A Prince's Pride

Chapter Fifty-two

*Riley*

Riley paces her bedroom, Gavin sitting on the bed watching her. She’s been doing this for several minutes, not saying anything.

“I don’t see why you’re so upset with me,” says Gavin. “I know I didn’t tell you about my stepfather, but—”

His words cut off as Riley stops pacing and glares at him.

“Gavin, it’s been weeks. Weeks. You’ve lived here, we’ve gone on dates. I’m pregnant with your child, for the Gods’ sakes.”

“I just didn’t want it to change anything between us. Because it doesn’t have to, you know.”

“Oh, sure it does,” says Riley, scathingly. “It changes everything. Especially since your father—”

“—stepfather—”

“—just proposed marriage to me on your behalf. I can’t say no. Unifying Pensia is a dream of my brother’s.”

“He will still join the Empire of Theo, whether or not we get married. My stepfather has always spoken highly of Midoor. And with the threat of Phoebe on the horizon, the way she’s made her rounds through every country, he’d rather have your protection as a country within the empire itself than as a simple ally.”

“Do you even want to get married?” asks Riley, walking toward him. “Do you think we’re ready for that?”

“I think so. I’ve already told you, Riley,” Gavin stands and grabs Riley’s hands, staring into her eyes. “I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you in Sandalia. You’re smart, strong, and braver than anyone I’ve ever met. You’re going to make a great queen—” he places a hand on her stomach, “—and a magnificent mother.”

Riley smiles at him, still unsure. Are they actually ready for this? Is she? Or is the willingness to marry so quickly creeping up inside her due to the baby in her stomach?

“You don’t have to make a decision right now. We can wait until after your coronation. Take your time, okay?”

Riley nods, a smile forcing its way onto her mouth. 

“Let’s go downstairs. The dinner will be starting soon.”

She nods again and lets Gavin place a kiss on her lips.

Ten minutes later, Riley enters the banquet hall. The servants have been hard at work all day and a feast sits before her on several tables. When she enters, everyone rises to their feet; a gesture usually reserved for the monarch. A twinge of annoyance hits her, but she pushes it down. It’s more than likely she’ll be queen in a couple of weeks. Maybe she should just let it happen.

Invited to the feast are King Mennite and a couple of his governmental dignitaries, whose names Riley doesn’t know; her mother, of course; the Small Council; and a smattering of noblemen and women who are close to the Crown.

“Good evening,” says Riley, taking her place at the head of the table. When she sits, Gavin to her right, her mother to her left, so do all her guests. 

Immediately, the servants get to work, filling her wine and water cup. A salad is served to everyone as a starter. Riley eats, but isn’t paying much attention to it. She could be eating cardboard and it wouldn’t make much difference to her.

“It’s so good to be back in Midoor,” says King Mennite. “I haven’t been here since you were thirteen, Your Highness.”

“We welcome you, Your Majesty,” says Riley. “I apologize for my outburst earlier today. I’ve been under a lot of stress lately and lost my composure.”

“Understandable. I remember when I was but a prince and my father, Gods rest his soul, left me in charge of Daila for a short time. By far the most infuriating thing is trying to navigate around instructions he left the rest of the country without my ability to circumvent them.”

Riley smiles at this. She’s experienced the same thing, such as the flood of citizens reporting directly to her about anything remotely related to Phoebe. 

“I do wish to pose a question to you,” says Riley. “Being on opposite sides of the continent, Sandalia and Daila have never really had much interaction. How are you finding your relations now that Sultan Rija is in place?”

“Our dealings are much more agreeable with him in charge, as opposed to when his father was running the country. It’s been a great change. I sincerely appreciate you allowing us passage through Midoor for trading purposes.”

 

Riley sits in the monarch’s chair in the Small Council Chambers, looking at the members of the Council.

