Chapter 19
Cuvera was frantically walking112Please respect copyright.PENANA7ZJaUAoIfw
around his room dressed in his wedding attire. If Vander thought his outfit was112Please respect copyright.PENANABuDmlpVLur
beautiful, it had nothing on the crown prince’s. He was wearing a beautiful112Please respect copyright.PENANAJUhd6kjGEd
sapphire colored gown with white trim along the edges. His hair was slicked112Please respect copyright.PENANASowl0i3nVr
back revealing his forehead and he wore a silver necklace with a sapphire gem112Please respect copyright.PENANAcOiTgdfGpz
hanging from it. His boots were polished to perfection, which Vander reminded112Please respect copyright.PENANATnHDnwnjpx
him of that fact so he would stop pacing. He sat down on the bed and held his112Please respect copyright.PENANAYVJ7w4nM7m
head in his hands. Vander knew better than to talk to him while he was like112Please respect copyright.PENANAp4QRufKQOo
this so the two of them sat quietly until Cuvera was ready.
“Do you think my father was this112Please respect copyright.PENANAg7stmuhT7P
nervous before his wedding?” Cuvera looked up at Vander.
“Probably.” Vander shrugged. “I112Please respect copyright.PENANAIZokcULgV3
wasn’t around for it so I wouldn’t know for sure.” Cuvera punched Vander’s112Please respect copyright.PENANAsduUIcjmMh
shoulder.
“No shit.” He snorted. “I’m asking112Please respect copyright.PENANAogb0K2lSN2
what you think.”
“Probably was.” He responded. “Isn’t112Please respect copyright.PENANAniXf8NfBFe
everyone a little nervous when they decide to marry someone?”
“I’m not sure.” Cuvera sighed.112Please respect copyright.PENANAn3sumUp6AV
“But I have more pressure than that since it’s political, I don’t want to mess112Please respect copyright.PENANAPcJscO6RC6
this up.”
“You won’t.” Vander squeezed his112Please respect copyright.PENANAzC3zJ8BZ83
friend’s shoulder. “Just remember Kiara is probably more nervous than you are.112Please respect copyright.PENANAbGRW6YfQTW
She moved into enemy territory to marry a man she didn’t know. If things go112Please respect copyright.PENANAqUZCpbFP6l
poorly both countries will be back at war. Neither one of you want that.”
“Yeah, your right.” Cuvera let out112Please respect copyright.PENANAYDtYlENAjG
a sigh. He got up from the bed then walked towards the door. “Will you come112Please respect copyright.PENANAyNSCxc9pO9
with my to visit mom?” Without saying a word, Vander stood up from the bed and112Please respect copyright.PENANAkwOBmZvFyK
nodded. The two of them left the room with Shea following behind.
The memory of his mother was112Please respect copyright.PENANAzoMJEJRMXk
etched into the garden she left behind, but her body was placed in the Crypt of112Please respect copyright.PENANAcwelF1oDYP
Queens, located next to the Crypt of King’s deep below the castle’s mausoleum.112Please respect copyright.PENANAEey43wafx1
It was guarded by a crypt keeper who was dangerous as she was scary. Her family112Please respect copyright.PENANA3wy614fj4y
had protected the crypts since the city’s founding, and they took their duty112Please respect copyright.PENANAyEp1qvek1y
very seriously. Right now, due to the112Please respect copyright.PENANAQ9aTBoGfYh
amount of people in the castle, the crypt was locked by the keeper who was112Please respect copyright.PENANAdMMcbp4UJ3
standing in front with a shovel in her hands. No one knew where she lived, but112Please respect copyright.PENANAdpiC0kDdhV
many suspected she had a room inside the crypt.
“Prince.” She whispered, bowing112Please respect copyright.PENANABbvNMwYbNk
her head in respect. She was tall and broad shouldered but walked with a slight112Please respect copyright.PENANAtDCgZFhMpn
hunch. Her skin was pale and had light gray eyes. Her hair hung in strands from112Please respect copyright.PENANArjSDktQA36
her head, but her arms were chiseled from marble. Vander had seen her lift a112Please respect copyright.PENANABgeCH0cu41
coffin by herself once before. She was someone you didn’t want to fuck with.
“Hello Crypt Keeper.” Vander112Please respect copyright.PENANAOJjwIHHVQw
returned the bow. “I’m here to visit my mother.”
