CHAPTER IX

The clouds covering the moon parted, illuminating them as they stood back to back at the center of the clearing. Zivia tried summoning her powers but to no avail and she felt Azriel tense behind her, probably doing the same.

There were more than a dozen of them scattered around. She felt for the dagger strapped on her thighs. No illusions could hide them now. They could make a run for it, but who knew how many more of them were there, staying hidden among the shadows of the trees. And flying was totally out of their option as it would make them an easy target. They could end up tattered in arrows before they could even reach a safe distance.

So they did nothing.

They couldn't harm these people, not if they were going to vie for their trust. They have to get out of this situation in the most non-aggressive way possible.

"It's okay," she said to no one in particular. "We bring no ill intentions. We won't do anything to you."

Silence.

"We come in peace," she tried again, taking a single step forward.

An arrow bolted through from somewhere among the bushes, missing her by a few inches.

"Doesn't seem like they can be reasoned with," muttered Azriel as he unsheathed his weapon as well.

At the same time, they leaped from where they were standing and barreled towards the trees. Arrows rained down on them but they were quick. Their powers may be gone but the heightened abilities of being a faerie were still there. As her eyes adjusted, she spotted a man hidden among the tree trunks to her right. She hurtled her dagger at him before he could nock another arrow. Her knife hit him on his chest, hard enough that he stumbled back but not enough to kill him. She went to retrieve her dagger then struck him with its hilt to knock him out.

A pain tore through her left calf and she turned to see the brute bald man from the tavern, weapons on his hands.

"I knew I wasn't just seeing things," he hissed as he threw another knife at her. She caught it easily with her hands.

"What? Still bitter about being rejected?"

"I'm going to kill you!"

The man lunged at her with all his might, but it was apparent that he wasn't used to fighting. He made so many unnecessary movements and was unsteady on his feet that it took her less than a minute to take him down.

Another group of men appeared before she could restrain him. One of them swung his sword at her and she leaped backwards, lifting her dagger just in time to deflect another attack from behind. Another one joined then another until there were ten of them in the fight. They circled her with their weapons drawn and pointed at her.

"My, my. What's a female to do when surrounded by all these men?" she said with a serious expression on her face.

"Monster!" shouted one of them and they all fell upon her.

She took every blow defensively and attacked with caution so as not to fatally injure any of them. It took longer than she expected to take them all down. Her skill was more effective when used in full force and holding back made her slower.

"You're all murderers."

The bald man was slumped against a tree, cowering in fear. He was looking at her with undiluted hatred in his eyes. "Monsters! I hope they killed your brother!"

Brother?

It took her a few seconds to process what he said. Shit.

They were separated at some point but she didn't notice as she was busy fighting off these men that she totally forgot about Azriel. She frantically looked around for any sign of him when a scream cut through the air, she hastened to where the sound came from and found about a hundred men surrounding a visibly tired Azriel, who was holding a man by the throat. A dozen bodies lay unmoving at his feet.

She cursed herself again. These people laid out a trap and they fell right into it. It was probably the information they got from the baron's son that led them to believe that he was the only faerie between the two of them. She wasn't sure what led them to that conclusion but to hell with that now. As she fought with their initial force, Azriel was lured away into a larger group of men that were waiting to ambush him. Nobody made it to inform them of the other fae in their midst.

She hurtled her daggers to the man closest to the shadowsinger. His head whipped to her a fraction earlier than those surrounding him and as their attention turned to her, he took the opportunity to take down some of them. Everything erupted to chaos as they all scrambled to decide who is going to attack who. During an exchange of blows with a lanky guy holding a spear, she felt a faint dab of her powers returning. She shoved her opponent out of the way and reached out her hand, taking hold of the air around them – then pulled. The men collapsed to the ground as one, going utterly limp. The entirety of her magic hasn't returned yet and she buckled by the force of that maneuver.

"Zivia!" blurted Azriel and ran towards her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She gulped. "Just a little worn out."

He helped her onto her feet and as they stood next to each other, she realized that he was also panting.

"They aren't dead, are they?" He turned towards the swarm of bodies covering the forest floor.

"No, just passed out. I pulled the air from their lungs. They'll be down for the rest of the night." A man at her feet grunted and she kicked him hard in the stomach. "At least most of them will. How are you?"

