Chapter Nine

The journey through Pylos is long, but I know it won't hold a candle to how long it'll take me to reach Acadia's castle next. The days blur into each other, the air gets hotter, the mountains more jagged and craggy. I don't see Invictis in all of my dreams; those nights are scattered throughout.

I'm exhausted. I start hiking before sunrise most days and stop for the night well after the sun goes down. Anything I can do in an effort to make the journey as quick as possible. I ration my food and water; there are some rivers and creeks that flow through the mountains, but it takes me well off the main road to reach them most times, which only adds to the length of the journey.

It is, surprisingly but thankfully, a mostly uneventful trek. I don't run into any obscenely large blighted animals that I have to run from. A few smaller ones here and there, but ones I'm easily able to outmaneuver or swat away. The flock of birds the first week was probably the worst.

Beyond that, it's lonely. It really is. I know I'm used to being alone all the time, but I guess I liked having Rune with me more than I realized.

Invictis.

I don't know how long it'll be until he's at his full strength, if he'll come straight for me the moment he's regained himself or if he'll hang back and watch me from the shadows, let me get close to my goal, and then swoop in. Either way, I know it's only a matter of time until I see him in person again, and when I do, I won't have any way of defending myself.

In other words, I'll be fucked, but until then, I'm going to do my best. That's all I can do.

I'm going to be honest, a large part of me thought I wouldn't make it to the castle nestled amongst the mountains in Pylos, but the day that castle and its surrounding city come into view, I feel relieved.

Relieved, excited, and maybe even a bit hopeful.

After following the winding pathway that zigzags through the mountains like a switchback trail, I make it to the doors built into the outer wall of the city. I lean my head back and gaze up at the wall that must be at least three to four stories tall, and I can't help but wonder what it was like before Invictis came and fucked everything up.

All because some people found him, put him together again, and ordered him to destroy Laconia, thanks to some old war.

I mean, sure, I haven't spoken to many beyond the council and Frederick—and they do have more pressing matters to worry about, like these damn woes—but I do wonder just how far back that war was.

The doors are closed, and without magic it's the opposite of easy for me to get through them. Let's just say it takes a lot of body-slamming for the door on the right to budge, and when it does I'm only able to open it enough to slip in.

The sun hot above my head, the city surrounding the castle brings me a sense of déjà vu. It feels as though I was just here, on a mission to hurt Gladus for what her so-called soldiers did to Laconia. Tit for tat. I wanted to hurt her because her magic had hurt Prim.

And in the end, her magic killed Prim.

The castle in Pylos is more than four times as tall as anything else; I can pretty much see it no matter where I am, so I use it as a guide since I can't fling myself to rooftops and parkour like I did before. I follow the empty streets, make a few wrong-turns where I wind up in a dead-end street and have to turn back and try again.

It's strange, being here again, knowing more of the history. The silence of the city used to unnerve me, but now I know what to expect, so it doesn't bother me as much. I guess I got used to being the only person around.

It takes me a long time, but I finally make it to the colosseum that sits just before the stone bridge—AKA the only way to reach the castle. When I see the mounds of charred bones, the piles of people that were not so lucky, I'm not shocked or surprised, not like the first time. I do still feel bad for them, though. An end like that… it's not something anyone deserves.

Walking around the outer ring of the colosseum, I do my best to avoid stepping on any of the bones. I make it to the land bridge and start walking across it. If I say my anxiety isn't through the roof as I approach Pylos's grand castle, I'd be the worst kind of liar. Truth is, I don't know what to expect.

I don't know where the undercroft is or what kind of guardian I'll face. Fred was certain it'll recognize me and let me in, but what if it doesn't? There's no way to know for sure. And that only comes into play if I can find the damn thing; I can assume the door is somewhere on the lowest floor of the castle. It is called the undercroft, and that means it has to be below everything, right?

The wind picks up when I'm about halfway across the stone bridge, and as I push forward, I glance up at the castle's spire-like towers. The tallest was where I fought Gladus. It had no ceiling and hardly any walls, so she could summon storms and bring forth lightning freely.

