Darkness & Light: Book 1: Shatter Our Fates [COMPLETED]

10 - Drecca

Boredom is something that Drecca hates. Then again, he guesses everyone hates boredom. So, he gets up and heads to the training yard, despite the fact that it is raining. He begins to train the moment he's picked up a sword.

Drecca spars for a long time, just striking the dummies over and over again. He swings his blade in a wide arc, and decapitates the dummy before him in one fell swoop. Drecca is breathing hard, and sweat falls down his back and face.

He has been sparring for a long time, before he sits down beside the edge of the ring, on a bench. He breathes hard, but then, he takes a few deep gulps of his waterskin.

The sound of voices in the shadows of the ring draws his attention.  He turns, and sees Lilith walk in. Lilith herself is like a shadow, her movements smooth and silent. She walks into the training ring, her red eyes alighting on him. He watches her with mild interest, and she smiles, showing her fangs.

She perches on the edge of a bench, her leather wings unfurling behind her. Her sharp, segmented, black horns atop her head are as imposing as she is, making her a bit more terrifying than she should be. Drecca watches her, the demon who he was almost betrothed to.

"Well, look at you, Drecca," she says. "You look a bit .... different than the last time we spoke."

"The last time we spoke was a century ago, Lilith," he says dryly. She chuckles at his tone, but he presses on.  "What do you want, Lilith?"

"It 'tis simple, Drecca," she says softly, her deep voice quiet, deceptively calm. "You and I are to be betrothed once more. I do not like it more than you do, Drecca. But perhaps we can fix this, perhaps we can help each other."

"Help each other? You.... helping me?" He laughs.  "Yeah, right."

"Don't be a fool, Prince Drecca," she snaps. "You need help with this issue with Princess Poppy."

"How do you know of that?" Drecca demands sharply.

Lilith chuckles again, shaking her head, causing her inky hair to fall over her shoulder. The straight lines of her black hair falls down to her belly, and she absently strokes it. Drecca remembers the last time he touched her silky smooth hair. He remembers kissing her.

Lilith's lips curl up. "You are so easy to fuck with, you know. All I have to do is move a certain way, and you go back to two centuries ago, when we were lovers.'

"Stop, Lilith," he growls. "What do you want? Who is trying to force us together once more?"

"You know who," she says dismissively, waving a pale hand. "You'd think the almighty Prince Drecca would understand more of courtly intrigue than he does. Hm, what a pity. Anyways, it's Drolkta, your mother, who seeks our marriage. She says it is the only way our Courts may be saved from Poppy's war."

"Poppy's a fool," Drecca snarls.  "She will be on the end of my sword before too long, her heart between my teeth."

Lilith makes a face of disgust. "You are insane, Drecca. Look, I know Poppy was here. I know she threatened you. But what exactly did she say?"

Drecca sits down across from her, studying Lilith's sharp, angular features. She is tall, almost as tall as he is, and her skinny but muscular form is enough to make his knees weak. But he'd not ever admit to that. No, he just stares back at Lilith with a look of disinterest.

"She wants me to back off from these newcomers to Tempyria, she said they're under her protection. But I'm not going to give up, she's a fool if she thinks she can scare me off this."

"So," Lilith says, her tone feigning casualty. She folds one long, strong leg over the other. Clasps her hands together, her black armor clinking as she does so. "You think you can find these people who she is protecting. You think you can... what, kill them? They are under her wing, Drecca."

"I am well aware, Lilith. And no, I do not want to kill them. I want them here."

"Why?"

He smirks. "Oh, I have plans ...."