Chapter XII

  Despite the little hummingbird that was Leiolai Sartella having flown up the stairs to the third floor right before their brief conversation with Vesh began, Ilirianna found it hovering right around the corner once she finished ascending the steps—confirming her suspicion that it would be waiting for her. A part of her wished she could have remained for a little while longer given how certain she was that, with all three of them fighting, Vesh could be easily taken down, but Ilirianna had a nasty feeling that Tali would flee the second the Princess disobeyed her. If she wanted to talk to the Voice of Rei, that meant doing exactly as was asked of her. That was why, when the hummingbird finally took off down the corridor once more, Ilirianna once again left her full faith in Ryokumo and Album, then pursued her.

  Using wind magic to enhance her movement, the Princess dashed after Leiolai, listening to the sounds of battle below and hoping that everybody was managing to defeat their assigned targets. Loath as she was to admit it, even internally, she had full faith in Nakoma to handle Barron and Uma, especially with Koroha at his side. In regards to Keskivaara, she knew without question that his loss was imminent. Having fought him herself, she knew that he could never hope to match the King of Ijiria. The only battle that made her nervous was the one against Quill Tyrus, for even with Sinna and Nyx at his side, she was worried about Rennigan. He was powerful, but he was being driven by his powerful desire for revenge and severely lacked a sense of self-preservation. If anything was going to go wrong in that fortress, it would be his match with Quill, but like she had just done with Ryokumo and Album, she knew she had no choice but to trust in not only him, but the Masters of Ijiria at his side.

  Rounding a corner, she caught sight of Leiolai disappearing up an elevator shaft, so Ilirianna hopped onto the black disk, cast Ortumo, and began her ascent even further upwards. It was when she reached what she believed to be the sixth level, the highest part of the fortress that wasn’t in the towers, that she saw the bird hovering in front of her once again. Ilirianna sighed as she watched it immediately bolt away, leaving her wondering just how much further she was required to go. As it turned out, they would be climbing even higher, for Leiolai took her to the northern tower’s stairwell and brought her all the way to its eighth level, upon which she saw the changeling disappear through an open door. Ilirianna didn’t hesitate, drawing her right sword from its sheath and filling it with wind mana before stepping into the doorway with the weapon held out diagonally across her body.

  “Must you enter so aggressively? Did Rotana not tell you I only wished to speak?”

  Ilirianna’s eyes, which had been fluttering all around the circular common room, finally settled on the young woman sitting patiently on the brown leather couch, her hands folded on her lap and a knowing smile turning the corner of her lips. The left-hand wall had a large rectangular window that allowed the dim gray lighting of the overcast day to flow into the room, illuminating the right side of Tali’s face while leaving the other side bathed in shadows. She was calm despite the destruction taking place beneath them, leaving Ilirianna once again desperately trying to guess what she knew and what her motivations were.

  “The last time I spoke with you, the meeting location blew up,” Ilirianna stated dryly. “So please forgive me, but I’m not about to lower my guard around you. Just be grateful I’m here at all, Firrik.”

  Tali let out a soft sigh before shrugging almost to herself. “Fair point, and I suppose it doesn’t matter. Seeing as our alliance in Noctalus hasn’t come to pass, neither of us can die yet, so your weapon being sheathed or drawn is truly irrelevant.” There was a momentary flicker of an emotion Ilirianna couldn’t quite identify, mainly because it was gone as quickly as it came, before she recomposed herself. “You can change back now, Leio, and you can take a seat here, Liri.”

  As Tali motioned towards the chair in front of her, the barely visible silhouette of the hummingbird, which had been hovering in the shadows behind Tali’s head, suddenly expanded into the shape of a woman, her bare feet landing on the carpet beneath her as she returned to her normal form. Leiolai didn’t speak as she moved to the opposite side of the room to retrieve what appeared to be a bathrobe that she quickly tossed on over her naked body before walking back to stand at Tali’s side.

  “Good to meet you, by the way, Princess,” Leiolai said softly, bowing her head in what felt like mockery despite the motion being no different from any other bow.

