I had found my companions and ran them up to speed on what Lak’Ashara wanted and my decision. Most of my companions had agreed that the city place was not ideal. Octavian wholeheartedly agreed that Lak’Ashara’s “paradise” was an illusion. A utopia. The thing about utopias however is that by their very definition they are perfect places that can not exist. Cao Tzu of course could say nothing, but her look told me everything I needed to know. That place made her as uncomfortable as it made me.

“Are you serious, Hadrian?”

Brutus made his objection. I sharply turned to look at him. He was pouting with his arms crossed. I raised my eyebrow in interest and placed my hands behind my back in a formal position. One that I always do in times where I need to show my authority. I don’t need to tell anyone that I am the leader. I show them.

“Do you have an issue, Brutus?”

“We’ve come all this way to escort a queen who acts like a spoiled princess and we finally get to a place that isn’t in the hot blistering sun all to just leave the first chance we get?”

I furrowed my brow and kept the aura of leadership, staring Brutus down as if he were an angry bear ready to strike me down.

“This place is not for us, Brutus. This is a place for debauchery and lust. True sons of Rohiram would never embrace this place.”

“True sons of Roharim would take this city for themselves! If you dislike her so much, why not just kill her and be done with it? She is only a woman, after all.”

“A very dangerous woman who has us in her clutches. Never underestimate her, Brutus Trikon. Are you forgetting what you saw out there? Are you forgetting the debauchery that you recoiled from?”

“All I am saying is that we are passing up a great opportunity. Lak’Ashara wants to give us everything we could ever want; food, riches, power, pleasure. How could you say no to that?”

I stared deeply into Brutus’s earthen brown eyes with my own emerald green eyes and pursed my lips in frustration and annoyance.

“The best way to imprison a man is to give him everything he’s ever wanted in life.”

I tried to make my point with him. However, I didn’t know if I could get through to him. Brutus was always hard headed to the point of self destruction. I needed to stand my ground with him and let him know that I was not going to back down.

“What the hell does that mean? Why do you enjoy speaking in riddles so much, Hadrian?” Brutus said with a scowl and a great deal of dissatisfaction.

“What it means, Brutus, is that the best way to enslave someone is to give him everything he’s ever wanted in life and everything he would ever want. If you give someone everything, they are a slave to you. They are dependent on you until they stop being useful.”

Brutus crossed his arms, unimpressed by my assessment. He was a man of pride as much as he was a man of strength. I walked up to him and looked deeply into his eyes, challenging him to override my authority.

“Do you have a problem with my command, old friend?”

Brutus and I locked eyes with each other until he was the first to look away. His arms dropped to his sides as he frowned.

“…No.”

“Good.” I turned away sharply and looked around the room to make sure that everyone else was on the same page.

“Tomorrow we will be leaving. Octavian, you said that the other slaves fled from Akari. Where do you suppose they would be by now?”

Octavian tilted his head to the side and looked up at the ceiling in recollection as he tried to remember where they were. It only took him a second.

“They said they would go as far from Akari as possible. There is a Savanna to the north east from here. It’ll be a journey of three, maybe four days, but we can make good time.”

“Bah!” Brutus said as he threw his hand up in the air with a dissatisfied grimace on his face, clearly annoyed.

“Then that is where we will go. We will meet with our people and then we will establish ourselves.”

Octavian crossed his arms as he stood attentively, focusing on my words. He stroked his beard out of curiosity.

“And what then, my lord?”

I pondered for a moment before I gave him my answer. “Then we carve ourselves a proper kingdom.”

“Then I am at your side, My lord.”

Octavian knelt down before me, lowering his head in submission. Soon, Straden and Mil’Tuk knelt down beside me. Cao Tzu smiled and then graciously bowed before me, all with their heads bowed down and averted their gazes. The only one who did not readily submit to me was Brutus. Brutus grumbled, still fuming over my dismissal of Lak’Ashara. I gave him one look. He must have realized that he was outnumbered, for when I looked at him he too knelt down.

This was but my first taste of my kingly right, divinely bestowed upon me by Ile’Sethak. I felt something that was like honey on the tip of my tongue and relished in the taste. What was it you ask? Pride. I felt pride build up inside me. I felt like I was beginning to see my true potential in that room there. I felt the satisfaction that I would not just lead a small band of warriors to hell and back. I would command armies. I tempered my pride for the moment. I couldn’t get lost in the dream of ruling before I had even managed to unite with freed slaves. That night we slept in separate rooms.

