Chapter 15: The Shadow's Gambit - Chapter Twelve

Lucinda glanced at the door behind her before focusing back on the King while he sat at his desk. After a few moments of silence, he leaned forward, putting his elbows on the desk. The King put his hands together before looking over at the two of them.

“Alexis, why should I believe you this time?” he asked, glancing over at her as she still stayed a tad behind Lucinda.

Alexis kept her eyes focused away from her father, looking at a shelf of different-sized books and papers before answering his question with arms crossed. “How about the fact that I am your daughter? I finally have him back in my life, and I can bring him back to yours. When did you stop trusting me?”

Lucinda took off her gloves as she watched the two, staying silent.

“You forced me to question my trust in you when you acted without fair judgment and led me to banish you. If you were not my daughter and a princess, then you would have had a fate worse than banishment. And Lucinda, I thought you would be more levelheaded than to come here on Grace’s birthday.”

Lucinda moved closer, placing her gloves down on the desk in front of the King before looking back at Alexis. Taking a long breath, she looked between the two of them. “I know this is not ideal, but please talk to your daughter, and I will find Kota. That will help settle this once and for all.”

The red-headed mender secured her mask to her face and then stopped in front of Alexis. Looking into her eyes, she smiled for a second, meeting her gaze as she moved toward the door.

“Please make haste, Lucinda. We do not want others to come looking for me with Alexis here,” the King said as he watched her close the door behind her.

Lucinda placed her back against the door before rubbing her temple with her right hand. She moved off the wood, then put her hand down at her side, mumbling as she walked back toward the party, “I might just let the curse consume him after this. Here I go, saving him from a prison cell, only for him to get lost in his own castle, the careless fool.”

“Did you say something, miss?” A voice from in front of her echoed along the hall. Lucinda jumped as she looked up, promptly seeing a figure moving toward her and asking another question. “Why are you away from the party?”

Lucinda saw a familiar smile under those brown eyes and that wavy, short brown hair. He stood there wearing a formal red robe, tilting his head as she looked at him.

“Just needed some air from the festivities. It is quite the party for the princess.”

He examined her face as she smiled at him. “Only Grace would have such an elegant party to bring together the family again during trying times like these. She has a heart of gold, wouldn’t you say, Lucinda?”

Lucinda smiled again as she crossed her arms. “I would agree with you, Arvind. It has been troubling times as of late.”

Arvind squared his stance in reaction to her posture as he asked her with a demanding tone, “Now, what are you doing here? They banished Princess Alexis from this kingdom not too long ago.”

“You said it yourself, Arvind, Princess Alexis Winters, daughter and sister to those I have gotten close to since Kota’s disappearance, was banished. I am merely here to pay my respects to Grace and check in on the family for Alexis,” Lucinda explained, uncrossing her arms and reaching out to poke him in his left shoulder. “Any more questions?”

Looking down at his shoulder, Arvind sneered as she brought her arm back and folded her hands in her stomach. Walking past her, he ignored her, but then asked another question. “You would not know where the King went, would you? He seemed off during his speech and came this way abruptly.”

Lucinda shook her head as she turned away from him. “I went out for air on the balcony to the left. I heard footsteps but did not investigate further. Try down to the right. He might not be far.”

After nodding, he turned and moved down the hallway in the direction Lucinda had indicated. Stopping at the end of the hall, he turned toward her and smiled. “Give Alexis my thoughts. Hopefully, she is still safe and not doing anything too drastic.”

Smiling and nodding her head, Lucinda clenched her fist as he turned the corner. She was about to say something under her breath when she saw a door in the hallway closer to the party open a crack. Moving closer to it bit by bit, she left no sound of footsteps on the flagstone floor. She leaned up against the door and pressed her ear closer to the opening, hearing footsteps.

After pausing for a second, she placed her hand on the door before pushing it open silently, not wanting to make her presence known. She had moved into the room when someone reached around the door, grabbed her hand, and pulled her inside. She stumbled forward, then regained her balance. Lucinda quickly turned to see the figure dressed in similar clothes to Kota’s, but more elegant in design, and blue instead of red.

“I am surprised to see you here. So, what are you up to, Lucinda?” asked the tall, black-haired figure as he turned around, smiling at her with his blue eyes.

Lucinda took a step forward before she ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his body for a hug. After a second, he returned with an equal embrace. As she released him, she gushed, “William! I haven’t seen you since Alexis was banished. I have quite a few stories for you, but now is not the time.”

“I never thought you would get this dressed up for anything, but then again, I didn’t think I would see you or my sister for a longer period.” He paused as he leaned back against the door, crossing his arms as he continued with a question. “You didn’t allow her to come tonight, did you?”

Lucinda hesitated for a second, as she was unsure how to answer his question.