“I expected you to be here today,112Please respect copyright.PENANAB3WHrpC2Pu
so I have already tidied up the crypt for you.” she said. “Is the Captain going112Please respect copyright.PENANAOB8AEYwfhl
to be joining you?”
“If you don’t mind.” Cuvera asked.112Please respect copyright.PENANAjXoKVjrxQk
“He is my guard for the day, so I can’t just leave him.”
“Understood.” She stepped aside to112Please respect copyright.PENANAGoUPzwWO9s
remove a ring of keys from her belt. She placed an old iron one into the gate,112Please respect copyright.PENANAadAVOVBQ6c
he heard a click, then the gate swung open. “If you wouldn’t mind following112Please respect copyright.PENANATENZ032uoM
me.” Vander instructed Shea to watch the gate as the two of them followed the112Please respect copyright.PENANAS9LFwSpDqv
Crypt Keeper underground.
The first thing Vander noticed was112Please respect copyright.PENANAREgHovwwjB
the cold air that wafted up from the depths. He always felt something odd when112Please respect copyright.PENANAAPuqh3Jhvx
he visited, a supernatural feeling that he was being watched. Swallowing his112Please respect copyright.PENANAM0s2FZn6Ym
fear, he took up the rearmost position as the Crypt Keeper grabbed a lit torch112Please respect copyright.PENANANB9c73rwwv
and led the way towards the Crypt of Queens.
It took them five minutes to come to112Please respect copyright.PENANAc6bZi2jNwB
a fork in the road. Without skipping a beat, she took the path on the right.112Please respect copyright.PENANAzI5SBUrNIZ
The Crypt of Queens was where all the past and future Queens would be buried112Please respect copyright.PENANABLyYlmHXev
when their time came. As Cuvera’s mother was the most recent Queen to die, her112Please respect copyright.PENANA3cH6VcCpy4
tomb was the closest to the surface. It was tucked in a little hallway that112Please respect copyright.PENANAWIzfKmMjos
opened into a full-sized room. There were five caskets placed inside, only two112Please respect copyright.PENANASPCURPpYnY
of them were in use. The casket that was draped with a blue and white cloth was112Please respect copyright.PENANAP0k3bahLGC
Cuvera’s grandmother, Malcolm’s mother. She had inherited the throne from her112Please respect copyright.PENANA8AOttV2r3x
father when he died then she married a noble to produce strong heirs. Cuvera’s112Please respect copyright.PENANA8yl2IsoL7n
mother was adorned with a simple cloth marking her status as a commoner. Vander112Please respect copyright.PENANA4DI80U9Kpp
didn’t know the store on how Malcolm and Julie met, but he knew they loved each112Please respect copyright.PENANA1U46VQz1VB
other. He had nearly executed nobles who expressed their disdain for placing a112Please respect copyright.PENANAvq6bE991Uf
commoner in the Crypt of Queens, but Cuvera talked him out of it. She was given112Please respect copyright.PENANATbrTTzIuyU
a small ceremony before being escorted down below.
“I will leave you now.” The Crypt112Please respect copyright.PENANAtAhIvQ5Xdr
Keeper bowed her head. “I trust you know your way back up?”
“I do.” Vander said.
“Then I will leave the two of you112Please respect copyright.PENANAXMBhLf1J3J
alone.” She smiled. “I will also keep anyone else from coming down her until112Please respect copyright.PENANAgqq7ubyaFI
you arrive back up.”
“Thank you.” Cuvera bowed down in112Please respect copyright.PENANAEe9G4eRTrY
front of the casket then placed his hands together and closed his eyes in112Please respect copyright.PENANA9AczMYdzVg
prayer. Vander didn’t want to overhear his friend’s chat with his mother, so he112Please respect copyright.PENANANvNCt4pI9P
decided to make himself scarce. He decided to take an impromptu trip through112Please respect copyright.PENANAbi9e9Q3R4K
the crypt.
