So far, her trip into the residential area of Sealrite had most certainly not gone according to plan. In fact, it had gone the exact opposite of what I'd intended.
“You… you killed him,” Alice said, her bottom lip trembling. She seemed torn between fleeing in terror and shrieking in shock.
In an attempt to avoid further arguments or a fight, I reached out with my Soul Weaver energy, trying to gather the remains of the eviscerated body and perhaps bring it back to life. Unfortunately, while I could see the reddish-white flame of his soul, there was nowhere for me to place it. It just floated there and, eventually, winked out.
“Ashwash be damned,” I swore, letting out a long sigh. Maybe I’d have better luck in another area. As I lifted my hand to wash the rest of them away with a wave of necromantic energy, I paused when my lunar energy surged inside my core, protesting my intended actions. “Well, isn’t that interesting.” Lunar energy was an odd form of attribute energy with qualities not even the high-ranking lunar daughters could fully explain. One of those unique qualities, I’d learned, was its inherent repulsion when used in direct offense against another with an aptitude for lunar energy.
“W-w-what…” Marissa trailed off, her eyes widening as she traced my stare to the small bulge she carried. The man pushed her further back and took a step toward me, his hand on his hilt.
“Do not draw that sword,” I warned him, annoyance dripping like acid from each syllable. He glanced at where the eviscerated soldier had been and then back at me. I gave him a slight shake of my head. “I don’t intend any harm. I was simply interested in the conversation. Though now, I’m much more interested in that nascent soul you carry.”
“Why?” the man asked, his hand hovering close to his hilt but no longer touching it.
“It seems your child will be born with a very rare affinity. I am duty-bound as a Lunari to show her the proper path to controlling her power. A confused Lunari is a danger to herself and everyone around her.” I was laying it on a bit thick, but it wasn’t untrue. When I’d awoken to my lunar attribute in Ordite without a guardian, the raw and unchecked power wreaked havoc over the entire town. And I was bound by my duty as a Lunari, regardless of my fallen status.
And it was rare. Just maybe not as rare as I’d indicated. Still, seeing one on a short jaunt through the residency was surprising.
“A what?” Marissa asked, her voice so quiet it was nearly a whisper.
At the same time, the man growled a warning of his own. “You will not be taking my child.”
I waved their worries away. “It is not my place to deal with the birth parents of another Lunari. She will decide her own fate.”
The man blinked, his fingers twitching closer to his hilt, but still respecting my words, he didn’t touch it. “Why do you keep calling the unborn child ‘she’?”
I cocked my head, once again caught off guard by the ways of this new world. In Ordite, everyone knew about the Lunari. “You do not know of the Lunari?” He shook his head while Marissa cradled her belly. “They are always women. Always. The moon never shows favor to man. They are of the sun.” That innate difference was the major cause of the divide between the Lunari and Solari, but that wasn’t relevant to these nobles.
That was when Alice released an ear-splitting scream and dropped down where her son had been, tears finally spilling down her face. Her other son, shocked back to reality by his mother’s piercing yells, turned a blood-filled face full of anger and hate.
And then he drew his sword.
I pinched the bridge of my nose with one hand and used the other to wave at the man who’d unsheathed his sword, much as one would say goodbye. The gesture commanded a burst of necromantic heart energy to erupt from me and swallow the man whole, allowing him to spend eternity with his brother in the world of souls. Bit by bit, he rotted away, and the ashes were carried off into the wind. Their mother followed suit as her screams grated on my thinning patience.
There was a very loud moment of complete silence as the remaining man and woman stared at the spot where their fellow nobles had ceased to exist.
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“Why did you kill them?” the man asked, his voice nearly as quiet as his wife’s had been. There was a soft tremble in his voice, though he stood firm, protective over his wife and unborn child. “They didn’t deserve that.”
“Perhaps they did not. It’s a matter of perspective. If an insect bit you or your wife, would you release it? Or would you squash it?” I gestured toward where the three nobles had been. “I chose to squash and rid myself of the annoyance.”
The man cut off whatever Marissa had been about to say with a shake of his head. He scratched his beard and gave me an odd look. “Are we in any danger… my lady?”
I returned his look with a smile. “You are not.” I paused. “So long as the sword remains sheathed.”
His hands had been steadily approaching the hilt since I’d killed the woman. Realizing what he’d been doing, the man jolted and lifted his hands into the air, away from the hilt.