“Sometimes I wonder whether you can ever say no to her. Lucinda, my family has entrusted you with keeping her safe and out of trouble. This is quite the opposite of that, wouldn’t you say?”

Lucinda walked up to him, placing her finger on his chest, feeling his sternum. “I do not have time for a lecture, William. Tonight is more important than some banishment or even your disapproval. Kota is alive, and he is here tonight.”

“Wait, he is truly alive? I knew if anyone could find more information about his actual condition, it would be you two.” He paused, thinking for a second before asking, “You said he was here tonight, right? Why hasn’t he just shown himself and proved he is alive?”

Lucinda turned and walked a few steps away as she told him about the events of the forest and the betrayal by the adviser Arvind. As she told him about the plans for tonight, he shook his head. “This news is troubling, but it confirms some suspicions I have had about Arvind and others within the castle. Father will need to know about this.”

“Wait, you believe me just like that? Your father was more skeptical,” said Lucinda in disbelief. She watched his face as she moved closer to the door and him.

William smiled. “You have never given me a reason not to, and I do not have my father’s skepticism against you. Since Kota’s disappearance and Alexis’s banishment, he checks facts and evidence before acting.”

“Unfortunately, this mysterious woman has caused your family a great deal of misfortune and trouble, but soon you will be a family again. We will figure out the next step once we find Kota.”

Lucinda smiled at William as he stepped to the side and opened the door. Holding on to the handle, he smiled. “It wouldn’t be Kota if he weren’t in some kind of trouble. Once we find him, we can start putting the pieces of our family back together. Are you sure it was a good idea to leave the two of them alone together?”

Pushing the door open, Lucinda turned toward him. “We have nothing to fear. They can be civil for a few minutes.”

Suddenly, there was a loud noise, sounding like something massive falling over. The two of them dashed through the hallway in the King’s direction. As William reached for the door handle, they heard sounds of a struggle inside. The two of them jumped back as a spike of ice was thrust through the top of the door, aimed upward.

“What the hell is going on?” William demanded. “I thought you guys were here to talk to Father, not fight him.”

He tried to open the door, but it would not budge due to the ice spike. William put more of his weight into it as he tried pulling.

“We are,” Lucinda replied. “Something must be wrong. There are more people in there than just those two.”

It budged to some extent as Lucinda looked around the area to find something substantial to break the ice. She saw a suit of armor. Running over, she reached for the sword around its waist. After she had pulled the weapon out of the sheath, she turned around, ready to break the ice, but then she looked down and saw only a hilt, with no blade. Grunting in frustration, she turned back around and grabbed the helm of the armor before running back over to William at the door.

“Move back,” she demanded as she raised the helm above her head, smacking the ice with the metal.

She hit the helm against the ice, and after a few hits, the ice shattered. As the tip fell to the ground with a thud, William moved Lucinda out of the way before trying the door again. The door creaked and gradually moved open as they heard another crash on the other side. Lucinda grabbed the handle as well, and they ripped the door open together. Looking at where the ice had gone through the door, Lucinda recognized the figure pierced by the ice as a puppet they had faced before in Asana. Moving around his body, Lucinda and William saw Alexis throwing aside another character.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“I have seen these before in Asana Prison, when we broke Kota out,” Lucinda said. “They are puppets, which means…”

She stopped, looking around the room as the air itself appeared frozen with how cold it was within the room. Lucinda saw the puppets around the room thrown in half and shattered. Then, without haste, she maneuvered herself behind the desk and crouched down.

Lucinda and William moved around the remains of the puppets, and they saw the King’s body, lifeless and limp, in Alexis’s arms. She looked up at the two of them with tears in her eyes. “There were too many of them… the blade.” She closed her eyes and dropped her head down onto her father’s face.

Lucinda watched as William crouched next to her, grabbing his father’s hands in his own. He looked up at Alexis as he placed his head on her shoulder. Lucinda stood there, unsure what to say or do. Then she turned, seeing the different puppets sprawled around the room. She counted four, including the one pinned against the door. She breathed heavily, thinking about what had happened as she watched her breath form in front of her mouth. At last, she turned away from the two of them, thinking of what to do next.

----------------------------------------

Sonya stood there with the small flickers of fire on her fingers, staring at Kota and the two figures standing over him as she took a step closer. Cordelia raised her right hand toward Sonya while reaching for the small knife with her other hand. “Don’t come any closer unless you want Kota here to lose an ear.”

Sonya looked at the three of them before taking another step closer. She moved the fire over her fingers. “Well, he was never a good listener, anyway.”

Cordelia held the knife down to his ear as the behemoth kept him pressed against the table. The table cracked again as Kota yelled, “Hilarious, but please do not test her! She already broke my arm once because she thought I was annoying her.”

