Chapter Two

Haven

‘She fell asleep already?’ I frowned at the slumbering woman in my arms and then refocused on my run through Falrrsald. ‘You’re certain that Arianna isn’t ill, Alala?’

‘Ari used too much power while playing with you!’ Alala stretched out across Arianna’s lap before turning her attention upward. ‘She just needs rest. You two play rough. Ari strained her remaining seals so far that they diverted all their power to keeping her Human!’

‘Her seals…’ I glanced down at Arianna once more. ‘We weren’t “playing”, Alala, we were spar—’

‘You were playing!’ Alala protested with a huff. ‘Play fighting. Playing. I wanted to play too!’

I sighed at the fox when she turned her head away from me to pout on Arianna’s stomach. Guardian or otherwise, Alala was still a child by their standards. As adorable as Alala was, I wished that she would take our mission in Falrrsald more seriously.

Falrrsald was a dangerous place, and Arianna’s waning seals only added to that danger.

It frustrated me that Gabriel had been unable to remove all of the seals or “curses” that had been placed on Arianna. While the Goddess of Angels had successfully removed the ones that made her daughter Human in the first place, it struck me as strange that the remaining seals would attempt to fill the role of the ones that had been removed.

Arianna seemed aware of the dangers in Falrrsald at least, even if she seemed unaware of the lingering threat her seals posed. However, her distracted demeanor over the past few hours concerned me.

‘Just what did she see this time?’ I slowed from a sprint to a brisk walk when we neared a cluster of old trees. ‘Alala, can you wake her? I can’t very well carry her while setting up camp.’

‘Can you wake a rock?’ Alala quipped.

The fox released a laugh-like warble when I sighed at her. Shaking my head, I carried the slumbering princess and her Guardian into the grove. After a few minutes of wandering, my shoulders slumped in disappointment. We couldn’t stop here. Too many trees had fallen or otherwise been eaten, repurposed by tribes, or died. There were signs of nests deeper in which I wanted no part of.

‘What about the cliffs?’ Alala lifted her head, pointing her nose westward.

‘A cave, perhaps?’ I murmured, watching the fox nod her head. ‘We can take a look. There might be some that are high enough to avoid Falrrsald’s monsters.’

I took off at a sprint once more, hoping the pace would keep my mind off of Arianna’s Brands and the strange things we had encountered. Minutes later, I found myself walking along the edge of a canyon and looking down at the forested terrain that filled it. There were three monsters that I could spot from my vantage point, all of which were grazing on the treetops. Their variegated fur allowed them to blend in with the valley’s forest, but I had witnessed in the past just how quickly the carnivorous ones could appear to hunt down the docile creatures.

‘A cave is our best bet, I suppose. We don’t want one of those creatures crushing us underfoot,’ I muttered, glancing down at Alala when she began trembling and geckering at the valley before us. ‘Alala, that won’t do any—’

“Smell…beasts…” Arianna grumbled, turned, and then nuzzled her face into my chest.

‘Beasts?’ I glanced down at Arianna and then back to the valley once the princess relaxed once more.

Sure enough, dozens of Dux-class beasts ran through the forest below. At first, I thought perhaps they intended to use numbers against the grazing creatures. I was soon proven wrong. The beasts ran past the much larger monsters without so much as a second glance and ran off into the distance. Their movements were jerky and erratic. Several screeched and wailed with what could only be fear.

Arianna shivered and released a small purr, drawing my attention back to her with a start. Tendrils of darkness slid along her Brands, swirled around her jewelry, and prodded at the air around us. She purred again and, this time, nuzzled my chest. Her darkness withdrew from the air and continued to traverse her Brands and jewelry instead—before shifting its attention to me.

‘Did the beasts sense…’ I looked from Arianna to the beasts and back several times.

‘Night soon, right?’ Alala jumped onto my shoulder and nudged my cheek with her snout. ‘Let’s go, let’s go! Ari’s gonna be hungry. You’re hungry. Food! Food! Food!’

‘Very well.’ I shut my eyes and drew on my power over earth, allowing my senses to explore the cliff face below us. ‘Ah, there.’

I leapt over the side of the cliff and glided in the direction of my chosen cave. It was deep, but had only one exit. Better still, I didn’t sense anything living in it. Upon reaching the cave I summoned dozens of wisps to light the cave and then paced through it to confirm that nothing had lived there for quite some time. Once satisfied, I pulled a few blankets and a pillow from my shrizar. I wrapped Arianna in the blankets and then carefully propped her against the cave wall.

‘Keep an eye on Arianna,’ I instructed Alala. ‘I’m going to fetch wood for a fire.’

The excitable fox yipped her agreement and wagged her fluffy tail. At least the young one was eager to fulfill her role as a Guardian.

When I returned, a strange sight welcomed me. Arianna had freed her arms from the blankets and summoned headphones. The pillow now rested behind the small of her back. Her fingertips danced over the air over something unseen. Her eyes ticked back and forth, slightly unfocused, as if she was reading something. Her eyes had a faint, almost indiscernible, glow to them and darkness slithered along her form once more.

If she sensed my return, she showed no sign of it.

‘Don’t disturb her.’ Alala hopped onto my shoulder. ‘You’ll make her mad. Beasts are safer.’

I arched an eyebrow at Alala and then looked to Arianna again. The volume of her headphones was turned up so loud that I could see her movements were in time with the music. She had an amused expression on her face while she hummed along, her unfocused eyes still trained on something beyond my capabilities to see.

However, it seemed different compared to when she looked at magic.

‘Food, food!’ Alala nosed me. ‘Ari’s fine. She’s working.’

