“What if I curse your children and your descendants afterwards? Would you still continue to mock me like this?”
Khailis was taken aback by Goddess Eily’s answer, but her own response had never been clearer. “W-Well... yes!”
The goddess eye’s flashed with irritation. “You little -”
“Sister Eily, you know Queen Argillya’s half-conscious promise did not hold any weight in them. The courts had also settled this matter already. Why don’t we make this an opportunity to make up with the Paucas, hmm,” Templar said, attempting to humor the irritated Goddess of Childbirth.
Indeed, this predicament had always puzzled Templar. How could Eily even think, for a second, that she and Rahul were in a real relationship? What was Eily thinking when she extracted that promise to someone who was nearly dying while in labor?
The goddess of childbirth didn’t speak for a long time. Of course she knew that a mother’s promise wasn’t exactly binding. She had always held
“Shia, are you ready? It’s almost time,” Khailis called on her softly, reminding her that the ceremony was about to begin, and yet, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the looking glass. She wanted to look back at this moment once again after she had successfully set out to do her task. She wanted to tell herself that the decision to kill Sirion would be for the good of everyone who was suffering from a curse, just like her and Langrey. It doesn’t matter what the repercussions will be. She just has to emerge victorious from this, no matter what. “Let me fix your hair a little bit,” Khailis volunteered. She adjusted the crown of baby’s breath and the veil on top of her head. “I’m sorry, we can’t be there,” Khailis muttered, “but we won’t be too far off. We don’t know if Mage Silas would carry you both off, so we’ll just stay vigilant nearby.” Shia laughed a little. “I don’t think he would try to, but thank you.” Khailis smiled back. “Well, if
If there was one thing Galahad was extremely good at, it was making time passages. He had gained that skill since he was young. After all, he was the direct descendant of a powerful god. It was understandable that he would be a great god someday too... But it was the greatest disappointment of everyone around him that he had chosen to follow a fallen goddess during the past few centuries instead of using his powers to govern wisely from Teotroly. Whatever his co-gods and goddesses in Teotroly think of him though, it doesn’t matter. He knew the secret to everything. He was privy to information that could make everything proceed or crumble down, and right now, he was making use of one such secret for his Freya. “You’ll have to go through a series of realities in order to reach Sirion in his designated prison,” Galahad told Freya the day before her wedding. “How many realities do I need to go through?” “I’m not entirely sure...” Galahad k
Shia wanted to collapse on the floor. Her head hurt and her heart felt stuffed. How many times had she been through this? She had lost count at twenty, but the layers of realities that she was passing through hadn’t stopped yet. She had been a murderer and deserter so many times in the past few hours – or was it days – that she couldn’t shed any more tears for those whom she had to abandon or to leave to be killed. How many more of these scenarios must she overcome? She had been a mother, a lover, a daughter, a son, a criminal, and many more, and always, she needed to leave people who needed her and begged for her to stay, and their cries ate away at her soul. How long must she be so heartless? Now, as she left another painful reality behind, she was immediately taken into another one... Shia gazed at her palms, and frowned. Her nails were painted in pretty neon colors. They were new, so she shouldn’t try to wash dishes today. Of course, that
“Who do you think I am?” Shia thought long and hard. She stared at the man’s pale face and his even paler hair that reminded her of corn husks; well, silver corn husks, that is. It didn’t seem to suit his muscular frame that towered over her. The most beautiful things about him were his eyes. His dark violet eyes were shining towards Shia like a pair of mysterious jewels. They looked misty though, as if he was on the brink of tears or suppressed elation. This man didn’t seem like the Sirion she had known, but somehow, he felt extremely familiar. It seemed to take her an eternity before she could finally answer his question, “I… I don’t know…” He sighed. There was a tinge of disappointment in his eyes, but she had seen it only for a second as his face had changed to a tender but more worried look. “That’s alright. Your memories do not seem to be back yet, but your power has been overflowing, which makes this journey of yours more dangerous. You
As soon as she fell asleep in hell, the hot air and the smell of sand hit her face hard. Shia opened her eyes. There was a bit of haze, but somehow, she could still see things clearly. Suddenly, something nasty regurgitated from the pit of her stomach. She popped her head towards the open air of the moving caravan and threw out what she had for lunch. A smooth hand pressed over her back. “Shia, are you alright?” She looked back at her. She cannot believe it. It was the face she had missed all these months! “Mother!” She hugged the woman back very tightly. Her mother had coughed twice before she let her go. “Are you alright, dear? Does your stomach feel bad?” “I’m al-” she had meant to say that she was alright, but she had caught another nauseating smell, and she had to throw up again. “Did you eat something bad?” Her mother frowned. Her mother... wasn’t she dead? Shia shook her thoughts away violentl
Stabbed in the neck – did she hear Khailis correctly? Langrion had been stabbed in the neck? Could it be?... Could it be that she had ended up stabbing him for real? “Let me see him...” Shia couldn’t stop the tears that fell down from her eyes like rainwater. “I need to see him, Khailis... Please...” “Sure, sure... I’ll arrange for that, but not now. You must rest. Your body is still too weak...” The worried look on Khailis’ face worsened when she saw her cry. “No, I must see him now... I need to see him, please...” Khailis bit her lips. She seemed to understand her struggle perfectly, but then again, she could see how Shia couldn’t even manage to sit herself straight. How would see react if she saw Langrey’s condition? “Alright, wait here... I’m calling them. Wait for me here.” Khailis got up from her side and exited the room. Shia slumped back into bed, her breathing far too laborious. How can Langrion suffer a wound
Shia knew that everything she had seen thus far after being placed by Galahad at her own bed were all a dream, including now as she looked at Sirion sitting at the royal throne room of Gascone. “You’ll never win, Sirion,” she hissed at him. Despite knowing that these were all a figment of her imagination in the land of sleep, Shia still hated him to the core. He rose from his seat and walked towards her. “But I already have, deary... My plans had already been set into motion long before you had been aware of them. Did you not see my wedding gift for you in hell?” Shia’s heart stopped. Did Sirion know that she and Langrion had made the journey to the underworld? “Of course, deary! And now, I’ll be claiming your wedding night too...” As soon as she heard him speak those words, she gasped and opened her eyes. It was too dark for her to see anything, but she knew she was now in her room back in Teotroly. She heaved a sigh of relief. Howeve
A few minutes before the attack, Gavil and Khailis’ lamp lights were still ablaze, and Khailis was pacing franctically around the bedroom floor. She bit her nails in alarm, and looked at Gavil who was also slightly anxious at the turn of events. The two of them asked leave from Queen Argylla to stay at the Temple of the Gods after Langrion and Shia’s wedding. Actually, it was Khailis who had asked of it. Although she knew she was growing Pauca eggs inside of her, she couldn’t stand the thoughts of her friends battling away for their dear lives at the temple while she was resting comfortably back at Gavil’s home. She wanted to be there when they wake up. They had been there for almost a week, and Khailis had almost had no time for rest that it became Gavil’s job to remind her to take naps and set aside some time to energize the eggs. Almost always, however, she was too tired to do it, and stories about her ‘neglectful actions’ have reached the ears of the Goddess of C