Discordant Note | TBATE

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Arthur Leywin

Ellie's pure mana arrows thunked solidly into half a dozen floating targets. The glowing yellow projections glimmered with victory as she shouted in triumph, pumping her arms in the air and whooping. Boo even grunted in appreciation. Kathyln Glayder nodded in slow acknowledgment, her small lips quirking up into a smile.

I stood near the edge of the training ground, a slight smile on my face as I watched Ellie give Kathyln an exuberant hug, and the poor ice princess awkwardly patted my sister on the back in return. The former princess of Sapin still didn't do physical contact well.

This specific training yard wasn't even really a training yard. It was more an expansive, grassy balcony that looked out on the endless sea of clouds around Dicathen's flying castle. The kiss of the wind pulled at my shoulder-length hair, which I rarely kept in a knot anymore.

Ellie said something, then grabbed her bow again. She prepared to line up a few more shots as Kathyln stepped backward, observing with a critical eye.

I exhaled, letting my hold on Mirage Walk—which I'd improved even further with my constant sight of all four elements—slip. For an instant, my mana signature flared slightly.

Kathyln perked up, her high core purity allowing her to just barely glimpse what I released. Her hand darted to her waist, where her crystal-topped wand waited for battle. She swiveled her head around, covertly scanning the grounds for intruders or enemies.

When her eyes finally found mine, she relaxed. The former princess said something to Ellie—who also glanced briefly in my direction. My little sister's nose wrinkled slightly, her brows furrowing. Then she turned away, her posture rigid as she lined up shots with her bow. Each one made me want to wince, especially with the compounding gaze of King Grey at the edges of my vision.

The thunk-thunk-thunk of arrows slamming into targets followed Kathyln Glayder's footsteps as she glided over to me, her expression serene and icy cool beneath her long, black hair.

The former princess of Sapin wore a conservative navy dress that covered much of her pale skin. The flaring sleeves were lined with light blue trim that almost seemed to sparkle like ice, drawing the eyes to the way the young woman seemed to float like a dainty ghost. With each flow of that embroidery, she became a flash of blue light in a small dark expanse.

I stood straighter as the former princess of Sapin approached me, locking one arm behind my back in the noble manner. She lowered her eyes slightly as she took the edges of her dresses, curtsying lightly.

"Your Majesty," she said coolly. "How can I assist you today?"

I restrained a bit of a sigh. Kathyln had been more formal than ever since my ascension. She'd been reluctant to assist me in my endeavors as well until she'd spoken in private with Blaine for a time.

I raised my other hand in a covert gesture for Kath to rise. She did so, staring at me serenely. The perfect picture of a Dicathian noblewoman. "I received news that House Flamesworth have been more cooperative recently with your efforts to reel them in."

Kathyln nodded slowly, brushing a single lock of hair behind her ear. "They have been more receptive to my offers and pushes since I drew Elder Hester into your sphere of control," she said, her voice nearly a monotone. "The contract for production of steel barrels has gone through successfully. And those bullets have become a higher production priority than arrowheads near Blackbend. With their influence it is progressing far more smoothly."

Regardless of what the former princess said, I would still keep my eye on Trodius Flamesworth. He was a dangerous man who understood the game far too well, but I had him on a close leash.

What he desired the most was status. And the only way for House Flamesworth to keep their status was through me.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief. The game of noble politics was one I couldn't navigate without allies, and Kathyln Glayder had served to be an invaluable supporter in my current position. She knew every noble in Dicathen, having been raised as their princess. Her cooperation acted as a legitimizing force for my command. With her as a go-between, it helped grease the gears of my plans immeasurably.

King Grey's eyes darkened from the edge of my perception. You're already viewing people for what they can get you rather than as people.

"That is good news," I said sincerely. "You've made my job far easier. We wouldn't be able to put up as united a front from Sapin."

"I am sure you would have managed without me, King Leywin," Kathyln replied modestly. "Your talent for these arts surpasses mine."

