Chapter Fifteen

Alisha felt the chair she was sitting in slip right out from under her and she was falling into an unknown abyss. She reached out, hands gripping the table to keep her from sinking into that darkness. She must not have heard correctly. But the sharp tip of the chair was persistent beneath the blade of her shoulder and the world started to move again. The noises coming from the others' mouths morphed back into words, and she was forced to accept she had heard perfectly fine.

"That is quite a sacrifice," Drakon agreed slowly. Alisha could feel his gaze upon her out of the corner of her eye, but could not find the strength to meet it. "But won't that put you in a bit of a bind?"

Edith's laugh was soft as a feather. "You needn't worry about us. Alisha isn't the only survivor of royal lineage. We'll be just fine."

To Alisha's left, Belle swallowed audibly, her every muscle clenching at the Queen Consort's statement. Her eyes were fixed straight in front of her. She remained silent.

"I am willing to entertain the proposal." The tone in Drakon's voice declared the conclusion to this little meeting. "However, I would like to speak to Princess Alisha in private now, if you will."

There was that sinking feeling again, like the stone beneath Alisha's feet was threatening to swallow her.

"Of course." Edith and Halbridge smiled pleasantly. Belle remained tight-lipped as they were escorted out of the chamber.

Minutes in silence stretched out to eternity and Alisha's hands never left the table even as Evelyn and Adrian entered the room. Drakon explained the proposal.

Evelyn pursed her lips briefly. "I can't say I'm thrilled by the idea under these circumstances. Though I suppose that makes two of us." She sent Alisha a sympathetic look.

Adrian sighed, rubbing his tired forehead. "Make that three."

"But what choice do I have?" Drakon threw his arms up. "If I refuse, that could be taken as an insult, and yet none of it matters anyway unless we find the true culprit." He turned to her. "The marriage proposal comes at a time where it's both impossible to accept and impossible to refuse."

She blinked, finally coming back into herself little by little. "...Would you be upset if I said no?" The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could think better of it. She winced at her carelessness. "Sorry. I would just like some time to think on it."

"Naturally," Drakon agreed.

And yet Alisha didn't feel the least bit relieved at that.

…

"They what?!" Rose nearly screeched.

Alisha winced slightly at the shrill pitch. "I'm not particularly keen on the idea myself."

Rose's hands rose to her hair, grabbing fistfuls, then dragged down the sides of her face and back into her hair again. The news struck her like an avalanche and she was swept up in a flurry of emotions she's hadn't completely processed – was this panic? Rose didn't often feel panic, and yet it had completely taken her over.

"They're trying to get rid of you," said Rose, pacing the small length of her hotel room, her words even more rapid than her hurried strides. "It's less messy if they don't have to kill you. It's perfect. What are you going to do? What does this mean for Hyland?"

Alisha shrugged from her seat on the edge of the bed, not feeling much else other than the heavy stone churning in the hollow of her stomach. "I don't think I was ever really on the table for queen, to be honest. It felt more likely Chancellor Belle would ascend the throne or someone else."

"Like who else?"

"I don't know." The princess tugged weakly at her curled ponytail. "Maybe Lady Edith or Chancellor Halbridge. I didn't get to particpate in those talks, remember?"

Rose slowed to a halt, running a hand through her hair. "Ah, right."

"If those are truly the top three candidates, then why are they here?" Mikleo asked.

"They have some kind of plan, obviously," said Edna.

Mikleo rolled his eyes. "Obviously," he echoed. "But if they're that important, you'd think there would have been more resistance to their coming to Rolance under these circumstances."

" 'Cause they're also on someone's shit list," said Zaveid. He was sitting on the desk chair backwards, his elbows on the back and resting his face in one hand.

"But whose?" Rose found a wall to kick back against, crossing her ankles over each other. "It could be anyone at this point."

"I don't want to get married," Alisha blurted, her eyes pricking with tears. "Not to him."

Rose sat down beside her, taking her hand in hers. The same hand, Alisha noted, that had experienced Rose's lips on bare skin, sending a ripple through her that never quite smoothed – the waters of affection and attraction forever stirred. She was reminded of the time she'd woken up with Rose tucked against her, embracing her with her whole body. How the waters then had been warm and inviting, lulling her into contentment – a sensation akin to floating. Now with Rose's hand in hers, her shoulder pressed against hers, and the feelings that can no longer be allowed, Alisha felt her feet slipping at the edge of a steep cliff. An ocean of what can't be roiling angrily beneath her.

