Who The Fire Favours (ONC2023) gxg

Chapter 17: Aria

Aria would've been dead without Skyla.

The horde of demons overwhelmed her in seconds. The miniscule Hider demons surrounded her in droves despite lashing out at them with everything ounce of Light Trait had. But the stocky build of the Firelash demons who lurked in the middle, had pincered her before Aria could blink and pinned her to the ground. All she could see was the behemoth like Stalker demons scraping against the tops of the building and leering down at her.

They plucked innocent Traited out of their windows, still half asleep and ripped through their chest, devouring what Trait they could out of their ashen corpses. The Firelash demons set alight everything in an ominous purple glow while Hider's feasted on the mounds of ash that fell from all directions.

Paralysed by its strange fire, all Aria could do was watch in horror. The demon's claws glowed hot with a strange, lilac light and pried into her chest and forced her grimoire, her very essence into being. She barely recognised her own screams. Until a bright yellow light became her saviour.

The Lightning Traited sent a surge of electricity through the connecting lanterns and garrotted the mob of fifteen demons in a single strike. She roared orders at the Shadecaller's who immediately woke from their stupor and began sharpshooting as many as they could. All Aria could do was lay limp and let herself be half dragged into the winding maze of alleyways.

Neither one said a word, the sounds of screams and battle of the fallen Traited sent the acrid smell of burnt paper and ash. Aria clamped her hands over her mouth, desperate to avoid the eyeless Stalkers that towered over the buildings with lithe limbs and claws. The demon soon moved on to other prey. But Skyla could not.

"Is this a joke to you?"

Aria was walloped by sound, the harsh accusing tone reminding her of a weapons master teaching a bunch of unruly Traited how to hold a sword. Skyla's fury made tears sting in her eyes long before the demons did.

"What?"

Her back slammed into a wall, the dirt and grime staining her white armour but Skyla clearly cared less. This drill sergeant in front of her was a far cry from the sweet, bubbly Traited she knew only minutes ago.

"You wanted a war against the demons and you couldn't even handle a single mob on your own. Those people, those children just got their grimoires ripped apart because you didn't do your job! The one job you're on that damn, high throne to do, Throneholder! What're you gonna do when it's an entire continent, huh?"

Aria stared down at Skyla's hand pressing against the brickwork, her Trait sparking far more than before. The Light Traited meekly looked up at her, trying to find a way through this abrasive conversation but it was like a mouse being trapped in a bear cage.

"It wasn't my fault, I don't have Ethros or Ixis-"

"And who made that call? You sent your Regent home when she begged to help you do something about this. You limited the number of Traited by arresting every damn Shadow Traited in sight and for what? Justice? Revenge?"

Irked by the sudden argument Aria faced down the angry Lightning Traited with an accusing finger to the chest. She had almost died. She didn't deserve to be yelled at.

"Why are you being so stubborn about this? You're not even a Shadow Traited-"

"So what? We're all on the same damn side here. A single dragon would have decimated them but no, Ethros had no choice but to leave because the only thing you care about is Opalis."

"I don't-"

"You do. In the Undercity the only chance of survival is you. Your Excelliars. We need them here and they listen to you no matter what. What they don't listen to is a leader who cares more about what happened somewhere else than what is happening to them right now. So, either buck the fuck up or back the fuck down and let someone else do it."

Skyla turned away from her, clinging to a small book, a scrap of paper bound together. It wasn't until she pressed it to her chest that Aria saw it disappear.

It was her grimoire. It was nothing like the ornately crafted tome Aria had. Yet she was still a Traited.

Aria slid onto the muck covered ground, surrounded by a dark, dank concrete cage of endless alternating streets and alleyways. She clutched her neck, desperately trying to summon what little Light Trait she could but it continued to remain useless. She couldn't even summon a weapon to defend herself.

"You're right. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't...remember things I'm supposed to. Heck, I don't even know why I'm pursuing the demons anymore. But after what happened in Scholar's Keep it...triggered something in me. I'm afraid and I don't know why. But I just have this need to keep going. I have to."

Aria was trying to convince herself more than anyone else. She buried her head in her knees, the overwhelming emotions from the last few days exhausted what little strength she had left. Aria barely noticed the hand on her shoulder.

"Then, you need to make a choice. A definitive choice. Either you be the damn Throneholder and rally the people against whatever threat we face or you stand down as Throneholder the moment we get back to Opalis."

Skyla's clear, no nonsense tone seemed to break through the fog of Aria's mind. The Lightning Traited in front of her was an enigma she couldn't understand. Her jovial nature was so warm and bright but right now, the strict but kind Skyla seemed to take away any bad mood.

"I don't want to step down as Throneholder. Putting that burden on Ixis now would...destroy her. So I'm going to do what I can. I'm...going to buck the fuck up and not back the fuck down."

Aria awkwardly tried to form the same swear in her mind, surprised even by her own admission and the strange amalgamation of Nocturian and Opalian accents. She hadn't noticed the Lightning Traited sitting opposite her until her laugh filled her heart with joy once again.

"Well then, my Lady. Allow me to escort you to the nearest Excelliar so I can point and laugh while you say that to their face."

Skyla bowed in eerie similarity to the dancers in Scholar's Keep but far more flat footed and Aria couldn't help but laugh. The weight on her chest seemed to lighten just a little, the reminder of how much people like Skyla had put up with up until now. A lack of direction, leadership and support with not just the demons but their daily life. That would have to change.

Aria took her hand and stood up, Skyla warmth emanating from more than just her Trait. A quiet promise latched in her mind the moment the Lightning Traited helped Aria to her feet. She would do better as the Throneholder to protect people. For Skyla.