He didn’t want to disturb anyone’s112Please respect copyright.PENANAPbxMQJ63GZ
rest, so just stuck to hallways. Eluvian’s were particular about the dead.112Please respect copyright.PENANARbWvXEeY8H
Vander had long believed that there was nothing after death, just a black void112Please respect copyright.PENANAY33tvkqp00
that your consciousness floated in for the rest of time. He wasn’t going to see112Please respect copyright.PENANArDagrYN8wZ
it himself because once he died his soul would be claimed by Unna and he would112Please respect copyright.PENANAwN3vMhFfzS
be forced, like all the other mindless beasts in her forest, to fight and kill112Please respect copyright.PENANA61AxtqCWk1
for survival. Eventually he would lose anything that made him human.
As he ventured further down the112Please respect copyright.PENANARdI55UayxC
crypt, things grew cold. It wasn’t unexpected since he was further underground,112Please respect copyright.PENANATxfV7BQ5Wk
but the rate at which is became cold alarmed him. He turned around to head back112Please respect copyright.PENANAHH5ThdLXvC
towards the surface, but he found that he was stuck inside of a sealed off112Please respect copyright.PENANA4iWa1Os90E
room. Mist circled around him, clawing his leg. He heard stone moving on stone.112Please respect copyright.PENANAOQIvr312Cx
As he turned around, a skeletal hand popped out from the sarcophagus. Bone112Please respect copyright.PENANAnznLiIODF3
tapped against the side as a skeleton that had long been since stripped of its112Please respect copyright.PENANAZs2K4aNcmv
flesh popped out. It was wearing a torn cloak that had been nearly destroyed112Please respect copyright.PENANAIY1pV9AEZr
along with rusted armor that still clanged as it pulled itself up from the112Please respect copyright.PENANAGXfcpeLU1v
coffin and stood in front of Vander.
Vander tried to move, but the mist112Please respect copyright.PENANA9Dibs9ywXi
clung to him solidifying him where he stood. The skeleton opened its mouth then112Please respect copyright.PENANAVFjdDzE6AS
the mist removed itself from Vander then flowed right into the skeleton’s112Please respect copyright.PENANARQ8XMx78y2
mouth. The mist formed skin on the skeleton and the more it inhaled, the more112Please respect copyright.PENANAdHYPvZVECr
lifelike the skeleton became. The armor became shiny as the cloak elongated to112Please respect copyright.PENANAkoAUpDOuto
its original length. After a few seconds the skeleton became human once again.112Please respect copyright.PENANApDis6Fnh0p
This was someone Vander recognized, but this man had died thousands of years112Please respect copyright.PENANAC83NznKHQR
ago.
“So, you’re Unna’s newest scion.”112Please respect copyright.PENANAB432pMxFDz
The man rasped. He wobbled over to Vander then grabbed his jaw to examine him.112Please respect copyright.PENANA9F6xz0iRKr
He muttered to himself as he moved Vander’s head around. “Smaller than the last112Please respect copyright.PENANAL3jVpHXHe9
one, but I can feel strength in you.” Vander smacked the man’s hand away.
“I’m getting real sick of the112Please respect copyright.PENANAGOxYxHdoKY
Deities summoning me and giving me cryptic bullshit.” He snapped. “What do you112Please respect copyright.PENANAe97elPndzJ
want?”
“That is no way to talk to your112Please respect copyright.PENANAH9QJR9Zw0i
predecessor.” The man leaned up against his coffin.
“How is it you are here?” Vander112Please respect copyright.PENANAVDn8xbBYOU
snapped. “I was just in the Crypt of Queens and last I check you weren’t a112Please respect copyright.PENANAmIhFxo2t34
queen in your past life.” The man was named Boar, and he was the first Blade112Please respect copyright.PENANAynZuugqxQy
elected after Eluvia’s civil war shortly after the murder of the first king. He112Please respect copyright.PENANAUhmpjB11Xq
had been the son of the general who had done it.
“I have been given a brief112Please respect copyright.PENANAQ2UNZHomCG
reprieve to talk to you Vander.” The man said. “You have been brought to my112Please respect copyright.PENANAKwj7QM0ffA
resting place, but no worry, once we are done here you will be taken back, and112Please respect copyright.PENANAK0cACq31tt
this will be the last time you are bothered for a long time. The deities are112Please respect copyright.PENANA0tQzUEoBJ5
losing their powers, they need some time to recover.”
“What’s got them so bent out of112Please respect copyright.PENANAxndAQ4nblw
shape that they needed to send you to talk to me?” Vander crossed his arms.112Please respect copyright.PENANAd57KH1VJ8j
“And why have they not told me before now during the numerous times they’ve112Please respect copyright.PENANArvHNkj9VRh
bothered me?”