There was a slight chill in her eyes as she said so, and I felt the urge to wilt. Though the princess and I had grown closer over the course of our training together, my ascension to Commander of the Triunion had changed our relationship again.

I found myself wishing for the shy noblewoman that helped me push myself to be the best mage I could be rather than the stern politician who stepped around me as if I were a lounging predator.

"We know each other well enough to leave the formalities aside, Kathyln," I said wearily. My eyes drifted to where Ellie angrily shot arrow after arrow of pure mana into waiting targets. She didn't miss a single one. "How is Curtis doing these days?"

How did he take the news of my ascension?

Kathyln loosened slightly. "My brother was insensate for a time," she said honestly. "He wanted to march back to the castle and demand an explanation for why you usurped our father's position."

Though I kept my eyes loosely focused on my quietly angry sister as she pulled her arms back, lining up another shot on her bow, I let myself see out of the corner of my eye. "For a time?"

"I impressed upon him the necessity of the current situation," she said after a moment, also pretending to keep her focus forward. "I… know you, Arthur Leywin. You are not one to make needless plays for power. For most of the time I have known you, you have done all you could to keep your power and gifts hidden."

The princess coughed lightly, averting herself as she stared more to the side. "My father told me some of what came before your ascension. I find your actions justified."

Let's hope she continues to think so, I thought, a wry smile stretching across my face.

"Thank you," I said after a moment. My mind drifted back for a little bit to the simpler days of the Disciplinary Committee at Xyrus. The young Kathyln had always tended to her duties with exceptional care and precision, even way back then. "For helping me with this. For helping and watching over Ellie. I couldn't trust anyone else."

The pale woman shifted slightly, seeming uncomfortable in her dress. Her expression took on that slightly flustered expression she got whenever I unintentionally got too close way back in the day. She raised a dainty hand, adjusting her collar in a bid for time. "It is nothing," she finally said once she'd gathered herself a bit more. "Your decisions and politics are sound. I have no reason to deny a simple request for keeping our continent safe."

My fists clenched slightly. To keep our continent safe.

I would be heading out soon to meet with Cylrit regarding matters of Spellsong's healing and the ominous letter Cylrit had delivered with Vanesy. The implications regarding a filled cup were not lost on me.

The golden crown on my head suddenly felt ten times heavier.

"I do need to have a talk with my sister," I said, exhaling a world-weary sigh. "Do you have any tips, Kath? How did you convince Curtis not to try and challenge me to a duel for the throne?"

Kath's lips shifted into the barest approximation of a frown. "Siblings are complicated things," she said. "Your sister struggles to adjust to her new title as princess. I would advise against dismissing her difficulties."

I closed my eyes, feeling guilt seep through my veins. Already, Ellie struggled to live a normal childhood. I could not imagine this would make it any easier for the thirteen-year-old girl.

"I didn't plan to, but your advice is always valuable."

The former princess curtsied again, lowering her head so her dark bangs shadowed her expression. "Of course, King Leywin."

She excused herself with grace, flowing back into the castle.

Now it was only me, Ellie, Boo, and a looming ghost.

I walked forward out onto the large, grassy expanse of the balcony, my eyes tracing the many clouds. Boo grunted slightly as he saw me, but the massive bear didn't acknowledge me in any other way. The end-of-summer breeze was warm despite how high we were in the clouds.

A banister stretched all around the garden, preventing anyone from falling to an untimely end into the Beast Glades far below. Hovering just beyond the stretch of the bannister, half a dozen targets floated with wind artifacts. Solid arrows stuck out of a few of them, before vanishing into yellow particles as Ellie's control faltered.

My little sister didn't turn to look at me as I stood beside her. Instead, she continued to fire arrows continuously at the targets. Faster and faster she went, sweat beading along her face and making her ash-brown hair cling to her neck.

"Ellie," I said.

