Houvdon lowered Kryva onto the bed as he waited for Zylaorfier to arrive.
As far as he remembered, Kirva lacked knowledge on medicine, so it was best to call Zylaorfier instead.
Luckily, the territories of Achen and Nihlahim were right next to each other, with Achen being smaller than both Nihlahim and Etherstorm. He knew Zylaorfier would come soon. It took him at least an hour to walk back to the manor, and he had sent the message through his magic right after Kryva had fainted, giving his friend ample time to get to the Pellemeur house.
Surprisingly, no other attacks were sent to them, almost as if they were simply testing how strong he was in this single short skirmish.
He seated himself in a chair, pressing his fingers against the back of his legs.
He had practically destroyed the tendons behind his knees. By moving at that speed, to get both him and Kryva out of their difficult situation had cost him the flexibility of his legs for at least a week.
Quicker if Zylaorfier would be able to treat his legs.
He sat against the chair, simply waiting for Zylaorfier to arrive.
He clenched his fist. All because of his immense power, Kryva had almost died. He knew he wouldn't have died at that moment, but to sacrifice the life of a Candidate, let alone one that he himself had nominated? He closed his eyes, yet sleep did not take him over.
Frustration ran through him. Why would Verilius want Kryva? What use did she have to him as a Flame wielder? Kirva brought far more and was much stronger than Kryva, perhaps as strong as Zylaorfier was.
He opened his eyes, tapping the armrest of the chair.
What was taking Zylaorfier so long?
The door finally opened with a winded Zylaorfier practically collapsed through the doorway.
"What took so long?"
"Kirva wasn't at the door, I had to find my way around myself." Zylaorfier panted as he examined him and Kryva. "What happened? What caused you to call me at this hour?"
"We were attacked as we were coming back from Reveria. We encountered an army that tried to kill us. Luckily, I got rid of them in time. Kryva got injured from the backlash of my magic." Houvdon summed up what had happened and the white-haired male asked no other questions.
He sat on Kryva's bed, checking her pulse.
Houvdon looked away, focusing on his hands. He raised his palm upwards and whispered, "Burn."
A small ember appeared in the center of his palm.
He glared at the fire that danced in his hand. He closed his eyes, exhaustion in his body, yet he cannot sleep.
"How much does she know?" He looked pointedly at the fire that floated in his hand.
"As little as you do." Houvdon explained vaguely, yet Zylaorfier understood what he was talking about. He nodded and asked a second question. "Do you ever plan to tell her?"
"What do you think I should do?"
"How am I supposed to help you think if you haven't even told me anything either? I don't know what you are trying to do, so how do you expect me to help with anything relating to your problems?" Zylaorfier crossed his arms as he stood. "Kryva should be fine, she just needs rest. How did you guys get hurt? I've never seen you in this situation. You are usually the one that triumphs, yet this time why are you the one licking your wounds?"
"I realized too late that we were walking into a death zone. I didn't expect them to attack so soon."
"Them? Why do you always have to sound to ambiguous, why not just tell me exactly what you mean?"
Houvdon frowned, not liking his friend's words at all. "I don't know...the Council of Nobles didn't give me a name, the only thing Veritas said was that it was not the [DELUSIONAL] Knights that I had assumed before."
Zylaorfier frowned as he rubbed his chin. "Wait a minute...that legion belongs to a Greater Being despite obeying the commands of the Council right? They practically support the Greater Being that is their benefactor. If one can have an army, what stops a second one from having one too?"
Both Princes widened their eyes and their jaws opened.
His rambling had solved a problem that Houvdon had been confused about for the past day after only finding out about it a few seconds ago.
Houvdon can deal with Zylaorfier's long sentences and questions so long as he continued to give miraculous answers to his problems.
"Zy, you have got to be the most confusing person I ever met in my life, yet you come up with the answers to my questions within seconds."
"I'm...not sure how I'm supposed to take that."
Houvdon gave Zylaorfier a small smile. The ice mage from Nihlahim was perhaps the only person that he could ever drop his cold attitude towards knowing that he can trust him entirely, just like how the white-haired male trusted him entirely in return.
