Aftermath

Chapter 17: You Never Will

Tygren demands answers from the Deathsinger, but as is the case at a time like this; it was never going to be easy and it seems Ingressus is about to make it much more difficult - for both him and Tygren

Author's note: here we are at the halfway point(ish)! with this, I present a new cover as well!

because even in the Aftermath, survival is not guaranteed...

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Ingressus had taken a detour to wander the streets of Hailstone for a while and Tygren took advantage of the extra time to wait for him in his quarters.

He was furious at the incompetence of the Deathsinger for bringing the Tidesinger into Hailstone and then insisting on keeping him alive. Dead men tell no tales, but the Tidesinger had none to tell – he wouldn't be able to tell the Voltaris anything of use and he would only be an inconvenience, another problem for them to deal with. He was an unnecessary risk that Ingressus had taken that would serve no benefit in the rise of the Voltaris clan and Tygren refused to believe that he had brought him here for any other purpose other than he was weak.

There was no other explanation – the Deathsinger was too weak to kill his greatest adversary.

On entering Ingressus' quarters, the first thing that caught Tygren's eye was the sharp tint of moonlight glinting off the blade of Voltar resting against the wall. Tygren loved Voltar. He loved everything it stood for, even after everything it had endured. To the other clans, it was a threat. To him, it was peace. He had only dreamed of holding it as his own, one day. What he would give – who he would kill – for that honour... It exceeded only his comrades' wildest dreams; but he frowned for it belonged to Ingressus Voltaris, the Deathsinger, who had shown only weakness since he stepped through that portal all those months ago. He had done nothing to prove to Tygren that his efforts to bring him forward were worth the pain he had gone through to do so. He'd bent over backwards for the Deathsinger and his loyalty was unmatched, until it was shattered by the golden glow of the greatest threat to the Voltaris.

Tygren had thought for so long that the Tidesinger was dead that, when he killed Thalleous Sendaris, the weight of the world was lifted from his shoulders – the two most powerful Ardoni had been removed and there was nothing that could be done. On learning that Ingressus had spared the Tidesinger's life, Tygren was disappointed at first, but learning further that he had been left for dead in the Nether had pleased him. To think of the suffering that Ardonia's greatest champion was enduring brought a clean white smile to his face – mere payback for all that he had done to the Voltaris. But Tygren wasn't done, there.

Knowing that Achillean was in the Nether had sparked an idea and he had forewarned the Netheran King Pythus that there was an enemy in his realm. Although the Deathsinger had chosen not to reforge the alliance with the Nether, Tygren would never forget that they were still a powerful ally to the Voltaris, and he wasn't going to pass up such an opportunity.

The Deathsinger would never know. He didn't need to.

But his plan had fallen through for the Tidesinger was now within arms' reach in the Voltaris' only haven. Tygren thought Ingressus might as well slaughter his own kind and save the pain of the inevitable.

He scowled at the thought.

He scowled even harder at the sight of a second diamond glint hidden away in the corner behind Ingressus' robes. It was not the Deathsinger's broadsword, but instead, there lay the two broken pieces of the Tidesinger's staff, kindly leant against the wall. His lips trembled in anger at the sight of the staff that commanded the alliances to victory. That staff was the same to the other Ardoni clans as Voltar was to the Voltaris and it made Tygren tense with rage. Ingressus was so close, yet so far. He had broken the only symbol of hope that the Ardoni had, yet he failed to eliminate the one who wielded it.