  It was her first time ever meeting Leiolai Sartella despite having heard plenty about her from Abi and Ryokumo, so for a few seconds, she simply observed the young woman, trying to gauge as much information as she could from just her body language and her shadowed facial expressions. Clearly sensing this fact, Leiolai smiled and waited for her to finish. Ilirianna snorted, then took her seat in the spot Tali had indicated before folding her legs and pointing the tip of her drawn sword right towards the Voice’s neck. Despite the blade being barely a few inches from her skin, Tali didn’t so much as flinch.

  “Alright, say your piece,” Ilirianna growled. “As you can clearly hear, I have other things to attend to, so I can’t be wasting my time on the two of you. If I’m dissatisfied, I’ll kill you both without hesitation, so this better be damn good.”

  Tali’s head tilted slightly as her eyes sparkled with amusement, though Ilirianna couldn’t identify what exactly was so amusing to her. “Actually, Liri, I was thinking I’d let you ask your questions first, as I imagine you have quite a few of them. As you know, I’m destined to be your friend, and friends are honest with one another, so whatever it is you ask, I shall answer to the best of my ability.”

  “Is that so?” she grunted, hating the fact that a large part of her actually believed that. And, since she had intended to try and strong-arm information out of this woman anyway, Ilirianna decided she'd cut right to the point. “How much of this battle did you foresee? If you really can see the future, and if that’s how the Kosah-Rei managed to pull off their stunts in Hiriech and Stellareid, then I find it hard to believe we caught you with your pants down. That’s the first thing I want to know.”

  Tali giggled and murmured, “I had a feeling that would be your first question. I foresaw it all, Liri, and in accordance with my visions, I mediated the situation. I was, after all, the one who told the Citadel where we were hiding.”

  Ilirianna’s stomach tightened, for while that sounded preposterous, she had already toyed with the possibility. If Tali knew they were coming because of her foresight, then it wasn’t impossible she’d lure them to Ankalla so she could box them in and annihilate them. They’d all been fearfully anticipating a sudden turnaround like what happened in Stellareid, so Tali’s admission made that seem even more likely. Her thoughts shifted back to Ryokumo and Album, wondering if perhaps they really were in danger, but as if sensing the storm of emotions that had erupted in her, Tali quickly went on.

  “You don’t need to worry. There’s no trick this time.”

  Ilirianna frowned, leaning forward and closing the small gap between her blade and Tali’s neck. Yet again, the Voice didn’t move a muscle, and while Leiolai very clearly tensed up, she kept her mouth shut and remained still at Tali’s side.

  “Then what the hell are you plotting?” Ilirianna spat. “If there’s no trick, then why sell yourself out? Why draw us to your doorstep if you don’t have the means of fighting us off?”

  Her eyes shifted away from the Princess, and all of a sudden, a genuine sadness came over her that felt so real that, even though she initially wanted to accuse her of putting on an act, she couldn’t bring herself to believe such a somber expression was a lie. Tali’s response unsettled her even further.

  “I am a slave. I am a slave to the future.” The remains of her smile vanished as her eyes grew distant, telling her that it was the past, not the future, that she was suddenly pondering. “What I see will come to pass, no matter what I do. Defying my visions only ever makes things worse, and as such, I must allow them to take place. No matter what it is I see. No matter how much I hate it. I am obliged to bow my head, and obey. So when I touched Quill and witnessed his body being shredded into bloody gore by Rennigan Glaus, when I saw Barron alone in the dark with a dagger plunged into his neck, I was left with the knowledge that I was utterly powerless to save them. My luck had finally run out, and in one fell swoop, my army would be taken from me.”

  As she listened to Tali speak, her eyes went wide as she attempted to process what she was saying. Rennigan’s going to kill Tyrus? He’s actually going to manage it? And Kristoff? Koroha and Nakoma are going to beat him? So is there truly no trap? Has Tali actually led her lambs to the slaughter? But…she looks like it's destroying her?

