Chapter 93: Chapter 93

A few minutes before the attack, Gavil and Khailis’ lamp lights were still ablaze, and Khailis was pacing franctically around the bedroom floor. She bit her nails in alarm, and looked at Gavil who was also slightly anxious at the turn of events.

The two of them asked leave from Queen Argylla to stay at the Temple of the Gods after Langrion and Shia’s wedding. Actually, it was Khailis who had asked of it. Although she knew she was growing Pauca eggs inside of her, she couldn’t stand the thoughts of her friends battling away for their dear lives at the temple while she was resting comfortably back at Gavil’s home. She wanted to be there when they wake up.

They had been there for almost a week, and Khailis had almost had no time for rest that it became Gavil’s job to remind her to take naps and set aside some time to energize the eggs. Almost always, however, she was too tired to do it, and stories about her ‘neglectful actions’ have reached the ears of the Goddess of Childbirth.

It was not a surprise therefore when they received a summon from the goddess. The time of the summon was late that night, which irked both husband and wife.

“Why do you suppose she asked to see us in our chambers at such a time? Isn’t it discourteous to come see newlyweds at this hour,” Khailis said.

She didn’t mind seeing anyone at this hour, honestly, but because it was Goddess Eily, she minded it. Something didn’t sit right about her in Khailis’ heart. She remembered how she had refused to give them a blessing outright before, so who was she to concern herself about the eggs now? Perhaps she was planning something behind their backs. Khailis felt sicker than usual as she thought of these things.

“Don’t worry so much, my wife. Just lie down here and get some sleep. If she’s coming, she’s coming. There’s nothing we could do about it.”

Gavil folded his arms across his wife’s arched back. He was thinking how cute she looked when she’s anxious, but Khailis shot her a disproving look.

“Ah, I know what that look means, and no, this isn’t a good time to energize the eggs,” Khailis said softly, but she betrayed herself a little when she blushed as she spoke.

“Just one kiss will do... Won’t you let me do it – just one tiny, short kiss?”

Before she could protest any further, he stroked the wisp of hair that got in the way of her face and reached towards his wife’s plump and precious lips. Even until now, he can’t believe that she was already his wife. The gods must have favoured her by fulfilling his wish to wed Khailis, the girl of his dreams since he had studied in the human world.

He had really meant it to be just a short, quick kiss to take her mind off from the anxiety of seeing Goddess Eily, but whenever he was doing intimate things with her, he always seemed to lose his sense of time and reason. Before he knew it, his hands had already wandered into the regions of her body that sent them both into heat. He carefully positioned himself on top of her, careful not to crush her underneath him as he continued to stroke her snowy white skin, a deep contrast to his own tanned complexion.

Suddenly, there was a rap at the door. It continued to plague them even when the two of them did not budge. After much prodding from his wife, Gavil finally conceded to opening the door, wrapping the robe he had discarded to the floor earlier around his exposed upper body.

“What is it,” he asked impatiently. They were expecting the goddess, of course, but whywas there just silence?

When no answer came from the other side after a few more seconds, Gavil looked back at his wife who was about to come to him from the bed.

“Stand by the window until I say so!”

Khailis quickly understood. She retrieved her sword from the side of the bed where she had always kept it, and ran into a concealed space near the balcony. If anything were to happen, both of them could just jump in there, and they could fly away from the place.

Gavil nodded to her, signalling that he was about to open the door, his eyes twinkling and his body ready to shift in a heartbeat.

In a moment, he opened the chambers, and found that it was Goddess Eily, without her attendants.

She shut the door as soon as she got in, her face was so pallid and her breathing was almost windless.

“Run!”

Her body had suddenly turned ablaze. She turned around and sent a massive amount of air into the door, keeping it shut despite the pounding of several hundred hands against it.

In a second, Gavil had transformed into his beast form, occupying the space in between the goddess and the seemingly dangerous door, which was about to burst open despite the goddess’ magic.

Khailis was ready to pounce at whatever was in the other side of the wooden entrance, but in her haste, she forgot to check behind her.

Perhaps it was also because the assassin was infused with stealth-inducing magic that it was only when a cold hand had come across Khailis’ neck and waist that she had began to shout.

“Gavil!”

Gavil spun around towards his wife, and he growled as he saw a man holding a blue flame in his hand. The man had clearly taken his wife as a hostage. He was raising the flame against Khailis’ neck.

“Open the door, or she burns,” the man said. He lowered his voice in a whisper meant this time for Khailis. “Put your sword down, or I will knock that girl and that creature dead...”