“This railroad here,” says Yora, pointing to a map on the table, “will be instrumental in connecting Sandalia and Daila. We’ll add a switch track here—” she points to a spot to the northeast of Crown City, “—which will allow trains to divert toward either the Southern Tribes or the Lower Reach, connecting all of Pensia along the rail lines.”

“This was an excellent idea, Your Majesty,” Cora says to Riley. 

“Emperor Aaron has already tasked his Lawmaster with drawing up laws regarding travel between the five countries of the Theonian Empire,” says Dellrie. “With Midoor as the Heart of the Empire, we will be expected to regulate much of the travel. I propose we build a train station hub at the intersection and instill a small garrison there.”

“I agree,” says Riley. “Get it done.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

 

When the vision ends, Riley finds herself looking at her guests, several of them looking at her with concern.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?” asks King Mennite. 

“Of course. I’m just tired,” replies Riley. She glances at her mother and sees a knowing smile there. This vision wasn’t nearly as invasive as the one she’d had about her coronation. But seeing this come to fruition was very good.

An international rail system would be instrumental in unifying the countries. And, if her vision was true, the Southern Tribes and Daila will join the Empire of Theo. Does this mean she marries Gavin?

“I’d like to make a toast,” says Riley, lifting her wine glass. Everyone at the table follows suit. “I would like to toast to our future, wherever it may lead. To Midoor, to Daila, to the Empire of Theo.”

*Aaron*

"It doesn't matter. The spell is already enacted. You're too late."

As Phoebe speaks, a gong-like sound rings throughout the clearing. We turn toward the mass of bodies which begin to writhe and, as the phials sink into their chests, groan. 

The Hellions rise, gray with ragged skin and sunken eyes, turning to us. Phoebe lets out a maniacal laughter as they begin to walk toward us, their limbs and faces twitching. 

The one nearest us leans down, hands on the ground. Fire erupts over his body and he lunges, heading straight for Milo. 

I leap into action, sword in hand and swing it through the side of the Hellion. The blade sinks into its flesh, cutting straight through. I look to the sword in my hand and find just a hilt; the blade has been melted away. 

“That won’t work!” says Piper,  pushing Aaron out of the way. She lifts her right fist and incants. A six-foot long whip of fire bursts from it, hanging limply. She twirls, lashing the Hellion in the chest, cutting open a deep gash. 

“Aaron!” shouts Milo. I look to where he’s standing, holding a branch. He incants and the branch transforms into a sword, which he throws to me. When I turn back to the Hellion, the gash has been split open, revealing a pure white phial inside its chest.

“Now, Aaron!” shouts Piper. I rush forward and plunge the sword into the Hellion’s phial. With an unearthly screech that vibrates within my chest, the Hellion dies, exploding into a cloud of dust.

We don’t have time to celebrate, though. Three more take its place, facing off against Milo, Piper, and myself, their extremities twitching, mouths agape, sightless eyes set on us.

“Enough of this,” says Milo, stepping forward.

As he prepares to cast whatever spell he’s thinking of—something lightning-based no doubt, knowing him—I take quick stock of the fight around us.

This clearing is enormous. We’ve surrounded the Hellions on all sides, a small group of which are clustered around Phoebe, but they outnumber us at least four to one. Most of them are still piled on top of each other, clambering to their feet and stumbling as if drunk or as if woken up from a long sleep. Even still, the ones that fight my soldiers and the Ur’ali are winning. 

Milo shouts an incantation, his hands splayed before him, and I was right. Arcs of lightning erupt over the three Hellions before us. Their wails join the sounds of battle around us, echoing as if the sound waves are crashing against each other. I can’t help it—I have to clamp my hands over my ears.

When the lightning dissipates, the Hellions seem mostly unscathed, though their bodies smoke slightly. Milo incants again and a bright burst of white energy erupts from his hands, enveloping the Hellions. They screech again. This time, parts of their skin have lost their fire and are translucent, showing decaying organs inside. On one, I can see the phial. I rush forward and stab my sword through it, jumping back before the others can attack as the third bursts into dust. Two more step forward to take their fallen companion’s place.

