“What are your intentions towards my daughter?” Queen Ruqiya asked, her voice carrying an edge Qing hadn’t heard before.

His stomach tightened. He’d faced demonic hordes and massive beasts in single combat, yet somehow that simple question scared him. The weight her gaze bore down on him as they walked the perimeter of the camp, the flickering firelight casting long shadows across the cleared ground.

He swallowed hard, buying time to formulate a response.

Is what I want even relevant?

He and Ghida hadn’t even had a chance to discuss their relationship amidst the chaos of their quest, but the thought of disappointing or angering her mother made his palms sweat. King Sharyar needed to be met with strength, because no matter what words Qing had for him, the man would never approve. But the queen…

“I’m not sure,” Qing said, immediately regretting his honesty, and lamely added, “We’re kind of just figuring things out as we go.”

Ruqiya’s eyes narrowed, her lush lips pressing into a line. “Figuring things out as you go might be acceptable for Thulenorian village girls having a tumble in the hay, the consequences affecting only their own lives. But Ghida? Do you think a Zylphadian princess to be afforded the same luxury?”

Qing felt heat rising in his cheeks, and he stopped, turning to face Ruqiya directly. “We are working to save the world and supporting each other as we do so. Is that so wrong? What would you have me do?”

“You did well in saving our kingdom from Wazir, and for that, you have my thanks. But when it comes to my daughter, I insist you remember your place.”

Qing’s temper flared, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. “My place?” he asked, his voice dropping into a growl. ”What exactly is that?"

“Are you from a noble line?” Ruqiya asked.

“No, but—“

“And are you willing to be the type of consort my daughter needs?”

Qing’s eyes narrowed. He knew enough about parents deciding what their adult kids needed. “And what exactly is the type you perceive Ghida needs?”

The queen smiled, and for a moment the Sylvan jungle felt chill. “Ghida is to be the reigning queen of Zylphadia. She needs a partner willing to walk a sep behind her. Someone who knows his place. I will not allow her to bind herself to a partner seeking to overpower her and advance his own agenda.”

The anger bubbled up, and Qing stepped towards the queen. “First of all, lady,” he said demonstratively, ignoring her title, “where I’m from, we have no kings and queens. We told them to fuck right off, and you know what? It worked pretty damn well. The United States of America is ruled by the people, for the people.” He wiped spit from lips, forcing himself to quiet. “And secondly, you see Ghida as weak? Unable to hold her own in a union with a strong partner? If so, you don’t know her. She is the strongest person I’ve met her, and she can handle any partner she damn well want.”

Qing leaned forward, expecting the retaliation, but to his surprise, Ruqiya’s expression softened, and she grinned. It reminded him of a cat cornering its prey. “Excellent points,” she said, her tone suddenly light. “I’m glad to see how much thought you have put into the marriage between Ghida and yourself.”

Qing stuttered, caught off guard by the sudden shift. “Erh…wait, that’s not quite what I—”

“Oh, I understand exactly what you meant,” Ruqiya interrupted, her smile widening. “And as soon as you have saved the world, we will continue this conversation.” She patted his cheek, turned, and glided off into the night, humming gently to herself and scratching her arm.

Qing stood rooted to the spot, his mind reeling from the exchange. He looked up at the star-filled sky.

Meimei is never going to let me live this down. And Mom... I’m going to have to talk to Ghida about this. Damn it. As if I didn’t have enough on my damn mind.

The rest of the night passed in a blur of fitful sleep and troubled dreams. When Ghida woke him, breakfast in hand, his mind was still clouded with visions of a monstrous she-devil, six-headed and four-breasted, chasing him through an endless jungle, and he found himself snapping at the princess, his mood soured by lack of sleep. He immediately regretted it, seeing the hurt flash across her face. It wasn’t her fault, after all. He enjoyed her company, craved it even.

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“I’m sorry,” he said, “It’s just…”

“Yes,” she said. “But remember our conversation in your wooden inn. Be fair.”

He nodded, but somehow their relationship felt more complicated after her mother’s words.

With a mental effort, aided by the rations giving his jaw a workout, he forced the thoughts from his mind, and focused on the task at hand. Through the gap in the trees loomed the cleaved mountain in the distance. As the group gathered their supplies and prepared to move out, Qing’s eyes were drawn to that cleft, knowing it pointed straight down to where where they would enter hell.

* * *

After a few hours of trudging through jungle, slicing apart carnivorous vines, blasting apart clouds of blood-sucking insect, they emerged from the jungle to find a wide chasm blocking their road. It ran left to right like a moat.

“How are we supposed to get across?” Rowan asked, scratching his head, his metal helmet tucked under one arm. He leaned out and looked left and right. “No telling how long it runs. Might take us the whole day to get around.”

