They set out that same morning.
Stella had been by with breakfast, ignoring Dante that had not made it out of the bed when she came in.
He had gotten dressed fast, his face as red as his hair, which only made Kilian find the whole situation even more amusing.
Something had changed between them.
Kilian could tell that Dante was now even more careful when around Kilian, if Kilian wavered in the slightest, Dante's hands were there to steady him.
When he had trouble putting on his pants, Dante had gotten on his knees, helping him. Like only a personal maid would.
The whole time Dante never made eye contact, but Kilian could easily see the expression that looked at him with a sort of tenderness.
He wasn't sure if he liked it.
He didn't need Dante to fuzz about every little thing he did, but at the same time, seeing Dante fumbling about with a newfound clumsiness around him was cute.
Kilian smiled while watching Dante getting fully ready in his own attire.
He had just thought the man in front of him was cute.
Even with the clothes on, the muscles were evident and tightening the fabric around his upper arms and thighs.
Kilian stared at it for a second until he caught himself doing so, remembering the evening before.
It had ended so fast. A part of him had hoped for more, but he could tell Dante had no clue as to how to be with a man.
"Maybe I need to take charge next time". He mumbled to himself.
"What did you say, Young Master"?
Kilian just smiled back at Dante. Somehow the man seemed too innocent at this moment.
The man really had no clue how handsome he looked in his knight clothes, even without the armor.
He had grown well, over the last couple of weeks.
Kilian was sitting in his own Carriage, with Cratos occupying another, that was ahead of the long procession that had set out for the capital.
The Archduke had vividly complained about the need for this many people to go, but his assistant Jasper had convinced him otherwise.
Cratos Valen used to be a big name and someone who could not be ignored wherever he went, but the many years of hiding in the North had made the name less impactful on younger nobles.
Jasper had explained this was the bare minimum that needed to be done to make an impression when arriving at the Capital.
The Archduke had still refused profusely, with curses included until Jasper had mentioned Kilian.
Suddenly the old Duke had been in on all the plans for a grand appearance, though Kilian didn't care either way.
He just appreciated the carriage was more comfortable than he had expected.
They had set out and had been on the road for a while.
Occasionally he would spot Dante on a horse near the carriage, and he would find himself staring at the profile that had a serious expression.
"He is really taking his job seriously".
Kilian sighed and leaned back in his seat.
No one was with him in the carriage, and he passed time by sleeping or looking outside at the snow-covered scenery, that over time changed to a more forest type of landscape.
He was extremely bored.
How could traveling be this slow, he had never realized how long it could take to travel distances at this length.
Where he was from there were cars, trains planes, and nothing really seemed to be far away.
"Shouldn't they have some sort of magical traveling device?" He thought about it.
No one had really explained how the magical birds and messengers could appear and reappear at a destination so far away it would take days to travel.
They simply materialized where needed, and some could bring minor items with them.
In his moment he wished it was something the people could do too.
The little golden bird that had thrown a small tantrum the same morning, was with him, it was sitting inside of his jacket in a small pocket he had had Stella add to it.
It felt reassuring, the little bird had been with him in several situations, and he always felt soothed and calm when petting it.
The bird jumped out from the hiding place, shaking up its magical feathers as it had just woken from sleep when Kilian had been thinking about it.
"Is that man ok?"
Kilian spoke to the little head that tilted like it didn't know what he was saying.
"Rayden..Is he ok?"
The bird chirped excitedly when Kilian mentioned the name, and then it disappeared in the air in an instant.
Maybe the bird had been called back, it had not brought any message for him, it had just appeared like it had been visiting for no reason.
Loud screeches and screams roared the outside, and within a few moments, the carriage had come to a halt.
The many knights had circled the two carriages on a small road, surrounded by an open landscape.
Kilian looked outside, staring at the sky which was grey, covered by clouds.
Through the clouds, a dense amount of large birds dived towards them. Hundreds of birds, all screeching in a high-pitched eerie sound.
Kilian covered his ears, staring up in shock. The many knights around them were having trouble steadying their horses, but the knights of Valen still raised their swords and weapons, facing what was coming toward them.
Boom!
A big explosion happened in the middle of the dense cloud of birds, and the screams from above intensified. Kilian opened the door and stepped out, seeing his Grandfather not far from him casting magic into the air.
Kilian looked up seeing several things fall from the sky. Something that gleamed in the light.