Milo used his most powerful magic against them and this is the result? How are we supposed to defeat them?

“They’re not even at full strength yet,” says Piper. “They’re groggy from being freshly reanimated.”

I look behind her to see a Ur’ali soldier, grabbed by both arms, ripped cleanly in half by two Hellions.

“What will they be like when they’re fully awake?” I ask. “And why aren’t these four attacking us?”

The four Hellions in front of us watch us, but haven’t attacked. The answer to my question hits me when I see Phoebe’s face, twisted into an expression of sadistic ecstasy.

“She wants to make us watch her minions destroy our soldiers,” I say.

“Phoebe can control them with her thoughts. They can hear her will,” says Piper. “She’s the key to this. We have to stop her.”

Piper takes a step forward and the Hellions lean, ready to pounce.

“I’ll open their chests and you kill them. Taking on four will be a challenge,” she says. “Milo, I’ll need your help.” After a moment, she adds, “Milo?”

I turn to Milo, but he isn’t there.

“Milo?!” I shout, looking around, but don’t see him anywhere.

“We don’t have time to find him; he’ll be alright.”

“If you’re intent on attacking me, sister,” says Phoebe, “I’ll make you work for it.” Several more Hellions move around her, no doubt for added protection for when Milo reveals himself. I sure hope he has a plan.

The first Hellion leaps, heading straight for me.

*Milo*

“I’ll open their chests and you kill them,” says Piper, holding her whip ready. “Taking on four will be a challenge. Milo, I’ll need your help.”

“I’m ready,” I say. 

“Milo?” asks Piper after a moment’s pause.

“I said, ‘I’m ready,’” I repeat.

Aaron’s head whips around, his eyes passing right over me, then he shouts, “Milo?!”

“Aaron, I’m right here!” I say, annoyed. I know the sounds of battle are loud, but were only six feet apart.

“We don’t have time to find him; he’ll be alright,” says Piper.

“Guys, I’m right next to—”

“They can’t hear you,” says a voice behind me.

I turn on my heel and am face-to-face with a tall, pale, dark-haired man. I’ve never met him before, but I know immediately who he is.

“Malexis,” I say. He smiles and opens his mouth to speak, but I don’t give him a chance. I summon up my will and throw my hands forward, sending a blast of pure white energy at him, but it misses because he’s suddenly three feet to the right. Piper was right; he can move in the blink of an eye.

I hear Aaron scream behind me and turn. He’s on the ground, a Hellion baring at him. Piper is too busy fighting two to see he’s in trouble. The fourth appears to be gazing at the stars.

I move forward to help Aaron, but Prince Krayden beats me to it. He incants, slamming his foot on the ground. Three spikes of rock emerge, pinioning the Hellion between them, crushing it. When the spikes recede back into the Earth, the Hellion’s dust corpse floats on to Aaron.

“You wouldn’t have been able to do anything anyway,” says Malexis. I jump, turn and take several steps from him. He was so close, I could feel his lips brush against the back of my ear.

“What did you do to me?” I ask. “Why can’t they hear me?”

“I’ve siphoned off just enough power from the nexus to cloak us. They can’t see, hear, or interact with you. I just want to talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you and I don’t want to hear what you have to say unless it’s, ‘I surrender, take me away.’”

Malexis lets out a soft chuckle that somehow raises the hair on the back of my neck and fills my chest with warmth at the same time.

“I’m here to help you, Milo, but we don’t have long. This type of cloaking is difficult and if I keep it up too long, I’ll be unable to hold back our common enemy. He’s always there, just on the horizon, waiting for his chance to strike.”

“Who is?”

“Ah, ah, ah,” says Malexis, waggling a finger at me. “All in due time. I had hoped you would be able to stop Phoebe before she rose the Hellions. Now, it’s all up to you. You can defeat them. All of them.”

“How? And why would you help me?”

