(Hey everybody, Chapter 10, will need some minor edits and polishing. I have two huge papers to write for my college courses, but I will edit this chapter as soon, as I have time! I hope you guys enjoy!!!) :)11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeuy7RhnOBU
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The air in Madam Odette’s office was so thick with smoke, I felt it catching in my throat, as if trying to suffocate me before the conversation has even began.
The faint glow of lantern light reflected off her gaudy furniture, casting long, slithering shadows across the walls.
It was all an illusion—her wealth, her power, her calm. Beneath it all, the rot festered. You could feel it in the room, like a sickness.
Odette reclined behind her desk, draped in silk that shimmered with the same smugness that clung to her expression.
Her amber eyes gleamed with cruel amusement as she tapped a rune-etched parchment resting on the desk in front of her. The runes glowed faintly, pulsing like a heartbeat, as if to mock the tension in the room.
“Here it is,” she purred, holding the parchment out toward Kiaran with a slow, deliberate motion. “The coordinates to your precious Mirelle. I hope she’s worth all this trouble.”
Kiaran didn’t respond right away. He stepped forward, his blood-red eyes burning with barely restrained fury. His presence seemed to darken the room, the edges of his silhouette bleeding into the shadows. Even Odette’s endless confidence seemed to falter for a split second.
He snatched the parchment from her hand without a word, his voice hoarse and filled with venom, before he finally spoke. “I would enjoy killing you, Madam. But I won’t have to. The system will do it for me. One day, your own evil will consume you.”
Odette’s smirk widened, and she leaned back in her chair, exhaling a plume of smoke that curled lazily between them. “Oh, darling,” she said, her voice dripping with mockery. “I can’t wait to see who it tears apart first: me, or you.”
The room practically vibrated with the tension between them. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I turned and walked out, not waiting for him. The sound of Kiaran’s heavy boots followed a moment later, and I knew he wouldn’t look back at that snake once he turned his back on her.
The hallway outside Odette’s office felt no less suffocating. The muffled sounds of patrons clinking glasses and laughing drifted up from the lower floors, but it only made the silence between Kiaran and me more unbearable.
I walked ahead of him, my fists clenched tightly at my sides, trying to sort through the storm of emotions raging in my head.
Kiaran’s voice broke the silence, low and jagged. “We shouldn’t have wasted time with her. She’s poison. Everything she said was meant to get under our skin.”
I didn’t look back at him. “It doesn’t matter,” I said flatly. “We have the coordinates now. We know where Mirelle is.”
He stopped abruptly, and I felt the weight of his gaze burning into my back. I turned to face him, and his expression was hard, his tone sharper than a blade.
“And what do you think we’re walking into, Princess? You don’t see it, do you? Odette wants us to go after Mirelle. She’s toying with us.”
I clenched my jaw and turned away. I didn’t want to argue—not yet. Not here.
We reached my room in silence. I pushed the door open and stepped inside, leaving enough space for Kiaran to follow. The door clicked shut behind him, and the tension in the room was immediate, thick enough to drown in.
My thoughts wandered to the coordinates, to the stolen map with the caravans and the high stakes my mind was trying to rationalize.
Time had passed since morning, and I realized Mirelle’s rescue could either take a few hours or several weeks, depending on the distance. The caravans, however, were moving tomorrow. We didn’t have time to lose.
I crossed to the small desk in the corner and pulled out the map I’d stolen, the one we’d been poring over. I unrolled it and laid it flat on the desk. “We should focus on this,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “The caravans. The routes to Mors Gravis. We’ve already planned for this.”
Kiaran didn’t move toward the desk. Instead, he reached into his coat and pulled out the parchment Odette had given him, laying it down beside the map. “And what about Mirelle?” he asked, his tone low but heavy. “We have her location now. We can’t just leave her.”
I sighed, my frustration bubbling to the surface. “She’s with a nobleman, Kiaran. A nobleman. That’s better than living in the brothels. She’s alive, and we know where she is. The caravans are moving tomorrow. We don’t know where they’ll end up if we don’t stop them now.”
She’s better off than the others,” I thought as my my inner thoughts boiled over my head . She’s not starving in the brothels or rotting in a caravan. She’s with a nobleman—eating better, sleeping in silk, not performing for humans.
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She’s safe... safer than the dozens of lives we could lose tomorrow if we don’t act.