  The Voice appeared as if she were trying to keep herself from crying as she continued to confess her sins. “I do not know what becomes of Rotana and Uma, or even of Keskivaara. I hate it, but I must do it… The fall of the Kosah-Rei will be the catalyst to another movement rising—an evolution of sorts, with you and I at the helm. So as much as it pains me, as much as it makes me want to roll up and die, I obeyed the future, I sold out the Kosah-Rei, and now I sit here with you, ready to make another proposal.”

  Tali raised her head and stared Ilirianna dead in the eyes down the length of the emerald sword. She was mourning, but there was conviction in her demeanor that told Ilirianna she truly had steeled herself for the next step towards the future.

  “Bold of you to think I’d join you after hearing about how easily you tossed aside your previous allies,” she said softly, keeping her arm raised. “As we speak, the Kosah-Rei is getting slaughtered because you told the Citadel where they were. Do you honestly think that, even if I had believed you to begin with, I’d want anything to do with you now? You’re just a traitor—a damn liar.”

  “You’re right,” Tali admitted with a trembling voice. “And if I hadn’t seen the future, I wouldn’t believe it either. But somehow, my sins here in Ankalla aren’t enough to turn you against me. At least, not until after that vision in Noctalus…”

  Ilirianna furrowed her brow, suddenly recalling how, despite Tali saying she had no idea what would happen to him, Vesh had claimed to be present in that vision. “You lied to Vesh, didn’t you? To keep him complacent? To keep him obedient and bold? You were manipulating him.”

  “I was.”

  “And you admit that so easily?”

  “I do.”

  The Princess clenched her teeth with frustration at how blunt her responses were, and desperate to do anything that might even slightly rattle the self-proclaimed Voice of Rei, Ilirianna turned her fury on Leiolai before snarling,

  “And how does this make you feel, huh, Sartella?! She’s admitting just how easily she can abandon you, yet you’re still standing there without a damn thing to say?! She’s admitted to lying to Vesh, and to Kristoff and Tyrus! Does that not mean anything to you?!”

  Despite Ilirianna’s sharp words, the changeling merely shook her head, as if none of what she said held any weight in her eyes. “Not even a little. She can lie to me all she likes. It makes no difference. There’s nothing she can do about it, after all.”

  Rounding back on the Voice, Ilirianna found her still appearing sad. She couldn’t quite get a grasp on Tali, for she seemed remorseful and pained, yet she also didn’t seem to think there was anything that could have been done—as if she truly was powerless to change anything. She saw a vision, she made sure it happened, and then repeated, no matter how much she may have hated what she saw, and evidently, Leiolai had made her peace with this as well. In that case, the massive successes of their assaults on Hiriech and Stellareid were truly no more than dumb luck, and if either had been seen as failures by her foresight, she would have sent the others marching to their dooms with a fake smile plastered on her face as she sobbed in private. It was unnerving, and Ilirianna found herself truly wondering if she should just sever the young woman’s head right then and there.

  It would prove her a fraud, after all.

  If Ilirianna killed her, the vision of Noctalus wouldn’t come to pass, and she could sleep soundly knowing that Tali had been nothing more than a liar. All she had to do was shove her sword a meager five inches forward and it would be over. Even with Leiolai present, there was nothing she could do to Ilirianna in retaliation. The changeling wasn’t a combatant, which meant that Ilirianna could remove two of the six cultists in a handful of seconds.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  And yet…

  “Did you ever find proof of your heritage?” Tali’s question snapped Ilirianna out of her temptations, bringing her back to the conversation at hand whether she liked it or not. “Did you confirm that you are Nakoma Taurus’s bastard daughter?”

  Nausea bubbled up in her stomach, for even though she knew this was an inevitable topic, she hated the fact that she couldn’t deny that Tali had been correct.

  “I did… Yes, I know who my parents truly are… And?”