My sister ignored me, her arms trembling as they continued to pull back her bow. I exhaled through my nose, recognizing that she needed this bit of time to vent.

She moved as if in a rhythm. Each thunk of an arrow resounded louder than the last as she pulled, aimed, then released her arrows of pure mana in a mechanical precision. I could see the countless calluses on her fingers, the skin worn and bruised from endless practice.

But she was straining now. Her arms shook ever so slightly with each released arrow, and I could sense the exhaustion in her core.

So when her next shot finally flew, I knew it went too wide. The yellowish mana arrow surged with untold speed, but it would miss the target by a mile.

Except a simple twist of wind magic pushed the target to the side, directly into the path of the arrow. It thunked as it landed solidly in the bull's-eye.

Ellie groaned in annoyance, stomping her foot. She turned to me, glaring upward. "Don't you have something else to do?!" she hissed. "Not interrupting my training?"

"I finally got the free time to talk to you," I responded. "I just… wanted to see how you were doing."

"Well, I'm fine," she snapped, turning back to the targets and ignoring me. Her hands clenched around her bow. "You can go back to being King or whatever."

I sighed, closing my eyes. Her words sent sharp pangs of pain through me, each piercing my core like a needle. "Please, El," I said after a moment. "I don't have much time. I… can't afford to stay for long."

Soon, I'd need to attend that meeting with Cylrit. Then I'd need to parlay with him for however long. And after that? Who knew when this war would let me speak with my baby sister?

"So you can talk to me, then?" she snapped, firing another arrow. It barely hit the edge of the target. "Mom and Dad have been angry, too. And you won't talk to them. But here you are with me. That doesn't seem really kingly."

Out of the edges of my eyes, King Grey's eyes darkened.

I wished Sylv was here. She'd know what to say, but she'd been tracking leads on the Rogue Hero through the northeastern reaches of Sapin. I'd repositioned my parents from the active warfront, confining them in Xyrus so as to keep them from being war hostages or targets.

I knew that made them angry. I knew the damage it did. But I could do nothing else.

"I'll talk to them when I can," I promised with a world-weary sigh. "I need to. But I'm not here to talk about Mom and Dad."

I conjured a little chair of earth, leaning back into it as I let my legs rest for a time. I stared at the targets as Ellie continued to fire arrows alongside the endless sea of clouds beyond her.

"I've been fine," Ellie lied. "Just lots of people fawning over me. Treating me like a princess or something. All this 'Princess Leywin' this and 'Princess Leywin' that. Nobody will just treat me normally anymore. And that's all your fault."

I closed my eyes, exhaling a sigh. If before I wished Sylv could be here, now I wished for Tess. Ellie had told me once that she used to hate me for how I made her life difficult. Made it different. "I'm sorry, El," I said. "I know it isn't easy–"

"Kath helps," Ellie interrupted, firing a few more arrows. "She knows what to say. How to be some sort of 'princess.' But now I'm even more alone than before. Nobody talks to me unless they want something."

Ellie continued to talk, rambling now. As if all of the pent-up emotion was finally reaching a crescendo as it burst. "Kath told me that you didn't really have a choice in your King thing. That it was either my brother put on some stupid crown or we get driven to extinction or whatever. But it's just easier to blame you. But now I don't even know what you are! My brother? My king? Or what?"

Ellie's face had become red as a tomato as her hands shook. Every single arrow she'd fired had missed wildly. She finally threw her bow down with a huff of disgust and anger.

"I can tell you why," I forced out. "Why I had to be King. But also why I'm still your brother."

Ellie huffed for a time, her sweat-slick, ash-brown hair clinging to her face. She heaved from exhaustion, before she finally looked at me again.

Her eyes—the same shade as my mother's—were scared, slightly. Uncertain. "It's about what you told Mom and Dad before you left," she said weakly. "That's what this is all about. They wouldn't be so angry about it otherwise."

