Elincia's Point of View

Helmsforth Temple

“Such language!” My brother let out as he stood back up. “Especially in front of the Priestess. My, my, how the mighty do fall. Then again, kings do what they want.” He leaned against his prison as he studied us. “Or am I just special because we carry the same title? Well, used to. We’ve both downgraded. You’re a knight, and I’m a prisoner. So unfortunate that we have to keep meeting like this. How’s Graham?”

“Dead.”

“Dead, dead?”

“Dead, dead.” Arthur confirmed. “Keep this up, and you won’t be far behind him.”

“While that does sound exciting, I’m afraid it’s not the kind of excitement I’m looking for. You came down here for Arceana? The one who always had to prove herself.” Rudnurth stated dryly. “Surely there are better topics.”

“Not at the moment. Arceana. Mind. Memories. Fix them.” Arthur ordered simply.

Pushing off the runic wall, Rudnurth smirked. “That’s certainly a matter of opinion. I’m curious how you came by that ring. You didn’t have it on you the last time you were here, did you?”

My eyes immediately shot to Arthur’s hand and saw he had Aydan’s ring. It was his emerald ring that he wore everywhere. Our surrogate father wore little in the way of jewelry, but that always stuck out to me. I would never forget it. The only reason I didn’t realize what he was wearing was because of how this entire visit started.

“That belonged to Aydan.” I whispered in disbelief.

“Curious.” Rudnurth let out in wonder. “Very curious.” His eyes seemed to focus on Arthur as the man played with the ring on his index finger. “Is he still alive?”

Arthur’s teeth clenched. “We both died because of you.” He replied coldly. “Why would you think he would be alive?”

Rudnurth merely raised a brow. “You’re here, are you not? It’s not an exaggeration to think he might still be around. He was a crafty old codger.”

“No.” The word left Arthur’s lips in disdain. “He did not survive. Aydan poured some of his energy into this ring for when I went to retrieve it. I haven’t had any reason to do so until just recently.”

“Someone is being very open in front of the youngest.” Rudnurth’s eyes shifted towards me for a moment before returning to Arthur. “If you are being so bold, perhaps you found a way around my meddling? Have you freed her?”

Arthur’s chest was starting to rise and fall faster. “Rudnurth, I am warning you…” He spoke through clenched teeth. “Either you fix this now, or I kill you.”

Rudnurth leaned forward slightly and replied smugly. “Then they’ll never be free.”

The two men glared at one another. Arthur’s fists clenched as his teeth ground. Closing his eyes, I watched as Arthur’s body relaxed. He let out a long breath he had been holding in. His fingers loosened as he slowly opened his eyes once more. There was a hint of resignation in them.

“Considering there’s no difference, I might as well kill you. If you don’t want to help, Arceana won’t get better, and there’s no point in keeping you alive. So, do you want to change your answer?” Arthur offered one last time.

“You stole everything from me.” Rudnurth seethed. “I will watch as everything you care about burns down around you as you watch helplessly.” As he spoke, a dull ache started to appear behind my eyes.

A portal opened beside Arthur. “That’s where you’re wrong.” Arthur replied as he stepped into the portal and appeared behind Rudnurth inside his cell. “You won’t be alive to witness your work in play.” My brother quickly turned around, only to have a fist slam into the side of his head. “You won’t live to see anything ever again.” Arthur said coldly as Rudnurth stumbled into the runic wall. “I should’ve killed you two thousand years ago.”

Rudnurth was clearly caught off guard, as was I. The sudden onslaught was so quick and brutal that I couldn’t respond. I watched as my imprisoned brother was pummeled into the runic wall. Blood splattered across the cell as Arthur didn’t relent even for a moment. The two men were in a confined space that was quickly being decorated with blood.

“Change your mind yet?!” Arthur asked angrily as he let Rudnurth slide to the floor. Stepping forward, he began stomping on him. “It’s real simple!” I could hear the cracking of bones as the force of the stomps almost seemed to shake the prison. “This all ends as soon as you fix your sisters.”