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Chapter Eleven

Agenda

I paced the kitchen of Arianna’s cottage while reading reports from the surface of Avrirsa. My fiancée was still sound asleep a few rooms away, but I couldn’t rest. Djialkan and Fraelfnir insisted I remain within the house for now and had brought me numerous documents to help me get up to speed with everything that had happened during my absence. I didn’t know what to make of the temple found below Eormir, nor the carvings throughout it.

‘This is but a portion?’ I asked, shifting to look at Djialkan.

‘Aye,’ the fae-dragon nodded from where he had perched on the kitchen table. ‘Whilst you slumbered, Fraelfnir took me to the temple and showed me the carvings, the bloodstains, the bones. I am in full agreement that this Blood Magic working must have been related, at least in part, to Arianna’s capture. Furthermore, the illustration of the being they worshiped…’

‘Yes…the resemblance to Darius is disconcerting at best.’ I frowned at the page. A boy with twelve white wings. Antler-like horns of quartz and gold. His robes were white, jade, and gold. Even if the memory of Darius’ childhood form eluded me, his parents had confirmed our suspicions in the stack of reports. ‘To have such accurate depictions, they must have had some contact with the boy. Who were Darius’ guards in Leryci? Furthermore, shouldn’t Fraelfnir know more of this?’

‘My brother is bound by his oath as a Guardian.’ Djialkan shook his head slowly before heaving a sigh. ‘To break our oath is to ask for death. He cannot tell us more, no matter how badly he wishes it.’

‘And Darius’ guards?’ I prompted.

‘Gabriel would know more.’ Djialkan frowned slightly. ‘However, I remain unconvinced that she is on our side. At the very least, she is very…naive.’

I sighed. That was something the fae-dragon and I could certainly agree on. Initially I had believed Arianna to be too harsh regarding her mother’s ability to rule, but the more I learned of Leryci’s troubles, the more I agreed with Arianna’s assessment. However, I remained uncertain about what our focus should be. With X’shmir conquered, I felt somewhat lacking in direction. I wanted to slay more Jivyador, certainly, but there were many other matters in Avrirsa that required our attention.

“I’m starving,” the hoarse groan caused me to glance over my shoulder, finding Arianna standing in the doorway. Her hair was disheveled and sticking out all over the place. She’d pulled a robe partway on but appeared to have given up regarding pulling it the rest of the way over one of her shoulders. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her.

“Sit down and I will make us some breakfast.” I pulled her over and kissed the top of her head before shooing her in the direction of the kitchen table. “We are under house arrest for the moment while the Lari’xan work.”

“House arrest?” Arianna grumbled as she sat heavily in one of the chairs. “That explains why I can’t sense anything other than you, me, Djialkan, Fraelfnir, and Alala. Did Yiltanys say how Sihix is doing?”

“Only that he will be fine and requires rest,” I answered, setting the stack of reports between her and Djialkan. “I spent the morning catching up on all that you’ve done and explored while I was away. You have certainly been keeping busy.”

“Of course I have. How else would I keep from getting lonely?” Arianna puffed her cheeks out briefly before smiling. “So, you saw what moves I’ve started to make regarding the beast blood issues within Dauthrmir? Oh, the modifications to the residential district are coming along well, too.”

“I saw. I was surprised to learn that Cyrr is working with such people.” I rummaged around the pantry in search of ingredients. “Are you certain they’re trustworthy?”

“Well, they’re the most trustworthy out of the options we found,” Arianna began with a laugh. “If they turn out not to be, we’ll just kill them. Simple enough.”

“Then I will hope you’re correct and that they are useful,” I stated dryly. “We should probably talk about what we just went through in Eormir.”

“Which part?” Arianna snorted. “The beasts, the Jivyador, the corpse-like Angels, that Sihix’s heart of all things was there, or—”

“Awww, were you two worried about me?” Sihix appeared in the chair across from Arianna and shot us each a lazy grin. “Let me make this simple for you, darlings. If I had told the two of you that my heart was in X’shmir, and under attack, the petite morsel here would have been on the first ship to X’shmir so that she could beat those responsible in their rotting faces.

