Chapter Twenty-Two

Moira whirled around; Cyrus stared back at her, eyes twinkling with mischief.

Her eyes widened in shock. How was he here? Why? A million questions rushed through her mind.

He smirked back at her.

Ah, now she remembered how irritatingly smug he was.

Moira glared up at him. The man was impossibly aggravating, but they’d been separated so abruptly. He’d been her first connection to Caelum and the only one who knew she was an Outworlder.

“How’d you find me?” Her voice came out higher than she meant it to.

“I could find you anywhere, Moira.”

“That’s not an answer, it’s a line,” she retorted.

“I just followed the rumors of a strange beast wandering the streets.”

“Excuse me?” She glared up at him, hand on her hip.

“Duke. Your creature.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks burned red. She hated how he made her feel. Damn him for being so attractive. She was better than this. She wouldn’t devolve into a giggling idiot for this man.

Duke growled; his ears pressed back against his skull.

“Still scary as ever.” Cyrus stepped back, cautiously eyeing the poodle.

She shot Duke a look. He growled once more and sat proudly on the stone road at her feet.

She still had a deal with Cyrus. One that he hadn’t yet fulfilled. He’d promised her he’d find her a way back home. Now here he was.

“There you are!” Sloane sidled up next to her. “I’ve been looking for you. What happened?” She noticed Cyrus and gave him an appreciative glance. “Oh, sorry. Looks like I’m interrupting something.”

Cyrus straightened. “Cyrus, a friend of Moira’s. And you are?”

“Sloane. Also, a friend of Moira’s.”

She gave Sloane a look. Friends felt like a bit of an exaggeration. Sloane grinned and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. Moira stiffened.

Cyrus’s eyes flickered back and forth between the two of them. “Listen, Moira. Can we talk?”

She swallowed. “Okay.” She wiggled out of Sloane’s arm. “I’ll meet up with you later.” She glanced at Cyrus. “We have things to discuss.”

Sloane snorted. “Fine. I’ll meet you later at Tracy’s. But I’m not letting you off the hook. Tomorrow. The guild.” She gave her one last narrowed look before disappearing back into the crowd.

#

The two of them sat at a table outside a small café. Vines draped down from the ceiling, small candles nestled within the leaves, giving a warm ambiance to the shop.

Moira sipped her drink. Kaffa, the waitress had explained. It tasted slightly bitter and earthy but with an exceptionally creamy mouthfeel. This world’s version of coffee. Oh, how she missed real coffee.

“So, you survived.”

“Of course I did.” She straightened in her chair.

“Moira—the last time I saw you, you were under level 10 and struggling to fire a bow.”

“Well I survived, didn’t I?”

“You did,” he said, crossing his arms.

They stared at each other, both too stubborn to break eye contact first.

“It wasn’t just the forest.”

“What?”

“I didn’t just survive the forest. I made it out of there weeks ago. I landed in a Dungeon.”

Cyrus leaned back in his chair. “A Dungeon. There aren’t any near here.”

“There is now.”

He reached for her hand. She yanked it away, pulling it under the bronze table. He let his hand fall back onto the table, something flickered across his face. He was acting different, nicer. Why’d he been in such a rush to find her? He’d already received the core. Once they’d been separated, he could have washed his hands of her. Why had he made a point to find her?

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it. I made it out alive. That’s all that matters.”

“Alone?” he said.

She nodded toward Duke. “I had some help for part of it.”

Duke jumped up, placing his paws on the table. His lip lifted, revealing his bright white teeth.

Cyrus jolted in his chair, coughing lightly.

“I see.”

“Why are you here? Why’d you find me again?”

“We had a deal.”

“But you already got the core. We were separated. Why’d you go out of your way to find me?”

His face shuttered. “Is that what you think of me? That I’d try to get out of our deal at the first chance.”

Moira glanced at Duke. “Can you believe him?”

Duke huffed and shook his head.

“You didn’t exactly seem happy to be stuck with me.”

Cyrus dragged his hand through his hair. “Look. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so harsh.”

“Why were you?” she asked bluntly, crossing her arms over her chest.

He sighed heavily. “When I ran into you—I’d just lost one of my teammates. I was under a lot of pressure, and I took it out on you.”

Her gaze softened. No wonder he’d been such an asshole. She reached out and lightly placed her hand on his arm. “What happened?”

