Twenty minutes before River went into hiding, Torrent had just finished his "Aquatic Grammar tutoring" with Whirlpool, probably the worst of the classes he had to take with the old freshwater breather. After soon as he was done, he swam to the room where Orca was, currently receiving lessons from Coral on queenship. The two were just finishing up, and Torrent impatiently waited on the outside of the room, watching.
After Coral and Orca finished, they walked over towards Torrent. I see you two have made up? Queen Coral asked her children.
Torrent nodded. It hadn't taken long for Orca to apologize for her rudeness to him, and He was surprised Coral hadn't found that out yet, though she didn't seem to check on how they were doing all that often. The brother and sister still weren't exactly sure what to do now about Orca's magic, but at least they were still friends.
That's good. Siblings shouldn't stay angry for long. These are hard times, and we've been through alot, so I'm glad you still have each other.
Torrent was concerned for a moment: at first, he thought Coral somehow knew about Orca's problems with animus magic, but he quickly realized that his mother was talking about Rift's death. Torrent and Orca had both known Rift well, but grief was taking by far the largest toll on Gill and Angler. Angler was Rift's twin, and they had been a pair since birth. The eldest prince had been sulking alone in his room for the past two months. Gill was faring a bit better. He still appeared to be constantly gloomy, but at least he was out of his room.
Oh, yes, that's right, Coral flashed, suddenly remembering something. I almost forgot, you two are going to have another sister soon! Her egg is in the royal hatchery if you would like to say hello.
Orca almost visibly groaned. She clearly didn't want another sibling, River was already enough. Torrent himself didn't care. Maybe the new dragonet would be nicer than their current sister. That wasn't too much to hope for, was it?
Orca and Torrent said their goodbyes to their mother, and headed down towards Orca's room quietly. Orca suddenly thought she heard something, or someone. Maybe Griffin, deciding to wander about the empty corridor? Did you hear something? she asked Torrent.
Torrent shook his head. Orca frowned. Can you go get Griffin? she asked Torrent.
Torrent nodded, and swam across the passageway to the room where Griffin was being kept. He took out the key, and unlocked the door. His talons clenched up when he saw who was inside.
Torrent, what's wrong? Orca asked after a moment.
River, Torrent flashed.
River lay on the ground in the room, holding down a fishing net containing a trapped Griffin. Griffin struggled to get free, but to no avail. River had a claw threateningly resting around Griffin's feathered throat, brushing under his coat of feathers.
Orca and Torrent entered the room. Orca hissed, and opened her jaws as if to say something.
Don't try to use your magic, River flashed. I'll slit his throat.
The two SeaWing princesses stood, their eyes locked together in a stare. Torrent turned to Griffin, had River hurt him? Fortunately, he looked unharmed. Torrent wasn't exactly certain what would happen if Griffin's throat was cut open. Would he bleed? Would he drown? If he died, Orca wouldn't be able to bring him back: there was one rule of animus magic, and that was that one couldn't bring back the dead.
What do you want? Orca flashed, glaring at her sister with a scowl.
River thought for a moment, as if deciding what exactly to say. Your magic, she finally responded. I want you to enchant me to get your animus powers, then leave the Sea Kingdom forever.
Orca snorted and seethed. Torrent wasn't sure if she was able to do that. He hadn't heard any tales of animus powers being given before, but as far as he knew there was no rule against it. Yet, it still seemed wrong; there must be some rule of magic preventing that.
If Orca did try and give her powers to River, what would happen to her soul? Would it be saved, or would it be harmed even further? It sounded like a large enchantment, what if trying to do it killed her?
Orca, don't do it, Torrent flashed quickly.
River looked impatiently, and slowly dragged her claw across Griffin's throat, drawing a red line of blood across it. He could clearly bleed. Griffin fidgeted from side to side in pain, looking up at Orca pleadingly.