“Had that happened, the lingering remnants of the curse would have executed Arianna. Your connection as deities would have then killed you, Nalithor. Even we don’t play with raising the dead, and we certainly didn’t want to turn to the former Balance candidates. Not with Darius’ schemes in play.”

“You didn’t cover why your heart was there in the first place.” Arianna bared her fangs briefly, her fluffy tails switching behind her. “Yiltanys said it was necessary, but that’s all he said.”

“The portion of my domain that was taken into the skies with X’shmir was a very important part,” Sihix offered a little more seriously. “I had Shir and Gari put my heart somewhere that it could still feed the forest aether but be away from any unsuspecting fools who could pick it up. Neither my children nor the X’shmirans would be capable of handling the power within, and the Humans would have been likely to throw it off the island entirely.”

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“Then, that part of your domain is the core?” I frowned at Sihix. “Why is it so close to the forest’s edge? Somewhere more defensible would make far more sense.”

“Auvry’e was in the center, once,” Sihix answered, shrugging. “The Split affected more than you can imagine. Yilty, Ceilail, Xiinsha, and I have been rearranging our domains for the past several days, returning them to how they were before the Split. Us, and the village, are now at the center of my domain as we should be. We confirmed that there are no more missing pieces in my domain or in Yilty’s.”

“So, your heart being in X’shmir is how Djialkan and Corentine were able to communicate with you still?” Arianna tilted her head, her expression contemplative. “I guess that would explain why they wouldn’t let me ‘meet’ you either.”

“Are you certain it isn’t because if his winning personality?” I snorted.

“You and I are for more similar than you’re like to admit.” Sihix smirked at me. “I should know after having part of you with me for so long, after all. Ah…what did Ari-mrii call that part of you? That’s right! Puppy.”

“So, you’re saying you’re like a puppy?” Arianna countered flatly. “Maybe an ankle-biting—”

“Finish that sentence and me biting your ankles will be the least of your worries.” Sihix narrowed his eyes at her.

“Are you quite done?” I sighed at him.

“Can you honestly claim you will ever stop teasing her? Then you have the answer to your question.” Sihix grinned, shrugging. “Now then, once we’ve had breakfast, we will go fetch Corentine and Alala. They wish to join us when we take you to your new temple.”

“Temple?” I frowned at him. “What do you mean—”

“Is it really our temple yet?” Arianna scoffed. “Sure, it’s gorgeous, but Nalithor and I aren’t officially Balance yet, right? Furthermore, Nalithor already has a temple in Dauthrmir. And—”

“You are officially unofficially the official Balance pair,” Sihix replied simply, causing Arianna to scrunch her face at him for a moment. “You need a temple in neutral territory. Being flanked by Yiltanys’ domain and mine only strengthens your position and dissuades troublemakers.”

“Then you are not talking about the temple beneath X’shmir…” I murmured, my frown deepening. “Just what, pray tell, have you done now?”

“I forgot that part?” Arianna blinked at me. “They had a temple erected between their forests, on the edge of the crater. Er, what used to be a crater. It’s supposed to be ours.”

‘Ours…’ A small smile came to my lips as my heartbeat quickened. “Speaking of official business, I suppose I will need to speak with Lucifer soon as well now that we are on Avrirsa’s surface once more.”

“If you can find the time.” Sihix shrugged, cutting in before Arianna could speak. “Once you’re helped purify the pieces of Eormir, you will be turning your sights to N’lafmar next. I am hoping you can find the Zehylor younglings within Falrrsald while you’re at it. While the two of you are covering those matters, Yiltanys, Ceilail, Xiinsha, and myself will be seeking out the rest of the Lari’xan—and keeping an eye on Darius’ movements.”