"That's understandable," Lailah commiserated.

Alisha sniffled. "I accepted a long time ago that Inever going to be able to marry for love… That I could never even learn to love my partner. I just sort of… hoped if I didn't think about it the day would never come, because there's something else I learned after my first boyfriend," Alisha said, twirling a lock of hair nervously with her free hand. Tears spilled down her cheeks. "...I'm gay."

"For what it's worth, I like women too." Rose scrabbled for common ground in the hopes of easing her friend's burden.

"It's not the same." Alisha's voice was a hoarse whisper.

"Because you're still expected to marry a man – to produce an heir," said Rose quietly, her heart aching. Alisha nodded solemnly.

The edges of Alisha's armor were sharp in Rose's embrace but she'd hold her for as long as it took for Alisha to stop making that face.

…

As they exited the inn, Rose intending to walk Alisha back to the castle, something caught the corner of her eye and she reached for her daggers.

"Rose?"

There was a man standing by the fountain, lips split into a wolf-like grin – his teeth inhumanly sharp and he had pointed ears. His blonde hair was pulled into an impossibly large ponytail.

"Lunarre!" Rose shouted his name with the promise of violence.

He turned and ran out the city gates. She chased him into the middle of Pearloats Pasture. He was fast, but with the wind armatus, she was faster. Now without bystanders to worry about she called upon Zaveid and then they were in front of him, blocking his path.

He skidded to a halt. The fields were so flooded that the surface mud had become more water than dirt. A spray of filthy water splashed Rose and Zaveid's shins. Over his shoulder, Rose spotted Alisha running as fast as she could, her spear gripped tightly in two hands and ready to run Lunarre through. Good. And then a little further back was Angelie chasing after her ward. Oh no…

Answering her wost fears, Lunarre grinned and reversed direction. He leapt over Alisha's head, his sights set straight on Angelie. Alisha and Rose both went to intercept him but an explosion of earth, debris, and murky water blocked their path.

"Let him have his fun." Symonne grinned wickedly.

Angelie reached for one of the knives she kept hidden in her uniform. She'd barely grasped it before he was upon her. Her eyes were wide with shock. How could he move so fast?

"Angelie, run!" Rose shouted. "He's stronger than-"

It didn't matter. Of course it didn't. Because an ordinary human like Angelie had no hope against a fully realized hellion. Lunarre planted a roundhouse kick into her chest. She soared at a terrifying velocity. She struck a tree like thunder. The resounding crack filled the air as wood splintered, accompanied by a scream of agony that never completely left the knight's lips. The tree split in two where it had been hit, the top landing in the mud with a muted thud. Angelie slumped into an immobile heap at the tree's base.

One of Lunarre's knives hurtled through the air – aimed directly at her throat. Rose only just managed to deflect it with one of Zaveid's wind blades. The other seraphim housed in the Shepherd burst out into the open. Lailah, the best healer among them, made a B-line to where Angelie lay worrisomely still. Edna went to provide defensive support.

"She's dead," said Edna as Lailah fell to her knees at Angelie's side, before Lailah had even begun to channel mana.

Angelie lay twisted over the tree roots, her head lolled loosely to one side. Her eyes were partly closed, a little bit of white peeking out at the bottom, as though she'd been struggling to open them and get back on her feet in her last fleeting moments.

"N-no..." Lailah said hoarsely with her hand at Angelie's neck, even as her fingers felt no pulse.

The impact had been too much for her spine to handle. It'd snapped her neck as she hit the tree.

"We have to help Alisha and Rose," said Edna, turning to where their friends were clashing with Symonne and Lunarre.

"Right." Lailah stood, gathering herself. "Let's go."

Lunarre lunged at Alisha. Rose tried to intercept and once again was stopped by Symonne as an explosion of heat and debris erupted in front of her. Alisha readied herself on the balls of her feet, squelching deeper into the muck. The silver flames of purification ignited on her blade. She had the advantage of reach. Her mind raced with possibilites predicting what his real attack would be.

