Home, Iris thought as the castle began looming before them, in all its ruined splendour. Covered in claw marks, and soot patches, the once pristine white palace barely bore any resemblance to what it once was.
It was far from being intact. Shikari had made sure that they left their mark on it. Large gaping holes, crumbling walls, dug-out slates, and anything that had once been remotely alive had been reduced to a pile of ash. A reminder of the threat that they posed to the realm.
She was a threat to the realm. The sisters were, but she was their anchor to the Seven Seas. Once she passed there was no telling what would happen. If should ever make it alive out of that forest.
Death kept finding her at every corner and somehow she'd cheated it, every single time. So many times. There was no telling when her luck would run out. There was no telling when death would decide to stop playing that silly game and put an end to it.
Dakran raised a hand when something rustled in the bushes. The forest had always been devoid of wildlife, but she doubted that any dared to step beyond the tree line into the forest.
A set of small purple eyes appeared and gleamed against the dimming light of the dusk, peering at them from behind the leaves, Dakran lowered his hand and everyone straightened.
" It can't be," His voice just above a whisper, in disbelief. The leaves rustled, and a small leg appeared from the bush, followed by dark dark-skinned body, with purple glowing veins on his body.
He looked innocent and scared as he regarded them with wary, big eyes.
" It's not possible," Corvin huffed as he took a step forward, hand on the hilt, ready to draw his sword. Once again Dakran sensed his intentions and so did the little creature, as it took a step back, his eyes fleeting at the army before him realising the danger he was in. Hardly an army, but just as dangerous and determined.
In one swift move, the little creature darted into the bushes and disappeared from sight. There was a reason they remained quiet for so long. They had young offspring to raise.
" I saw them, they have no...
" Dakran trailed off, shaking his head to clear his thoughts, " We both did," everyone turned their full attention onto him, trying to grasp what he was trying to say. He didn't make any sense.
" They have a queen. Hive mind. She lays eggs," More nonsense, but no to Dakran as he raised his head and nodded as if he'd reached the level of clarity he was searching for.
" They are breeding," Eisza continued," And soon we will be overrun by them," Now that made some sense.
" We can't kill them," Iris chimed in, hopeful that her plea won't fall on deaf ears.
" Yes, we can," The sisters had finally returned from their discontented grumbling hiatus.
" Wait, no," She was desperate," Maybe we can talk to them," She added in the hope that they could reach a consensus and no one would die.
" They don't make any sense," Dakran retorted as he pulled on his blade, ready to move forward.
" So, if they are intelligent enough to have their language that means that they are intelligent enough to reason with," Iris made her case while Corvin frowned, but that quickly turned into a scowl.
" It would have been nice to have a chat a few ages ago before they decimated the Four Regions," Corvin seethed, his jaw ticked, hard eyes filled with immeasurable grief. It wasn't anger.
Iris scrunched her eyes closed, at the memory of those she had lost. The Ellorians, her home had been a victim of their cataclysmic destruction. Even if they were sentient, then whatever they had done was intentional. Or purely out of fear of once again being destroyed and reduced to a ball of serviceable energy to fuel the power-hungry rulers.
" I know what are thinking," Corvin added, " But the risk outweighs the reward in this case," His tone softened, as he raised his hand and brushed a stray lock of hair that fluttered in the soft breeze of the forest.
" They are unpredictable, strong. We cannot afford to put people's lives at risk by allowing them to exist. We don't know what risk they will pose in the future. They might turn on us bringing about the dark ages," He placed a curled-up finger under her chin tilting her head back, so she would look into his eyes.
" I know why you are wavering," The compassion in his tone, made her raise her eyes. He understood why she had second thoughts.
" It will be swift, but I can't any promises on the pain part," She nodded, as he dropped his hand to the side, while Dakran nodded. Were they a risk to the realm? Perhaps they were evolving. Now, they would never know. If they all could live in peace and create something new.
The group lurched on the forest ground with stealthy steps, as she trailed behind them with uneasy steps. Unsure whether she wanted to see young ones being massacred, even though they were monsters by every definition in every book in existence.
A conundrum indeed.
Two shikari paced before the main gates, passing each other in the small length between the two posts holding the gate.
Dakran raised his arm, and everyone came to a halt. It felt wrong, in so many ways. Even though they had caused irreparable damage, they had young ones. Iris couldn't overlook that little fact no matter how hard she tried.
One of the shikari paused and looked over the forest. The pit they had set ablaze was still burning wildly, spreading its glow over the green pastures, illuminating the dimming horizon.
" It thinks that only two of them can reproduce," Corvin whispered crouching down next to her, keeping an eye on the shikari that still studied the forest.
" You mean like a King and Queen," Iris whispered and Corvin nodded.
" Like bees. If we kill this Queen another will be chosen to reproduce. And if their offspring grow so fast, in a matter of moons there will be thousands of them. They are raising an army, Iris. There will be no peace," He ominously said, and closed his eyes, defeated.
Perhaps in her desperation, she lost sight of more important matters.