I sank a bit deeper into my earthen chair, nodding slowly. "You're smarter than I was when I was your age," I said with wry amusement. "I should've known you'd started putting it together."

Ellie averted her eyes slightly. "When you were my age, you were going off to train with gods. And teaching classes at Xyrus. And giving Inventor Gideon a whole lot of tech." She kicked a nearby pebble weakly. "I'm not really anything special in comparison."

I opened my mouth, closed it, then sighed. It was the kind of sigh that Marlorn always did when we talked about the catastrophic losses of life. That Gramps did whenever the war pulled deeper on his shoulders and psyche.

"Well, when I was thirteen," I said slowly, carefully choosing every word, "I was scrounging about in dark alleyways, robbing rich couples, and then giving the proceeds of my thievery to the orphanage that raised me. I think you're doing pretty well."

Ellie turned back to me, blinking in confusion. "But that's not true," she said, seeming more confused than angry now. "You were never in an orphanage. You always had Mom and Dad."

A real great impression she has of you, Arthur, I thought with mirth, That she doesn't think robbing rich couples and scrounging in alleyways is out of character.

I remembered deep down how Alice and Reynolds had reacted to my greatest secret. I'd seen it as a moral duty to tell them before I left. I couldn't leave them out of such a crucial part of my being, but I'd shattered our relationship in the process. And even now, with my parents confined to Xyrus on my covert orders, I wondered if it would ever be repaired.

I'd vowed after that to never tell another soul. But Tessia had learned of it. And she hadn't…

"In this life, I had a family to love and cherish," I said honestly, leaning forward and clasping my hands together. "But I wasn't always Arthur Leywin, son of Alice and Reynolds Leywin. Once upon a time, I was Grey. Street rat and all around nobody."

Ellie listened as I slowly told her a bit about my past life. Her jaw dropped as I spoke, and I couldn't tell from what emotion. But I continued anyways, telling her about my stint as King. How lonely I'd been. How empty of purpose or will I'd eventually become.

Time seemed to stretch as I rambled in turn, my eyes clouding over as I stared at the cloudless expanse. My mouth felt dry when I finished.

"So… you weren't just super good at everything," Ellie finally said. "I thought…"

"I was never some super genius, El," I admitted, not looking at her. "The only thing really special about me was my sword arm, you know."

My little sister was silent for a time, joining me in my observation of the sky. "Does this mean you aren't my brother?" she said after a moment. "I mean, if you're from some sort of other–"

"No, Ellie," I interrupted, standing from my chair. I laid a hand on my baby sister's shoulder, pulling her so she could look me in the eye. "No, this only makes you more my sister. I know what it's like to lose everything. It makes everything I have that much more important."

Ellie sniffled. I wasn't certain if my words had any effect, but she didn't push me away. Boo grumbled a ways away, staring down at us.

"But you were never a princess," she muttered, staring down at the ground.

"I mean… no. I wasn't ever a princess," I said, confused.

My little sister looked up at me, the strangest smile on her face. I blinked in surprise as she hugged me hard, her sweat-drenched form clinging to me like a baby koala.

I felt a lump rise in my throat as I hugged her back, my arms feeling loose and boneless. "You're okay, right?"

"It doesn't change anything," Ellie muttered, her face burying into my chest. She'd gotten really tall somehow. "I mean, I don't really get why it would."

I chuckled humorlessly. "Maybe one day you'll get why."

My sister pushed away from me, pouting as she glared at me. "And now you're treating me as a little kid again."

I raised a hand, nervously scratching at the back of my neck. "I'm sorry, El. It's a… bad habit of mine. Tess really laid into me about it."

Tess had laid into me about it, and in great detail. My childhood friend had seemingly kept a list of every time that I'd treated her like a child. And no amount of apologizing had really fixed that.

I talked a bit more with my sister, explaining details about my old world and why I did the things I did. I almost didn't notice when King Grey's phantom form misted away, so engrossed was I in our talk.