Yet why was the black-haired girl lying in bed also starting to scratch at his heart? What was so special about her that caused his heart to be moved after barely knowing her?
Ten years of pushing away people. The first year was hard, but each passing year continued to grow harder on him.
If what Zylaorfier had said was true...then maybe this year would be the last year he would have to push others away. If there was truly another patron to the Verilius and the Knights then maybe that would be the one that he would-
Kryva let out a cough interrupted both of their thoughts.
Zylaorfier turned back to his patient who was waking up in a bad state. "Hey, relax. You got injured by our very own Prince of Etherstorm's attack. It's rare that anyone lives through one of his abilities."
Kryva leaned back against the pillow with his help, weakly looking to the side at Houvdon, who only sat in his chair, staring at the flame that danced in his palm. The blue-eyed male turned to his friend who hadn't moved at all.
He had a troubled frown on his face looking everywhere but at her. After a few moments of awkward silence, Houvdon stood and left the room.
Zylaorfier gave out a sigh and turned to her. "Ignore him. I'm Zylaorfier Pentajis, and I'm the Prince of Nihlahim. Pleased to meet you."
She gave him a weak smile. "I'm Kryva Pellemeur, Princess of Achen."
He gave her one back, only one corner of his lip lifting upwards. The girl took notice of the dimple that appeared on the right side of his face.
"Houvdon gave me a short rundown of what happened when you guys left for Reveria. I'm surprised you didn't break any bones. It's rare someone comes out of fighting alongside that guy with only bruises and hurt muscles. How did you protect yourself?"
She blinked in confusion. With how her body currently felt, she was surprised not a single bone had broken. She felt pain in every area in her body.
"I remember I managed to protect myself with my fire..."
"You already know how to set up barriers at such a young age? Not many people learn how to use defensive shields until much later when they get beaten to a pulp. How old are you?"
"Sixteen."
"Well, I'm seventeen." Zylaorfier scratched the back of his head. Kryva can only give him an awkward smile as their conversation died. There was nothing to talk about between the two, the only connection between them being Houvdon, who had already left the room. She didn't know how to talk to Zylaorfier, seeing as he was helping her with her injuries rather than being at a noble banquet like how she had met Houvdon.
"How did you two meet?" Thankfully, Zylaorfier had spoken the question that was also in her mind.
"I met him at the ceremony around...a month ago?" It had been so long since that day. She could hardly recall the events that transpired.
"Ah, the ceremony with the Supreme Oracle?" She nodded in confirmation as Zylaorfier did a small "aha". "That explains your eyes. It's the same as Luna's, except instead of red, she has brown eyes. When that eye first formed on Luna, Houvdon freaked out before going back to his usual self. I suppose the same thing happened to you?"
Kryva blinked in realization. Houvdon had acted the exact way Zylaorfier had described. He was his usual disinterested and hateful self, before turning concerned for her, before going back to "normal", if the way Houvdon normally acted was considered normal.
It wasn't normal for a boy her age to be concerned with the affairs of the wisest and strongest nobles. He was just a boy that should live his life like every other person, not worrying about Knights or the affairs of the Council.
She could only utter two short words. "I see..."
A few more moments of silence passed before Kryva spoke again. "What about you? How did you meet him?"
He gave a short shrug. "It's nothing interesting like you and him. It wasn't like him and I danced-" A blush formed when he gave her a knowing smile. "-the entire noble world was talking about how close the Prince and secret Princess were that day by the way. I just happened meet him in school."
She looked at him in disbelief. "How do you just happen to meet perhaps the strongest mage currently living?"
"You actually believe that?" Zylaorfier gave a laugh. "Kryva, Houvdon may be strong, there is no disputing that, but the strongest mage? That is just a bunch of sheep trying to entice him. He knows he isn't the strongest, why do you think he is still training? If he truly was the strongest, why would he associate himself with me and you? Neither of us have the potential to be the strongest. He is the strongest of our age group for sure, but even you see how he is treated I presume? You have already been to the Council of Nobles."
