Chapter 13

“Who… are you? Why… Why can’t I remember you?”

She did not know how, but she was able to see the small, gentle smile sent her way from the figure before her, shrouded in darkness as she was

“It does not matter,” came the answer, and much to the teen’s ire, a finger came up to now-smirking lips in a shushing manner. “You will remember me in due time. For now, I believe there are people you need to return to.”

“Huh…? What, no, wait!”

~*~

Rityu sighed, scratching his head. He’d just came out of a meeting with Cain Kileros and his followers and… the spy hid a shudder. Not for the first time, he thanked whatever higher power up there that it was him who was doing the spying and not Phiol – his elder brother might’ve just cracked under Kileros’ aura of menace.

He ducked his head as several of who he knew to be directly under the evil lord’s command – to him, a mocking sign of humility. They paid him no mind as they walked by, but their conversation got Rityu’s attention.

“…Lord Cain said that the Thyride girl would not be a problem. Hah!” one scoffed. “She took out the majority of our forces with that spell of hers.” A swell of pride for the youngest Thyride and his brother grew within him at that, knowing how much time his younger brother had spent with her to make her – in crude terms – grow a backbone.

“We cannot afford to send more there, either,” another commented with a sigh, a feathered fan covering half her features. “There are far more important lands we have our sights on, after all.”

The biggest man among them chuckled – a dry and unnerving sound that forced Rityu to drop his previous train of thought. “I’ve sent them a message,” he told his companions, his grin nearly as demented as their leader’s own. “Since they are smart enough to underestimate our lord’s main piece, they should battle her and that Aitelorn brat the lord has his sights on to death.”

There was laughter and chuckled all around, all with the same dry and unnerving quality but one. “Fitting,” the formerly silent man said, his voice that tad bit muffled by a half-face mask. “That is,” he continued with a grin on his face, “if they could even do that; incompetent as they are.”

By that point, even Rityu’s sharp ears could not catch onto what they were saying anymore, but he had heard enough to draw his own conclusions. Battle… to the death? he thought, feeling his heartbeat increase in panic and fear for the two youngest in his family’s household. No. That cannot happen. They still have a whole life ahead of them!

Steeling himself for the potential explosion from Kileros’ twin brother, Rityu made haste towards the teleportation point Kileros had been oh-so kind to provide him with – to avoid suspision, he had told him with a smirk that sent chills down his spine.

~*~

“What?!”

Rityu hid a wince. As per his expectations, the good twin had a fit when he heard the news he brought. Doing his best to hide his own worry, he flipped his ponytail off his shoulder and regarded the silver-haired leader before him calmly – a far cry from his earlier panic.

“We need to inform the people in I’yn about this,” he said, a mask of calmness already settled onto his features. “Send word with a messenger bird or something. I wouldn’t know. I’m not the leader here; you are.”

Lord Abel closed his eyes and took a deep breath… then another. “You’re right,” he answered, his demeanour much calmer. “I’ll go there myself.”

The middle son of the Aitelorns raised an eyebrow. “And how are you going to get there, exactly?” he asked. “Pardon me, but you aren’t exactly a speed-type…”

The older man had to grin. “My brother is capable of setting up teleportation points,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I, on the other hand, can teleport.”

Teleportation points were easy to set up, Rityu knew. He had set a few up before… though it was mostly for the training the spartan Aitelorn patriarch led. Teleporting, on the other hand, required a huge degree of magical control that most people generally did not have – he had only known of his own mother and Seloria (even though the elder Thyride did not use as much magic as his mother) who could teleport anywhere they wanted, and even get others to teleport with them.

“Are you serious?” he asked, unable to keep the curiosity out of his voice. Lord Abel grinned, gave him an almost cheeky two-fingered salute, and vanished.

“…” Rityu stared at the area the elder man was for a moment before he groaned and brought a hand up to meet his forehead, producing a loud smacking sound. “Yea, rub that fact in, why don’tcha?” he groused, having told the man that he was trying – and failing – to be able to teleport on his own.

Despite that, he was not able to keep the desperate hope out of his heart. Please, he thought, his features turning grim – an unnatural look on his normally smirky face. Don’t let anything happen to them.