Chapter 568: Lily
Melantha smiled coldly, lilac eyes glowing with a bright blue light. “You may have gone unnoticed by the others, but I see you bright as day.” Electricity crackled at her fingertips. “So, I’ll only ask once more. What are you doing here?”
Lily’s frown melted away and her red lips broke into a smirk. “What gave me away?”
“You were never hidden. The moment you walked in with the Noir girl was enough.”
“Ah… You’re a True Blue. I see… you must be Melantha. I should have made the connection when I heard Lady Holo say you were her sibling.” Lily put a finger to her chin and cocked her head to the side, as if in deep thought, “The little hand gesture you made when I first entered the room— You informed Lady Holo immediately. Then this whole little trip to the kitchen was a ruse from the beginning? Clever.”
“Clever enough to wonder why one of your kind is traipsing around in the hall of the Noirs.”
“My kind? The perception of Clarity magic is keen, but I’ve never known a True Blue to be capable of discerning an entire ‘kind’ with a simple glance.”
“I know exactly what you are.”
“You are aware of my kindred’s history,” Lily said somberly.
“I am. As to how one of you survived or how you ended up in the Ebon Realm is a mystery you will answer.” Lightning crackled across Melantha’s arms.
Lily raised her hands in a light-hearted surrender. “I’d never dare presume to fight a goddess. You know as well as I that I have no power. Ask and I will tell you what you wish to know.”
Melantha narrowed her eyes. “I knew your kind was problematic. Your existence here, explain, now.”
She lowered her hands. “That question is a little more complex than it sounds. How much do you precisely know about my kindred?”
“Enough to know your kind warranted Agony’s attention. I thought she slaughtered all of you.”
Lily’s expression darkened. “A Calamity is not something you fight, it is something you flee from. …A few of us survived the extinction of our species. I was fortunate enough to not be on the Ashen Realm when it happened. I hid in the jungles of the Amber Realm for some time; I had hoped the presence of the dragonlords’ broods there would take away any attention from myself.” Lily touched the window with the tips of her fingers, “Eventually, I made my way through a realm bridge and arrived here, in the Ebon Realm. Not long after, the bridges collapsed and I found myself stranded.”
“How many of your kind are left? Are there any others here in the city or in this realm?”
“A handful at most survived, I’d wager, that is, if Agony never found them. I am the only one in the Ebon Realm to my knowledge.”
“Why here? Of all the places in the realm you could have gone, why the House of Noir? Are you working for Caligo?”
“I mean no offense, but I have no interest in working for a titan,” she bowed. “I serve no master, yet.”
“You’re searching for a host,” Melantha guessed.
“You’d think I’d be able to find one in the Realm of Monsters,” she smiled wryly. “I’ve wandered these lands for three centuries. I thought the Ebon Lords would be promising, they held power, sure, but their souls… they were lacking what I sought.”
“Pain.”
“Everyone has pain, but true deep pain, that is much more rare, let alone finding the right taste. We all have preferences, you know. Not to mention the soul, every single one is different, to find one that even somewhat resembles our unique resonance is— difficult to say the least.”
“How delightful,” she said in disgust.
“You find my kind deplorable, but there was a time when kings and queens sought our kinship above all else. We were revered.”
“And then your kind inevitably brought those kingdoms to ruin.”
“Sometimes,” she shrugged wistfully. Her scarlet eyes grew reminiscent, “...One day, after many years of wandering from one backwater to another, I heard of a drow said to be the greatest archmage in recent living memory. I was curious, of course. Power is a quality we find necessary, but it is not the most important factor. …It was his pain that drew me to him. A man who killed his own family and yet consigned himself to a lonely life for the sake of his family.”
“Elzri Noir…”
“He was a suitable host, one worthy of bonding to.” A small smile crept on her red lips, “He refused. Or rather, he never let me in enough to even consider a bond. There was always another in his heart, a love he never could let go, even to the end.”
“Then why did you stay?”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Lily sighed. “I thought you of all people might understand, one gets tired of wandering after so many years. In Elzri I found a kindred soul. We had both suffered, we were both tired. We found comfort in one another, if only in a physical relationship.”
“Did he know what you were?”
“He knew only a little. He told me the rest didn’t matter,” she chuckled to herself. “Arrogant bastard. He always did what he wanted, even to the end. As for me, I was content to simply have found some interesting company. Even if his pain couldn’t be mine, I could still taste it in the air, it was— filling enough. We shared in each other’s pain in what little ways we could.”
“So you played the seneschal all these years.”
“If you’re asking me if I was content to play the role of his pretty yet dim secretary in front of others, then yes,” she gave a sultry wink.
“Then why are you still here? Elzri is dead.”