"So everyone just had mana in your old world?" she asked, leaning in a conjured chair of earth herself. "That seems really weird. I can't imagine everyone being a mage."

"Well, not mana, but ki," I corrected. "Ki was kind of like pure mana. There was no ambient ki floating about the atmosphere."

To emphasize my point, I flexed my core, and a little tornado appeared from my palm from ambient mana. With barely another twist, the whirlwind was rimmed with burning orange flames. The aether in the air gravitated toward the spell, enhancing the tiny whirlwind with hints of purple.

For a second, I found myself entranced by the aether as it wove in and between and around my mana. It was almost as if the aether wanted to make my spell more powerful.

Sylvie says that the dragons don't manipulate aether. They influence it, I thought, staring at those purple particles as they meshed and danced. But even though I rely on our bond to influence aether, it's almost like the energy is already waiting for what I wish before I even desire it.

Influencing aether felt like trying to force someone else's muscles to tense. When I made my commands for space to bend or for the energy to travel across my spells and bolster them, the aether rushed to my call. But it was… lacking in some way.

I'm getting even better at this, I internally acknowledged. Meditating with my manaborne forms really has increased my insight.

The little fire whirlwind zipped up into the sky, drawing Ellie's awed eyes as it twirled. And then, when it went a bit higher, the fire whirlwind changed. It grew four muscular legs. Two majestic wings. And a maw with glimmering teeth.

A tiny dragon of fire and wind belched its fury into the air, before dissipating with a sudden pop. Ellie blinked.

"And we were called ki practitioners, not mages," I corrected smugly.

"If there was no ambient mana," Ellie said absently, "then that would make ki practitioners… like me."

I blinked in surprise, amazed I hadn't seen the connection before. Ellie hadn't manifested an element like most mages did, meaning she was limited to the pure mana she could draw directly from her core. And considering she was a conjurer, this was normally a detriment.

"Ellie," I said excitedly, grasping her shoulders. "That's exactly what they were like! Which means I might be able to help you get even better at this!" I said, gesturing with my head to the targets she'd been shooting at. "Everyone else is teaching you like a mana-wielding mage. But you aren't one. Not in the conventional sense. If you were to learn like a ki practitioner…"

For a second, my sister's eyes lit up like stars as she considered the possibility. Then she visibly hesitated.

"But… I want to learn this on my own," she said, turning away and crossing her arms. "I can't just rely on you for everything, brother. It's… I want to be me, not the little sister of the King. Or of the Lance. Or the quadra-elemental mage."

I slowly pulled my arms away, feeling a bit guilty. "I understand," I said after a minute of silence. "I'm sorry."

"You said you learned from books first?" my sister inquired. "All on your own when you were Grey? You just… read books to learn about all this?"

"Yeah," I said sheepishly, rubbing at the back of my neck as I smiled wryly. "My instructors would teach me utter trash, and then I'd go home and remove all their teachings from my head through better training I'd found in books. Why do you ask?"

I looked back down at my sister, who was turned away from me slightly as a flush worked up her cheeks. "Well, if I had a book that explained it all, then I'm just… doing what you did, right?"

I coughed in surprise, about to open my mouth to respond, when a flaring mana signature and harsh steps caught my attention.

On instinct, I shifted in front of Ellie, putting myself between the approaching mana signature. The person shoved open the balcony doors, rushing toward me with a worried expression on their face.

Kathyln Glayder rushed toward me as if winter itself were nipping at her heels. The serene princess' normally doll-like expression was morphed into an uncertain frown as she skated across the grass. Her hands were clenched as she hastily curtsied. "Your Majesty," she said quickly. "An unforeseen problem has–"

"Leywin!" a familiar voice boomed with crackling thunder. The air itself took on an electric charge as someone approached with earth-shaking steps. "Explain yourself!"

