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  Neither Gretidor nor Kutala said anything. They both just stared at Regius in shocked horror.

  “That wasn’t a rhetorical statement!” Arius exploded. “Your Trueborn brethren are going to be coming in here anytime now. Either we’re going to have to convince the lot of them that all this blood coming from their king is due to an accidental fall and that all these feathers strewn about are because he is molting, or we’re going to have to fight our way out of here. I don’t relish either idea, frankly, but unless we all start doing some very quick thinking, those are our only options.”

  “I always knew it would come to this, but I just never thought I would be the one to do it,” Gretidor said with a shrill laugh, his eyes popping.

  He was hyperventilating and tears streamed down his face, but after a moment the prince took a visible hold of himself. His breathing had evened and his tears had stopped, leaving only blotches of red on his cheeks. Placing his hand on his chest, he said, “I must be composed for this.”

  Standing from the reading chair he had been occupying, Gretidor strode with a determined step to his father’s side. The young prince knelt down and pulled forth a handkerchief from his breast pocket and began gently, almost lovingly dabbing away the blood and sweat from Regius’ face. So softly, Arius had to strain to hear it, Gretidor began whispering to his father in a tender murmur.

  “You never once loved me, did you? You never let a chance slip to tell me how much of a constant disappointment that I was to you. You always told me that my mother died of shame, the shame of having a weakling son such as myself. You said that it was my fault that she died and left you the burden of raising an ‘inept faggot.’ All these years I have had to look upon this face of yours and bare the scorn and ridicule etched there. I took the terrible abuse, both verbally and physically, because deep down I knew you were right about me. You were always right about me and I’m sure you will take solace in that, but I will never endure your abuses again father!”

  The whole time Gretidor whispered to his father, his voice had risen higher until he was screeching into his father’s ear, spittle raining down on the king’s brow and closed eyelids. Before Arius had a chance to stop him, Gretidor pulled a knife from under his coat and began viciously stabbing his father in the face. He howled madly as he relentlessly stabbed Regius’ countlessly. By the time Arius gripped Gretidor’s wrist and tore the blade away, the damage had already been done. The king’s face was an unrecognizable ruin of blood and puncture wounds.

  Roughly, Arius shoved Gretidor away, and the prince fell hard on his backside. Kutala was there in an instant, standing protectively over his prince with his arms and wings spread to their maximum.

  Just as Arius was about to ask just what in the hells Gretidor could have possibly been thinking, the Trueborn took that moment to storm into the king’s chambers. The six guards who entered stood frozen in shock. One circuit glance at his surroundings and Arius could understand their reaction. He stood over the deceased corpse of the Korii King with a blood stained knife in his hand, and the heir to the throne was also covered in scarlet from head to toe being shielded from a seeming assassin by one of their own.

  “He fell and has been molting!” Gretidor laughed shrilly. He looked quite mad as he half-cackled and half-sobbed uncontrollably, drenched in his father’s blood.

  All six guards had their swords in hand in a flash and started advancing on Arius with their white wings spread. He dropped the knife hastily, backing away with both of his hands in the air. He was so focused on the guards in front of him that he hadn’t been paying any attention to Kutala and Gretidor. As he backed further away, he suddenly felt something very sharp press into the middle of his spine. Glancing back over his shoulder, he was astonished to see that Kutala had his blade on him.

  “This is the only way, Jadestar!” Kutala whispered urgently. “You have to subdue all of us and get the prince to safety! These men are loyal to Regius, not Gretidor. They won’t hesitate to execute you both, so you have to get out of here immediately before more come! Nod once if you understand.”

  Arius nodded curtly.

  “Good, now…”

  Kutala never finished his statement. Arius spun with alacrity and punched the captain of the Trueborn as hard as he could. He cursed loudly, shaking out his hand as the Maji crumpled to the floor. He was knocked out cold before he even struck the ground.

  Arius kicked Gretidor, and the prince whined at him in response. He kicked him again and gestured sharply with his head for him to get on his feet and to stand in the corner of the room behind him. Shoving Gretidor with his boot for good measure, he unsheathed his sword from the scabbard on his back and faced down the guards who were now spreading out to surround him.