River, that's not possible, Orca calmly replied to her younger sister. That's not how animus magic works. Can we settle this someway else? I can enchant you something that will protect you in combat, or maybe something that will make dragons like you more.
River hissed at Orca. And then what? You'll just let me keep it? No, as soon as I take my talons off your little pet, you'll zap me into oblivion or worse.
We don't have to settle this with violence, River, Orca replied exasperatedly. We can work something out. For some reason, Orca didn't seem too worried about Griffin's death. Torrent wondered if she was just trying to remain calm in front of River.
Oh, so now you want to work something out? River flashed. Now that I have power? It's too late for that. You could've worked something out earlier: you've had four years to work something out. But no, you've ignored me, rejected me. You've always had your future planned. An animus queen of the SeaWings, destined to unite Pyrrhia under our tribe, right? You think I don't know what queens do with their sisters after they take the throne? What Oasis did, what Scarlet did? No, I'm going to become queen, and you should be grateful to me that I'm letting you live in exile. You wouldn't have done the same for me.
Suddenly, as River was distracting herself talking to Orca, Torrent tackled his sister from the side, pushing River away from the entangled Griffin. The two tumbled through the water, claws and wings flashing.
After creating a little space between them, Torrent used the classic SeaWing fight tactic of hitting her head with his thick tail, but River was too fast. She grabbed his tail, digging her claws into it, and used it to slam him into the ground. Torrent quickly got up and clawed at his sister's neck, but River rammed into Torrent's own neck and bit into it hard, making Torrent yelp out in pain. She grabbed his neck with her talons, and stabbed the thick claw on her wing into his back. She might have been smaller than her brother, but her constant fights with Moray had given her far more experience.
River placed a claw in front of Torrent's neck, directly on one of his arteries. She pushed his neck against her own, pinning it in place. A single motion and she could end Torrent's life. He went still, knowing he had lost the fight.
Now, River flashed to Orca, let's see if you care about your brother more than your p—
The string of pearls draped on River's neck suddenly morphed into sharp metal blades, and contracted around her neck, instantly severing her head from the rest of her body. Her claws clenched, poking between Torrent's scales, but they didn't puncture through the spaces between them. River's violet-scaled head slowly floated down to the stone floor, blood streaming from the severed base, staining the water red.
Orca stood from the side, glaring as her dead sister's severed head hit the ground, laying to rest on the ground. Her mouth was stretched in a determined grimace, and her eyes glared in anger at her dead sister's dull eyes. Torrent, are you alright? she asked.
Torrent stood in shock as his twin sister's body fell to the paved floor, the water around her neck stump turning a bright red.
Orca walked over to the entangled Griffin, who had fortunately been turned away from the gruesome scene. With a few muttered words under her breath, the fishing net rose up and disentangled itself from Griffin. He placed a talon against his bleeding neck, feeling his wound and wincing in pain as the saltwater flooded into it. He turned around, and seeing River's remains, almost retched into the water.
"What did—" Griffin started to ask.
Let's clean this up, Orca flashed, interrupting whatever Griffin was about to say. She grabbed River's head by the horns almost triumphantly, and was about to exit the room with it, before thinking better of it. Wait, no, I have another idea, Orca flashed.
She swam over to River's body, and opened a small pouch River had been carrying, letting the contents fall out and get caught in the flow of the red water. Among them were a couple of Griffin's feathers, the spare keys to Orca and Griffin's rooms, a small scroll, a locket containing a dragonet's drawing of River and Coral, a waxed parchment paper containing a claw-written note from Rift and a small pebble that Orca recognized as the one she had enchanted so long ago.
Orca claws quickly enclosed around the pebble, and she pulled it up in front of her snout, inspecting it. "I enchant this pebble so that as long as it is underwater, no dragon except for myself, Torrent, and Griffin are able to remember River."
What, no! Torrent protested. He tried to grab the pebble out of Orca's claws, but she pulled it away from him. You can't do that!
