CHAPTER 42

CIRA'S PLAN was simple, but the process was a tad bit difficult. From the forest outside the city of Ager, Cira and Xeke traveled back to Sarnau. Without resting, the two easily reached Castetava. With Cira's agility and Xeke's dagger, speed was not a problem for them.

Cira and Xeke easily reached the barren lands and traversing the route back to Belrac.

"Cira, we have to stop and rest." Xeke finally speak up. "We've been traveling non-stop from Ager. You're pushing yourself too much. It's not good for you."

"No. I have to do this fast—" Cira stopped talking when she felt a liquid trickling down from her nose.

Touching the liquid to see what it was, Cira's head spins when she saw blood on the tip of her fingertips. "What...?"

Xeke quickly teleported to Cira's side when he saw her swaying. "Rest. We need to rest, or you'll get sick. Your nose is already bleeding, Cira." Xeke was too worried as he helped Cira balanced herself. "Please... don't worry me too much."

Cira hold onto Xeke's shoulder to balanced herself. "I'm fine. We have to reach Belrac tomorrow night and travel to Ashmire—"

"Cira, please..." Xeke was ready to kneel to beg Cira to reconsider when Cira's lost consciousness.

Xeke caught Cira effortlessly before looking for a safe place for them to rest in this barren land. After a few minutes of looking, he found a cave. Using his cloak as a blanket, he laid it on the ground before he carefully laid Cira on the blanket. And with a clean cloth from his leather bag, he tended Cira's nose that was still bleeding.

It was the first time for Xeke to care for someone so much that he actually felt scared at the thought that something bad might happen to Cira. He was frozen in place, worried and in fear just thinking of Cira getting hurt.

If only he could stop her from storming in without thought and pushing herself too much, he would have. But Cira was too focused on helping the Queen that she was risking her own health. And he could do nothing than support her and be with her.

Now he understood his father's words when he said that the descendants of Sappher were a strong race, but with obvious weakness. His father once said that when a descendant of Sappher fell in love, that was it. No way out. A Sappher's descendant will gave his everything – heart, body, mind, and soul.

It was also the reason why the Sapphers was a declining race. They only love once in their lifetime and that love will be carried to the next life and to the next, only seeking the same woman. Again, and again and again until the end of their time. And even after the woman was gone, their heart, body, mind, and soul remained loyal and faithful. Most descendant of Sapphers chose to not undergo rebirth when their wives dies.

They would rather perish, than to live a life without the love of their lives.

Just like his father.

His father chose death when his mother died.

Xeke looked down at Cira. "I might choose death than live a life without you." He whispered. "What am I going to do, Cira? I don't think I just like you."

Cira who was unconscious couldn't hear, nor answer. She couldn't hear the struggle and worry in Xeke's voice.

Xeke blows a loud breath before he stepped out of the cave to breathe and also to stand guard, to make sure that Cira was safe.

He stayed there for hours, until he heard Cira's voice, calling him.

"Xeke...?"

Xeke immediately returned and handed Cira her water canteen.

"How are you feeling?" Xeke was trying to stay calm since panicking will not solve anything. "Are you feeling okay? Are you feeling better?" But Xeke was getting anxious as he waited for Cira's reply. "Talk to me, Cira."

But Cira was just staring at Xeke and only put Xeke out of his misery after a few minutes of silence. "Xeke, I'm the one who had a nosebleed, but you look really pale. Want to exchange places?" Cira said with a small chuckle.

Xeke exhaled a relief breathe hearing Cira being silly again. "Don't worry me too much. What do you think will happen to me if I lost you? I like you, remember?"

Cira was stunned for a moment before she smiled like the anxiousness in Xeke's face didn't matter. "I'm feeling lightheaded, but I'll be okay."

Most men who confessed to her was only interested in what she could give and what they could get from her, but Xeke seemed different— not 'seemed', he's really different. He genuinely cares for her and her alone – and she liked that.

"How about you?" Cira got up and stilled when she realized she was lying on Xeke's cloak. "Your cloak..."

"My cloak doesn't matter," Xeke was too worried to care about his cloak. "Your nose bled, and I don't need to be a physician to tell you that you've been pushing yourself so much. Using your essence to boost your endurance non-stop is not good for you, Cira!" Xeke couldn't help raising his voice. "I know I don't matter to you; I know you're not going to listen because I'm not your queen, but please, take care of yourself."

"Okay. I will."

Xeke looked at Cira, stunned at her reply. "You... will?"

Cira nodded and leaned on the cave's wall. "I'll rest for the whole night, and we will resume our travel tomorrow noon."

"Really?" Xeke still couldn't believe that Cira listened to him.

Cira nodded. "Yes. Really. Now stop looking so anxious and start looking like the Xeke who bravely, but shyly confessed to me."

Xeke dropped himself on the ground, while still looking at Cira who's also looking at him.

"What?" Xeke asked. "I'm fine."

Cira tapped Xeke's cloak beside her. "Come on. Sleep. I'll stand guard."

"No, I'm a man and a descendant of Sappher, I can handle—"

"Don't use that crap reasoning on me. I'll smack your head." Cira said sternly and tapped the cloak again. "You need to sleep too. I'll wake you up later once I feel sleepy or if I sensed danger. For now, your turn to rest."