I remember the fight like it was yesterday. How enraged she sounded, how hateful. Now that I know the truth, it makes me think: just how much of that hatred and rage belonged to Invictis? How badly was Empress Gladus twisted from her true self?

And why the hell didn't I react the same with Invictis?

I reach the castle doors and push inside, and the moment they swing shut, the sound of the whipping wind stops.

Time to get searching.

The lowest floor of the castle is a library. Its ceiling is much higher than the library in Laconia. If I have to guess, I'd say this castle holds double, if not triple the amount of books. There's no telling how much history Laconians have forgotten. It's a sad thing. If we can't learn from our own history, then aren't we doomed to repeat it? I think that's what some people say, and looking around at the state of this kingdom, with Invictis hiding in the shadows while he regains his true strength, it rings true.

I search the library, going through the tall stacks one by one. The whole place is like a maze; so many tall bookcases, I'm in awe they're all so full and none of them have fallen over.

I bet Frederick and his dad would love to spend time here, get lost in these books for weeks. Or, more likely, years with how many there are in here.

I can't say how much time passes, how long I'm there, searching through the library that's more like a labyrinth, when I hear a sound that cuts through the silence of the place. A sound that I recognize, but it's so random that I have to stop and wonder if my mind made it up.

Was that… a meow ?

I leave the row of bookcases I'm in and step out into one of the main walkways of the library, and when I do, I spot a cat sitting about ten feet away, to my left. A beautiful bluish-gray cat with unnatural silver eyes. Besides the eyes, nothing looks uncanny about it, but still, it might be infected with the blight, so I need to be careful.

Slowly, I approach the cat, studying it as I step forward. No bones peeking out, no crazed look in its eyes; it's literally just a cat. A cat with a gorgeous coat and strikingly unusual eyes. It watches me while I watch it, though its serious gaze is interrupted by a yawn, and it flashes me its sharp, intact teeth.

Holy shit. It really is a cat.

I drop to my knees once I'm two feet away and extend a hand. "Hey, there," I say in my best cat voice. People who don't have cats or don't like cats just wouldn't get it. "Aren't you the cutest little thing? Where'd you come from?"

The cat meows at me, a short little chirping sound—AKA the most adorable sound I've heard in my freaking life. It stands, stretches its little legs, and closes the distance between us so it can sniff my finger.

"Do you approve?" I ask it.

The cat responds by lowering its head and shoving its forehead against the tip of my finger as it starts to purr.

Oh, God. I forgot how much I love cats.

I rub my finger against its forehead for a few seconds, and then I go in for a full scratch. On its head, around its ears, under its chin. The cat soaks it all in, its purring intensifying, practically deafening.

Smiling at it, I say, "You're so cute. I love you. How have you been surviving here by yourself, buddy? There can't be much to eat." I pull my hand away from its face and go inside my bag, seconds from offering it some of my food.

But before I can, the cat meows at me and trots away.

"Wait!" I call after it as I get to my feet. The cat looks at me, blinks slowly, and then marches on. It walks through the library like it owns the place, pep in its adorable step. That's when it dawns on me. "Are you leading me somewhere?"

The cat chirps at me. Unless I'm going batshit, I swear this cat understands what I'm saying.

It leads me to a part of the library I haven't searched yet. Along the stone wall that makes up the outer edge of the stairwell that goes to the next level of the castle sits a door. Chiseled into the stone, it looks exactly like the one I saw in the library with Frederick and his dad. It's something I would've seen on my last trip here, but I'm almost one hundred percent sure that this wall was just a curved stone wall then, no carved door in sight.

"Holy shit," I whisper in awe as the cat goes to sit at the base of the carving. My gaze drops to the cat. "Are you… are you the guardian?"

The way the cat stares back at me, I swear it's laughing at me.

I chuckle. "You're no ordinary cat, are you?"

The cat literally disappears from my view after that. Like, I literally watch the thing vanish into thin air, and my mouth hangs open in shock. Not what I expected at all. Before I can move an inch, the cat reappears—right in front of my face.

Yeah, as in, the cat is freaking floating . No wings, no visible magic. Just floating.