I must admit, I felt a sense of unease wash over me after saying no to Lak’Ashara. I could hardly sleep due to the thought of someone slipping in my room with murderous intent. I took the liberty and stole away a candlestick and hid it under my pillow. They thought that they could take my weapons so easily, but in my experience, anything can be used as a weapon. Even the things that seem mundane and unimportant.

“You know if she wanted you dead, she would have done so already.”

As quick as a bolt of lightning, I shot out from my bed to look at the stranger, holding my makeshift weapon and prepared to club my would-be attacker over the head…only to realize that it was Cora. Cora had bypassed the door and came in through the balcony window. She crossed her arms and smiled at me like a cat that just caught a bird. She looked at my weapon and chuckled lightly.

“I have to give you this at least, you are resourceful.”

“Cora…”

I lowered my weapon and set it aside on the bed. I didn’t have any fear of her attacking. I was usually so careful and precise with my self preservation, yet there I was eager to give her the benefit of the doubt. She walked closer to me and smiled lightly.

“I take it that you’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

“You’d be correct in that assumption.”

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“That’s probably for the best. Lak’Ashara has never been refused before. Not by anyone.”

“Then it pleases me to be the first.” I smirked, feeling more prideful as I held my head high in triumph only to be greeted by Cora’s smile turning into a frown for but a moment.

“Hadrian… You are a very strange man. You are either very brave or you are very foolish. I’d say that there is a fine line between the two.”

“And which line do you think I am on?”

Her smile returned, eager to give me a type of retort. Something witty perhaps.

“And you don’t simply cross that line, Hadrian. You skip back and forth on it.”

“Well, think of it as trying to keep my enemies guessing then if that's how you’d prefer it.

She smiled lightly for a moment and then began to walk around the room a bit more. She snapped her fingers and suddenly the candles flickered on with new life. With her back facing me, she turned her head and cut her eyes at me.

“You are indeed an interesting man, Hadrian. One that I’ve never seen before. You galavant along like you own these lands. You would see yourself as a king. Why?”

“I’m ambitious~.” I gave a sly smirk, masking my motives, yet she saw through me.

“You could have joined with Lak’Ashara and she’d have given you anything you wanted. You would have been a king. She’d probably see you as good enough stock to be her king. Yet you refuse her. Why?”

I paused for a moment. Enough with the banter and jokes. Enough with dry and “witty” humor. It was time for business.

“I don’t know what to tell you. I should probably go out of the Blasted Lands and find the one who condemned me to die in the first place.”

All I was wearing in bed was a loin cloth. Cora noticed the scars where the nails dug deeply into my wrists. Very tentatively walked up to me and took my hands and examined them. The scars were ugly and not fit for the sight of others. She looked up at me in surprise.

“How are you even able to hold a sword without feeling any pain?”

“Who said I couldn’t feel the pain?” I replied sharply. It's true that sometimes when I hold a sword, I swear I could feel the nails digging into me once again just as I did that fateful day when I was bound to the cross for days. The weight of my own body added to the pain.

For a moment there was pity in her eyes as she listened and understood. She looked at my wrists and frowned. At that moment, she brought the scars up to her lips and lightly kissed them. My skin tingled and turned into gooseflesh. My scars were sensitive to the touch, and hers was no exception. Lak’Ashara tried very hard to tempt me, but Cora had the same effect by using less. She let go of my wrist and stepped aside for a moment.

“Tell me, Hadrian. What will you do now that you will be free of us?”

I stood in compilation for a moment. I bit the inside of my cheek and gestured for her to follow me to the balcony where she had come from. We stood out in the cool night and looked out at the multitudes of stars high above us. I leaned on the balcony’s railing and looked at the city. WHen it was not consumed by lust and wanton pleasure, it was extremely beautiful. The many lights in the city glittered in the dark like stars on the earth.

“I will establish myself in the west. There I shall forge a new kingdom by my own hands. If I ventured back to Roharim, they would put me to death. So I shall remain here and remake the glory of Roharim in my own image.”

“Your ambition is greater than I thought, Hadrian. And what will you do with Lak’Ashara?”

She stood beside me to marvel at the beauty of the stars with me. I turned to look at her, raising my head high and giving her my answer.

“I do not seek to make war with her. If she brings war to me, then I shall retaliate with the intent to match her. As long as she leaves me in peace, I shall not act against her. I wish to remain independent.”

She thought for a moment and looked at me to discern if I was telling the truth or not. She was satisfied and smiled lightly. I had no interest in pursuing war, especially with only a handful of people with no base to call my own. As much as I disliked Lak’Ashara, I would not be the one to start any conflict.

