Chapter 433 (1/2)
Chapter 433
Chapter 431: Respect and Regards
The droning of the h the air provided a cal ambient static as I sat down at the foot of the shi+p cabin’s bed where Sylvie was lying down Outside, the pressure eons was a constant reminder of their presence The third had left after a brief conversation with the others, and I could only assu either to Windsom or directly to Kezess himself
“You don’t need to worry about et comfortable on the stone bed “I just need ht back These waves of fatigue and discomfort…I’m sure they’ll pass My body and mind need to recover and process, that’s all”
“Sylvie…” I started, then trailed off, not sure how to ask what I needed to “I keep seeing things, flashes of memory from our linked minds, of my life—Grey’s life But what I see doesn’t h they’re things that happened to ht I’d coo But every time I learned some new piece of information about how I ca
“I don’t think I can explain ords,” Sylvie said, propping herself up on her elbows “But I can let you in I’ to hold onto those h ti portal you’d ripped in our universe, while the rest of ”
I didn’t want to cause her unnecessary strain, but the desire to understand as happening overpoweredenough”
My bond smiled, closed her eyes, and laid back ‘Open your mind to me fully’
I did as she requested
I was reliving those lastas she sacrificed herself for y of her being was pulled apart The nizedit froh it all, right up until…
It was difficult to understand
“Nico thought the spell rong That Agrona hadtime, but…it was you You interrupted his spell…youled to make sense of what I’d seen But of the dozens of questions I had, one in particular thrust itself forward, and I asked it al to “The infant…did I kill him when I took the body? Alice’s…son?”
Sylvie’s ar slightly The mental link between us closed off and she curled in on herself, wrapping her arms around her knees “No, Arthur There was no other soul there The body…I think you were fated to have it”
I moved to sit next to her and rubbed her arm to warm her From the memory, it hadn’t been clear, and I wasn’t sure if Sylvie could really know that, but I didn’t press her further “Thank you for showing me theeven harder
Withdrawing a blanket froear stashed in my dimension rune, I laid it over her, and she was asleep in moments Uncertain what else to do, I returned to the foot of the bed
‘That’s a whole lot to process,’ Regis sent fro an eye on our dragon escorts with Chul
My led with the question of whether or not I was truly her son It had never been a question tothat it had been Sylvie who placed me inside that particular baby, I couldn’t help but wonder what it meant for my relationshi+p with my family
The question I had asked Sylvie was only one of ed in a horseshoe More answers seemed necessary to understand why my life had becothat no a answers to the questions I had, I did my best not to think about them Instead, I withdrew the keystone I’d received from the last ruin Sothe fact that nearly two months had passed in the blink of an eye, of course—that I hadn’t been able to give the keystonefros crossed, I rested the s its dark, matte surface Both the previous keystones, which had helped ht into Aroa’s Requieed puzzles for h my mind was unsettled, I felt a thrill as I prepared to imbue the cuboid relic with aether Rea d first at lnre adero rg !
