Wayfinding | Aaravos x Reader |

CHAPTER 47

CHAPTER 47: Loveless Lovers

Reality is a fiend.

It must thrive off spurning you.

Because why else was every uninspiring high followed by a devastating low?

In the weeks that panned by, you made peace with your occultic guru and your rightfully stone-faced brother. Or rather not with them, but with yourself. As sworn, Aaravos kept his lips sealed about the unexpected uneasiness that hailed the study that day.

Yes, by that day - I mean both the day you were caught with your fingers between your thighs and the other when the guilt-ridden Archmage half-assedly admitted to using you as a pawn.

You were no half-wit. You knew what you signed up for when you decided to consort with the elf. But the sharp shift in his demeanor made his unsaid plans seem more malicious than you originally anticipated. Perhaps releasing him from his prison would prompt more dire consequences than pissing a few people off. Still, despite this newfound inkling of distrust, you did not deter. Instead, you and the archmage continued with the lectures and barely locked eyes most days.

The tension hardly bettered with time.

Uzner, on the other hand, was not as simple of a project. In fact, it was heart-wrenching how true he was to his word. He really disowned you. The realization of this dawned on you much later than you'd care to admit. You were occupied with the fresh gossip of the town - that the blacksmith had publicly humiliated you in front of your betrothed and the palace guards. It wrecked your brain for days, trying to find ways to silence the susurrus crowds. Thankfully, Lord Viren fashioned himself useful and introduced far more unpleasant news to the state.

Unfortunately, you were too engrossed in your own moral dilemma to have taken notice.

Taken notice of the higher security.

The soundless, solemn halls.

And the whisper of death that had been summoned to Katolis's doorstep.

All you could think about was your brother. How - like Arekus - you had betrayed him in pursuit of your selfish desires. What Uzner said may be true. The goodness you proclaim to have is tainted. And it cost you both your loved ones. This realization was the catalyst for a promise you made to yourself. One that you swore to never break under any circumstance.

You would never play hero again.

But of course. It was a childish notion.

Seven suns after your oath, an assembly was called. For reasons unbeknownst to you, the palace advisors were all riled up. You thought it had to do with the absent King. But as the council conversed, the random darts of words you heard the days before had returned. And they finally strung together the logic you failed to acknowledge before.

Guard.

               Moonshadow.

                                             Tonight.

                                                              Full Moon.

                                         Avazadium.

                Retribution.

Kill.

The King is willing to die.

Your heart sank. Almost immediately, you sought asylum in Viren. But he stared ahead, purposely avoiding your pleading gaze. You thought it cruel, but the fluttering of his lashes was a telling sign that he was fighting to dry his glassy eyes. You were reminded that he, too, was doomed to lose a dear companion that night.