Xeke knew he would not win against Cira, so he quietly laid himself on his cloak and closed his eyes. But he was restless, he couldn't sleep. He kept changing his position. Just when Xeke was about to give up and get up, he felt Cira's hand on his shoulder, gently and slowly patting him while humming a soft melody.

And for the first time since his mother died and his father followed, Xeke slept like a baby.

MORNING CAME and Sollel's group was back to crossing the valley of bones without the aster path. Hakken was on the front again, fighting and making a way for them, with the help of Grath.

From time to time, they would hear explosions from a hundred miles away and as time passed, Sollel observed that the explosions or whoever was using elemental attacks to fight the undead was going to the southeast direction.

If that was the kingdom, then they're going in the wrong direction. If they continue that route, they will reach the forest in the city of Ager — like they circled back.

Sollel's group was going east and if it was indeed the kingdom, then their failure gave Sollel and everyone an ample time to get ahead.

But the kingdom was the least of Sollel's group worries. They're reaching the center of the valley where the monster numbers triples. And as they continue, strong and evolved monsters started joining the fight.

Wraith who could cast dark attacks. Ghouls who devour the living with speed that could match Hakken's. Thousands of undead that could infect a living being with their rotten disease. It was too much for Sollel's group who only had Hakken and Grath on the front.

They managed to hold out until night time, but they slowed down because at the center of the valley, there was no aster flower blooming — no aster flower meant no aster path at night!

"What happened?" Zassia asked, staring at the ground where the aster path ended.

Sollel answered. "Too many undead in the center, I think the soil is already contaminated by the undead's rot and decay."

Zassia shivered before turning to Queen Sollel. "What are we going to do, teacher?"

"It's too dangerous to cross the valley at night." Said Grath, "unless of course, we fight with the Queen."

Hakken shook his head. "No. If it was the kingdom behind us earlier that was going southeast, they'll figure out immediately our location and the fact that they're on the wrong path. We can't risk it."

He realized that even when he was busy fighting. Sollel was impressed, but she guessed it was to be expected from a descendant of Sappher who took pride on their warring strength and strategy.

"Then let's stay here," Sollel decided. "If that was the kingdom, we're already ahead of them. There's no harm staying for the night and continue crossing the center of the valley tomorrow."

Since it was the Queen, who decided, everyone agreed, but there was one problem. They had nothing to sit on and the soil smells like rot and decay.

"Wait here," Hakken said and before Sollel could ask what he was planning, he stepped out from the aster path and disappeared into the night.

Sollel was not worried. She knew Hakken would come back and she was right, a few minutes later, he came back with two long logs. One for Grath, and Zassia to share and one for her and Hakken.

Sitting like a graceful queen in the midst of undead, rot and decay, Sollel let out a heavy sigh.

"I miss water." She sighed again. "I want to take a bath."

"In between the valley of bones and shivering valley is a stream." Hakken informed her. "You can take a bath there, my lady. Do you have spare clothes?"

Sollel glanced at Zassia's satchel where Cira left her some spare clothes, but Sollel was in a teasing mood. She didn't know, but she liked teasing Hakken. His reaction was always adorable.

"Why do you ask, Hakken? You're not imagining me naked, are you?"

Hakken had no emotion on his face whatsoever and just looked ahead. "I imagine no such thing."

"You don't want to bath with me in the stream?"

Hakken gulped, but his face remained expressionless. "It would be inappropriate—"

"But I'm a Queen, the Mistress of flame," Sollel pointed out while watching Hakken's expression to see his reaction. "I can do anything I want without worrying about anyone's judgement and without care of inappropriateness."

Hakken was not breathing. Literally.

Sollel chuckled and patted Hakken's chest. "Breathe, Hakken. I'm just teasing you."

The relieved breath that left Hakken's mouth made Sollel chuckle.

"Ah, Hakken, you're so fun to tease." She poked Hakken's cheek. "In your four lifetimes, were you always this prude?"

"No." Hakken confessed. "I'm afraid you might not like that side of me, so I left it behind."

Sollel blinked. "Left it... behind?"

"Yes."

"So you're not the whole 'you' now?"

"Something like that." Hakken admitted. "I left every negative attitude behind. So the 'me' now is the nice and kind one."

Sollel stared at Hakken amusedly. "All this... for me?"

Hakken nodded, reserve as always. "Yes."

"Didn't it cross your mind that I might like the whole you more, the bad and the good?"

Hakken shook his head. "Who would like a man who has a bad attitude?"

Sollel shrugged. "If it was you, I might."

Hakken looked at Sollel, his eyes were solemn. "My lady is already having a hard time liking the nice me now, what more if I was bad?"

Sollel looked into Hakken's eyes. "I like you, Hakken."

Hakken looked down. "Don't tease me, my lady. How could you like someone like me? I'm just a lowly being compared to you, my queen."

Sollel frowned at Hakken before she sighed subtly. For a man who liked her, he couldn't accept nor believed that she might like him back.

Did I tease him too much?