  Reaching out for Alrukar with the Link, Arius only hoped his steed would arrive in time to get him and Gretidor out of this mess in one piece.

  You will know where to find me, he thought at Alrukar.

  It wasn’t with words that his dragon communicated with him, but with instincts and half formed visions of how the dragon interpreted the world. Alrukar sent back through the Link a reply that meant in no uncertain terms, “I am on my way!”

  “Drop your sword now, you are under arrest for the murder of King Regius Trueborn!” the nearest guard shouted at him.

  “Is this how you treat all your guests, Gretidor?”

  “Now that you mention it…” the prince started.

  “That was a rhetorical statement, fool. Just be quiet and hope that we survive this. Jenukai knows why I don’t just leave you here to the mercy of your father’s lackeys after what you just pulled…”

  At that, the guards rushed in. The first Maji to reach Arius lunged at him with a wild stabbing motion. Arius lunged forward into the thrust, and with his off hand he grabbed hold of the guard’s sword arm and wrenched it at a severe angle upwards. His opponent’s sword clattered to the floor, and the Trueborn cried out slightly but was silenced as Arius shoved him away unarmed and slammed the flat side of his blade against the back of his skull. The blow rendered him senseless.

  Arius cursed again, re-sheathing his sword. He only had to subdue these Maji, not kill them. He had other means to achieve that goal.

  Tapping his Adimus Aura, the battle magic cascaded into him. The air itself around him fluxed, and every hair he possessed stood on end as the magic built in him like a thunderstorm. The energy streaming from his pores crackled, and his entire body blazed with heat that made him shimmer like a mirage. He held onto the energy until it felt like he would be annihilated by its power.

  Finally, he let go of his restraint on his abilities, and with both his hands outstretched, he slammed an energy blast into the ground at his foes’ feet. The oncoming Maji were flung dozens of feet into the air, and all the glass from the windows exploded. The palace itself shook like there was an earthquake, lurching violently for half a minute or so.

  Breathing as if he had just run for miles, Arius probed with his Adimus Aura, checking for signs of life. Everyone in the room had a pulse except Regius. The attack had rendered everyone comatose, including Gretidor. The prince lay slumped against the wall with his head lolling against his chest. Arius jogged over to him and knelt in front of him, shaking him by his shoulders.

  “Gretidor, wake up! Wake up, damn you!” Arius reached back and slapped the prince so hard his palm stung.

  Gretidor’s eyes opened slightly and started to drift shut once more. Arius slapped him again, this time exponentially harder.

  “How dare you?” Gretidor exclaimed in his most indignant voice, his eyes finally sliding into focus. He put his hand on the palm print that blazed on his cheek.

  “Shut the hells up, Gretidor. I just unleashed an attack that is going to draw every guard in this place. It’s time to go.”

  Arius growled as he hauled Gretidor to his feet by his collar, and he dragged the prince to the nearest window and peered out. He estimated that they were perhaps fifteen stories u
p. The door to the chambers flung open, and a stream of Trueborn came pouring in. Out of his peripheral vision, a giant shadow covered the grounds below.

  “Our ride is here.” Arius grabbed the prince by the scruff of his neck and threw him out of the window. Discharging another Adimus Aura-infused blast over his shoulder at the new arrivals, Arius jumped out after him.

  Chapter 12

  Arius landed gracelessly with a thud onto Alrukar’s back, and the impact drove the air from his lungs. It took every bit of his strength to hold on as his mount climbed steeply into the air. Once they had put some invaluable distance between themselves and the Korii royal palace, Arius finally looked wildly around for Gretidor. The Korii prince dangled limply from his blood-spattered coat in Alrukar’s jaws. Laughing and smirking slightly, Arius patted Alrukar’s neck appreciatively.

  “That was two spectacular catches, my friend! You couldn‘t have timed that any better!”

  Arius was only able to revel in his narrow escape for the few seconds it took to look behind him and see the staggering number of Trueborn soldiers that were surging towards him. His grin slid off his face, and he cursed loudly in annoyance.