“I dislocated your shoulder. Do not blow things out of proportion,” Cordelia replied to his comment, eyes locked on the fire caller.

Kota took his eyes from Sonya and looked back at Cordelia with a puzzled look.

Cordelia could feel his glare, so under her black mask, she looked back at him. “What? I did not break your arm, just popped your shoulder out. It was a quick mending fix.”

Kota continued to look at her while she refocused on Sonya, who asked, “What do you want from him now? Didn’t you have your fun over the last year with him? You had him in shackles and everything. Couldn’t get what you wanted from an unconscious man?”

Kota struggled again against the behemoth’s grip, so he lifted Kota and slammed him back onto the table. This left a visible dent in the table as it bent in the middle, and splinters of wood stuck up on either side of Kota. His teeth gritted as he coughed, feeling the pain in his chest.

“Now, Kota, be still while the grown-ups talk,” said Cordelia, patting his cheek with the side of the blade before continuing. “Kota and I have some unfinished business.”

“Well, I have one question. If I like your answer, I will leave you to him,” said Sonya, gently making the flames dance in her hand.

Cordelia nodded in agreement as Kota lifted his head, meeting her gaze. She held the knife carefully in his line of sight. Placing the blade on his lips, she smiled. “What did I say? Let your so-called friend ask her question.”

“Do you know of a man named Ordell? I assume you are well connected to stay in the shadows this long in this kingdom,” said Sonya, observing Cordelia to see how she would respond. “I have been tracking him for some time now.”

Cordelia moved the blade away from Kota and turned her gaze away for a second in thought before looking at Sonya to answer her question. “The name rings a bell, but I am only in this kingdom for a specific reason. Maybe if you help me with what I want, I can help you with the quest for him.”

Sonya began spinning the fire in her hand as she looked down at Kota, who was staring back at her with questioning eyes. Kota could feel the wood underneath him shift as he struggled again. She smiled at him as she turned her attention toward Cordelia. “As much as that offer tempts me, I was offered the same deal by the prince here. He hasn’t been a thorn in my side like you have.”

While Cordelia thought about her response, Kota shifted his right hand under his back and grabbed a splinter of wood about the size of a dagger. Cordelia was about to respond when Kota raised his hand and jammed the small chunk of wood into the behemoth’s hand. He grunted as his grip loosened around the straps in reaction to the pain. In one swift move, Kota used his legs to kick off the behemoth, pushing them both in opposite directions, and Kota fell off the table and onto the floor. As soon as he hit the ground, a massive fireball flew across the room and smashed into the table, scattering flaming pieces of wood across the room.

Sonya rushed over and picked Kota up off the ground, standing beside him. He looked over at her hand as the burnt remains of her glove fell to the floor. He kept an eye on Cordelia, regaining her balance against the other table, while he spoke to Sonya. “You seriously had me going there for a second.”

Sonya closed her hand and opened it, steam coming from the pores on her palm. Breathing gently, she pushed herself in front of Kota. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Kota’s eyes before telling him, “We can discuss this later. For now, we have to deal with these two.”

Kota nodded as he watched Sonya create a small ember in each of her hands. Bending down, she placed her hands along the hem of her dress, deliberately burning it away until it was closer to her knees. Cordelia cracked her neck, then reached down and tore her dress from the hem to her knee on the right side, tying it up in a similar length to Sonya’s.

Kota turned to see the behemoth getting up off the ground next to the window. He looked around and noticed the knife was on the ground instead of in Cordelia’s hand. As he ran at the behemoth, he picked up the knife and lunged, aiming the blade at the giant’s chest.

The behemoth blocked the knife, knocking Kota’s hand off to the side, but Kota repositioned himself for another strike. It lunged forward with his fist aimed at Kota’s head, but he ducked underneath, swiping the blade at the figure’s forearm. He moved a step backward as the figure reacted to the cut, looking down at his arm and seeing the black blood fall to the ground. Flipping the blade so he was holding it alongside his arm, Kota moved back and forth before the figure growled and lunged toward him.

Kota dodged the attack before slicing another part of his arm. The behemoth grunted again before swinging his arm down at his target. He scarcely stepped out of the way in time, but left another cut on the behemoth’s arm. Kota smiled as he quickly saw the behemoth’s arm come straight from the ground. He blocked the attack as his hands reared up, knocking him in the face, and he stepped back because of the force in the strike.

Regaining his balance, he shook his head, refocusing on his target as Sonya bumped into him. She looked over, seeing him with a weapon, and grabbed Kota’s wrist before turning back to Cordelia. Moving him to her left, she used his momentum to push him in Cordelia’s direction. “Switch.”

