The Goblin's Heir

Chapter Seventy Two: Kettle

It seemed like such a stupid, insignificant thing for so many to have died over, that small glowing seed. I stared down at it where it rested at my toes. All of us did. Silent. Fear of what it meant choked the breath from all our lungs. It was all any of us could do to keep breathing.

"No! No! No! Magni cried, scrambling back from the island's ledge he slipped between two of his frozen brothers and grabbed the seed. "It has to work! It has to!" He looked the seed over for even the faintest cracks. When he found none, he raced back to the edge again and threw it again into the turbulent sea.

Again it came back to us.

Again it landed at my feet.

Upon the third try we quietly followed Magni to the edge. I watched the seed go over, saw it go into the waves of magic that bombarded the island on which the destroyed palace sat, threatening to erode the ground beneath our feet away to nothing. It glowed even within those waters. It was tossed about by the tide but it didn't crumble. I'd seen the sea disintegrate whole bodies in a second, but the seed remained whole and unharmed.

A wave threw the seed back to us. I caught it before it could smack me in the face. It sat like a piece of ice in my hand, so cold it burned even through the glove of my gauntlet. I let my hand drop, tucked the one holding it beneath my cloak. I could feel the boys' eyes on me, knew they followed every motion until it was out of sight.

"It didn't work, Little Brother." Odd snarled as the pull of the seed lessened.

Magni fell to his knees, staring out at the sea with tears filling his eyes. "I don't understand. It should have worked. It was the only thing left." Magni buried his face in his thin hands. His claws dug into his scalp. "What do you want me to do? Please. Just tell me in a way I can understand. Your voice is so faint now."

"Hey, Brat!" Odd bristled like an angry tom cat. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" He grabbed Magni by the collar of his breastplate and yanked him from the edge, tossing him to the side.

Ari quickly darted between them and pressed a cold blade beneath the chin of his helm. "That's enough of your posturing. Leave him be." Ari snarled, her many small pointy teeth flashing.

"Go ahead, Ari, stab me. You know you can't do it." Odd growled at her. "Free will or not."

Instead of backing off she pressed closer and growled back in his face. "The only reason I haven't slit your throat yet is because your mother is right there and Magni told me not to do anything drastic. For them, I will stay my hand, but only for so long, Princeling. You aren't king yet. You'd do well to remember that."

"None of us are going to be king, you bloody stupid wench!" He whooped a mad laugh. "We're all going to be too busy being fucking dead!" He pushed her out of his way, not even caring that the blade nicked his throat, that blood was trickling into his armor. His eyes were that of a cornered animal, the pupil constricted by fear. Ari managed to get a hold on his arm and stuck her claws into the stone and earth of the courtyard to hold him back. "This...everything is your fucking fault!" Odd screamed at Magni, who remained crumpled at our feet. None of the others moved or spoke. "If you had just stayed dead and let the coronation run its course none of this would have happened!"

"It was all a lie! Father isn't becoming a god! He's gone! He's nothing! The goblins were being used! I was trying to save you!" Magni pleaded. 

"It didn't work!" Frit joined in. "Even if we were being used at least some of us would have lived! At least the other kingdoms wouldn't have been dragged into it! Now the entire world is going up like one giant funeral pyre and it's all because of you!"

It wasn't because of him. It was because of me. I kept manipulating Knut to put it off, I prayed to any god that would hear me for a way to avoid losing even one more of my children. I just never actually expected something would answer that prayer or the cost it would ask of me.