Bairon marched from the balcony, lightning crackling between his fingertips. His aura swelled like a storm, washing over the air like an approaching cloud. His close-cropped pale hair jumped and sparked with his power, his teeth set into a snarl.

I stepped in front of Kathyln before the Lance's aura could hit her, shielding both the former princess and my sister from it with a flex of my own mana. King Grey slowly fuzzed back into existence behind the mad Lance as Ellie left my field of view.

But I could still sense her trembling in fear, even as Boo moved to cover her with a fearful croon.

Bairon stopped when he saw me, his face set in a scowl. "I demand that you explain your actions, boy. For daring to impose on House Wykes!"

I stepped forward, letting my aura expand as it clashed against the Lance's. "I have no need to explain anything to you, Bairon," I said coldly. 'You are a Lance. I am your monarch. To assume that I have any sort of duty to–"

"Quiet, boy!" Bairon interrupted, marching closer as his aura seethed. "I heard what you did from my father! Selling off our trade routes—ones we've held the rights to for generations—to the Flamesworth House? It is a disgrace beyond your station," he sneered.

"The contracts for each trade route rest in the hands of Sapin's leaders," I said coolly, dismissing the raging man's anger. "It is up to the crown to redistribute them once their tenure ends. And when one House disobeys stated law, they cannot expect consequences to simply avoid them."

And in truth, I would have liked to do more. The trade routes in question edged along the northern rims of the Grand Mountains, and some cursory investigation revealed that House Wykes had been using the covert mountain passes to sneak into Elshire Forest for the purposes of interracial slaving.

That's probably how Lucas came about, I thought, matching Bairon's eyes. "House Wykes made several critical mistakes that hampered the war effort, Lance Thunderlord. Do not expect your noble status to shelter your family from the consequences of their actions any longer. Times have changed."

"Times have changed? And you get to decide that, why? Because you usurped a throne?" Bairon's aura swelled as his nostrils flared, his pupils dilating into pinpricks. "Convenient for you that the elf Commander just went up and collapsed," he seethed. I could see the lightning mana crackling along his nerves as it enhanced his reflexes in preparation for a fight. "It all fits too neatly, you scheming rat. Born in Elshire. Bedding their princess. In cahoots with their Commander. And now suddenly an attack happens that just gives you power."

The Lance took a threatening step forward, goading me. "You always knew too much about the Alacryans, boy. Uto was only talkative around you, and only behind closed doors. And then Alea dropped by Xyrus to talk to you before her final assault, didn't she? And then she was found–"

"You think you want to fight me, Lance. But you do not want this. It will not end how you think," I interrupted, my anger rising. Boiling to the surface. "Do not think that position can shield you—or your family—forever if you continue to make… unwise insinuations."

Bairon scoffed. "And you think your title as 'King' can shield yours–"

I was already moving, mana thrumming across my limbs. A barrier of earth erected itself behind me as I engaged earthborne, sheltering Kathyln, Ellie, and Boo from what was about to happen.

Slowed as I was by the craggy effects of this form, Bairon actually had a chance to react. He erupted with lightning as he called down a bolt from a thundercloud that had been forming on high. After that, he started to fly backward, attempting to gain some distance.

The electricity struck me, but the absurd defensive abilities of my form shrugged off most of it. Little ionized bits of mana pinged and crackled around me.

And then I was fireborne. I snarled, building up a burst of mana along my body, before I erupted upward in a conflagration of Piston Stamp. Wind magic made me little less than a blur as I seared toward the airborne Lance.

Enhanced as he was by Thunderclap Impulse, though, Bairon had a chance to respond. His eyes glowed as he waved an arm, lighting traveling like a net toward me as it sought to catch me in my blur.

His mistake.

The aether bent and twisted in front of me, and suddenly I was just past the Lance. I swung my arm down in a vertical chop, a gauntlet of stone encasing my fiery fist.

The Lance was already twisting to try and react, but not fast enough. My chop cratered his shoulder, a boom echoing out as I followed through.