“You are a very strange man, Hadrian. I like you. You’re not like any of the people who serve Lak’Ashara. They either serve to indulge their own pleasures and pursue their own interests, or they do so out of fear for their lives.”

“And which one are you?” I couldn’t help but ask. It might have been a mistake. I might have insulted her, but she simply gave me a sly smirk and a wink.

“The secret third type~.”

She hopped up on the railing and sat there, perfectly balancing herself with all the grace and flexibility of a cat. Never fearing that she would fall.

“And what is the third type?” I asked, my interest raised, yet she denied me an answer. She simply sat there and smiled, lazily kicking her foot in the air.

“I’ll aid you however I can. I think I know one way, but it will take time. Do you trust me?”

Ah, now there was the rub. Should I have given her my trust or simply denied her? She was my only ally so far aside from the hermit Vatrez, who I had not seen since our encounter near Akari. I turned around and thought.

“We have a saying in Roharim. The deadliest of vipers are often the most beautiful…but with that said, I don’t believe you are a viper.”

She smiled and continued to kick her foot in the air for a moment.

“Maybe I just haven’t bitten you yet~.”

“Maybe. Would that be so bad now?”

She didn’t reply. She gave another sly smirk before leaning backwards, gracefully flipping over the railing and letting go. I thought she had slipped and I tried to catch her, yet when I made it to the railing, she was gone. Vanishing like morning mist. I couldn’t see any trace of her. I pushed myself off of the railing and went back to my chambers. I knew I would see her again.

The next day would affirm this idea. As we began to leave the city, we received our weapons and were about to depart when Lak’Ashara and Cora came. The queen of this city desired to speak with me before we could leave.

“Hadrian. Before you leave I simply wish to ask you something. Are you sure this course you take is the right one? Are you not worried that you are marching to your death out there?”

I sheathed my weapon once it was returned to me and turned to face Lak’Ashara.

“Why would I need to fear death? Death comes for us all in the end.”

Lak’Ashara’s lips curled into a smile and placed her hand on her hip, cocking it to the side.

“It doesn’t have to. I have powers that can laugh in the face of death. You would have no need for wars. You would live a life of comfort. You would have security and more than enough people to worship you as their king.”

I shook my head and crossed my arms as I stared down Lak’Ashara.

“Your people live a life of comfort, but no meaning. You do not struggle here. Struggling is what makes us who we are. If we are simply handed our victories then those victories mean nothing. You would have me serve you, but in service to you I would end up losing far more than just some burdens. The answer is no. I only ask that you allow me to remain independent and we will have no worries.”

Lak’Ashara was angered. Twice she had offered me a place by her side, and twice I refused. Yet she kept herself calm and collected. She would not let her annoyance and anger cloud her judgment. She simply gave me a sly smile.

“Then I wish you the best of luck, Hadrian. It has been interesting. And when you come back —and I do mean when…— I will offer you a place again. And next time, I do hope that you will take my offer.”

She turned away and climbed back up to her temple. Cora looked at me for a moment and bowed her head. The veil covered her face save for those shining amethyst eyes. They glittered brightly in the sunlight. It enraptured me that when she turned to leave again, I found a small part of myself longing to look at her eyes again.

And with that, I set off yet again. We left despite the jeers and mockings of the crowds that took part in their ceaseless pleasure seeking. I ignored the debased scenes that were displayed in full view for us. When the sight of their perversions was gone and the west was laid bare before me, I felt a sense of relief. It was like I had almost suffocated in a terrible fire, the smoke poisoning my lungs, and finally was free to take in the crisp clean air of freedom. Without hesitation, we ventured on. Before the city was completely gone from sight, I turned to look back. I did so not because I longed for their debased pleasures, but a far more simple one. I looked back and thought about Cora, who even then danced and spun in my mind. Elegant and free. The one bright spot in all of that so-called “City of desire.” Debauchery I call it.

I thought about Cora as we traveled. One last look before the city was gone. I had nothing else but what laid before me. A part of me wanted to linger just a little while longer. It was then that I realized the bitter truth. A truth that tore into my heart. I was falling for Cora. The way her mysterious nature tugged at me. Every little thing attracted me to her: the way she spoke, the way she moved, the way she dressed, the way she smelled. All seemed to have been crafted to draw me closer to her like a moth to a flame. Was it doomed to fail? I wouldn’t know if I never saw her again. And so I swore to myself that I would see Cora again in the hopes that her presence would not haunt my dreams for too long.

Yet as you are no doubt aware by now, that hope would almost certainly not come to pass.