He gave a grim smile. "Would someone so powerful truly be treated to coldly? Why would they treat the 'strongest' so wrongly?"
Kryva realized this only now. The hate Verilius spoke to Houvdon with, the attitude of the Councilmen as they talked to him as if he were inferior to them.
"Do you know why he is treated so badly?"
He gave her a sad smile. "I don't know personally myself. I only know that the people of our generation treat him well and with pleasure, while those much older treat him with nothing. He hasn't told me anything as to why, but you and I both can tell that he hasn't been ignorant to his surroundings. Someone so strong and intelligent wouldn't be so dense as to not know about the people around him."
"Maybe...there is something about his power that only the elders know about."
-----
Houvdon leaned against a railing. He looked up at the night sky, admiring the stars that twinkled in the sky.
He stared directly at the moon, his eyes turning sad. He opened his mouth of no words came out. He can only look in silence without knowing what words to utter.
After all, what can he say to one of the greatest of all existences?
He turned his head to look at the endless darkness that surrounded the bright stars. He focused intently on a single spot in the endless space, where he knew rested a single star that was filled with darkness rather than light.
He finally found words to speak, even if it was only three.
"Guide me. Please."
"Houvdon?" Another soft voice cut through the night.
He turned to look at her. She had changed out of her previous clothes and now wore an elegant red dress fit for a noblewoman. Her hair was tied up into a casual high ponytail despite her fancy garments.
Her red and purple eyes looked into his own.
He broke eye contact and only looked back up at the sky. He heard her footsteps advance towards him and stop. She rested her arms on the railing and looked up with him.
"Kryva."
"How are you feeling?" She found it strange that she was the one asking him the question when it should be the other way around. Houvdon had little to no injury compared to her, struggling to walk a few steps with how her body refused to cooperate with her.
"Better." He gave a heavy sigh through his nose. "It has been awhile since I've been forced into a corner. I didn't mean for you to get struck by my own attack."
She gave him a bitter smile. "At least you managed to get rid of them quickly. I don't think we would've been able to get away if you hadn't done what you did. My body being tired and sore is a small price to pay for getting out of there alive."
He tilted his head as he continued to look up at something Kryva couldn't see.
"How are you feeling?" He finally asked the question that Kryva wanted him to ask her.
"I managed to protect myself." She gave him a small smile. "It doesn't hurt too much, and from what Zylaorfier told me, I should be fine after a few days of rest."
"That's good."
They remained silent, basking in the presence of the other.
"Houvdon, why don't you explain things to me? What do both the Council and Verilius mean by 'Retainer?' What exactly are you hiding from me?"
He didn't answer, changing his gaze from the sky to somewhere below him. His amber eyes were full of an unknown emotion.
She waited. In the short time she knew him, she had already figured out his look when he was deeply pondering on what to say.
"When I was offered her blessings, I turned into something beyond what majority of this world can ever imagine to be. I am the 𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳." When he spoke, his voice was filled with authority. Power filled his every word, yet he was speaking the way he normally would. "I still don't know what exactly it means, but I know it's significant. I know it's important, yet I still don't know what it means."
"So what are you? You know what you are even if you don't know what it means."
Such a question seemed to be her being repetitive, yet Houvdon understood the underlying meaning behind the question.
"I am Houvdon Archelio. I am still the Prince of Etherstorm that danced with you on that day. I am still the next Lord Archelio. Yet at the same time, I am the Retainer of the Dark Star. I am all three of them at once even if I don't understand, just as you are the Princess of Achen and the next Lady Pellemeur."
Both of them were silent as he spoke more than he usually spoke to her not just once, but twice.
"How can you not understand something you accepted? Moreover, why did you accept if you still don't understand the conditions ten years later? Most of all, why does everyone make it seem like you have some of tragic fate?"
Houvdon stiffened as he looked at her seriously at her last words. Kryva continued, her voice struggling to contain her emotions as she felt a sickly feeling rise up in her.
"Everyone keeps on implying you have a failure in the future, yet I don't see you do anything except for push everyone away. You asked Kirva if he was just going to sit there and let those Knights and whatever existence is out there walk over him. Aren't you being hypocritical by doing the same? You let Verilius and the Council practically spit on you without giving any sort of defiance."