“The deities see time as112Please respect copyright.PENANAr1ayK7uJu4
scattered, not linear like us, so sometimes things escape them.” He shrugged.112Please respect copyright.PENANA46ydsF5L4r
“Plus, they’ve been busy looking for someone. Imitae, he has been missing.”
“That’s not news.” Vander scoffed.112Please respect copyright.PENANAN6FrQGPcJ5
“He’s been wandering around since the beginning of time after the war with112Please respect copyright.PENANAJwUEfcOISx
Darkness. Makes sense that they can’t find him.”
“The deities relate to one112Please respect copyright.PENANAxXFe30s10Q
another; they can always feel each other despite the distance. But not now.112Please respect copyright.PENANAiXr5ssXTI9
It’s as if he just disappeared.” Boar explained. “Now the deities are divided.112Please respect copyright.PENANAYTkOu9XmUE
Some have turned on each other.”
“Explains why Veyar was trapped in112Please respect copyright.PENANAhj2GPRwIXH
a storm when I saw her a couple weeks ago.” Vander frowned. “I assume that’s112Please respect copyright.PENANA8XYglGHdsi
Rolous’ doing?”
“Indeed.” Boar nodded. “I’m here112Please respect copyright.PENANADAY8rTXHGR
to tell you something. There is a book within the King’s library, something you112Please respect copyright.PENANA8qnXxAH1CT
must steal.”
“A book?” Vander asked. “What kind112Please respect copyright.PENANA8ogkUL6O6Q
of books?”
“You were shown it the last time112Please respect copyright.PENANAb6WRC0aXJO
you were in Malcolm’s office.” He explained. “It’s of vital importance, you112Please respect copyright.PENANAE3lEdsZmVS
must not let your enemies get their hands on it.”
“What happens if I don’t?”
“Then the world will be at risk.”112Please respect copyright.PENANA4xjjrkaYVJ
Boar narrowed his eyes. “You must do this, Veyar demands it.”
“The deities have been nothing but112Please respect copyright.PENANAiOQGSqyYOI
a curse.” Vander spat.
“I cannot promise there will be a112Please respect copyright.PENANAciuirGgg5e
happy ending, all I know is that everything will end if you don’t do this.”112Please respect copyright.PENANA9QLVhci1Zz
Boar’s voice became serious. “Protect that country Vander, do your duty as a Blade, no matter what happens.” With that112Please respect copyright.PENANAg7Z1cWoHRD
Boar tapped his shoulder then stepped back towards the coffin. He released all112Please respect copyright.PENANAisMzwgmxYy
the mist that he had held before slipping back into the coffin and sliding the112Please respect copyright.PENANA4ASSsarzfX
top shut.
Vander bolted up from the ground112Please respect copyright.PENANAEZmUTZq1ii
with his heart beating in his chest. He looked around and saw that he had been112Please respect copyright.PENANAYTUOY1Ltk9
leaning up against the wall just outside of the area where Cuvera’s mother had112Please respect copyright.PENANAbqYWbRHzh8
been buried. Cuvera walked out a moment later with a small smile on his face.112Please respect copyright.PENANA0fEfNwm4wF
Vander contemplated telling his friend what had transpired, but he didn’t want112Please respect copyright.PENANAP8kxqze7nX
to ruin the joy that was plastered on his friend’s face. He didn’t even think112Please respect copyright.PENANABFj9dZY17e
he would believe him.
“Did you get what you needed?”112Please respect copyright.PENANAn9eylCB7fn
Vander asked, wrapping his arms around Cuvera’s shoulders.
“I feel better.” Cuvera sighed. “I112Please respect copyright.PENANAgtIWTsNyXw
just look forward to tonight once the wedding is all over.”
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“Come, let’s get you married.”112Please respect copyright.PENANAQj9il7O6I2
Today might be hard for Cuvera, but tonight was going to be harder for him. He112Please respect copyright.PENANAIrADiGNexY
had to let someone he knew die when he could do something to save them. After112Please respect copyright.PENANAzup7PsruNG
tonight, he would have nothing to do with the deities and their sick games. He112Please respect copyright.PENANAzGTRNpSWZq
was done.