Bairon shot toward the ground, his lightning winking out from the force of my blow. He smashed into the soft soil with a cacophonous boom, electricity sputtering and dancing over the once-green grass and charring it black.

I landed a moment later, letting my manaborne form drift away as I marched forward. In my fireborne form, I was exceptionally resistant to flames and their deviants, so I bore little to no injuries from the short scuffle. Still, a few lightning burns marred the surface of my skin as I stalked toward the downed Lance.

Bairon was growling, struggling to stand. Before he could, however, chains of earth erupted from the ground, cinching around his wrists and forcing him back down. I held out my hand, summoning Dawn's Ballad as Grey drew me onward.

This man had threatened my family. He had isinuated that I had orchestrated the attack on Virion Eralith; that I had led Uto to Lance Alea. My mana billowed around me like a storm as it slammed into the rogue white core mage, and for once, I thought he saw an iota of what I truly was.

My emotions began to bleed away as I pressed my boot against Bairon's chest, then slammed him back into the dirt. Lightning skittered over my body, but it couldn't pierce my shroud.

The tip of Dawn's Ballad pressed into Bairon's throat, drawing a thin line of blood. And finally, the man stilled as he seemed to recognize what position he was in.

The world went still. The phantom ghost of King Grey stood at my shoulder. He compelled me to kill the man beneath my boot. To end a threat to everything I cared for.

I stared down into Bairon's eyes, weighing the value of his life. I could simply pull on the tether between us and crush his heart. I could think of countless mages more suitable to the position of Lance, too. Most would not match the power of the lightning mage, but they would be more amenable to my kingship.

"Foolish lessers," a familiar voice uttered caustically. "Keep your petty squabbles to yourself."

I turned my eyes to the side, noting as a certain asura stalked onto the balcony, winged red spear in hand. "Taci Thyestes," I said with frigid apathy. "Discipline was necessary, though it seems we've interrupted your meditation."

Taci paused in his steps abruptly as he stared into my eyes, his olive-green ones blinking. "More pantheon than man," he said, echoing the words of his master long past. "I see it now."

That snapped me from my thoughts. I stepped off the restrained Lance, keeping Dawn's Ballad summoned but not poised.

King Arthur, I reminded myself. Not King Grey.

I would not rule through tyranny and bloodshed. Killing a Lance so simply would set the precedent of my previous life of fear and terror. It would undo all that I'd tried to accomplish.

Bairon snarled as he pushed himself weakly to his hands and knees. "He knows about the Alacryans' plans," he wheezed, looking at Taci. "It doesn't make sense how much he knows. How much he's maneuvered everything."

Taci's eyes—which were starting to darken toward beetle-black—narrowed. The war paint beneath them made him look all the more intimidating. "You imply that King Leywin is in league with the enemy, lesser?"

Bairon didn't respond, still struggling to stand.

Taci's attention flicked to the dome of earth still protecting Kath and Ellie, then back to the Lance. He scoffed. "The lesser king cares too much for your measly, worthless lives to barter with Agrona Vritra. If he let go of that attachment, he'd have already won."

Ellie didn't see me like this, I reaffirmed myself, letting out a breath. She didn't see the weapon.

"Keep Otis Wykes in line, Bairon," I said, my nerves finally cooling as the Lance stumbled to his feet. "You are a Lance of Dicathen. I serve not myself, but my continent. I will let your comments slide just this once out of respect for the service your family has kept to the crown of Sapin for centuries. I understand that the execution of your brother—deserved as it was—has unbalanced your reason. But I will not tolerate this again."

I gave Taci a second chance. I could not deny Bairon his.

"We are not at war with each other," I stressed, the fire in my blood settling slightly. "The Alacryans are the ones that kill our people and enslave every race. If you want someone to blame, then blame them."

The Lance's mana crackled as he gnashed his teeth, sending a look so hateful back toward me—toward the bubble shielding Ellie—that I felt a burgeoning mote of Grey return. Should I simply run Dawn's Ballad through his chest? Be done with it?