It meows again, then headbutts its forehead against mine. I chuckle and grab it out of the air. "You are something else, you know that?" I ask the cat as I hold it against me and rub my face against its fur.

Speaking of, that fur is the softest fur I've ever felt in my life. Not hard or itchy or scratchy, just unbelievably soft.

As I hold it, I scratch its cheek and gaze into its silver eyes. "I wonder what your name is," I say. The cat is perfectly at home in my arms; it doesn't try to push away and escape like a normal cat—which, obviously, this creature isn't. It might look like a cat and act a little like a cat, but it's so much more.

I don't know why, but all of a sudden, a name springs to my mind, and I say it aloud, "Thena."

I swear to God, after I say that, the cat smiles at me.

"Thena," I say again, petting the cat some more. "That's your name, isn't it? Don't ask me how I know it, I just… do, I guess." There's literally no explanation for the way that name suddenly popped into my mind, but it's right. I know it is. There isn't an ounce of doubt in me about it.

The cat chirps at me and pops out of my arms. It reappears at the base of the carved door and the next time it blinks, the silver in its eyes glow. Simultaneously, the outline of the door in the stone glows the same hue, and then the door actually swings open for me.

Nothing should be behind it. Nothing but the stone staircase that coils around with the main spire of the castle, but the door opens up to someplace else. Someplace dark.

That's where I have to go.

I glance at the cat, at Thena, the guardian of Pylos's undercroft. Her eyes are no longer glowing, but she watches me expectantly. Who knew my love for cats would come in handy? "Thank you." I give the magical cat one last pet before venturing into the darkness.

It's like stepping into another world. The air inside the library is stale with no movement and old, dusty books, but the moment I cross the dark threshold, I smell nothing but pure, clean air. A soft breeze twirls around me, guiding me forward, and I go on, a stone path underfoot.

I make it maybe ten feet before a pair of magical torches light up, one on either side of me, further illuminating the way. Their flames are an unnatural grayish-white, the tips of the fires flickering with blue—like Gladus's magic.

Every few feet after that, another pair of torches light up, mimicking the first. I glance behind me, where the door to the library should be, but it's not there anymore. It's gone. The last thing I need is to get stuck here, but I can't let it bother me yet. I need to find the aether, fill one of the vials around my neck, and then worry about getting back out.

The path is maybe fifty feet long before it opens up wider to a larger, circular area. More magical torches light up around the circular area, illuminating the dead-end. It seems the undercroft is just a pathway… well, where's the aether?

I stand after the final set of torches on the straight path, right where it starts to open and widen up. I turn and look around. Past the path I'm on, it looks like nothing. A vast emptiness that shouldn't exist. Let's not forget, Pylos's castle was literally built from a mountain, and all around it is sheer drop-offs that go down who knows how far—it's the reason why the only way in the castle is that path from the colosseum.

There's literally no way a place like this can exist, but I guess that's magic for you.

Then I look down, and that's when I see it.

The platform is surrounded by liquid. From where I stand, it looks thick and viscous, similar to the reddish liquid I have in one of the vials, from Magnysia. The sea of liquid expands as far as my eyes can see, until there's no light to reflect off it and it fades away with the darkness above it. The only reason I can see it so well from where I stand is because of all the magical torches that seem to hover in place near the platform.

That must be the aether.

Dropping to my knees, I unscrew one of the vials from its lid on my necklace. Once it's free, I lean over the edge of the stone platform and dip the vial into it, submerging it completely. My fingers get some of the aether on it, but it doesn't sting or anything.

It… actually doesn't really feel like anything. Not like water or something thicker. It is the weirdest thing—though that doesn't really say much since everything is weird in Laconia.

Once all the air bubbles come out of the vial and it's full of Pylos's grayish aether, I remove it from the aether and reattach it to my necklace. That's two down, technically. Only Acadia to go. Maybe I can do this.

But first I need to find a way out of here, and since the door kind of disappeared, it might prove to be a challenge.

I stand and turn around, and the moment I do, I find I'm not alone anymore. Standing at the far end of the wider, circular platform is a woman I never expected to see… because she's dead. I killed her.

Gladus.