Chapter 82: Chapter 82

After hearing Khailis’ sweet request and feeling her soft hands against his fur, Chibi could only happily comply. He let out two, energetic barks and started to float up in the air.

“By the gods, Chibi, you didn’t tell me all this time that you can fly too!” Lady Khalis said in amusement, and again Chibi’s heart sank. If he only knew that his mistress liked the idea of flying, he would have taken her any day on his back to the ends of the earth.

Gavil snorted. “Of course he can. Come, let’s follow him.”

After making sure that his young wife had securely climbed up at his back, Gavil flapped his wings and rose into the air alongside Chibi.

Shortly after, they landed at the inner court of the Temple of The Gods.

“I can’t believe it! They’re here inside the temple!”

Khailis hopped down from Gavil’s back excitedly and looked around. They descended inside a smaller, inner garden. It was very quiet that Khailis began to doubt that anyone was there. She started to think that maybe Chibi made a mistake and took them to the wrong place.

Suddenly, she heard a voice behind a tree. Instinctively, she followed it.

“Thank the heavens you’ve arrived at a consensus already! I was beginning to worry about the state of your health, so well done! May I call you brother-in-law now?” Khalis heard a beautiful lady with golden, flowing hair said.

Right after she spoke, Khailis heard a familiar kind of laugh. It was Shia. Right next to her was the prince, who looked quite sick.

Khailis was overjoyed. They had both survived! She was about to call them, when suddenly, Chibi came running from the bushes, pouncing at the seated figure of Prince Langrion.

“Chibi, where did you go? I was looking for you.”

The mowngry tugged at the sleeves of his dress, urging him to come.

The golden-haired maiden turned towards Khailis’ direction. “I think we’ve got company.”

Feeling a little embarrassed for hiding herself even though she did not mean to, Khailis was about to emerge from behind the tree. She looked around for Gavil, but he had already walked before her towards the golden-haired maiden, bowing down his feline head.

“Greetings to the celestial gods of the earth, God Templar and Goddess Freya!”

Goddess Freya was in reference to Shia, so this maiden-like divinity must be God Templar - The God of Fire and Sun?! But, how can the fiery Fire God look so... womanly?

“Ah, Prince Rahul, you young lad!” God Templar exclaimed as he ruffled Gavil’s head in jest, showing that they are close acquaintances. “How is the queen? I wanted to visit you, but I heard you just got married and that you’re pretty busy with her pregnancy.”

“Indeed, but I brought her along today to see her friends!”

With this, Khailis took a step forward and curtsied. “Eternal greetings to the Gods of Teotro-”

Before she could even finish her greetings, Shia had already run to her side and hugged her.

“By the gods, Khailis, you’re here!”

Tears burst from Shia’s eyes. Khailis was reminded of the time when she and Shia had seen each other again after she was imprisoned at Sensala. She welcomed her with the same warmth and fervor.

“Yes, and so are you and Langrion! I’m so relieved!”

Langrion rose from his seat too. It seems he would stagger at any moment as he approached her.

“Don’t come to me, I’ll walk over there,” Khailis said, feeling aggrieved upon seeing Langrion’s condition.

Gavil walked alongside with Khalis. He circled around her ankle for a while. Khailis was a little annoyed before recognizing why he must be acting that way.

Khailis bent down and whispered to her husband.

“It’s just Langrion... Why are you acting jealous?”

Gavil sighed before quickly turning himself into his human form. “God Templar, Prince Langrion, and Lady Shia, allow me to introduce my wife, Khailista Humphrey vin Esneer.”

Khailis turned red. She realized that Gavil wasn’t acting like that because he was jealous. It was because he wanted to show her off first as his wife before greeting them, which was kind of embarrassing...

Langrion’s jaw fell. “Khailis, you are married now? To Gavil? And he can turn into a... a cat?”

Khailis blushed. “Yes, it seems so... But didn’t I already tell you a million times already that Gavil can turn into a cat?”

“I thought you were joking!”

“Well, it’s your fault for always thinking that I was joking...”

Gavil spoke and turned to Langrion and Shia. “I’m sorry it took a long time for us to come and see you. My wife had just recently recovered, and I forgot to tell her you were here...”

“Ah, did you get sick too, Khailis?... But I see you have already recovered. That must be because you have married now, right?” Shia said enthusiastically.

Khailis hated to tell her a lie, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell them that she had been tricked into this marriage, so she simply smiled back.

“Congratulations to the two of you! When did this happen?” Shia said, accepting Khailis’ good news more readily and warmly than Langrion, who had begun to sternly look at Gavil from head to foot.