Lily nodded, “True. In any other situation, I would already have left. Except, a few years ago I discovered someone. A young woman with talents almost as great as Elzri’s, but with wounds so deep that not even Elzri’s pain could compare.” Lily smiled, unable to hide the hunger and desire in her scarlet eyes, “What’s more, her pain and soul, they were both distinctly suited to me. After the siege, she’s only grown more excellent. Elzri was a suitable host, but Loh,” Lily licked her lips, “She is an Affinity, my Affinity.”
“A perfect bond,” Melantha muttered.
“With me by her side, Loh’s power could surpass even her grandfather’s.”
Melantha slowly began to close the distance. “You haven’t bonded with her yet, have you?”
“I cannot bond with a heart that is already filled. Like Elzri, her heart is occupied by another, a human. Though that love is doomed to fail. That human cannot handle Loh’s true self.”
“You underestimate the strength of humans.”
“And you underestimate the flawed nature of mortals. Elzri and Ismene loved each other until the end, yet they ended up alone. Loh will be no different.”
“She is not her grandfather.”
“Of course, Loh is so much more.”
Melantha clicked her tongue. “You’re just a monster who wants to feed off her pain.”
“And you’re the monster who incited a war that wiped out half the Scarlet Realm’s people. Comparisons seem hardly productive.”
Melantha’s form suddenly blurred, and she slammed Lily into the wall, her hand gripped tightly around the vampire’s throat. “You’re not afraid, ever since we started talking. Why?”
“Call it a gamble,” she choked out with a grin.
“You’d gamble your life?” Melantha loosened her grip.
“A calculated risk. You care about the Noirs.”
“You don’t know me. You don’t know who I care about.”
“If not you, then your sister, Holo. She has watched over the Noirs for centuries.”
“And you think that somehow will protect you? The way I see it, you are a threat to the Noirs.”
Lily laughed. “Please, spare me the guile. I’d never harm Loh.”
Melantha scoffed. “Is that what you call your bond? Harmless?”
“I’d call it reciprocal. If you want to protect this broken House you’ll need my help.”
“Holo and I can protect this House just fine.”
“Neither of you will stay here, not forever, Traveler. You will need someone to watch over the Ebon Tower. Loh is the Lady of this House, yet she won’t be able to protect this place alone. It’s why you haven’t killed me.”
“I thought you had no interest in working for a titan?”
“I don’t, but if the only other option is to have my body burned to ash by vivid electrocution and then my soul ripped out by a goddess of death, well, let’s just say I’m quite confident I can make an exception.”
Melantha leaned forward and hissed in her face, “You will not touch Stryg or his tribe.”
“I’d never dream of it.”
Melantha shook her head and released her grip. “Do not test me on this, wraith.”
Lily smiled and rubbed her neck. “As you wish, my lady.”
~~~
Holo glanced around the room. If silence filled the room before, now the air itself was saturated with it. Her little brother was practically shaking in his seat. The only thing keeping him from bolting out the door was Tauri’s hand on his lap. A fact that Loh seemed keenly aware of.
Holo stared at the drow sitting next to her. Loh’s blue eyes were a swirl of emotions. Something had clearly happened between the three of them. Holo wondered if it was best to deal with it now or after they spoke about her family’s history.
“Tauri… Stryg,” Loh spoke softly.
“Yes?” Tauri replied, with a trace of wariness.
“Cornelius, he…”
“We just heard,” Tauri nodded grimly. “He was an odd dwarf, but he was a good man.”
“Yeah,” Stryg mumbled.
“I was there when Cornelius… He was brave to the end, Tauri. Worthy of the name Rotrusk.” Loh glanced at her former pupil, “Stryg, he wanted me to tell you that you were a pain in his ass, but it was an honor to teach you.”
Stryg clenched his fists at his sides and bowed his head. “The honor was mine.”
The door opened once more and Melantha walked in, “We’re back.”
Lily followed in after her, carrying a platter full of muffins. Melantha plopped down on the couch to the right of Holo while Lily placed the platter on the table then silently went and stood behind Loh.
Holo shared a look with her sister, before taking a sip of her tea.
~~~
“...I think we’ll call it there for today,” said Lunae.
Gale collapsed to her knees and gasped for breath. Her sword clattered to the ground. She was covered in cold sweat and her hands trembled from an inner chill.
“Deep breaths.”
“I can keep going,” Gale huffed.
“Do not push yourself. Your body has its limits, even with my blessing.”
“I know that, but if I am to be his Shield, I need to break through those limits.”
“Admirable. Still, you should take a break.”
Gale frowned, there was something odd about the goddess’ eyes. “Why…?”
“I have somewhere to be.” Lunae stood up from the boulder she was sitting on. “My son seems to be in a family meeting with his sisters and they failed to invite me.”
“Where is it?” Gale asked. “I know the city well, I can guide you there without attracting attention.”
“They're in the Noir Manor.”
“WHAT?”