Kiaran’s jaw tightened, and he stepped closer to the desk, looming over me. “And what do you think that nobleman is doing to her right now?” His voice was sharp, cutting through the room like a blade
"Princess.........do you know what nobles do to demi-gods? I’ve lived it. They buy us, chain us, bleed us for sport. Mirelle isn’t waiting — she’s surviving.”
His voice grew colder, and his eyes burned with something I couldn’t quite name. “I’ve seen nobles chain demi-gods like animals, beating them when they don’t perform..........I’ve watched them gamble lives on fights they couldn’t win, just to see them die in agony. They dangle scraps of food, in front of us, laughing as we beg for more.”
I turned to face him fully, my voice rising. “And if we go after her now, we’ll lose the caravans! Dozens of people, Kiaran. Dozens. We can stop them, save them, and we’ll still know where Mirelle is when we’re done.”
He shook his head, his expression hard. “You’re not thinking clearly. Mirelle’s power—her Celestial Muse—can be weaponized. You know that. She’s not just one life, Princess. She’s the key to something much bigger.”
I stepped closer, refusing to back down, but the words caught in my mouth when I looked onto Kiaran's eyes and I hesitated
The room was silent for a long moment, the tension between us crackling like a live wire. Kiaran’s stance didn’t waver, and he turned and stood above me like a stone pillar. I knew him. He was stubborn, pragmatic, and relentless.
“Fine,” I muttered. “We’ll do it your way. But we need to do this quickly and efficiently, so we have enough time to go after those caravans.
We didn’t speak. I sharpened my dagger, steadying my hands — but they wouldn’t stop trembling. Kiaran took notice.
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“How are your powers?” he asked suddenly, his voice breaking the silence like a thunderclap.
I looked up sharply, meeting his gaze with a stern look in my eyes. “I think I got a handle on it,” I said curtly. To prove it, I raised my hand.
The air around me grew cold, sharp like the edge of a blade. A shimmering wind barrier erupted in front of me, the currents twisting and curling like invisible ribbons. The air rippled like a living thing, distorting the room behind it.
The barrier trembled slightly before I let it fade, lowered my fingers sharply and exhaled. “I won’t lose control like last time…” My voice softened. “But I still don’t have full control. The winds listen to me—mostly. But I can’t…”
Kiaran was worried, because of the incident 13 years ago, where I nearly, tore the entirety of Aranbiya apart because I lost control of my powers.
The sight of Nyxara's dead body, rotted my entire soul, I couldn't control it.......Kiaran still bears scars from long ago
The barrier faded, and I lowered the hands, my shoulders slumping slightly.
Kiaran studied me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, without a word, he raised his hand. The air in the room grew heavy and cold, and a faint crimson light flickered in his palm. The light grew brighter and brighter until, with a burst of energy, the Gae Bolga materialized in his grip.
The spear was terrifying. Its blackened shaft seemed to absorb the light around it, and its barbed, crimson tip pulsed faintly with an otherworldly glow.
The air hummed with a low, menacing vibration, and the faint metallic scent of blood filled the room.
“This,” Kiaran said, his voice calm but heavy with meaning, “is the Gae Bolga. A cursed weapon, passed down to me by a predecessor. It doesn’t just kill—it destroys.
Every life it takes, it keeps. And every time I summon it, I feel them. The ones I’ve fought. The ones I’ve killed. Their rage. Their pain. Their fear.”
He stepped closer, lowering the spear so the barbed tip hovered just inches from my face. “Your father entrusted me with your life, Princess. I will kill for you..... I will use this cursed spear to keep you alive" " I will keep the promise I made to your father.
"But if you can’t control your powers—if you can’t hold your own—you have no business coming with me.”
I swallowed hard, my eyes locked on the spear. “I’m ready,” I said, my voice steady despite the trembling in my body.
Kiaran’s gaze held mine for a moment longer, then he nodded. The Gae Bolga flickered and disappeared in a burst of crimson light.
“Good,” he said quietly. “Then prove it"
I folded map back into my pocket, Kiaran slightly smirked and eyed my hands.
Kiaran turned toward the door, his boots striking the floor with deliberate weight. The faint hum of the Gae Bolga’s vanishing energy still lingered in the air as he pushed the door open.
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The cool night breeze swept into the room, carrying with it the faint tang of the city’s streets. The journey had begun.
"Let's get a move on now......and try not to slow me down Princess"
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