Cateline was still, just as he expected. Varin adjusted the blanket so it rested just beneath her collar bone, as he did every other evening. The wind snuck its way through the windows and moved the thin, cotton blanket. Varin was not sure what Cateline could feel, but he did not want her to be cold. Not when she was like this.

“Cateline, I will be off before the sun sets. When I return, you will awaken. I promise.”

Varin pinched his palms as he took one last look at her. He had to save her. If she woke up, alive and well, that meant they could find Seraphine and punish her for capturing Aiora.

The headmistress may think Aiora went away by her own will, but Varin refused to believe it. She may have been mischievous, yes, but she was not evil. Leaving her friends at a time like this would be beyond forgivable.

“Until I return, Cateline. I know you are able to find me. If at all possible, aid me. This will be your territory, after all.”

Smiling sadly, Varin closed the door to that attic and walked downstairs. He was not the type to get nervous, but the heart beating beneath his chest and jittery hands spoke volumes of his mental state. Never had he felt the pressure to return to a place so quickly—and he had made a very similar promise to his family back home.

Still have yet to return to them, how long will this journey take?

Varin shook that thought to the side and met with Thaddius in the lobby. He had his bag thrown across his shoulder, his pants revealing the tufts of fur on his calves. His chestnut hair was pulled into a ponytail, stubble growing from his cheek messily. He was unkempt, but Varin didn’t mind. He knew Thaddius was just as stressed as he; fortunately, his dear friend was much better at controlling his anxieties.

“Have everything sorted, then?” Thaddius asked.

“Mostly. All of which that I can control, at least.”

Nodding, they walked toward the exit of the academy and came face to face with Leolina, her golden eyes drinking them in like they were her last meal. Varin knew the two of them were her last opportunity for whatever end goal she had.

And he was not naive enough to think her end goal was saving Aiora and Cateline.

“Gentlemen,” Leolina said and bowed her head. “I trust your voyage will be safe. Aiora is on the boat already, tucked away in her room where she will stay until one of you fetch her. I would suggest you spend your voyage getting to know her.”

“It.” Varin scowled beneath his breath. He couldn’t help but correct the headmistress. “Not her. She. It’s it.”

“Varin,” the headmistress sighed, “the sooner you treat her like a person, the sooner it will feel normal to you.”

“Normal?” Varin pursed his lips and bit his tongue, curtly nodding in response. “Fine, then. You said there is somebody waiting for us at Axulran’s dock?”

“Yes, a woman by the name of Julianne. She will tell you the rest of our plan upon your arrival. Safe travels.”

As Leolina moved to the side, Varin followed Thaddius out the door. A hand latched onto his forearm with surprising strength, and as he turned to look at the headmistress in anger he became numb. Surely her intent. Nothing Leolina did was a mistake.

All he could do was stand, waiting for her to release him from this numbing spell.

“It is wise you become familiar with that doppelganger, Varin. She is a crucial part of this plan. Understood?”

Varin narrowed his eyes at the headmistress, letting out the most inaudible gasp when she released him from her grasp. She walked away without another sound, taking his dumbfounded stare as a good enough response.

“Varin?” Thaddius called, already halfway down the gravel path. “Are you coming? The ship is set to leave soon.”

Straightening his tunic, he followed after him with haste and flared his nostrils. “When we get back, Thaddius,” Varin said beneath his breath, “remind me to figure out what Leolina’s hand is in all of this. I’ll no longer be her little rat once we awaken Cateline.”

“That is your funeral, Varin.”

───── ❝ 𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊, 𝖊𝖓𝖛𝖞 & 𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖎𝖈 ❞ ─────

The ship was louder than it was in the morning. There were more passengers aboard now, each as grumpy and agitated as the next. They all seemed to be of higher status, though—of course, excluding the boy he saved from getting beaten for trespassing. Varin was glad to see he had heeded his warning and joined him on this ship. Vincent sat in the corner of the front deck on top of a crate, his eyes scanning the crowds with curiosity.

At least there would be one person aboard that could serve as a good distraction. Over the horizon, the sun was just beginning to tuck away. And as the bells aboard the ship rang to life, Varin knew he would be bidding Traburg farewell, for now.

By the heavens, I hope it is a temporary goodbye.

The crew was herding people aboard like cattle, hollering over the ringing of the bell that the ship would be leaving shortly. As Thaddius departed to the cabins below deck, Varin leaned against the railing and looked over the City of Daggernest with sorrow. He was supposed to call this a temporary home, his plan was to learn magic just enough to enchant his weaponry, and then return home to protect his land and family.