  Dozens of guards were emerging from the window he had just escaped from, and it looked as though the entire Korii army was taking flight from the palace grounds in pursuit. From his vantage point, a few hundred feet over the palace, it looked like Arius had just enraged a hive of wasps.

  “I’m quite capable of flying on my own, you know?” Gretidor drawled loudly.

  Ignoring him, Arius glimpsed Korii’s Wall off to the west. It was around a dozen miles away, he surmised.

  Even if I do manage to make it to the wall without being dragged out of my saddle, there’s no guarantee that the peace treaty will hold and these bastards won’t chase me into the Raachon side.

  As if Gretidor had read his mind, he chimed in on the situation in that insufferably haughty voice of his. “They won’t rest until I am in their custody. You as well, for that matter. Patricide is highly frowned upon when the victim happens to be the dictator of an entire nation. Have this beast release me at once, and you will earn a full pardon when this is all sorted out.”

  “You really are a deluded debutante, aren’t you?” Arius spat. “I’m not looking after your wellbeing because I have an affinity for spoiled little shits like you, Gretidor. And I’m definitely not doing it because Kutala asked me so very politely to whisk you away to safety either. You’re my leverage, or hostage, however you prefer to look at it. Whatever twisted game that you and your father were playing just put me in the worst predicament I could have possibly been in while coming to Calrisan. Frankly, I have my own interests to look out for at the moment, and you just became a colossal liability in achieving what I’m after. So do me a favor and just shut the hells up and hold on!”

  Alrukar growled sinisterly at Gretidor, as if to enforce Arius’ diatribe, and the Black dragon veered dramatically westward toward Korii’s Wall. As he did so, he whipped the prince rigorously about, shaking his head like a dog with a bone in its jaws to add to the effect.

  Shooting frantic glances over his shoulder at the enumerable stalkers soaring swiftly on his tail, Arius unsheathed his sword and readied himself for the inevitable onslaught. His Adimus Aura was already primed and ready to go, so yet again Arius’ tapped his infinite and awesome supply of war magic. His aura crackled, and light exploded forth from his person in blinding incandescence. The sun sat at its apex, but it paled in comparison to the blazing beacon Arius had become. Rage and adrenaline were a constant when wielding the Adimus Aura, so Arius let his fury take complete control.

  Rational thought became a distant thing; he had become a creature of pure animal instinct. A bestial roar ruptured forth from the depths of his soul, and he yelled in unmitigated defiance as the Trueborn attackers swooped in on him and Alrukar.

  The Korii Maji warriors were all armed, either with spears that were almost half as long as Alrukar or catchpoles that were just as rangy. They flew in a battle formation that Arius recognized as a tactic called the Bird and the Worm. Five Trueborn each flanked him on either side of Alrukar, while a dozen or so paced them from both above and below. The idea was that they would all converge upon them at once, overwhelming both steed and rider. Through the Link Arius forewarned Alrukar of the impending maneuver. The dragon had seen its ilk before and snarled viciously his reply.

  The wind howled in his face, and squinting against it, Arius clutched his reins with his offhand and gripped his sword hilt tightly. He braced himself, and Alrukar barrel-rolled abruptly to his left. The mighty Black dragon, with its overlapping plates of razor sharp scaled armor and his massive size, easily shredded through the Maji assault. Gretidor thrashed and wailed in terrified outbursts, but Arius paid his captive no heed whatsoever.

  A barrage of spears came whistling at his head, but with his Adimus Aura at its peak, Arius conjured forth a shield of raw energy that incinerated the projectiles. Even a few unlucky Maji that collided with the shield were evaporated. The Korii abandoned their feeble attempt at an organized offensive and began to swarm him in droves. In response, Arius summoned skull-sized orbs of energy that he slammed into the swooping masses mercilessly. Whenever an orb struck a dive-bombing Trueborn, the result was a concussive explosion that eradicated all that came in contact with it.

  If an orb was unsuccessful, his sword was not. Arius felled countless Korii with an array of expertly aimed hacks and slashes. He severed golden and white feathered wings from shoulder blades, sending their owners plummeting hundreds of feet to the ground below. His saber tore through limbs in eruptions of blood and feathers while he adeptly and dexterously kept spearhead and catchpole alike from sneaking through and causing him damage or unseating him.