“As I told Piper: I need you. I need your potential. You see, Milo, you are in the beginning phases of becoming a paragon.”

“I know. I overheard you through a communication phial. I reversed it.”

“You were able to manipulate another witch’s magic and subvert it for your own means? You’re even farther along than I thought you were.”

I realize he’s right. I didn’t enchant that phial. What I did would take extraordinary magic.

“You’ve displayed your potential before,” Malexis explains, “in similar circumstances. When Zelda tried to kill Aaron, you released your potential for the first time, but you weren’t ready for it. Subverting Piper’s magic was just another, small way of doing it. Canceling this spell is your next test.”

“Test?”

“Yes, Milo. Everything I’ve done, every task I’ve led Phoebe in, has been about you. About getting you to this point.”

“You created the Red Hand?”

“Oh, no. If I had, they wouldn’t have failed. I only started guiding Phoebe when she first left the throne room. She called out to me, asked me for help. When she described what you did, I knew what you were. She just thought Piper cast some kind of spell, granting you power you couldn’t control. But I knew you were like me. On your way to become a paragon.”

I hear Aaron call out again and turn. He’s backed away from a Hellion, a bleeding mark on his face. 

I feel Malexis behind me before he speaks.

“Watch him,” he says. “Watch the love of your life, your husband, your everything, as he fights a futile battle.”

He isn’t wrong about it being futile. Four Hellions are approaching him now. Oswald, who stands nearby, fights alongside a Ur’ali soldier, but they’re outnumbered. Exavier, near the edge of the clearing, has to step over a fallen Midoorian, trying to keep distance from six Hellions bearing down on him. Nobody can hear his cries for help. Piper, her face drenched in sweat, swings her whip, slashing open as many Hellions’ chests as she can, making openings for the soldiers around her.

For every one Hellion our side kills, two of ours die.

My eyes find Aaron. I’ve never seen him this afraid before. Is it for himself, or for me? Is he wondering where I am right now, though I’m only a few feet away from him? Is he wondering if he’s going to die, leaving Theo without a father? Is he wondering if Theo, Riley, his mother, and all of our citizens are going to die by Phoebe’s army?

Because that’s what I’m thinking about as I turn back to Malexis.

“Tell me what to do,” I say.

“You might not be able to feel your potential yet, so I’m going to slip you some of mine. Don’t worry, not enough to do anything more than show you where it hides within.”

Malexis takes a step closer to me, though he was less than a foot away. I don’t flinch when he brings a finger to my chin and lifts my head so I’m looking him dead in the eyes. I’m not ready for his lips to be pressed against mine. I thought his skin would be cold, but his touch is warm, like a blanket hanging in the sun.

As I close my eyes, I feel energy leak from him and trickle into myself and feel a well of power I didn’t know was there burn to life. I open my eyes and Malexis is gone.

“Milo!” shouts Aaron. I turn to him. “Where have you—” But he stops speaking, looking at my face. Two Hellions grab him and he roars in pain as the fire scalds his flesh. I flick my hands open, directing them at the Hellions and the explode into dust.

A small portion of Malexis’s potential leaves me. I know I have to use the rest to destroy every Hellion in the clearing. I take several steps back, Aaron’s eyes still trained on me, and clap.

The clap echoes within the clearing and time seems to stand still. Every eye turns to me and every face reflects the expression on Aaron’s face. Awestruck, mixed with fear.

A glow starts between my hands, pressed together. I begin to pull them apart, and a light like a blinding white sun stretches between them. I clap my hands together and pull them apart quickly, sending the searing power of my potential exploding from them. The shockwave sweeps over the clearing.

Hundreds of screeching, wailing, cries of agonized torment ring out, a discordant symphony of torment as every single Hellion. All 314—for I can count them now, swept up in the might of my potential—die in unison. With an downward flourish of my hands, I send the dust cloud that was once our greatest threat to the Earth below, inert, harmless. Dead.