“We need to address matters in Leryci as well,” I pointed out while plating food. “However, I’m more concerned about the Lari’xan. For the Jivyador and their pawns to attack you outright in such a way…”

“They are growing desperate—or rather, their master is. Yes.” Sihix paused and shot me a pleading look. “I want pancakes too.”

“Arianna gets hers first.” The corner of my eye twitched as I placed a plate in front of my ayraziis. She stifled a giggle and shot me a subtle smile, her tails briefly tapping my legs as I returned to the stove. “This master of theirs…I take it that is part of why Arianna opted to set their strange ‘room in the sky’ alight?”

“It was a portal to their domain,” Sihix offered, shrugging. “Ari-mrii setting it aflame distracted them, giving us time to make our escape. The lightning bolts would have come far sooner had she not. I am more concerned regarding the number of Jivyador the two of you slew. We had hoped that only a few of the past universes’ deities had become such beings, but…”

“In other words, their master, or masters, have been around for longer than you first believed?” Arianna grimaced. “The Jivyador we killed seemed to wear similar robes to each other, yet different from all other we’ve seen. That has been a recurring theme regarding Jivyador we’ve faced. So far we’ve seen what, half a dozen different factions of them? Maybe more?”

“More,” I confirmed, carrying plates for Sihix and Djialkan to the table. “If we are to believe each group involves deities from previous iterations of the Lari’xan’s universe, then we may be looking at schemes going back throughout near a dozen.”

“It’s a right mess!” Sihix exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. “I am concerned about the other Lari’xan. If our enemies chose to attack someone as powerful as I first, it is only a matter of time before they target a weaker Lari’xan. We need to find them and make certain the two of you can reach them with haste. You will be needing to use your domain as a gateway more frequently. Yiltanys and I have decided we will be lowering the aetheric drain opening such portals requires so that you may do so.”

“Well, it sounds like you have already decided most of what Arianna and I will be doing for the foreseeable future,” I remarked, taking a seat at the table. “Am I to understand we get little say in the matter?”

“Unless you would like to see this universe destroyed, then yes.” Sihix shot me a pointed look. “We have run out of patience for playing around with this foe. It’s high time you and Arianna began focusing on wiping them out instead of wasting your time on conquering Humans. Granted, the manner in which you chose to execute the bastards was incredibly satisfying.”

“And Darius?” Arianna glanced up from her food, narrowing her eyes at the Lari’xan.

“We have servants keeping an eye on his movements,” Sihix stated, frowning. “Our primary concern is that his lies appear to be working. We’ve confirmed that his power of persuasion is still sealed, yet people in the Beshulthien’s lands are eating up his lies. Strangely, Rabere appears to be one of the few immune to his claims. However, the Vampire bastard remains unstable.”

“My brother isn’t fully taken over?” I questioned with a growl. “In that case…”

“Some part of him is fighting.” Sihix shrugged. “He is low on our list of priorities. For now, he can fight on his own.”

‘That…may be for the best.’ I gritted my teeth, fighting down any arguments. While I wanted my brother to regain full control of himself, I doubted it would solve the many issues we had faced in our relationship over the centuries. After all, the war against N’lafmar and saving the other Lari’xan came first. I paused, frowning, then looked toward Sihix again. “The Beshulthiens, my brother included, wished to join us in the fight against N’lafmar. Can we truly afford to leave him to his own devices? He may seek to steal Arianna away amidst any confusion that might arise amid battle.”

“You make a good point,” Sihix murmured. “I will speak with Yiltanys. Neither of us would want precious Ari-mrii to face such a terrible situation. Far too many risks arise if the Beshulthiens take her.”

“Sounds like we have a busy day ahead.” Arianna sighed, rising from her seat. She glanced down at my plate and then at me as she passed me. “Want some more?”

“I am finished.” I shook my head slightly.

“Once you are satisfied you should get dressed, Arianna,” Djialkan spoke up after devouring the last of his pancakes. “From what Sihix has said, it sounds as if we should begin work sooner rather than later.”

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