“If I may ask,” the man queried, his voice steadier but still cautious, “who are you?”
“That is a fair question, as I did interrupt your conversation uninvited. I am Lilliana Silverwater, noble daughter to House Silverwater and current heir to Duke Collin Alistar’s Ducal House.” They both blinked, clearly not expecting that answer—or perhaps they had expected me to lie. “Am I to understand that both of you are resident nobles of Cael?”
The man seemed worried again, casting a glance at his wife. “I am,” he said finally. “She married into Cael nobility. If you must kill me as an enemy of the state, I beg you to let her live.”
I frowned. “I have already mentioned that I hold no intent to harm you.” When his expression showed doubt, I shrugged and asked, “Would you prefer that I cause you harm in accordance with those doubts?”
The man shook his head vigorously. “No. I appreciate your kindness, my lady.” He hesitated before speaking again. “Lady Silverwater, what will you do with us?”
“You will join my accompaniment for now. Once the daughter of the Lunari is born and grows to independence, she will decide.”
“And the fact that I am Cael born?” the man asked.
I shrugged. “I am not concerned by that.” In fact, a Lunari daughter born of Cael noble blood would provide me with a route to power in Cael. “Rank?”
“I am Peter of House Rish’ah. We are only a small barony of Cael with no land outside of Sealrite,” Peter said with a small grimace. “Once, our house carried more power, but the Lords of this region have never tolerated roaming noble houses among the subordinate houses.”
“Who were they?” I asked, gesturing to where I’d eviscerated Alice and her sons.
“Alice was an… acquaintance,” Peter said hesitantly, casting a quick look at his wife. “She was rather extreme, part of the aristocratic faction. A low baron like us, distantly related to the Marquess, I believe.”
“L-Lady Lilliana,” Marissa stammered. She was trembling much less than earlier, though there was still a shake to her voice. “If we reject your…offer… what will happen to us?”
My neutral expression twisted into one of confusion. “Reject? You would reject the opportunity to have your daughter raised as a Lunari?”
Peter took a step back closer to his wife, and she snaked her hand into his. “What exactly is a Lunari?”
“Ashwash help me,” I grumbled, wishing I’d never come this way in the first place. In Ordite, I would have simply dropped the girl and her mother off with the Lunari elders. Now, I would have to step in as guardian. “A Lunari is one whose core is blessed by the moon. The energy in her core will be much stronger than others at her same level. If she does not receive the guidance of a guardian, she will awaken her core without an understanding of her greater power. On the first full moon she experiences after forming her core, she would likely experience core destruction and die. With training, she will likely become one of the strongest Awakeners, or Energy Users as you call them here, in Pularea. By the time she turns twenty, she would likely be on par with Duke Alistar during a full moon.”
Both of the nobles gaped at me. It took a few minutes before at least Marissa came to. Peter looked like he was lost in a daydream of sorts. “How can we trust that what you say is true?”
“You don’t really have an option. I could have dealt with you much as I dealt with the others. It was your daughter that saved you—don’t forget that. Mercy played no part in this, and I have my own uses for Cael nobles.” I gestured for them to follow. “Truly, you have nothing to lose. Either I’m telling the truth, or I’m lying, and you’ll die anyway.”
Peter gave a low, morbid chuckle that seemed somehow both desperate and hopeful at the same time. “I certainly hope you’re being honest. It’s difficult to believe a woman so young is capable of such power.”
I just shrugged, feeling particularly good about the day so far. Duke Alistar dead, Marquess Sharma in my grasp and bent to my will, and now a daughter of Lunari for my molding. I could tolerate a few questions. “Judging a person by their age is a standard judgment, and more often than not, it causes an untimely demise.”
“How old are you exactly?” Marissa asked, following behind me with her husband as I started to lead them away.
That was a good question. How old was Lilliana now? Fourteen? “I’m not entirely sure,” I answered honestly. “As old as I need to be, I suppose. Now, come with me. We're going to see a bit more of Sealrite before I need to head over to the battlefront. We should meet some... friends... of mine along the way that will lead you to where you will be staying until I get the mess with House Alistar sorted out."
And I knew that would likely take some time to do. The minor subordinate houses of House Alistar and the branch families would not likely accept my claim of succession, not matter how legitimate it technically was. Once I finished securing Sealrite, I'd need to head over to the Alistar duchy and deal with that.