But before I could act on that thought, the Wykes turned, hobbling toward the exit of the balcony.

I turned my attention back to Taci, still feeling Grey's presence just behind my shoulder. "Your assistance was unneeded, but I thank you nonetheless," I said to the young pantheon, letting the barrier around Ellie and Kath fall. The former clung to Boo, while the latter trembled silently as she tried to keep to herself.

I turned toward them, ready to assure them of their safety. I would still order heightened security around my parents, though, and greater observation of the Wykes household. The way Bairon had threatened my family…

"You have the makings of a great warrior, lesser Leywin," Taci interrupted, stepping forward. "You do not embrace the weapon within. I demand to know why."

I turned, looking at the young pantheon warrior. In him, I saw a strange mirror of the Lance I had just sent away.

Taci and I trained together often. Though I left each sparring session sporting wounds that would leave most mages bedridden for months or permanently crippled at worst, I never stopped my sparring. Sylvie would heal me, her brows furrowed and worried as she commented on my willingness to let myself be hurt.

But both Taci and I had grown in our martial abilities in each sparring match. We used each other like whetstones, honing our technique and skill in every clash.

"That way leads to only emptiness," I replied. "I traveled it once, Taci, that pantheon mindset you hold so highly. In another life. But in the end, being a weapon leaves nothing."

"Do you know what a Yaksha is, lesser Leywin?" Taci asked instead, his tattoos seeming somehow darker despite the sun. "You trained with more than just me inside the Aether Orb. So surely you must know. And because you must, then you must understand how foolish your words are."

I restrained my annoyance at the young pantheon's condescending tone. "Kordri never told me much besides the forms I was learning," I responded, intrigued despite myself. "Unless you forget, I was never even told the names of our sparring partners. Only yours."

Taci's nostrils flared, and the grip on his spear tightened. "Because they were burgeoning Yaksha. The Wandering Warriors, the nameless blades. They cast aside their birth names before entering the aether orb, before sparring with… you. Because poorly forged weapons are undeserving of names. Undeserving of recognition, undeserving of emotions. Only once they had left on their Journeys, honing themselves through a hundred Trials, would they have earned the right to a new Name, as all great weapons are honored."

Something in my blood chilled down to my very heart. I traced the path of Taci's implications, saw what he was trying to say. "But you did not sacrifice your name," I countered, turning away. "You have not sacrificed your emotions. Because that was not your path within the Aether Orb."

"You still pretend not to understand, Lesser King," Taci snapped, irritable. "My peers travel the path of the Yaksha, forging their names, and I am here. I would have led armies, would have commanded legions of your petty kind, all to become steel. But you have stripped my purpose from me, Leywin. And you will return something to me for the disrespect."

The boy who sought to outstrip all his peers, I thought. Though Taci's aura was oppressive and cruel, I could only feel pity in my soul. And he goes so far to strip himself of his personhood.

"I can teach you everything about what it means to lead armies. Strategy, troop movement, how to command the battlefield like a general. I can show you methods not even known to your masters because they come from a world away," I whispered.

Memories of feeding that black, Greying wave within me resurfaced, like a bloated corpse bobbing to the surface of a bog. That moment when Vera had uttered the words to make me crack, like a stone sculpture struck one too many times.

And the cracks had yawned so very deep, consuming all. Anger had disappeared into the deep. So too had sorrow. It didn't hurt anymore when I'd thrown it all away, and what I would have given to only stop there. What I would have given to live in eternal, unending bliss, empty of my guilt and misery.

But what was joy without sadness? How could light be known without the dark? Happiness and hope could not exist without the pain. So they had to be devoured, too, leaving me an empty husk of a person, fraying at every edge.

I looked Taci in the eyes, and I knew he saw my pity. Yet I could not change the truth.

"But I will never teach another how to break themselves."