Khailis didn’t have a choice. She flung her sword towards the ground.

Gavil gave out a blood-curling scream, and almost immediately the man lowered the flame into Khailis’ arm.

“I’m sorry to use your body again, my lady, and I must tell you, this will hurt,” the man whispered to her.

Before Khailis could even react, she felt a fierce burning sensation in her left hand, and her recollection had been completely wiped out of her head.

******************

“N-no!” Shia screamed. Her eyes had been puffed from crying, but she was able to see Langrion clearly as he ran to the edge of the ravine and went down into the dark ocean.

She wanted to come to him, but all she could do was to weakly raise her hands towards Sirion’s collar.

“Langrey!”

“Tsk, you are positively annoying me, dearest!” Sirion’s face was pained, and he looked like he was going to hit her anytime as she grabbed into his collar weakly to prevent her hand from slipping down.

Shia grasped desperately at his neck. She wanted to strangle him, but her grasp was too weak. All she could do was to sink her fingernails weakly against the side of his neck

“I hated to do this, my queen, but you are leaving me no choice!”

At this, his face descended into her, and he buried his lips into her mouth.

As soon as he came in contact with her, black putrid smoke made its way into Shia’s lungs, consuming her entire body. It felt like a splash of acid made its way into her mouth, eating away into her respiration, and finally sending her into a deeper level of sleep.

Sirion wiped his mouth after the deed was over. He had given her part of the poison he had been induced with when he was sent to his prison in hell.

Too much of it still swarmed inside his body, plaguing him from time to time, but he has become quite immune to it now. However, Freya’s mortal body wasn’t. It may physically weaken her, or kill her entirely. That doesn’t matter though. Freya can always shed her mortal skins, and she’ll be as beautiful as ever.

Still, it was such a waste if this beautiful outer shell would perish. He brushed away the hair that had covered her injured face. He’ll make sure she’ll stay by him from here on. He positively could not contain it if she heard him look at another person like she did with that stupid boy.

He doesn’t have to worry now anyway. He was sure the boy had already become fodder to the sharks by now. He made sure that he had suspended the boy’s ability to breathe and swim as he controlled his body earlier on.

This night couldn’t get any lovelier!

******************

Langrion felt the water hit him hard, like shards of glasses against his skin. It had been a deep plunge since Teotroly was hovering several meters in the air.

As his body collided with the ocean, his breathing had suddenly stopped. He still couldn’t move even an inch of his muscle, and so he sunk deeper and deeper into the sea.

‘Langrion!’ He could still hear Shia’s desperate attempt to call him back, and he hated himself for it. He desperately wanted to come to her, to drive the sharp blade of the dagger at his own brother’s chest even though he knew he was being controlled to do it. He wanted to snatch his wife away from him, but here he was instead, sinking further and further into the dark waters.

‘Don’t you need my help,’ a familiar voice asked.

He listened to it again, trying to remember who he was. Suddenly, the face of the man whom he had met in the underworld came into his view.

‘I see you have been rejecting my gift, but why,’ he asked worriedly.

Indeed, the reason why he was unable to open his eyes the moment he had been brought back from the time passage was not merely because of his wounds. It was also because he didn’t want to tap into the strange god’s power that he was given in hell.

‘I... I don’t trust you,’ he finally confessed.

‘I understand,’ he said, ‘still, didn’t you assure me you’d take care of Freya? You can’t take care of her with just this body and your determination...’

Teotroly’s protection spell had definitely taken a toll in him, and now that the Ancient One had used his powers on him, he’ll surely die without being able to see his beloved’s face one last time.

‘Why don’t you accept my powers now,’ the man said, his silver hair glowing in the waters. The light emanating from him resembled the light coming from the moon. ‘I assure you, I can be trusted.’

‘But I don’t know you...’ Langrion said. Although he didn’t want to die, he didn’t want to regret that he had accepted someone into his body that he didn’t know fully know who. Becoming plagued with a curse from the Ancient One was bad enough. What if this other god was also as worse as the one who had given him a curse?

‘I will help you defeat Sirion,’ he said again, ‘but you’ve got to let me in and accept me. You know we both love Freya to the core...’

As he said this, he pressed a hand against his chest, and a pale glow emanated from them. ‘Breathe and live using my powers...’

Langrion didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the man’s hand and accepted his power, and almost immediately, he felt he was seeing within instead of looking back at the man’s dark, violet eyes.