Lunarre evaded her thrust by leaping high into the air, his body providing a sheltered moment from the rain as he soared over her head. He landed with a splash, dirty water painting the back of Alisha's bare thighs. She dug one foot in like an anchor and pivoted to face him, swinging her spear with the momentum. Her horizontal strike stopped short. As her eyes caught up with her movement, she met Lunarre's smug gaze. He was inside her range, his forearm braced against the staff of her spear. He then gripped it with both hands and attempted to yank it from her grasp. The pull in her shoulders at his inhuman strength was almost strong enough to dislocate them. Almost. After all, she was a Squire. He twisted to plant a foot into her stomach. She sidestepped, her hands never leaving her weapon. As his foot was raised she maneuvred her own foot behind the one of his that was still on the ground and hooked it out from under him.

Lunarre released her spear to catch his fall backwards, catching himself on his hands and flipping himself back on to his feet. Alisha thrust her polearm in that brief unguarded moment before his feet touched the ground. He bathed in the white flames with a hiss and launched himself back out of range. A knife hurtled towards her. A slab of rock erupted from the ground, catching it in the soft soil that clung to it. Its job done, it dissolved and returned to the earth it had come from.

"Thanks, Edna!" Alisha called out.

Edna merely grunted in reply as Symonne flung something at her. It was small and round and shimmered in the rain. It almost looked like a stone of some sort. Or a precious gem. Edna leapt out of the way. Having missed its target already, the gem – or whatever it was – burst into a radiant sphere of gold sparks and shrapnel. Edna caught the sharp slivers of stone headed for her in her open umbrella.

Lunarre resumed his assault on the princess. Alisha was largely on her own this fight. Everytime one of her allies attempted to assist, Symonne stopped them with her illusions and the thunderous explosions of her gems booming across their battlefield. A chill colder than the rain that soaked through her clothes and ran the length of Alisha's spine. She had not forgotten the fight where Symonne had imitated Maltran – how impossibly strong she'd been. Lunarre was strong too. She wasn't sure she could beat him on her own. Every time she struck him, only the barest fraction of his malevolence dissipated.

Another gem exploded as it passed Rose. Bits of it biting into her flesh as they whizzed by. Sometimes they came close to detonating on her face, leaving small scrapes that trickled blood all over her skin. Rose risked a glance at Alisha. It was clear the princess was struggling but at least she was still standing. Rose would have to make this quick. She called upon Zaveid again. Her body became featherlight as the wind armatus came to life.

Rose and Zaveid charged. Symonne split into three – then 6 – then 12 and so on. They circled her, their maniacal grins identical to each other. She dashed from one to the next, gritting her teeth until her jaw ached as she watched each and every one she stabbed fade into air. Edna stabbed at them from underneath, Mikleo from above – transforming the rain drops in to dangerously sharp icicles. The main body continued to elude them. Lailah did her best to provide support but there was little her fire artes could do in such heavy rainfall.

"Sylphistae!" Rose launched herself into the sky, summoning scores of wind blades and raining them down onto Symonne and her doubles. It was a risk, exposing herself in an attack like this that temporarily nullifies all her mobility. But she had to take it. She could feel her companion's reserves, as well as her own, were beginning to run dry.

The illusions all disappeared, having been pierced by the mystic arte. The real Symonne was left standing alone, with barely a scratch on her. Suddenly it seemed as if the world was moving in slow motion. Symonne lifted her head to meet Rose's eyes, a smirk playing at her lips as if she'd already won. She tossed a handful of gems into the air in Rose's direction. If Rose did nothing, she would collide with them and there was no way Rose could twist out of the way.

"Luzrov Rulay!" She recognized evasion was impossible as she reached the apex of her jump.

Zaveid was released from the armatus to make room for Mikleo. Rose felt her vision grow clearer as she began to free fall. She could see the cut of each gem as it raced to meet its promise of her demise. The dull gleam of their colors beneath the dark grey sky. She and Mikleo hooked their fingers around the bowstring, a glowing blue arrow materializing as they pulled it back. And at the height of its tension, the arrow was released. It split into as many piercing trails of blue as there were explosive gems flying up to meet them. Beneath them, Symonne's smile widened. Rose and Mikleo's heart seized and chest tightened with the realization that they may have just made a terrible mistake.