“No!” Phoebe shouts as I feel the last vestiges of Malexis’s potential fade away. But I still feel mine. Not the entirety of it, but it’s a new well of power I can access when I need.

The Midoorians and Ur’ali surround us, standing here and there among the dead. I glance quickly around and see there are eight Midoorian soldiers, not counting Aaron, Oswald, Exavier, Mulan, Piper, or myself, and a handful of Ur’ali soldiers, including Prince Krayden, still alive. The Ur’ali outnumber us, but they had more magical practitioners. 

We all turn to Phoebe, sure she’ll be looking at me, angry at me for what I did. But the sight before me makes my blood run cold. Malexis stands before Phoebe, his hand buried in her chest. With a violent tug, he rips her heart from her body and she falls backward.

“No!” yells Piper, echoing her sister’s previous shout. She runs forward and drops to Phoebe’s side. 

Phoebe is still alive, somehow, but breathing raggedly. The heart in Malexis’s hand is glowing and beating loudly enough for me to hear.

“I’m sorry, sister,” says Phoebe. “I’m sorry for Corinth. I always did what I thought was best.”

“Why? Why did you have to do it, Phoebe? We could have done something else.”

“I just wanted them to pay for what they did…to us…”

“Phoebe, stay with me, please.” Piper looks up at Malexis. “Give it back! Give me her heart!”

“No can do,” says Malexis. “This was the price of Phoebe’s failure. We made a deal. I tell her how to raise an army to defeat Midoor and she does so. If not, I get her power.”

“Sister,” Phoebe says weakly. “I love you.”

“How touching,” says Malexis. 

I step forward, reaching down into that well of potential. It’s harder to find without Malexis’s helping hand, but I dip into.

“Ah, ah, ah,” says Malexis, stalling me. I don’t know where it came from, but he’s holding a long, acid-green phial.

“That’s the phial, Milo. If he breaks it—”

“Theo dies,” Aaron finishes in a dark voice.

I don’t release my hold on my potential. Instead, I use it, waving my hand, and sending a small wave of energy into the phial. It glows brightly, then dulls to clear, then shatters.

“There. It can’t hurt Theo now,” I say, sure Malexis will be angry and start to prepare myself for a fight, but Malexis starts laughing.

“Yes, Milo, yes! Everything is going according to plan!”

“You wanted me to destroy the phial?” I ask.

“Of course. That phial was never about blackmailing Piper. I knew she’d tell you about it. I wanted you to destroy it, to practice touching your potential. I told you, Milo, this is all about you. About your potential.”

“I’ll never let you steal my power,” I say.

“Oh, Milo, I need your power right where it is. If I take it, my dark potential will infect your light potential. I need both to get our revenge.”

“What do you mean, ‘our revenge’?”

“In due time, Milo, in due time. But first…”

He grabs a fistful of his dark shirt and pulls, ripping it from his body. Even in my numb disbelief, I can’t help but admire him. He’s ripped, even more so than Aaron. Lean with a body sculpted by the Gods themselves. His abs are thrown into sharp relief by the eerie lights around the clearing.

He draws a finger down the middle of his chest, leaving a cut, though no blood seeps out, then pulls his skin aside to reveal a horrible sight: inside his chest under a pure white skeletal ribcage beats a large mass of hearts, all clumped together beneath the bones. He places Phoebe’s heart inside and begins to push his chest closed.

“Phoebe!” shouts Piper, shaking her sister, but it’s obvious she’s dead. Piper screams out in rage and jumps to her feet, holding her hands out toward Malexis. She shouts an incantation and white blue flames erupt from her palms.

Malexis screams in agony and tries to step away from Piper. His foot catches on a dead body and he falls over backward. Piper’s spell ends and she lets out a heavy breath. Clearly, this new spell was far powerful than her normal fire.

Malexis lays on his back, his skin black in places, and peeling. He’s groaning even though his skin is already healing.

“Piper, hit him with it again!” shouts Aaron.