It has been two years since he said goodbye to his mother. He had no idea if she was still alive, either. It made his chest ache more and more each day, but he couldn’t do much about it. There was always a reason to stay each time he tried to leave.

The crew untied the ropes attached to the dock and began to lift the anchors. With each yank, they grunted and cursed to each other just audibly enough for him to pick up on it. Just as he was about to lift himself from the railing, and depart to his chambers for some peace, a voice echoed into the night. It was so easy to ignore, but just loud enough to pick up on.

“Varin!”

Looking back to the dock, he saw a child jumping at the edge as the ship began to move away. Senevia. Her light strands of hair blew around her face crazily as the wind picked up, the gusts making the sail’s wooden stems creak. She was waving her hand around, trying to grab his attention. When she saw it worked, her face lit up and she smiled.

“Varin, please come back soon!” Her tiny voice hollered into the horizon. “I’ll be waiting for you, right here! I promise!”

Varin’s lips twitched into a sad smile, waving back to her, and stood on one of the notches of the fencing. “Farewell, Senevia. Be safe, and be good!”

Varin did not care if she could hear him, but he did care that he was able to say goodbye to Senevia. He just hoped she wasn’t too mad whenever he did return.

As the ship finally left the harbor, Varin felt something lift off of his shoulders. He was still nervous, no doubt, but he knew this was a good step in the right direction. It had to be, or else Cateline would be damned forever. Aiora, too.

Walking toward the stairwell that led to the cabins, Varin looked into the horizon and watched the waves as they grew calmer the further they got from the shore. The sun had laid to rest, replaced by a full moon that shed godly rays onto the water and welcomed him to the voyage. Smiling subtly, he hopped down the stairwell and met Thaddius in his room.

“Thad,” Varin said with a sigh, “we are off. Got your sea legs?”

“Not in the slightest,” Thaddius said with a grunt as he hoisted his bag underneath his bed. “I think some good mead will help me loosen up, though. What do you think?”

Varin grinned ear to ear, nodding subtly before taking a seat on his bed. “I think it is best I rest, but I shall join you in the morning.”

“Have it your way, then.” Thaddius walked to the door, grabbing hold to swing himself back inside goofily. “Before I forget, Varin...”

Varin nodded for him to continue.

“That vial you gave me a week or so back?”

Varin gulped. “Yes?”

“I have it, but I want you to know something. I would rather die with you than abandon you at the brink of danger.”

Blinking, he nodded and gripped at the sheets of his cot. “Understood, Thaddius. I am the same way, but I trust you to return to safety and make things right, with or without me.”

His eyes grew solemn, but his smile got larger. Thaddius was a genuine friend, and probably the only thing keeping him sane during this entire ordeal. Just before he ran off, Varin called out for him once more.

“And, Thaddius? There’s a boy up there, he goes by Vincent. Treat him well, will you?”

“Another one of your troublemakers?”

“Undoubtedly. I mean it, though.”

Nodding his head, he exited the room and closed the door behind him. It was not another minute before Varin overheard that contagious laughter echoing throughout the belly of the boat. As Varin rested his head on the cot, closing his eyes and allowing the moonlight to lull him to sleep, he wondered what gifts and experiences Axulran would give to him.

Over the coming hours, he dreamed of it. Of the snow that would be reminiscent of his homeland, of the drama that he would discover in regard to Cateline’s past, and of the plans that would undermine their kingdom to save the Princess that had been outcasted months prior. So much was unknown to him, but he had faith. He had to.

Still, as slumber overtook him and drowned out the lull of sailors and passengers just outside his door, he felt an eerie tickle that called to him. A warm, succulent voice called to him—a song beckoning him to awaken and join in on the ethereal dance along the waves.

Opening his eyes, the moon still held strong in the sky and shed through the porthole of his room. There was a sweet, sweet voice that made the hairs on his arms stand on command. He stood, his feet rubbing the cool and rough wood as he allowed himself to move closer to that tune.

Allow yourself to succumb to the depths, the depths of our Underworld

I trust you have heard the story of the Firstborn, the creator of all.

They call me the demon, the creature of death and lust.

Allow yourself to succumb to the depths, the depths of the fallen victors who taunt and beckon.

Bathing in the blood of your fallen, we beckon you and give the everlasting kiss of survival.

Bathing in the tears of your failures, we welcome you to The Skeleton Throne.