  “And?” Tali parroted with a wry laugh. “My point has been made then. You asked me back in Stellareid why you would ever rebel against Ijiria when you would one day be its Queen, and I gave you the answer. The throne is not yours. It’s your little sister, Piura’s…”

  Tali was correct, and yet Ilirianna had long since concocted a plan to get around such a thing. “Sure, but if nobody but myself and my parents know this, then it won’t matter. I don’t need Iiji blood to take that throne from Markreas. All I have to do is keep playing my role, and when he finally steps down, I’ll take his place without anybody the wiser. On top of that, I’ve already begun the process of stacking the Masters in my favor. So I don’t need you. I can reform this country from its helm on my own.”

  “Hmm…? That so? In regards to the Masters, you mean Nigreos and Album, yes?” she inquired, to which Ilirianna gave a firm nod.

  “Exactly. In addition, Rennigan will soon be Nyx Rana’s apprentice and Master Grunly has named a replacement I have chosen.” Ilirianna grinned confidently. “And if an opening is ever provided to slip Ryokumo into Koroha’s place, I will take it.”

  Tali didn’t respond right away, rather she instead sat quietly as she regarded the Princess. It was like she was pondering something, indicating that perhaps Ilirianna’s current political movements might not contradict what she had seen. It was unclear what took place in the privacy of Tali Firrik’s mind, but eventually, she snapped back to the present and spoke.

  “Would you like to expedite this process?”

  “Huh? Meaning?”

  Tali leaned forward, though not without moving her neck slightly to the right so as to avoid the blade. “Would you like to be the Queen now?”

  Ilirianna felt her body go cold, for the implications in that question were clear as day. “No. I will not stoop to your level. I will not murder anybody.”

  “You won’t?” Tali asked with an innocent expression. “You wouldn’t kill someone even if it's for the greater good? Not even if they're a corrupt piece of garbage who the world would be far better off without…” Her voice and features then turned dark as she said something Ilirianna had not been prepared for. “Like, for example, Lord Eganno Cartigan?”

  Ilirianna exhaled sharply, her body tensing at the mention of that man, and like the fool she was, she made it so obvious that Tali could only giggle.

  “And there’s the confirmation I sought,” she chirped. “Yup, I didn’t know that one for sure, but since I knew the Kosah-Rei didn’t kill him, I figured it had to be one of you…and you felt like the most likely option. Why did you kill Cartigan, Liri?”

  “I-I…didn’t…” she stammered, her frustration growing with every word she spoke. “I don’t know what you’re talking about… I didn’t kill Cartigan.”

  Tali cocked an amused eyebrow. “You didn’t? You suuuuuuure? Cause I’d understand if you did… Couldn’t have it getting out that you spoke to Keskivaara that night despite explicit orders to not go near him. And Cartigan was a fool who drove the people of Stellareid to violence. The world was better off without him, and if we’d gotten a chance to mark him, we would have. So I’m not criticizing you. You did the right thing, Liri, and all I’m asking you to do is the right thing again.”

  Ilirianna stared her straight in the eyes, sensing that she was being manipulated and yet feeling like there wasn’t anything she could do to get out of it. Tali leaned back against the couch and reached her fingers down to her left hand before pulling off a small, red ring that she extended towards Ilirianna.

  The Teritus?

  “Markreas and Toranei trust you, so if anybody could curse them, it would be you… Then, they could just go away… With one simple, magical pulse into this ring, the King and Queen would die with a whimper and you could ascend to the throne… It would be easy…” Tali chuckled then. “And perhaps you could get Caeli into the Master of Wind’s seat without needing to rely on Koroha Rhitta’s…misfortune.”

  Ilirianna gazed at the little red ring, knowing what it could do and the damage it could wreak. It had eliminated Acostav Luz, the Master of Light, without ever having to face him in combat. If she could somehow use it against Markreas and Toranei, then Tali was right. She could just take that throne immediately. Gently grasping the Teritus with her free hand, Ilirianna was surprised by the lack of a mana signature. On the surface, it was just a ring.