"Fine. A few scratches here and there." His black wings rustled a bit when he sheathed his weapon back onto his back. "I actually find it harder to fight when you have no intention to kill."

"Uh-uh," she agreed, brushing off the twigs that were caught in her hair when she ran through the woods looking for him. "We should get out of here."

They went back to the cave to tend to their wounds and gather their remaining supplies before continuing on with their journey. By the time they left the cave, the effects of the faebane has entirely worn out and they traveled the rest of the way concealed in Azriel's shadows. At the crack of dawn, Zivia made sure to make the necessary changes in their appearance as she cast their illusion, just in case those men came looking for them again and they risk being recognized. Thankfully, they were able to reach the city of trades without any problem. Furthermore, they found a dealer who was willing to give them a ride into his carriage that will take them to Liria.

"Let me get this right," said Azriel when the merchant was gone to pack more supplies and they were left tending to his carriage. "I am to act as if you're my daughter?"

It was so hard not to laugh at his reaction. The first time he found out was when they were asking around the dealers and she introduced him as her father. His head whipped to her and looked as if saying, what did you just say?

"Word's already gotten out that a pair of fae siblings were on a rampage around the Continent after somebody found the bodies on the mountain pass last night."

"We could have passed as cousins."

"No. can. Do." She muttered in time as she tightened the reins on the horses. "They'll know that we're just the same age – or at least close to each other's age. They're going to suspect nonetheless."

"Humans aren't that gullible."

"Clearly you haven't been with them for a long time. They can be too smart for their own good."

"Alright, but why am I the father?"

She craned her neck to look at him over the carriage. "You should've told me that. I would have loved to dote on you as my son."

He made a subtle gesture that can normally be considered an eye roll and continued strapping the loads into the cart. After finishing with the horses, she rounded the wagon to help him.

"Not to worry, you still look good as an old man." she teased as they both lifted a particularly heavy box.

"First, I was your brother, now I am your father. So what's it going to be next huh?"

"Well who knows, I might become your wife ne – "

Good Mother above.

His brows shot up as he turned to her.

"Of course I was just kidding, hah!" She feigned nonchalance but the words came out of her mouth a little shaky and rushed. Avoiding his stare, she pointed towards the storehouses. "I'm going to look if he's gonna need some help." Then darted to where the merchant has gone off to, all the while cursing at herself.

An hour before noon, they were finally able to pack all the items and hit the road. It was a tight fit for both of them inside the carriage but they were able to manage. Thankfully, there weren't many goods around to make it uncomfortable enough to not sit. When they both settled, Azriel gave her a slice of bread and some bananas. She hesitantly took them from him, not because she doesn't want them but because she completely forgot about her hunger.

"Don't worry," said Azriel, noticing her hesitance. "I made sure they're safe."

She met his gaze and gave a sly smile before taking a bite off the bread.

Their journey was punctuated by occasional stops at some towns to either deliver supplies or to get something to eat. Azriel took it upon himself to test the foods they were getting before deeming it safe to eat.

"It's better this way," he reasoned when she insisted that he didn't have to do it and that they could take turns in testing the foods. "You're holding our illusion intact. It would be trouble if we lose that. Besides, concealing us both in shadows definitely wouldn't work."

"What if somebody attacked us?"

"Then I'd feel sorry for them."

She eyed him. "I am not as strong as you, you know."

"No." he just shrugged. "I think you're stronger."

She couldn't tell whether he was complimenting or mocking her, but she struggled for a response and her blushing was apparent nonetheless. "I think we should have a match when this is all over."

He just inclined his head at her before walking back to the carriage.


It took them five days to reach the border of Liria. They were on their way to the capital when the carriage halted so suddenly they fell upon each other.

"What the – " Zivia braced her hands on either side of him to steady herself, accidentally pressing on his wings. He let out a small gasp and went still at the contact, instinctively grabbing her arms and gently helped her up before pushing himself back into a sitting position.

"Sorry," she apologized as she tried to peek outside. "Why did we stop?"

They heard shuffling outside and a gruff voice flowed through the wagon. "…request that all carriages stop at this point…"

The flap of the tent was suddenly opened and two men who appeared to be wearing guard uniforms greeted them they stared at each other for a moment before she lifted her hand and gave an awkward wave. "Hello."