A burst of color and smoke as the gems burst when struck by the arrow. The last gem to go was larger than the rest, its color somehow how a dark roiling, whirling purple. When it shattered, it didn't sent sharp debris flying at Rose and Mikleo as the others had. It instead released an opaque cloud of purple. They passed through it on their way back to the ground. It clung to them in smoky tendrils, the rest of the cloud being pulled down with them. When they landed and it finally all caught up it wormed itself under their skin and anchored itself onto their heart – its weight nearly dragging it into their stomach which put up a weak protest. Bile rose to the back of their throat, but as the two of them hunched over, gasping for air that was increasingly hard to breathe, nothing but raw saliva dripped from their mouth. They groaned.

"She actually did it!" Lunarre cackled with delight.

Alisha turned in time to see Zaveid hit the ground without resistance – without any attempt to land on his feet. He bellowed his agony across the field as he curled in on himself in the mud. Edna stumbled as if her own weight was too much to bear. She planted her umbrella on the ground and leaned heavily against it, her face pinched in pain. Lailah dropped to her knees, clutching her head in her hands. She was rapidly murmuring something, her body beginning to glow with a faint, flickering white light.

"What happened?" Alisha gasped.

"My little trip to the ruins," Symonne explained casually, "wasn't just to torment you. You see it housed a special jewel. Similar to an Anomalous Orb, it absorbs and accumulates malevolence. And when it breaks, well… You can see for yourself."

A dryness that burned filled Alisha's throat as her gaze reached Rose and Mikleo. They were still armatized. The dark cloud they had passed through, and that was now simultaneously penetrating their being and radiating off them in waves – it was unmistakeable. It was indeed malevolence.

Alisha abandoned her confrontation with Lunarre. She could feel some of the corruption niggling at the edges of her awareness, poisoning her link to the Shepherd. She ran as fast as she could, desperate to purify them before it was too late.

"Release the armatus!" Lailah cried, her every word laced with pain.

"I… can't." Rose and Mikleo managed as they doubled over, claws that were once hands tangled in their hair. Dark scales began to sprout along the length of their arms. They screamed.

Alisha was almost there, summoning the flames of purification. The barest whisper danced around the end of her spear before it was snuffed out. The reality finally set in. Her eyes stung and her chest ached. Rose was being forced to become a hellion, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She trembled – angry, afraid, and helpless.

"We need to leave Rose and find a new vessel," said Edna through gritted teeth. "If we don't, we'll all become hellions."

"But our old vessels are being corrupted because of Rose," said Zaveid, still laying curled up in the mud. "We have nothing!"

"I'll do it." Alisha's voice cracked, desperate yet determined. "I'll become a vessel."

Lailah gasped, shocked and out of breath from staving off the persistent darkness threatening to consume them all. "Alisha, you can't! Your resonance is too low. We don't know what will happen to you."

"I'm willing to take that chance." Alisha's grip on her spear tightened, her knuckles white under her gloves. "Whatever happens, it's better than all of you becoming hellions. Sacrifice the one to save the many."

"She's right," Edna agreed.

"We're not sacrificing anyone!" Lailah snapped back, appalled.

"Lailah, please. Let me try." There was a fierceness in Alisha's eyes that caused Lailah to waver. "I'm your best choice. Your only choice."

The Prime Lord could not argue with that. She reached out her hand and clasped Alisha's. A bright glow like a small sun blossomed from where their hands were touching. Alish felt an overwhelming warmth envelope her, similar to making the Squire's pact. Strange, she thought. Lailah's mouth was moving but she couldn't hear the words. Edna and Zaveid were fuzzy as they staggered closer. When Alisha blinked, her eyelids almost felt too heavy to open again. She opened them to a wave of nausea. Edna and Zaveid were in front of her now, their hands on Lailah's shoulders. Their blurry faces a mix of agony and concen. Lailah's mouth continued to move, but her words were nothing more than a rhythmic hum. Or perhaps that was the ringing that had started in Alisha's ears. She couldn't tell what Lailah was saying. The warmth she had felt turned unbearably hot. The rain steamed where it hit her skin. The droning in her ears rose in pitch. Her vision was now nothing but a swatch of colors blending into one another. Her knees wobbled.

Alisha thought she heard someone say her name, and then the world went black.

