Fate Breakers

Chapter 29

Liam

Hypnos' presence is confusing to me. He claims to be here for my benefit, but at every turn, he seems to be making my life harder. And Gods damn it, Constantine will not stop defending him.

"You're treating Hypnos as if he is a person like us,' Constantine says, rather carelessly tossing his clothes into his suitcase. "Deities abide by rules we're unlikely to ever understand. You can't expect him to help you too much when you're both on completely separate, parallel playing fields."

More often than not, I catch myself remaining silent after Constantine speaks. It isn't out of disrespect, sometimes I truly just can't believe what he's saying. He has this odd way of making a difficult topic sound easier, just by the tone of his voice. For someone who's been through so much, he certainly knows how to act like he doesn't have a care in the world.

"What were you trying to ask him," Constantine asks. "Is it something the rest of us can answer?"

"I doubt it," I tell him, neatly organizing my tools. "It was about Irrenic."

"Oh." Constantine goes silent, and this is where the conversation dies.

Not only did we get assigned to proper units, but we also got assigned to a brand new sector. There's no information on the Irrenic Sector because we will be the first of any Balor division to go there. From what little I gleaned, Irrenic is a barren island. Nothing but ruins from a war that was fought before most of us were born. As of now, the only life Irrenic sustains are monsters and dragons. Not even the Seafolk dare to swim through the rivers. So much danger, so few signs of life. It's pointless.

Every other region makes sense. There are kingdoms there to protect. There are people, there are threats. It doesn't even seem like the Mallacht have any interest in this island. At this point, I'm not even fully certain the Mallacht exist. We're just being shuffled around like trinkets on a shelf. The only difference is that this time, it seems they want someone to die.

"Wait a moment." Constantine looks up from his luggage, a smile tugging at his lips. "Let's ask Erix."

"About Irrenic?" I raise a brow. "Why would we ask him?"

Constantine gives me a look, an expression which teeters on the edge of disappointment. "Liam..."

For a moment I just stare. Sure, Erix is older than us, but there's no way of being sure he'd know about Irrenic. The only way he would, is if he were alive long before its fall.

Wait... no.

He would know.

Erix is immortal.

↻

Erix is in the middle of packing when Constantine and I rush through the door. A hand flies to his chest, his breath coming out heavy. "Gods have mercy. Do I need to teach you kids how to knock?"

How did I ever forget how old he was? I shake the thought off. There will be time for reassessment later. "Do you know anything about the island we're being sent to?"

"Oh, and why are you asking me? Just because I'm old?" The shame makes my collar feel hot. Constantine lets out a nervous laugh. Erix laughs louder. "I'm fucking with you," he says, waving us off as he keeps packing. "I know a little about the island. I was conscripted, so I didn't exactly have too much freedom to explore."

Constantine clears his throat, still looking red from embarrassment. "What happened to it?"

"Selfish royals, as per usual." Erix pauses, leaning against the bed frame. "There were three kingdoms on the island: Novalyn, Azenor, and Duscan. Depending on who you ask, the King of Novalyn was the issue."