Reluctant, I turned my attention away from the busy princess and set the pile of wood and kindling on the cave floor. Once the fire was started, I strode to the back of the cave and crossed my arms. The chill night winds of Falrrsald had already begun to drift into our hiding spot, rendering the already cool cave even colder. More fire was out of the question. I didn’t want the glow to become visible to tribes, beasts, or the monsters in the valley below.

‘What’s wrong? What’re you thinking about?’ Alala nosed me again. ‘Your face might stay like that.’

‘I was hoping to wait until we were deeper into Falrrsald before I had to resort to Magitech.’ I grimaced and then pulled a round device the size of a marble from my shrizar. ‘However, it’s already grown much too cold for us to remain in the open. We will need proper shelter for the night, and none of us can utilize water magic well; if at all.

‘Will a burst of magic disturb whatever Arianna is doing?’

‘Don’t know. Want food.’ Alala pouted, eliciting a sigh from me.

I stole another glance at Arianna before returning my attention to the back of the cave. The small piece of Magitech pulsed with warmth in my hand while I contemplated waiting for Arianna to finish her work. I didn’t want to disturb her work, but I also needed to prepare a place for us to stay the night.

Shaking my head, I cocked my arm and chucked the marble-sized contraption at the wall hard enough to embed it in the stone. A brief infusion of my magic followed, activating it. The orb rumbled and began to spin before opening up to reveal the complex mechanisms within.

‘Now then, with our “home” out of the way…’ I tugged off my coat and shirt as I returned to the fire and tossed the garments over a nearby rock. ‘I should begin—’

I tensed when Arianna abruptly stopped humming. Her darkness rushed past me and toward the entrance of our hiding place. I pivoted to look at her, only to find her eyes were still unfocused and glowing. Her left hand was still flat against the air, but her right one was directing her darkness to the cave mouth.

When she glanced up from her “work” I was unsure if she saw me at all. However, the single word she uttered snapped me from my observations.

“Beasts.”

I moved to dash for the cave entrance. Alala leapt in front of me and grew to a size much larger than a horse. Her fur stood on end while she growled and huffed at the entrance. When I attempted to move past her, she shifted and blocked me again. I placed a hand against Alala’s hindquarters and attempted to move her by force, but she refused to budge.

“Arianna,” I reached out to stop her when she strode past me and toward the cave’s opening, “please don’t—”

She slipped by me without hesitation, her headphones still fastened over her ears. I squeezed around Alala and scrambled after Arianna, then slid to a stop when I watched the princess walk straight out of the cave and onto the air itself. Even if I couldn’t see it, I felt the magic reverberating in the air around her when she raised one hand above her head.

‘Floating? Please, don’t fall. If you fall, I don’t know if I can—’

“Throstor.” Arianna’s voice echoed with power, causing my skin to prickle.

‘Did she just command them to die? That won’t—’ My eyes widened when a sharp spike of pain shot through the left side of my chest and stole my breath. I staggered back against the nearest wall and clutched my chest.

The sound of screaming beasts pulled my attention back to Arianna’s floating form despite the pain. Her Brands of Divinity shone with power brighter than mine. However, more stunning than the princess was the sky beyond her.

It was as if the sky itself was bending to the princess’s calm, murderous will.

Everything seemed to grow still aside from the screaming beasts. A shockwave of darkness exploded from Arianna’s raised hand. Portions of the churning sky and stars beyond tore from their places and rained down into the valley below us.

One by one, the beasts fell silent.

Arianna turned, strode across the air, and returned to the safety of the cave. I moved to intercept her, but she simply brushed a darkness-encased hand over my aching chest and returned to her prior perch. The pain in my chest disappeared the moment her darkness sunk into my skin.

Startled, I glanced down but I couldn’t find any trace of what could have caused me so much pain in the first place.

‘Alala, what in the hells was that?’ I turned to look at the fox, watching as she shrunk back to her normal size.

‘Ari doesn’t like beasts. They’re distracting.’ Alala cocked her head, her tone implying that I should have known. ‘I haven’t seen her do something like that before. This won’t do! She’s supposed to be regaining her strength, not spending more!’

I glanced over my shoulder at the dimming valley below before sighing and moving deeper into the cave after Arianna. Her Brands had dimmed to their usual brightness, but her eyes were still unfocused and reading something. She hadn’t resumed her humming. Instead, she sat with her lips parted and her blanket pulled over only one leg.

‘She’s going to get cold.’ I strode over to Arianna and reached for the blanket, but Alala beat me to it and tugged it over the princess’s lap.

‘Food!’ Alala yipped at me.

‘But I wanted to…’ I trailed off into a disappointed sigh, turned away from the pair, and then made my way over to the fire. ‘Food this, food that. As cute as Alala is, I want to be the one to care for Arianna. Not let someone else do it.’

My tail snapped a little too close to the fire for comfort, eliciting a growl from me.

‘Arianna shouldn’t have been able to draw on divine power like that—let alone someone else’s.’ I frowned even as I attempted to busy myself. ‘If the Elders catch wind of this…’

I shook the thought from my mind and stoked the fire. Once satisfied, I returned to where I had deployed the Magitech device. The rear of the cave now played host to a cottage that had grafted itself into the stone walls. A lone lantern filled with blue-white fire illuminated the plain stone exterior and wooden door.

Perhaps I would leave it there as an emergency fallback point.

Between the situation with the Vulei River and Arianna’s strange behavior, I was beginning to think we might need several such places in Falrrsald. A small sigh escaped me; I should have brought many more of the devices with me.

“Damn it,” I muttered to myself while striding through the small cottage. ‘I’ll have to instruct Yumeko and Daijiro to connect more supplies to my shrizar. Alala is going to devour everything in sight—if Arianna doesn’t beat her to it.’

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