Piper starts to raise her hands again, but Malexis vanishes in the blink of an eye.

*Aaron*

We return to Kr’fait. As Milo promised, the phial did nothing to Theo. I find him safe and sound in Olivia’s arms, the phial Piper made still glowing. Though we decided moving the bodies of our soldiers can wait until morning, Piper transported Phoebe’s body somewhere. She wants to bury her sister in peace. I don’t blame her, nor do I blame her for being upset at her sister’s death.

I would most certainly have ordered her execution anyway. How could I have done otherwise, with all the pain and misery she inflicted on everyone around her? But to die like that? Nobody deserves that.

Milo and I enter the throne room to find Queen Allandra sitting upon her throne, completely naked. 

“We’re not taking our clothes off this time,” I tell her. “Phoebe Dylan is dead. Please give us the Sword of All and we’ll head straight back to Midoor.”

“You don’t seem happy about your victory over the witch,” says Allandra, standing up and striding toward us.

“We have a much bigger enemy to worry about now,” says Milo. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, we just want to go home. We’ve handed some transportation phials to our Magical Corps soldiers and they’ll help you bring your dead back here to Kr’fait in the morning before transporting ours back to Midoor. As for Aaron, Olivia, Theo, and me, we’re leaving tonight.”

“Yes, Krayden told me about the paragon. If it is true that we have a foe such as he on our doorstep, it is only through true unity we can stand against him. That is why I come before you, my emperor, in the nude.” Allandra drops to her knee and looks up at me. “I swear fealty to you, Emperor Aaron, and am honored to join the Ur’ali with the Empire of Theo. We will not, however, change our laws to suit yours.”

“You have no laws I want to change, Allandra,” I say, waving for her to stand up. I’m glad she’s joining the empire, but I feel numb. The Sword of All, which can cut through magic, would have been instrumental against the Hellions. It would have been instrumental against Phoebe. Against Malexis? What can we do against a demigod?

Then, I look to Milo. At least we have one of our own, but that power terrifies me. The look on Milo’s face when he was, to use his words, touching his potential was scary. It was the same face he’d worn when he tried to kill Zelda what feels like a million years ago.

“So,” says Allandra, standing up. “Now you’ve got the Lower Reach, Sandalia, the Ur’ali, and Midoor within your empire. That’s quite a lot to handle.”

“I’m going to make my sister Queen of Midoor upon my return. I have to focus all my efforts on fighting Malexis. Hopefully, we can convince King Mennite to join us as well. If we all pool our resources, maybe we can stop him.”

“You have the might of the Ur’ali on your side, emperor. Many of my people will not like that we have joined you, but I am hopeful they will see the benefits. After all, Mother knows best.”

*Malexis*

Malexis appears on the floor of his lair, a cave deep in the Lower Reach. Parts of his flesh are melted or blackened, peeling from his body. On his left side, a large section is burned away entirely, though his hearts are undamaged.

“That was…clever of you,” says Malexis to the empty cave, climbing laboriously to his feet. He stumbles to a chair near a desk littered with books and papers. Sitting down hard on the wooden chair, he begins running his hands over the ruined flesh, leaving it whole and unblemished in their wake.

“But not clever enough, I’m afraid.” He takes a deep breath as he regrows the skin on his side and, once whole, snaps his fingers. A glass and a bottle full of amber liquid appear. He pours a healthy measure into the glass and throws it back, swallowing it down in one.

“I know what you did, you know, but it won’t help you. I’ll still win. You think you can regain control, but you can’t. You’re nothing.

“There’s no one who has the power to stop me now. Not Aaron, not Piper, not Milo.” He pours another glass and takes a sip, then he lifts his middle finger and points it to the ceiling, letting out a soft chuckle.

“And not even you, Mr. Author.”

---

Author's Note:

Sorry about the delay with this chapter. We had a really bad storm here last night that affected my internet, so I couldn't post it. 

-Ottie