“There is no time to waste,” Cedric said, ignoring the sailors milling about, stepping to the edge one by one before cursing and hurrying back.

Qing walked over and stared down, a sucking feeling in his belly despite having Blink ready.

“Something doesn’t want us over there, that’s for sure,” Aria said as Ghida stepped up beside Qing. Her presence was both a comfort and unsettling, though he had cooled after the hours of jungle trecking.

“I am not entirely convinced I want us over there,” she said with a forced chuckle.

She had a point. The contrast between the two sides of the chasm was stark and unnerving. On their side, the jungle was green and lush, teeming with life. It was dangerous, but it was a natural danger. One they had figured out how to navigate without too severe casualties. Across the chasm the land was barren and hostile looking, as if taken straight from a dystopian post-apocalyptic movie. The little vegetation remaining sat blackened and withered, all shades of black and grey. An oppressive aura seemed to hang over everything, promising danger and death.

“The closer we come to the gate to Hell, the more demonic influence we will feel,” Cedric said. “Now, get us across.”

Qing nodded. “And hurry.” Every minute felt like an eternity as he was in a race against an invisible opponent, with no way of knowing how far behind he was.

“Why rush?” Aria asked, her eyes fixed on the yawning chasm and one hand on her belly. “One false move, and we’ll fall to our death.” She leaned forward, peering into the depths, her nose wrinkling at the sulfuric smell of rotten eggs that wafted up.

Jenny tossed in a rock, and they all held their breath, listening for an impact that never came. The depth seemed endless.

Finally, Qing shook his head. “We cannot afford to look for a way around, nor can we afford to delay. Have you seen a better ambush spot?”

“You could Blink across?” Morgana said, “and I would prefer not to drop my father down there. While he might end up in Hell, its not quite the entrance I have in mind.”

“Won’t help,” Qing said. “If I bring them in my inventory then we’ll have the same problem, just from the other side. And if it is attached to me, I’ll just Blink out of it.”

“Knut, can’t we tie it to your arrow and shoot it across?” Jenny asked. “Like we did that one time in Moorekesh?”

Knut shook his head, arm tightly wrapped around Ruqiya’s waist. “That was a thirty-foot gap. I’ll never make it here.”

Qing nodded, his mind racing through possibilities. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he smiled. “Get the ropes. I’ve got a plan.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Morgana groaned, “I hate it when he says that.”

Queen Ruqiya, who had been trailing a finger up and down the nape of Knut’s neck, asked, “Why?”

“Yeah,” Qing said. “Since when don’t my plans work out?”

“True. They work, just never the way you think,” Jenny said.

Qing glared at his friends. “Well, unless someone has another idea, we’re doing this my way.”

* * *

With three ropes firmly attached around his waist and his glaive firmly gripped, Qing stared at the edge of the chasm yawning before him. It had to be at least two hundred feet across.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.

Why am I nervous? If I can’t make the jump, I just Blink. It’s not really dangerous.

Yet his churning gut refused to listen to logic.

He looked towards Ghida. She smiled, a beacon of encouragement. He wanted to go over and give her a kiss for good luck, but Queen Ruqiya stood nearby, and he quickly looked away. This was not the time for such distractions.

Steeling himself, Qing set off, sprinting towards the edge. At the last instant, he triggered his glaive’s special ability.

Flight of the Blood Claws: Once an hour, gravity’s effect on the wearer may be reduced, allowing them to soar across the battlefield. Their mass is unchanged.

With the familiar sensation of gravity releasing its hold, he lept from the edge.

As he soared across the chasm, keeping his eyes firmly glued to the other side, a sickening realisation hit him.

Fuck. I’m not going fast enough. I’m not making it.

But he kept soaring, passing the halfway point, and relief flooded through him. He was going to make it.

Until Rowan shouted, “Watch out!” and Qing turned just in time to see a black spear the length of a man flying towards him.

Instinct took over, and he cast Blink, disappearing and rematerialising on the other side of the chasm, the spear thudding harmlessly to the ground several feet away.

But as the immediate danger passed, he felt a crushing sense of failure. By casting Blink, he had lost connection to the ropes, and he watched helplessly as they tumbled away into the abyss.

A one hour cooldown felt like an eternity as Rowan called, “Defensive formation!” and Qing watched as the sailors spread into a half circle, with his companions interspersed among them, weapons at the ready.

Then chaos erupted.

The jungle they had emerged from suddenly teemed with life as an army stepped forth. An army made up of leaf-camouflaged pygmies, and interspersed among them came twisted versions of the monsters they had encountered in the clearing the day before. Giant apes lumbered forward, extra limbs stretching from their backs and their mouths gaped wide, filled with enough teeth to put a shark to shame.