I can, Orca flashed back, and it's for the better. This way even if someone does find her body, no one will care. She was just some random SeaWing no one remembered now.
Torrent stared at Orca, frightened. This wasn't the Orca he knew, it couldn't have been.
Anyways, Orca continued, this way no one will have to grieve for her, Angler and father in particular.
She was murdered, she didn't just die! Why? Torrent asked.
Why what? Orca snapped. Why did I kill her? She was going to kill you, so I did what I had to protect us. The little brat deserved it anyways, remember how mean she always was to you? It's not like I had a choice!
Torrent nodded with a gulp, not wanting to further anger his sister. She wouldn't hurt him, would she? The legend of Albatross suddenly came to mind. The first animus dragon Torrent had heard of. He had killed his family, even those whom he had loved.
Orca examined the enchanted pebble for a moment, thinking. Seeing Torrent's expression, she flashed, I'm not going to hurt you.I'm not going to hurt anyone, ever again. Come on.
Orca left Griffin's room, and headed to her own, Torrent and Griffin cautiously following behind her. They gave each other a glance. This wasn't good. Torrent looked over at the dagger Orca had created, still on her desk. Orca noticed his glance.
What, you think I've lost my soul? Orca flashed with a growl. You want to kill me? Then go ahead! I won't stop you.
No, I didn't mean that! Torrent quickly replied. I don't want to kill you, I'm just . . .
Worried? Orca asked with a sigh. She took a deep breath, and covered her snout with a claws. Well, maybe you should be.
Orca glanced around the room, and her eyes landed on the jewel-eyed headbusts of her parents. She went over to them, and pried off one of the eyes from each statue: the emerald from her father, and the black pearl from her mother. She muttered something, dagger on the desk flew over into her claws, and three small indentations appeared in its hilt, about the size of the gemstones she had pried from her parents' jeweled eyes.
Orca took off the small golden band, still around her wrist, and used her claws to pry off the amethyst embedded in it. She placed it on one of the holes in the dagger's hilt, and it locked into place.
She held out the two gemstones she had taken from her parents' busts. "I enchant this emerald so that when it is touched, it permanently removes all enchantments on items the blade of the dagger is touching, not including the dagger itself, and I enchant this pearl so that if the dagger it's attached to is touching an animus, the dragon it cuts into is turned to stone." She placed the two gemstones into the dagger, locking them into place.
Orca placed the completed weapon in Torrent's claws, and looked at him expectantly. Well? she flashed.
Torrent glanced at Orca in confusion. What is it for? he asked.
So you can kill me, she replied. She took the dagger, and turned it around in Torrent's claws so that the tip was resting against her chest. Torrent's claws shook, and he threw the dagger aside.
I'm not going to kill you! he flashed. You're going to be fine, okay? You haven't lost your soul.
Orca snarled. "Dagger, return to Torrent." The dagger slowly floated up through the water, back into Torrent's claws. It's too late for me, she hissed. If you don't kill me now, I'm just going to harm more dragons. Maybe Coral next, or Gill, or Angler. Do you want me to do that?
No, Torrent refused. I won't kill you, and I know you don't have it in you to kill them.
You're weak, Orca flashed angrily. You have to do it. Sunscorcher was right about animus dragons. I can hear the voices she was talking about now. They want me to kill you, and everyone else who might get in my way. But I won't listen to them, not yet. You need to kill me, then every animus dragon in Pyrrhia. You've seen the legends, you know what we can do. Kill me.
Torrent shook his head, and swam out of the room. Orca let him go. She glared at Griffin, who was still sitting there, too fearful to move. Leave, she flashed solemnly. Before I hurt you too.
Griffin scrambled from the room, swimming away as fast as he could. Orca was left to herself in her room. The dagger she had enchanted for Torrent slowly clattered across the floor, attempting to return itself to Torrent. After it moved itself out of Orca's room and into the passageway, she closed her door, the SeaWing princess locking it behind her.