“About a week ago, I think...” Khailis said, intending to avoid giving any further details of her engagement and wedding.

“You seemed cheerful enough. If you are happy, then I am happy too. Congratulations.” Langrion said, although his face did not seem quite pleased. “So, how did you two get married right after the sea accident?”

Khailis’ eyes widened. Why does Langrion have to be so sharp, of all days? Good thing she had readied her excuse in advance for her parents’ sake.

“I had his marriage flute for a long time, and since I thought I was going to die back there at sea, I decided to accept him.”

“Uh, excuse me,” the lady-like God of Fire said, raising his hand like a little child. “I’m sorry, but I am a little confused... So all of you know each other?”

Shia laughed a little once more. “Yes brother. Let’s all sit down. This is going to be a long story.”

They passed the afternoon away recounting what had happened and sharing information about the things they have missed about each other.

“So you will be getting married soon too. I’m so happy!” Khailis exclaimed.

Shia nodded. “Yes. Langrion’s health isn’t at its best, so we do have to hurry. The protection magic and the poisoned arrow are taking a toll on his body. Also, we have received a letter from Danterion.”

Anxiety tugged at Khailis’ heart. “What did the letter say?”

“He confirmed the news that the king is dead and that Lady Edelfina had been framed for the crime. He had already sent her away, but he cannot do anything about the Ancient Evil’s plan,” Langrion replied.

“And the plan I surmise is about seizing the throne?”

Langrion nodded. “That and creating an army of cursed ones, just as the prophecy suggests...”

“That is why we are pushing through with our marriage. Not only will it deactivate Teotroly’s protection magic against Langrey, but if we can successfully elicit a wish from Sirion, we can stop the events at Gaulane from further escalating, I think.”

Khailis shot a sideway glance at Gavil, who smiled back at her. She smiled back and sighed internally in relief. So her husband wasn’t lying to her at all when he said that they should marry and consummate the marriage immediately to prevent the protection magic from killing her slowly...

“Without Galahad’s help though, we will have a difficult time extracting your marriage wish.” God Templar commented. He looked intensely at the ground for a while before he spoke again.

“We have no choice. I think we should ask for Head God Heedra’s help.”

Shia frowned, thinking back at the image of the head god in her head when she had first gotten a glimpse of Freya’s memories. “But, wouldn’t Head God Heedra be angry to know that I and Langrion have come here at Teotroly? I’m supposed to be serving my time at the mortal realm and stopping Sirion, but instead, I have returned and brought Langrion, who is supposed to be the Demon King of the prophecy... Wouldn’t he be enraged to find out we’re here?”

“Angry at you, Freya? That’s nonsense! He had been waiting for you all this time...” Templar said exasperatedly.

“Waiting for me? What do you mean?”

“He had been saying it for the past hundred years or so that you will return on your final lifetime, and once you do, you would come to see him,” Templar revealed. “Seeing you now, I think he had been right as usual. This might be the best time for you to ask him what you have wanted to back then...”

“What I have wanted?...”

“Before you were sent to the mortal world, I went to see you... You said there’s something you really wanted to ask the head god in person, but I don’t know what it is, and you would never revealed it to me...”

Shia brooded over what Templar had said. Freya wanted to ask the head god something?... She had been told during her judgement that she will lose her memories temporarily as a mortal, so why didn’t she just ask Templar to see him on her stead? What could it be that she had wanted to ask back then?

“No need to do that,” a voice said from behind. Shortly, a figure emerged from the corners of the garden. It was Galahad.

“Galahad, you’re here! Have you changed your mind?” Shia exclaimed.

His face was still wearing a scowl just like the day before when he had come to meet Shia. “You don’t need to see my father. I shall do it. I shall preside your wedding, and I shall perform the ritual that will take you to Sirion as you wished.”

“You will? Why did you suddenly change your mind?”

He threw Shia a look of displeasure. “Because I know that you will push through with it, no matter what I say, and I don’t want your death upon my conscience should you perform the ritual improperly.”

Shia gazed at the pale and scorned look of Galahad’s face for a long time. Although what he had said made a lot of sense, and she was really grateful towards him, there was something unsettling about his countenance and the way that he just spoke. Somehow, she couldn’t believe he would change his mind that easily... If so, what could really be the reason why he changed his mind?...

“Thank you for your help, Galahad,” Shia said slowly, “it would mean the world to me - to us, if you would help us... But I’m afraid that wouldn’t stop me from my decision.”

Shia stood up and looked closer to Galahad. She met his cold and seemingly secretive gaze.

“I would still like to meet Head God Heedra. It’s about time I greeted him as in my mortal form.”