Page 84 of Spring Guardians & Songbirds

“No,” he shook his head, breathing ragged and petrified. “No. You’re—”

She put the hand on his face and the man screamed, the echo travelling down the empty corridors with a loud boom. Part of his cheek had melted and charred where she had touched him. “I’m, I’m,” Snow taunted, waving her hand down to his other cheek. “How did you know where the sceptre piece was?”

Tears poured and mixed with his bloodied flesh, but he didn’t answer.

My wife clicked her tongue. “Wrong answer.”

The screams were louder this time.

Mor folded her arms tight, a scowl bunched between her brows while her shadows blurred with fascination and a flash of fear. Perhaps she had just realised what Snow was really capable of.

“How?” Snow asked, moving the hand down to his arm, leaving a trail of burned flesh behind.

He shook his head and Snow turned to us all, folding her sleeves back. “You can all leave. This is about to get really up and personal.”

None of us moved and she nodded, turning to the man. “An audience. Put on your best performance for me, soldier.” Ice glided from her fingers to form claws and she dragged one down his chest, leaving a stream of blood chasing after. Just when I thought the man had grown tired and hoarse of screaming, he shrieked when she dug them in his stomach. “Speak because I promise you, no one will give a damn about your honour, your piety or loyalty where I’m about to take you. Speak because no one will care to invite you in their heavens or hells after my father uses that sceptre to ruin the realm they fought so hard to protect. When you become an extension of his evil. The hand giving him the ability to destroy this realm.”

“Our king,” he breathed out, “he wants to help the realm. Our lands are rotting because of our faith. This will restore us. Our lands. Our glory. The sceptre will help us.”

Snow guffawed, dropping her head back. “Soldier, look at me,” she said, gripping his face again. “Do you think he wanted to save the realm with this creature he bred, raised, and trained, huh? The sceptre is the weapon I couldn’t become. The monster it will raise will be obedient to a fault. Your lands are rotting because your king has pronounced himself god. He is the god of rot, so he blessed Isjord with taint. The sceptre will help him taint the rest of the realm. By killing millions. Will you bear that fault? Because it will be your fault to bear in the end. In the end it won’t matter who made decisions, only those that executed them. Inevitably, this will be on your hands.”

Wide eyed and shivering he slowly shook his head, shadows filling with doubt. “No…no, it can’t be.”

She took his hand and pointed to the golden tattoo band around his ring finger—a sign of a blessed marriage. “Are you ready to take and drag your other half with you there? Will you selfishly punish her because you chose to close your eyes to what your king is doing?”

He faltered with doubt, seeming to consider her words for a moment before shutting his eyes tight. Time ticked through silence. And then—

“I don’t know, I don’t know how we find them,” he blurted out. “The witch and the beast led us to them. We only retrieve them. A couple months back we made respite in General Moregan’s camp lines. They sent Umbra inside Aru to place a sort of trace craft all over the land. Some soldiers had seen the witch take blood from the green beast and pour it onto the craft plaques. Some say it was to make the craft stronger and how she is able to find the pieces. They said that the witch drank its blood, too, they said it was why she’s become more powerful.”

Snow made a gagging sound. “Why would it make her more powerful?”

He shrugged a shaking shoulder. “I wouldn’t know.”

“The blood of the beast,” Moriko hummed with concentration. “It is said in an old codex we found decades ago when we were fighting the Ater battles that Crafters were consuming the blood of Caligo creatures to heighten their magical senses. It helped them summon and portal easier.”

“Like mirk root for the Aura,” Nia said, her nose wrinkling. “Except more…spiced, I suppose.”

Moriko nodded in thought. “There were speculations that the 97th Grand Maiden had used the blood of a Caligo hound. She was a Potioner so many had their doubts as to how one of her likes was able to gather and summon so much magic to create so many beasts.”

“Wouldn’t that mean the beast is from Caligo?” Snow asked and the room grew grave. She turned to me. “Didn’t you tell me that nothing can come out of those gates anymore. You said they turn to ash.” You could practically read the panic in her stare.

“What I said remains,” I clarified. “The beast cannot be from Caligo, love.”

“But—”

I tucked a wild strand of hair behind her ear. “No buts. This thing is something else.” I bent down to the soldier. “Have you heard anything about where Silas came across this beast?”

He shook his head. “No one knows. No one goes near it. Soldiers and Aura could barely make it past the first veil, but this thing went and came without a scratch. I’ve never seen such a thing. I-It certainly might be true that it isn’t from this realm at all.” He cleared his throat and looked at Snow, “They…they are aiming for Myrdur next—soon. Our ships were barely leaving port before the Solaryans were taking them down. Portalling to Seraphim or the unblessed Isles is near impossible since dark craft weakens the further away from Eldmoor it is cast. Soldiers are saying that the king is in the works of dealing with the unblessed to strike an agreement. They have also agreed to let their ships pick up soldiers from Sayuri Island by filtering them through Hanai. The trip would be dangerous and long, thrice as long, but the king is prepared for the loss of time.”

Snow nodded and the man shut his eyes tight, expectant of his final punishment. Yet she stood. “Mor, have a healer brough to him.”

The soldier cracked his eyes open. “What…what?”

“You will live to see my words prove right. To see that what you did today helped save this realm. That I didn’t lie to you. I won’t let you mock me in the Otherworld, I have a reputation to maintain.”

“Y-Your Highness,” he called as we were about to leave. “When I said soon, I meant very soon. Our troops were ready by Fernfoss yesterday.”

“You’re too violent,” Moriko said as we exited the prison premises.