He glanced down at her hand and back at her, holding her gaze. His shoulders dropped. “My team received a Quest to track down and kill a Void Dragon. We found it at the eastern edge of the Silivea Forest. We thought we could take it. That it wasn’t that powerful. We were wrong. Achlys died for that mistake.”

She jolted in her seat at that name. It felt familiar. Like an itch she couldn’t scratch. She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. We should’ve never even received that Quest. You’re supposed to only be assigned Quests if there’s a possibility that you can complete it. We failed before we even set out for it.”

Moira nodded sympathetically. She still didn’t fully understand how Quests fit in with everything else. But now was not the time to ask.

“How did you end up so far into the forest?”

“After Achlys died, we couldn’t just let it leave.” Anger flickered across his face. “So, we followed it into the forest. We knew we couldn’t kill it. But I wanted to punish it. We decided the best course was to track down a core we could use for a power-up. Hence the lizard. You know the rest.”

“And then you lost track of them.”

“Yes,” he replied bitterly.

“Did you find them? Your teammates?”

“I met back up with them here. Tersus was always our retreat location.”

“If you found them, why are you still here?”

“We had a deal.”

“That’s not an answer. For all you knew, I was dead. How long were you going to wait for me? For what, honor?”

“Look, Moira. My team is down a member. Just as we lost Achlys—you appeared. An honest to gods Outworlder. That’s no coincidence.”

“I thought you said I wasn’t worthy of being an Outworlder.” Moira snorted.

“You’ve proved me wrong. You just said it yourself, that you survived a Dungeon. Alone, except for your creature. And even if you hadn’t faced a Dungeon, we need you.” He looked around carefully before leaning in. “The Void Dragon we faced. It was too powerful. Void creatures are always bad news. But, this, it was on another level.”

“Wait. Backup. What’s the Void?”

He lowered his voice. “The Void is the layer between worlds. The darkness that hovers at the very edge of your vision. Ever seen something out of the corner of your eye? A shadow. That’s the Void. It’s a world of shadows and nothingness. And the creatures that live there are made of the very material of the Void. Just a touch can dissolve you into nothing. Erase you from existence.”

Her thoughts raced. The creature from the forest. The dark tendrils that almost enveloped her; it couldn’t be. Oh god, she should be dead.

Cyrus continued. “Every ten years or so, a low-level Void beast will sneak through a thin layer into our world. They cause chaos, but they are usually weak enough to be destroyed. That’s what we thought we were after. The Void Dragon we faced shouldn’t have even been able to break into this world. Its strength should’ve prevented it from sneaking through a thin layer. Something that strong—it could bring other creatures with it. It could destroy everything if we let it get any stronger.”

“Why do you think I can do about something like that? You said it yourself, I’m low level. And your team already lost one member facing it.”

“You’re an Outworlder. You have to be the solution. We can train you up. Get you to an acceptable level.”

Moira lifted her hands. “Wait. I’m just trying to get home. I need to get back to my family. You said you’d help me.”

“Listen, Mo.” She flinched back from the familiar nickname. Only her family called her that.

“There is no one here that can help you get home. I already checked. But I know of someone who specializes in Outworlder research. In Mons Caput. That’s where we’re headed. They have a Dungeon there. Whether or not you come along, we need to power level—Mons Caput is the place to do it. At least come with us. Then you can decide. Please.”

He reached for her hand again, his eyes begging her to agree.

“I—I have to think about it.”

“We can’t stay in Tersus for much longer. We’ve already stayed too long. Please, meet my team tomorrow. Grab dinner with us. Ask as many questions as you need to.”

“Okay.” She agreed.

Cyrus stood, the chair creaking as he rose. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Think carefully, this could be your only path home.”

Moira sat back, her shoulders slumped. The conversation had left her feeling exhausted. That creature. She didn’t know if she could face it again. The way it’d frozen her with a stare. She shivered. Just remembering that moment left her terrified.

“What do you think?” she asked Duke.

“Bad news. Don’t like him. Smells like bad creature.”

It amazed her how intelligent Duke sounded. She’d always known he was a smart dog, but now—it must be the levels.

“But if we don’t go with them, we’ll never make it home.” She sighed. “I guess we don’t have a choice. We’ll follow them to Mons Caput. Then we’ll decide what to do about the Void Dragon.”

Duke huffed. “Bad idea.”

She reached down and scratched his head. “I know.”