Verita - The Guardian of Darkness

15 - The Children of the Deep

The rushing of footsteps merged with the powerful beating of her own heart, as Elanthin slid out of bed and positioned herself in a defensive stance. Adrenalin rushed through her veins and even though thick darkness engulfed the room, Elanthin wasn't particularly bothered by her inability to see. She could hear the tiniest move the stranger made, smell their unfamiliar scent in the air warmed by the crackling fire. For that reason, she immediately noticed that there wasn't one intruder; there were two.

Her senses were tingling, while she used the second before the inevitable attack to decide. The stranger's silhouettes were right in front of her, one tailing a little behind.

The creaking, she noticed, was the second intruder coming in.

Gripping the leather-bound hilts of her swords tighter, she got ready to attack but there was a strange hesitation in the person right in front of her, which threw her off. If they'd been waiting to attack her, the timing wouldn't get any better; not now, that Elanthin had gotten up.

She quickly ended her silent contemplation. No matter how unusual the assassin's behavior was, she didn't have time to deal with it in her current situation. Two against one were slightly worrisome but as they likely were Gratians, Elanthin didn't consider them a serious threat – at least not in a fist or sword fight. However, even though the mumbling had ceased, the thought of strange magic became a growing source of anxiety for her. Therefore, she couldn't justify her own hesitation any longer.

So Gratia is no different from home – no matter how sweet and cultured the people seem, it all comes down to kill or be killed in the end, she acknowledged with grim satisfaction.

The dark figure in front of her must've come to a conclusion because the darkness around them moved. Their intent was unmistakable to Elanthin, who'd swung a sword since before she could count to one hundred.

She reacted as the same time as the magic runes in her back started to glow again. In their blue light the short blade of the intruder flashed, telling her exactly where the weapon was cutting through the air.

When she raised her swords to parry the incoming hit, a blinding flash of clear-white light threw her back against the wooden end table. Elanthin nearly lost her balance, barely managing to hold onto the post of her bed. Worse though was that she was unable to see through the explosion of light. It had appeared with a pang but it subsided slowly.

Elanthin could feel the flashes lingering effect in her bones. Similar to harsh winter winds, the magic felt like receiving a million paper cuts – with the slight difference that these fine cuts reached deep into her body, threatening to slice her bones and freeze her blood.

When the cold finally let go of its firm grip around her chest, Elanthin breathed in raggedly. Her hands were shaking worse than ever before and she readjusted her grip on the swords. If her opponent hadn't used this chance to attack her, it meant that they' been affected too. And truly, as she locked eyes with the hooded assassin for a second, she could see her own surprise and pain in them.

Then, with little more than a faint sigh, the assassin collapsed onto the stone floor. Elanthin's head shot up, her eyes searching for an explanation in the shadow-filled face of the second intruder. Was she already past saving as well? She knew nothing of the magic used but she still felt its freezing cold echo in her bones.

"Just a second", the dark figure said in her own language. His smooth voice gave Elanthin a vague idea of who she was dealing with but the magic light had grown faint and he was still farther away, at the foot of the bed.

Another blueish flash lit up the room, before it shrank towards its center. The man contained a small flame ball in one hand like a lantern its candle.

"So it's really you, Your Majesty", she stated tersely. Her surprise mixed itself with relieve and paranoia at the same time. What was he doing here? Wasn't protecting the guests the guards' duty?

Aetrian smiled, as if there wasn't a heaving body lying between them. "I remember asking you to drop the honorifics."

Can't you see that this isn't the time to discuss your silly conditions? Elanthin's gaze shot daggers at him but at the same time, she felt her relief win over the paranoia. Since it was Aetrian and he'd stopped the assassin, he likely wasn't here to hurt her.

"Wait, why am I being glared at?", asked Aetrian with raised hands. She couldn't help but notice that his clothes were much more relaxed than during the day. He was wearing simple trousers underneath a robe held together by an embroidered scarf wrapped around his torso; his own pajamas, she concluded. "I believe I just saved you from an assassin."

She sighed while trying to get over herself. After all, he'd shown up to help in this state of dress. The least she could do was show some gratefulness.

"... thank you for coming over. But it wasn't necessary."

"No?" Aetrian asked with a skeptical glance towards her bed, whose covers were folded back untidily.

"No", she reiterated. "I was awake and waiting for the right time to catch that person in flagranti. It's just ... the magic that caught me by surprise. Your magic."

Aetrian shrunk a little bit. "Oh."

"Now she won't have much to tell us, I'm afraid." He looked a bit guilty, so she quickly continued talking. It wasn't in her nature to ask for or accept help; but neither was it, to be ungrateful towards someone with decent intentions. "But anyway, who in the abyss was that?"

Her fingers pointed towards the lifeless body on the stone floor and Aetrian followed them with his eyes. Swiftly – and much more indifferent than she'd have assumed – he bent down to retrieve the weapon which the assassin had dropped. He only inspected it briefly, before holding it towards Elanthin.

She frowned, while she sheathed the swords and dropped them on the bed, before accepting the intruder's blade. "Don't you want to have the first look, Your Majesty?"

"It's Aetrian. And it's your assassination attempt, so I suppose you should do the honors."

This twisted logic almost got her to smile; but one look at the weapon and her facial expressions froze.

"It can't be", she murmured.