My excitement soured only moments later as I mentally withdrew from the keystone I stared down at it, stricken, then attempted to imbue it with aether a second time My consciousness was pulled into it, the sa I simply came back to myself I couldn’t reach the keystone’s inner real Real to it, but that fact alone didn’t reveal anything about the keystone’s inner workings or suggest what I needed to do to operate it
Not willing to give up immediately, but incredibly frustrated that I’dto interact with the keystone, pushi+ngthe aether in specific ways, and using aether toI tried allowed ain insight into a new Godrune
Feeling defeated, I finally put the relic ahen Regis infor over the desert Joining the others on the deck, I watched the sand dunes and rocky crags speed by below us
Chul had his weapon out and was slowly raphed combat techniques His eyes were closed, but hehim because he said, “I would have preferred to spar with you, but Wren rightly worried that the force of our clash ht shatter his conjured construct”
“There will be real eneuffawed “I do not plan to fight Agrona’s forces, eance I will break the across my face Some of is and Chul All too soon, though, our destination approached, and aited for us clawed its way back into round to Wren—one of theVildorial—and we began descending toward the sand Sylvie was already up when I went to retrieve her, and within a couple e of the sons landed as well, transforon became a tall, blond ht caught it at a certain angle The red’s humanoid form was shorter and ainst his pale skin, but his ochre eyes and scoere the sa for you,” the blond asura said stiffly He took the lead down into the ravine while his counterpart roup
Wren Kain dis it to dissolve and flow as sand, then followed close on the first dragon’s heels
“Ah, if only we could stand beneath the sun’s warround,” Chul said, his eyes closed and face turned to the sun He was s, too tense to make conversation
Inside the tunnel entrance, which was hidden within the shadows of the ravine, ere greeted by a cadre of guards The dwarves bowed to the dragons, hardly even taking stock of who accoh without issue
We passed through several more barricades on the route to Vildorial After the third such obstruction, where the dragon offered a quick call and response to the guards before they allowed us through, I brought it up to our guide
“The guardian has done much to increase the security of this city,” he explained as we continued to march quickly “Several of the old tunnels were collapsed andwith a password system to ensure Alalcryan sympathizers and spies aren’t able to move freely within Darv”
I didn’t s hadn’t been done before explained why the dragons were needed so badly
The final gate into Vildorial was already open e arrived, and a s for us on the other side
I saw Ellie and Mo past the troop of soldiers, counselors, and lords, I let“I’, but I didn’t intend to be gone so long and without sending a e For ave ht was somewhat stiff “It’s okay, Arthur, you don’t have to—”
“Jerk!” Ellie snapped, punching me hard in the arer melted away as she made the realization She slipped aroundher ar fiercely, tears already spilling down her cheeks “You—you’re alive!” she squealed, her throat constricted by the sobs racking her
Sylvie patted Ellie’s back “I a if you continue to crush the breath fro her head againsthome washed over me, doubled in potency as I experienced my own emotions and Sylvie’s simultaneously The lun Silvershale, the lord of one of the most powerful dwarven clans, interposed himself between me and my fa with these other fine lords, have been sent to greet you on behalf of Guardian Vajrakor” So us, looking nervous, then continued “He awaits you in—”
Iaswith the group of dwarves and my family It had been awhile since I’d seen the other hu to clear the cities of Sapin of several Alacryan holdouts Although her white hair was now short, she hardly seeed at all since I firstoosebu !
“What’s wrong?” I asked, stepping around the still-speaking Daglun, who sputtered with indignation
Varay gave“Welcome back It was an…unfortunate time for you to disappear” There was a note of reproach in her voice, but it was shrouded beneath the frost of her icy stoicisfully back at the dwarven lords, all of ere giving lares I noticed that Carnelian Earthborn, Mica’s father, wasn’t aht you would want to be apprised of ilun cleared his throat “Perhaps we should allow Guardian Vajr—”
“Lord Silvershale,” Varay cut in “Neither the dragons nor your Council of Lords have the authority to colun’s fists clenched and face flushed He turned his back on us and began an urgently-whispered conversation with the other dwarven lords present
The dark-haired asura stepped forward, giving Varay a withering glare “Arthur Leywin is being escorted directly to Vajrakor You have no business interrupting us, Lance” He grabbedafter hion to be pulled back , aether and anger si under my skin, controlled but ever present
My head turned as I regarded the dragon with a gaze that made him freeze “Did we not make it clear earlier?”
The dark-haired asura’s eyes narrowed “What do you—”
“We are not escorting prisoners,” the blond asura interjected, prying his comrade’s hand off of my shoulder “But it is important that you—”
“It appears that there areissues that requirethem a cold, courtly smile “Inforons exchanged an uncertain look, then Wren stepped in “I’ll accompany you in Arthur’s stead” Out of the side of hisup in our faces”
After a an to ered abetween Wren and h and trailed behind theered on the asuras before returning to me “Before you left, an Alacryan woman arrived in the city via some kind of teleportation artifact She claimed to know you I’m told that you—”
“Teleportation artifact?”
The memory of my rushed departure frolun had said so about “the Alacryan,” and I had assu about Lyra Dreide
“This Alacryan, what color is her hair?”
Brows rising ever so slightly, Varay answered, “Blue”