  “There’s only two of these left, by the way,” Tali explained. “Since I knew you were coming, I had the other three secretly destroyed, while one was lost in Stellareid. This is the fifth, and the sixth is currently with Keskivaara. I ordered Vesh to pit him against Markreas, so if we’re lucky, the People’s Mind may have already marked our dear King. You might be able to get rid of him as we speak.”

  Ilirianna’s lips tightened, but she managed to shove the temptation back inside of her as she slipped the Teritus into her pocket. Then, taking a deep breath, she rose to her feet and flared wind magic down the length of her sword. Tali frowned with curiosity, Leiolai stood up a bit straighter, and Ilirianna just sneered down at her.

  “Cartigan’s death was a lapse in judgment,” she growled. “I will not become a murderer like you. The suffering this ring has caused is more than enough for me to never even consider using it, so I will take it to the Vault of the Relics where it belongs. You two will either come with me peacefully, or die where you are.”

  Tali let out a huff of irritation as she impatiently got to her feet as well. “Liri, please, let’s not do this.”

  “Call me ‘Liri’ one more time and I cut out your tongue,” she snapped. “What’s it gonna be, Firrik? The dungeon, or the embrace of your precious goddess?”

  The Voice sighed, shooting Leiolai an annoyed glance before muttering, “Fine, I guess today isn’t the day either. But don’t think I won’t keep trying. One way or another, you’ll come to understand that I’m correct. Unfortunately, I’m not going to die, nor am I going to be arrested, so I’d really urge you to not make things worse than they need to be. I’d rather not force Leio to fight you.”

  Ilirianna spared a disbelieving look towards the changeling, who was slowly backing away from the couch. “Sartella couldn’t beat Abigail when she wasn’t at her best, so if you think she has any chance against me, then you’re kidding yourself. I’ll say it one more time, Tali Firrik, you’re under arrest. Come quietly, or die.”

  “Oh well, I tried,” Tali said. “See you next time, Liri.”

  Cocky little bitch, Ilirianna thought, sending wind mana into her legs with the full intent of lunging forward and cutting the Voice of Rei in half.

  The sole reason she didn’t was what she saw out of the corner of her eye. Leiolai had backed into the shadows, and without warning, her silhouette began to grow. It happened quickly, her body increasing at a rapid rate as her arms and legs both extended into massive claws, her head changed shape completely, and what appeared to be wings started to sprout out of her back. The darkness made it nearly impossible to properly make out the shape, but what Ilirianna did notice was that she was getting so big that the room was about to explode. Ilirianna back-stepped towards the window, and despite seeing Tali bolt for the open door, she knew in her heart that she needed to get the hell out of that common room.

  Damn it all, Firrik!

  “Proto!” Ilirianna snarled, propelling herself backwards, using surplus wind magic to blast through the glass without cutting herself as she jumped out of the tower and found herself eight stories into the sky.

  The entire top of the northern tower exploded from within, the walls of the common room splitting apart into chunks of blackstone rubble, and with the base ripped apart, the pointed top of the tower slid to the right and began its descent to the ground below. Meanwhile, Ilirianna could only gape at the sight of Leiolai Sartella in the form of a massive dragon, her scales sparkling gold and red in the dim lighting, her head elongated with bright red eyes and horns protruding from both of her temples. Giant wings spread out on either side of her, and powerful, muscular limbs hung from her rounded, ovular torso that was already glowing a bright red.

  Shit!

  “NEX!”

  Ilirianna barely threw up a shield of wind just before fire exploded from Leiolai’s mouth and barreled towards her. The shield took the brunt of the damage, but the subsequent force sent Ilirianna tumbling through the sky and towards the sprawling rocky plains beyond Ankalla’s walls.

  ***

  After splitting off from Miklan and Alharo, Nigreos and Toranei managed to rush back to the ruins of the front gates without any issues whatsoever. All of the Teeth that had been guarding the doors were either obliterated by Markreas’s white fire or slaughtered by the following charge. Therefore, even with Uma Miyon’s limbless body being pulled behind them by Toranei’s wind magic, they stalked back out into the courtyard without incident, finding Master Edwar Grunly and a handful of Healers Guild members tending to the wounded. Nigreos did a quick scan, beyond relieved that he didn’t recognize any of his close allies and friends, and that most of the Korrei-Tarr and Noctalus soldiers seemed to be in stable condition. Yet again, he remarked on how smoothly everything was going, only to question whether that should be considered a good thing.