Before Kota protested, he caught his balance and stood still a few feet in front of Cordelia. Kota held the knife along his arm before moving a step away, waiting for her to react to his presence. She smiled as he lunged toward her, swiping the knife sideways at her chest. He missed her as she moved back easily. Kota took a step back, monitoring her movements.

“Do you truly think this will go any differently than it did before?”

“Maybe if you stand still a bit…” Kota lunged again, only for her to move a step back, dodging the attack effortlessly.

This time, Kota did not move back. He took a step forward, swiping the blade back at her, aiming for her head, only for her to duck beneath the knife. Kota used his momentum, grabbing the knife with both hands and spinning around in place. He used his weight to bring the blade down to her chest. Cordelia suddenly raised her hands, blocking the blade with both her hands on his wrist, but the force he exerted kept her kneeling on the ground. She tightened her grip around his right wrist with her left hand as she moved her right hand away and went to punch his side.

Kota caught her hand in his left hand. He shifted his feet, and they moved to each other to switch places. Kota got into a better position, and he tried to force the blade down upon her. Kota felt the curse on his hand spread as his fingers tightened around hers. Cordelia kept her focus on the blade, but with his grip tightening, she winced in pain, and there was an audible cracking noise coming from her hand.

He tried to ignore the pain in his left arm as he moved the blade closer to her, and she loosened her grip on his wrist. The blade inched closer as she tightened her grip again, twisting his wrist sideways, forcing him to drop the knife to the ground beside them.

She jumped off the ground, and as she fell to the ground, his body followed hers. With her back against the ground, she flipped him over herself. His grip loosened, letting him soar through the air before crashing to the ground near his ally.

Sonya glanced down before raising her knee and, with a sweep of her leg, fire spread across the air. The flames slashed against the air, following her foot, making the behemoth move back away from the two of them. She intuitively crouched over Kota and lifted him by his shoulder, getting him to stand. “Kota, are you all right?”

“It’s my arm. It’s spreading, and I can’t open my hand,” he said, wincing in pain as he kept his balance leaning against the windowsill.

Cordelia and the behemoth stood in front of them, only ten feet away. Sonya glanced down at Cordelia as she grabbed her own wrist. She glanced back at Kota, who began opening his hand, slowly struggling against the curse.

“I don’t think we can win this fight even with that woman injured,” Sonya told him. “We have to find a way out of here.”

Kota nodded.

Sonya brought her hands together, cupping her palms over her mouth. She took a deep breath, then breathed into her hands, and visible embers appeared through the cracks between her fingers. She took one final breath as she moved her hands away from her mouth, spreading the embers through the air in front of them. The embers floated in the air, visible to all, as the behemoth moved forward. An ember touched his arm and caused him to wince in pain as it burned his flesh on contact. Cordelia reached down, picking up a piece of the broken table, and swatted an ember piece falling toward her, but the wood ignited into a small fire at just the touch.

“Clever girl,” said Cordelia as she dropped the wood, glancing over at the two of them before continuing. “Like you, I do not need a weapon to get my target.”

She placed her right arm against the black fabric across her stomach before taking in a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she reared her left arm back, and small sparks filled the surrounding space of her right palm.

“Do you trust me?” Kota asked Sonya, looking around before focusing on the window behind them.

Without another thought, Kota quickly turned to unlatch the window, opening it as Sonya wrapped her arms around him. The two of them jumped out of the window as Cordelia threw her arm forward. The lightning bolt hit the wall beside the window, causing the bricks to explode in Kota and Sonya’s direction as they fell.

Reaching out his right hand, Kota grabbed a flag hanging under the window as Sonya still clung to him. The weight of the two of them caused the flag to rip, only stopping their fall for a split second. Sonya glanced at the wall as they fell, seeing a window below them. As they passed the window, she threw her palm away from the castle. With her calling, she created a spout of fire from her hand that forced the two of them back toward the castle wall, crashing them through the window as the debris smashed to the ground below them.

Kota braced as he hit the floor, wrapping his arms around Sonya to protect her from the impact. Rolling twice, the two came to a stop, and he opened his eyes, seeing the top of her head as she lay on top of him. Sonya pulled her arms away from him, and Kota noticed her hands burning as her skin steamed. Closing her hands and placing her fists against her stomach, she lifted her torso off him, sitting on his thighs.

She looked around before she met his eyes. Her fists stayed on her stomach before nodding her head to his question. “You did not know a flag was there, did you?”

Smiling through his deep breaths, he focused on her. “Not exactly, but I figured our chances were better than being hit by lightning.”

Giving a small laugh, she shook her head before taking another second to breathe deeply. Then she pushed herself off him and placed her back against a wooden desk. Kota glanced over at the window they had broken through, seeing the broken wood and dust from Cordelia’s attack before closing his eyes in a position of respite.