One of them furrowed his brows in confusion before gesturing to both of them. "Get out." They obeyed the order and carefully stepped out, mindful of each movement so as not to accidentally touch them with their wings, albeit concealed. Standing side by side, the two guards eyed them up and down as if trying to see through their illusion.

"Ah yes, they're travelling with me." The merchant was pointing towards them from where he was being questioned by another sentry.

"We joined a ride with him to visit a relative here," Zivia added. She looked around and noticed that it was not just them but a few other travelers as well were stopped. Reaching a hand to her chest, she looked at one of the guards with all the wariness she could muster. "Is there something going on? Are – are the rumors true? They are really here among us?"

The man just clicked his tongue and gave her an annoyed look. The other mumbled something under his breath, low enough that his companion didn't quite catch it but just enough for her fae hearing to know that it was a rather lovely swear word.

The man with the merchant, who is clearly higher-ranked than the other two, stepped forward and declared "No need to worry. This is just a part of temporarily increased security protocols between borders. Orders were given to inspect all inbound trade-carrying carriages to the capital."

She and Azriel exchanged a look.

"I understand but my goods, I have to deliver them," the merchant protested.

"As soon as we finish checking, you'll be good to go." He gestured to his subordinates and one of them went to examine the contents of the cart. He then turned towards them. "As for the two of you, you were to visit a relative you say?"

"Yes." They both said at the same time.

"It's my aunt," Zivia quickly added, hoping to cover their blunder. "She is my father's cousin."

The man turned to Azriel. "And your cousin lives here?"

"Yes."

Zivia resisted the urge to jab him on his side for giving such a deadpan answer.

"And you're from where?"

"Scythia?"

The words were out of her mouth before she even realized her mistake. She looked at the shadowsinger but he remained expressionless and focused on the man before him.

"Scythia? That's on the western side of Liria. Shouldn't you be coming from the other side of the city?"

Damn it.

"We went to visit another relative." Azriel countered.

There was a long pause. They were becoming more suspicious with their every answer and it appears that they were not letting them go that easily. Behind the officer, she noticed that the other guard has finished inspecting the goods. She has to act quickly.

"It seems that you have relatives across the continent huh?" There's a noticeable edge in the sentry's voice as he took a step closer to Azriel and she felt the Illyrian shift slightly, almost as if challenging the man, "We do."

At the corner of her vision, she saw the guard behind them slowly reach for his belt.

"Oh I remember you!" the merchant's squeaky voice tore through the building tension and they all looked at him. "You once rode with me to this city when I was doing trades with Scythia before. Yes yes, you were that same girl back then."

The guard stared at him for a moment before looking back at Zivia, contemplating whether to believe the man or not.

"I think it was three or four years ago? My you've grown!"

She gave a wide-toothed smile to the merchant just as the inspecting guard went over to them and gave an approving nod to his superior. The officer took one last look at them, his gaze lingering on Azriel, before finally giving them the signal to go. As soon as the three men were gone to check on the others, she felt him relax. They thanked the merchant and bid him farewell before going on their way.

"He will be a bit dazed for some time, but he'll be fine I guess," Zivia murmured as she looked back at the carriage which was now disappearing into the distance. She let out a long sigh before adding, "I'm not used to glamouring people, but I just had to do it."

"Smart move I'd say."

"Well, I didn't have to resort to it if not for you."

The shadowsinger's face remained placid but she felt that very slight change in the air around him. He started walking and she followed behind.

"I'm at fault here too but your illusion is becoming a bit questionable. You're my father, for Cauldron's sake. You should act more like how an aged human would normally be." Finally catching up to him, she did her best imitation of his voice and accent, "'We went to visit another relative'. You sounded like you were threatening him."

"I don't speak like that."

"Yes you do." Again mimicking him. "You even have this habit of narrowing your eyes slightly whenever you're trying to make a point to someone."

He stopped walking and looked at her, clearly irked by her subtle teasing.

"Ah. There it is." She just shrugged back and continued on backwards, facing him as she walked. "What I'm saying is maybe you should loosen up a bit, you know. Act more like an old man – "

"I am old."

"An old human."

A group of guards passed by, marching towards the south western path were a considerable amount of people were headed to. Zivia looked at him and grinned.

"I have a good guess that's where the meeting is going to take place."