I could have handled that better.
That thought echoed in my head as I watched Princess Lilliana's retreating figure, the clash of our ideals still ringing in my ears. Perhaps I had been too forthright, too blunt. Or maybe there was just no right way to address the tangled mess of politics, duty, and personal emotions that had ensnared us both.
For a moment, I contemplated chasing after her, trying once more to bridge the gap between us with words of understanding. But the raw indignation I had sparked suggested that more words were the last thing she needed.
Instead, I resolved to give her time—to process, to cool down, and to reflect on the situation from her perspective. I had my own processing to do, and a myriad of pressing issues demanding my attention. The last thing either of us needed was to be at each other's throats when we truly should be fighting side by side.
With a weary sigh, I accepted that my diplomatic efforts would require a more delicate touch than I originally anticipated. Lilliana wasn't just a princess or a warrior; she was a woman thrust into a world coming apart at the seams, expected to remain poised and compliant amidst the chaos.
I made my way back to my chambers, the burden of my responsibilities feeling heavier with each step. I had to figure out how to address the reanimated soldiers, how to best protect Jagar and Havenby, and now, how to navigate the complexities of an enforced betrothal with a fiercely independent princess who clearly despised the idea.
"All right, head. Let's get down to business."
"That is not my name, you little shit!"
"Shut up, unless it is to answer my question! I am not in the mood for your shit, Marcus. I need to know what kind of black magic voodoo shit that witch is using to keep you alive. Start talking or I will get the bucket the servants have been filling with all the bugs in the castle!"
The two of us stared daggers at each other, but Marcus finally rolled his eyes. "I have no idea how she is doing this. Her name is Akasha, the Beast of Destruction. That is all I know. Each time we die, we just wake back up in an ungodly amount of pain."
The name was a start, but I had never heard of this creature. I wish that...
"You had someone knowledgeable about a creature like that?"
I tried not to, but I still jumped up startled as Shigora just casually just walked through my door without opening it. Not like a ghost, but like the door didn't even exist. What in god's name was this creature?!
"You look properly surprised for my liking, and on the defensive as always. It is good to see that you never change, but Akasha is not someone you want to mess with. I watched your fight, but you know that she let you get away, right?" Shigora asked as she walked over to the petrified-looking Marcus. "You know, it would be so much better if you could have a reaction like this one when you see me! I love the frozen look of dread—it's so very... satisfying."
Ignoring her commentary on frightful expressions, I focused on what mattered. "You know of Akasha?" I asked, eager for any information I could glean from Shigora, who clearly had knowledge beyond any mortal comprehension.
Shigora perched herself casually on the edge of a table, her long legs swinging nonchalantly. "Akasha and I go way back, longer than the span of human empires. She's ancient, malevolent, and unyielding in her pursuit of destruction. When she sets her sights on something, she doesn't stop until it's reduced to ash and echoes."
A chill ran down my spine at the casual way Shigora described such wanton devastation. If this Akasha was as powerful and tenacious as she said, what hope did we have of stopping her and the corrupted force she controlled?
"And what does she want with Velum? Why is she doing this?" I pressed, my mind racing with the implications of facing such a timeless terror.
Shigora tilted her head, her eyes almost gleaming with insider knowledge. "Akasha's motivations are layered, complex, born from eons of existence and an insatiable hunger for power and ruin. Perhaps she sees something in Velum—a canvas for her to paint her next masterpiece of annihilation."
"But she won't just destroy for the sake of it," Shigora continued, her gaze locking on to mine. "She's deliberate and strategic, a conniving whisper in the dark, bending wills to break worlds. Your father... he's merely the most recent in a long line of instruments she's plucked from history's strings."
The room seemed to close in on me as her words sunk in. I was facing an adversary that wasn't just commanding an army of undead soldiers, but orchestrating a symphony of obliteration with motives beyond mortal understanding.
Shigora pushed off from the table, standing to her full, towering height, a predator among sheep. "I could help you, you know," she offered, her voice laced with a devious sort of glee. "For a price…"
I stepped back, wary of her intentions. "What kind of price?" I asked, already knowing that whatever she asked in return would be no small thing.
She simply smiled, a secret tucked behind her lips. "Oh, we'll get to that. But first, survive the coming days. After all, our little game wouldn't be any fun if you perished too soon," she teased with a wicked glint in her eyes before dissipating like smoke into the shadows.
Left in the unsettling silence of her departure, I grappled with the weight of her words. Surviving the coming days seemed a monumental task, especially knowing what I was up against. The prospect of aligning with Shigora, however temporarily, sent a shiver down my spine. But it was a path that I had to consider—if not for my own life, then for the lives of all those threatened by Akasha's looming shadow.
I looked back at Marcus's head, now noticeably paler—whether from fear of Shigora or the gravity of our situation, I couldn't tell.
"Rest up," I said to Marcus, though there wasn't much rest to be had for a severed head. "You're going to tell me everything you know."
His eyes, wide with the lingering presence of Shigora's threat, slowly shifted to meet mine. "I'll tell you what I can. But just know... no one defeats Akasha. No one."
I wasn't ready to accept that. Not yet. But my other choice was to accept whatever offer that Shigora had to offer. Watch an entire nation be murdered and turned undead, or make a deal with a clearly malevolent spider goddess. Those were some real choices, but like the big-titted spider woman said, I have to survive to even make the choice.