  Alrukar jetted them towards the wall unrelentingly. Through his onset, it was almost impossible for Arius to discern how long he had fought or how close they were to reaching southern Calrisan. Time ceased to exist for him in moments like this. When the shadow of Korii’s wall washed over their battle and a war horn blazed over the clamor, he blinked in surprise. Taking his eyes off his opponents for a fraction of a second, he was shocked to see black and silver winged Maji joining the fray, coming to his defense.

  Alrukar crested Korii’s Wall unencumbered as the two factions engaged each other over the exact middle of Calrisan. His pursuit had ceased, but his true troubles had just begun. Staring fixedly at the chaos that just ensued off over his shoulder, Arius grimaced in disgust. A frenzied battle was now taking place on his behalf. Hundreds of Korii and Raachon Maji had just taken up arms against each other, completely shattering their peace treaty that had lasted for generations.

  Turning to face Gretidor, he exclaimed loudly over the rush of air that swept him deeper into southern Calrisan. “Well done, Gretidor, you pretentious ass. You just single handedly started another civil war between your peoples. I hope you’re pleased with yourself.”

  “I am,” Gretidor replied simply. He turned as best he could in Alrukar’s clutches, and he had a delighted smile carved on his smug face.

  “You see, Bastard Prince, Arius Kinless, Arius Jadestar, whatever useless title you go by these days, this had been my goal from the start. You played your role beautifully by the way, might I add. So valiant! So cunningly audacious! Bravo! Bravo! You were the perfect little scapegoat.”

  That was all the taunting Arius was willing to endure. Copying his attack on King Regius from earlier, Arius summoned his Elemantic abilities. He drew in as much air from his surroundings as he could possibly hold. Instead of releasing what he had gathered in one gust like before, he began to form the element into a club of sorts. He lashed out, bludgeoning Gretidor over the head with it, knocking him out cold. The prince slumped further in Alrukar’s jaws.

  Alrukar grunted at him, and through the Link Arius felt a sensation of relief because the prince had finally grown quiet. Arius laughed wearily, running his hands through his windblow
n hair.

  “I know, I know. I should have done that from the beginning.”

  A short time later he stood before the Raachon princess, and as Arius had expected, she was none too pleased to see him.

  “And your first instinct was to bring him here?” Karena Alunna screamed, gesticulating wildly as she harangued him fiercely, standing in front of the Raachon royal throne.

  “When we were young, you were prone to idiocy, and I see absolutely nothing has changed in the subsequent years!” she continued. “You land that creature on our green and you literally drag the unconscious heir of northern Calrisan into my throne room and dump him on the dais like he was yesterday’s garbage. Not to mention the reports streaming in from all over the city bringing me news that a battle is being waged between Korii and Raachon armsmen over that horrid wall as we speak!”

  Arius flushed in embarrassment, letting the tirade wash over him. She was right of course. Everything that had happened since he touched down this morning in Calrisan was undeniably his fault. Besides, it was in his experience that it was always wise to keep quiet when a woman was on a tangent the likes of this one. However, like a fool he opened his mouth to get in a word edgewise and received a look that cooled him to the marrow for his efforts. He snapped his mouth shut promptly.

  “Don’t you even dare think about speaking in my presence, Arius Jadestar! I’ve half a mind to toss you and that prince,” -- she spat the title, refusing to acknowledge Gretidor’s unconscious form -- “in our dankest cell in the deepest part of the dungeons.” She sat down hard in the throne and stared daggers at Arius.

  The palace of the Raachon Maji was every bit as luxurious as their Korii counterparts. Arius stood upon a priceless marble floor, with an immense mural of the Alunna coat of arms, a silver full moon bordered by a pair of titanic sterling wings, displayed in the middle. Black marbled carvings of Maji dotted the walls as well, wielding argent weaponry and depicting legends and past rulers among the Raachon. The throne itself was a work of art too. It was gilded intricately with masterworks of birds of prey. Arius felt very much like a worm those birds might snack on at that moment.