...

Rose's claws curled into fists, scooping up clumps of mud, dirtying the wounds her sharp nails inflicted on her palms. There were three forces battling within this body, a storm writhing inside her and threatening to burst the too narrow walls of her body. The malevolence wound its way up her limbs, snake-like coils of purple smoke constricting her chest and closing around her throat. She gasped for air and instead inhaled more and more malevolence. She coughed, her eyes squeezed shut, and screamed as Mikleo writhed in agony within their shared consciousness.

"Mikleo, save yourself!" she yelled, bits of bloody spittle flying from her mouth.

"I can't!"

With every ounce of combined strength they could muster, they tried to release the armatus but the malevolence had somehow chained them together. There was no undoing it. Distantly they could hear yelling from familiar voices but the words could not be heard over the scales tearing their way through Rose's skin and out into the open, glistening with fresh blood. And every stab of pain, Mikleo felt just as keenly. It was an echo chamber of agony. Somewhere in the midst of all this suffering, Rose felt something deep inside her fray and dissolve and at once knew her pact with Lailah was gone. She turned her head and cracked one eye open just in time to see Lailah, Zaveid, and Edna step into Alisha – and to see the mud splatter where Alisha fell into unconscousness.

Lunarre was quick to take advantage. He stood over the princess' limp body with one hand pressing her deeper into the mud and a knife in his raised in his other hand poised to strike.

"Alisha!" Rose and Mikleo screamed, two voices crying from one mouth.

The bow had not fallen far from them. Something snapped, as if the pain were as trivial as gnat. They scrambled on all fours and snatched up the bow and pushed themselves to their knees. Mikleo carved the bow's mana into something smaller, something that could be used while still on their knees – there wasn't enough time to stand to accommodate the bow's size. An arrow took form as Rose drew back the string and took aim. It was unlike any arrow they had ever created before. Before, their arrows had shimmered and glowed as if made of light itself and the flames of purification rippled through them. There was no warm glow to this one. It was solid and made of sharp edges – it was made with anger and indignation chiseled into the head. It was fast and it was merciless.

It pierced Lunarre's wrist in a flash of blue, bursting through the other side. There were no flames of purification to shield him from the damage as it chipped away at his malevolence. There was only an arrow, sharp and dangerous. The momentum carried his severed hand several yards away where it landed with a soft squelch. His proceeding shriek drowned out the rain itself. Blood spurted from the stump, splashing onto Alisha's chest. Lunarre leapt away from her, chasing after his lost hand.

His face was drawn into a grimace, snarling through gritted teeth. He pressed the fallen hand back into place, the powers he'd been granted as a hellion, slowly resealing them together. It didn't matter, though. Because while he'd been distracted by this, despite the pain pinching her features and dragging them down, Rose and Mikleo had found the strength to stand.

Their transformation was nearly over. Rose's nails were claws that rivaled Lunarre's. What had once been pale exposed flesh was layered in scales of deep blues and purples. Her irises had shifted from the color of the sky to the sun itself, her vision trained on him through cat-like pupils. Their bow expanded once more to its full size. Before Lunarre had even fully returned his attention to them, the bowstring was already taut, an arrow waiting for release.

Lunarre braced himself. Rose and Mikleo let go. It whistled through the air at incredible speed, the rain parting around it – no, it was drawing in power from the rain. Lunarre jumped out of harm's way. The arrow whizzed by. Once it had passed its mark, its from broke – shifting into a harmless splash of water.

Rose and Mikleo drew another arrow. Once fired, it split into more than a dozen smaller arcs of blue – more than Lunarre could dodge. The first one struck his shoulder, the second his heel. He stumbled, slipped. The third and final pierced him right between the eyes. His cries died in his throat as he crumbled lifelessly to the ground. That was one problem taken care of.

They whirled around, searching for Symonne but she was nowhere to be found. So their focus went back to Alisha. They took one step forward before stopping themselves.

-Wait, said Mikleo. The burden of being a vessel is already too much for her.

-Shit, you're right.

The walls of Pendrago were still in view. It wasn't too far. Perhaps if they could get help… They spared one last look at Alisha before running toward the city. As they passed through the gates, the last of the rain drops spattered against the cobble and the rooftops and the clouds began to part.