His eyes glowed, literally. "What gives you the right to tell me what to do?"
"Since you practically ordered my brother around! You may be stronger, but he is still Lord Pellemeur, he deserves to do what he wishes with his own family and not listen to the 'advice' you give him that practically transmits into demands."
He took a step towards her and she stood still, knowing if she took a step back it would show a sign of weakness.
In order to get through his set mind, she had to show aggression. She couldn't be passive towards him like how she was before.
They stood face to face, yet the close proximity was unnoticed by both of them.
"You have me to thank for your increase in power, as well as your new position. It's not everyday that someone gets recommended to be apart of the Council."
"You literally only fought with me 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦."
"Yes, but that once already increased your power." He cocked his head slightly, giving off an almost arrogant look. "Tell me, did you ever realize that you were able to form that Flame barrier? I helped you unlock it on that day of training, and your life was saved by it today. Without me helping that first time, you would have died the moment you hit the first thing near you."
She opened her mouth to retort, but closed it when realizing he was right.
The first time for a specific technique was always the hardest. Every other time after was much easier. The reason she was able to conjure the barrier in the forest so quickly was because Houvdon helped her create it on the one day they fought each other.
Houvdon was right. The barrier was formed subconsciously. Had he not help her previously, she wouldn't be able to conjure it.
"Just because you helped me doesn't mean I have to obey you." She felt ire at his implication. She wondered if this was how Zylaorfier felt whenever he was around Houvdon. "My brother and I are not pawns for you to use for whatever is happening. Let us have a voice, and not just follow you oh great 𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳."
His eyes flared with rage as he gripped her shoulder painfully. She let out a hiss of pain as he pinned her against the wall, his face inches away. Her back flared with pain as she felt the wood touch with her bruised back. "You don't deserve to call me that. You, who is but a baby in magic compared to me."
She tried to push him away but he didn't bulge an inch. He got closer until their noses were touching. "Get away from me."
"Don't try to tell me what to do. I will do what I know is the best scenario, and you will follow me."
"You don't control me." Her face flushed with anger and embarrassment as he continued his roughness. "Do you know who I am?"
"No. Do you know who I am?" He sent the words right back at her, a chill going down her spine as he spoke the words.
They continued their staring contest, neither of them willing to give up.
She gritted her teeth together and opened her mouth to retort, but a voice interrupted them. "Uh, Houvdon you might want to let go. She is still injured."
She tore her gaze away from Houvdon and turned to the much more tame and calm Zylaorfier who had leaned against the wall with crossed arms. His blue eyes narrowed at Houvdon as he did not seem to heed the words of his friend.
"Oi. Did you hear me?" Both his voice and the temperature of the air lowered as he dropped his arms to his sides, facing the pair. In the back of her mind, she wondered how strong Zylaorfier was. He had not mentioned anything about his powers. "Release her Houvdon, otherwise I won't be joining you in your war against those Knights."
Houvdon dropped his hand from her shoulder as he made a rude snort. He knocked shoulders against the Prince of Nihlahim as he stormed out of the balcony.
She stared after him, anger still lingering. She walked up to Zylaorfier and asked for clarification.
He sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "This is unusual...he never acts like an angry child. Anyway, he didn't say it out loud, but I knew what he was thinking. Houvdon plans to go to war against the legions of the [DELUSIONAL] Knights."
"War? What kind of war is between himself and an entire army?"
He gave her a small grin that practically said i-know-something-you-don't. "Houvdon is pretty influential. I don't find it a surprise that he would be able to gather the entire territories to help him fight against those Knights."
Her eyes widened in shock as Zylaorfier continued to talk, not giving her any time to register his shocking words. "He can call the entire territory of Etherstorm, convince Kirva to hand over Achen, ask one of his many favors from me to have Nihlahim help, and who knows what else. He can probably have the entire Delusional Lands help him if he so wished."
"W-what for? What is his goal for going to war?"
His grin stretched until it turned almost into a Cheshire cat's. "For you."
-----
𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕰𝖓𝖉