Sollel poked Hakken's cheek again to loosen him up. "Fine. I won't tease you. But, Hakken, I want to see the whole you."

Hakken didn't answer and remained silent, so Sollel let him be. But Hakken clenching his fist didn't go unnoticed to Sollel.

He looked so torn. Sollel observed. Should I put him out of his misery? The answer was a quick no. She had been betrayed that all she wanted from people she cared about was to be honest with her. Good or bad. She just wanted honesty.

What Hakken told her outside the valley of bones that day was only half of the truth. If he had lied to her completely, she wouldn't have let him accompany her again. But he told her half of the truth while keeping the rest to himself.

So, no. I'm not going to put you out of your misery. Did he really think that she couldn't remember a thing? Her memory might have been hazy because of what happened to her, but she's starting to remember most of it, and everything was slowly coming back as her strength recovers.

Sollel sighed and got up. "Grath, let's exchange sit."

Hakken's eyes widened as he looked at his lady's back.

Grath immediately stood up and complied. "Yes, your highness."

As Sollel sat beside Zassia who was mumbling and praying to her again, she didn't look at Hakken's way the whole night, much to Hakken's misery.

"GENERAL, I THINK we are being misled." Gabin heard his excellency speaks to General Kar Drue and Gabin raised his eyebrow at that.

His excellency sounded so genuine and trustworthy that it made Gabin sigh and felt pity towards the General who seemed to trust his excellency so much just because they hail from the same race.

Though unbeknownst to the General, the warlord will not care even if they hailed from the same womb. His excellency will betray anyone for his queen. His loyalty to the queen scares Gabin sometimes, but as long as he wouldn't antagonized the queen, he's safe from his excellency's wrath.

"You think so too?" General Kar's eyebrows were furrowed.

Hakkeran nodded. "Remember that flame sorcerer you fought in Ager?"

"Yes."

"Maybe she's the one doing this to mislead us." Hakkeran theorized and Gabin just sighed and watch his excellency's unparalleled acting. "This is not the first time either. She misled us in Ager too. Letting everyone believed that she's the Mistress of flame."

General Kar gritted his teeth. The night already fell, and his eyes were drawn to the aster flower that was starting to bloom. Kar saw the same flower last night too. "What's that flower?"

"I already sent one of my men to investigate." Answered the warlord. "I noticed the flower too last night, so I sent one of my trusted men to look into it."

General Kar felt relief knowing that the warlord was a dependable ally. "Let's order our men to slowly pull back and regroup."

Hakkeran nodded. "That's a good idea."

General Kar Drue signaled his horse to move towards his lieutenant. While Gabin maneuvered his horse to come closer to his excellency.

"Your excellency, are you planning to tell the General the secret of the aster flower?"

Hakkeran nodded. "He's not dumb. He'll noticed. I have to give him something, so he won't be suspicious."

"And the queen?"

Hakkeran looked at the east direction. "I'm sure she's already ahead of us. With the number of our army, even if we entered the aster path, it will still take us some time to reach her—" Hakkeran stopped talking seeing General Kar maneuvering his horse towards him.

"I have a plan." General Kar informed the warlord, but before he could elaborate, one of the warlord's 'trusted' arrived, panting.

"Your excellency!" He bowed his head at the warlord and General Kar. "I'd been observing the aster flower since the night fell and I found out that the undead avoids the flower and once you're on the flower's path, the undead will not attack."

"I thought so," Kar muttered before looking at Hakkeran. "I'm guessing that the Mistress of flame knew about the path and take advantage of it. Now that we know about it, my plan is to gather all the elites and follow the aster path. If we moved with all our soldiers, it would take us some time to reach the Mistress of flame, but with only our elites and our horses, we'll be able to catch up in no time."

Hakkeran wanted to smack himself on the head. He failed. He didn't think the General would abandon his soldiers to catch up. And Hakkeran had no choice but to nod and agree. He just hoped that his queen already passed the center of the valley.

It didn't take long to assemble the elites. It was mostly composed of high-ranking soldiers and sorcerers. While the other soldiers were ordered to follow the aster path, the elites, together with the warlord and General Kar rode their horses inside the aster path fast.

Hakkeran could only hope that his queen already crossed the center of the valley.

Ridding their horses non-stop until the sun started to rise, the warlord and General Kar together with the elites reached the center of the valley swarming with powerful undead, wraith and ghouls. The monsters' numbers multiplied by ten as the aster flower started to disappear.

In the midst of these rotting and decaying monsters in the center of the valley, another group was in the middle of it, fighting their way out. Just meters away from the kingdom and empire's soldiers. And this group already abandoned their plan not to used flame.

Everyone was in awe, including the kingdom and the empire's elite soldiers and sorcerers seeing less than a hundred fires shaped like a massive flaming rock raining down from the sky, painting the sky red, shaking the valley as it lands and destroyed multiple hundreds of undead, ghouls and wraiths.

And in the midst of that massive explosion and immense flame devouring the valley, stood a woman with blood-red hair and eyes. 

Queen Sollel, the Mistress of flame herself.

With the aster path's disappearance and the appearance of Queen Sollel, the Mistress of flame, all hell broke loose. 

CECELIB | C.C.