Metal... It looked like metal.
Kilian tried to yell at the nearby Knights to take cover while he quickly got on the ground to seek coverage under the carriage.
Metal feathers pierced through the air blasted from their fallen owners during the impact of the explosions and were now falling down over them all.
Some knights raised their shields in time, but others had their armor and bodies pierced by long metal feathers, sliding through like knives.
The Archduke had seized his attack, seeing the outcome as it had wounded several knights.
The feathers kept coming chopping and launching themselves into the carriage, slicing straight through the wooden ceiling and floor.
The cover had no effect.
An arm grabbed Kilian and pulled him from under the carriage, picking him up and running for a treeline, not far from where they were.
The wave of falling feathers had finally stopped when they passed the first line of trees.
"Let go!"
Kilian hit at the arms holding him, wanting to return to the battle, scratching into the skin through the fabric.
"No"
Dante's voice was firm, making Kilian stop his attempts to get free and Dante threw him down behind some thick trees.
The screams from the battle were still going, and the clanging of metal against metal was telling Kilian the fight was now near the ground with the knights.
"We need to go back, I can fight too".
Kilian attempted to run back through the forest but was held back by strong hands pushing him back against a tree.
"You can do nothing!"
Kilian looked at Dante in shock. It was the first time the red-haired man had raised his voice in his presence, and he went silent for a second, staring daggers into Dante's eyes, who averted them.
"I am not weak anymore".
Kilian was getting angry, it was not up to Dante what he did or didn't.
"I didn't say you were, just stay here till it is over, the knights will handle this".
Dante was getting annoyed at Kilian's refusal to stay.
"Doesn't mean I shouldn't be there too".
Dante's grip on Kilian tightened but instantly loosened when Kilian glared into his eyes with his ice-blue eyes.
"Let Go".
The words were faint but Dante heard them and could do nothing but let go. Kilian was his master.
The moment Kilian felt the hands let go, he was on his feet, staring down at Dante waiting for him to follow but turned to run back out of the forest when he noticed the man didn't move from the spot.
The treeline stopped, and he saw a view of harpies in constant waves, diving down towards the procession, picking up knights and dropping them, slicing them with the feathers.
Magic was cast, but except for the explosion magic, nothing else seemed to have any effect on them.
However, it wasn't just a one-sided fight.
Kilian ran towards the group of men on the road surrounded by open fields.
Cratos Valen was standing in the middle grabbing at the enemies with his hands, catching the necks of the human parts that were uncovered, snapping them, and throwing them aside.
The view of him killing them like they were twigs, egged the men on to continue.
Still, there were so many harpies in the air, that Kilian had given up counting, and instead climbed and went over the broken carriage he had hidden under, standing next to the knights.
He saw a sword laying on the ground, the aftermath of a fallen knight, and Kilian swallowed hard, trying to settle the turmoil in his stomach, ignoring the wounded and dead on the ground.
He was still angry.
He stared at the sword, and it started to lift from the ground, he then looked up and flung the sword into the air.
It was easily blocked by metal but he kept it going till it made contact with flesh, cutting into the harpies.
"You!"
The screeching voice was muffled in the already loud sounds, but Kilian heard it and noticed how most of the harpies had turned midair to dive down directly at him.
The many bodies covered his weapon in the air, and he frantically looked around for something else too use.
Then he saw it. Scattered everywhere around them on the ground.
Kilian leaned back against the broken carriage and concentrated, his breath became staggering, and somehow using this power took a large toll on his body.
There were no more training and his eyes hurt, when all around him hundreds of feather lifted up from the ground, taking off into the air.
Metal meeting metal.
It worked, the metal feathers pierced through the metal bodies, so far the only thing that had, and several of the birds coming towards him fell to their death shrieking in pain.
But there were too many, there were still some flying down at him, somehow knowing he was the source of their failing ambush.
Kilian had nowhere to go and could only watch as they came close.
The control of his power was not fast enough to reach them all in time.
A body covered his view, embracing him tightly, while the Archduke stood beside him, casting a spell, that exploded against the remaining harpies.
All around them the knights had sat down covering themselves with shields, this time they had been ready, and the last of the harpies fell to the ground, with parts of metal scattering everywhere around them.
"Dante?" Kilian whispered at the ear under the red hair that tickled his face.
He could barely breathe with the hold Dante had on him.
But there was no reply.