mage who goes on adventures and travels the world. And you… you want the Veres throne. I’m saying this is goodbye.”

Callum licked his lips and squeezed his eyes shut, “I-I see. That’s uh… Yeah…”

Kithina got up from her chair and bowed her head, “Take care of yourself, Callum Veres.”

She left without another word.