  “Master Grunly!” Toranei barked, drawing the old man’s attention just as he finished casting Benedio on a wounded soldier.

  He glanced over to where the Queen and Nigreos were stalking towards him, and just before he could inquire as to what they needed, he spotted the hovering form of Uma that Toranei aggressively tossed into the rocks at the Master of Nature’s feet.

  “Koroha beat Miyon, but we’ve decided we want to have him erased,” Toranei explained promptly. “Can you make sure he doesn’t die until Album gets back?”

  Grunly hesitated, clearly struggling to process all of the very important information that was abruptly thrown into his lap. “Er, yes, of course. B-but, are we sure he’s not dead already?”

  Uma’s eyes were blank and unseeing, appearing as if he had died on the way over there, but a swift kick from Toranei into the side of his stomach caused the magicless man to grunt in agony.

  “No, he’s very much alive,” she stated.

  “R-right… Very well…”

  With that, Grunly dropped down to his knees and began casting Benedio on Uma, who still hardly reacted to anything going on around him. With that task completed, Nigreos was about to ask the Queen what they should do next, but before he could, there was a surge of wind magic above them. When he turned to look, he was relieved to see Ryokumo soar down from the second floor with a confident grin in his face, and as Toranei prepared to start grilling him for information, he tossed something onto the floor beside the fallen Uma. All of them, the magicless man included, gaped at the severed head of Rotana Vesh in shock, and with a cocky laugh, Ryokumo announced,

  “It's my pleasure to declare that Rotana Vesh is no more! We got him.”

  “Vesh…is dead?” Nigreos uttered. “You’re kidding…? Then, both he and Miyon are finished?”

  The wind mage smirked, shooting the pathetic Uma a glare as he basked in the expression of horror on the man’s face. “We’re actually making proper progress. Perhaps, whether there was a trap or not, King Markreas’s strategy made it irrelevant. There’s simply too much power coalesced in this fortress, and there’s nothing they can do about it.”

  “Where’s Master Luz, Caeli?” Toranei interjected, drawing Ryokumo’s attention towards her. “She was supposed to be with you, correct? We need her down here so we can send Miyon to the erased realm.”

  Ryokumo shrugged, the casual and almost disinterested demeanor of his displaying none of the respect the Queen of Ijiria should have received from a simple mage like him. “Liri split off from us to pursue Sartella further up, so after taking a moment to heal upon the conclusion of our fight with Vesh, Album went after the Princess to give any help she may need. We believe Firrik to still be up there somewhere, so with any luck, we can soon remove two more of these bastards.”

  Toranei narrowed her eyes, and Nigreos had a nasty feeling that the Queen was about to unload on Ryokumo for his lack of respect, but before she could do so, there was a sudden explosion off in the distance that caused all of them to jump in surprise. That surprise only increased further when they spun around to see the top of the northern tower blasted to pieces, and as Nigreos took in the sight of what was clearly a dragon bursting from within, he was dumbstruck as to what he was supposed to make of it.

  “What the hell is that?!” Ryokumo exclaimed, stumbling backwards a few steps as he gaped at the massive creature that was hardly ever seen north of the Noranian border. “Do the Kosah-Rei have a goddamned dragon?! Where would they have—?!”

  He cut himself off right as the creature let off a blast of fire from its maw, sending it soaring towards something in midair. It collided with it, launching the small form of a person hurtling past the walls and down towards the rocky plains beyond. They could just barely make out the flicker of the fire swords she wielded, as well as the subtle signature of her mana, so, realizing it was Ilirianna who was being faced with this monster, Nigreos, Ryokumo, and Toranei all took off at once with the sole, unspoken intention of giving her aid.