Kingdom of the Nine: The Princes (II)

Chapter 8

———Red———
I blink awake, staring up at the ceiling. Sunlight filters through the window, illuminating the dust motes drifting lazily in the air, like stars suspended in their own quiet galaxy. The morning feels surreal, peaceful even, after everything that happened yesterday.

I didn't expect to sleep so well. My mind had been racing, questions spiraling endlessly, flashes of memory and confusion woven into my dreams. And Alyse—I saw her again, like she was reaching out to me, her face barely visible through a shroud of mist.

I sit up, rubbing my eyes, and glance outside. Domnik is on the porch, cross-legged, eyes closed, lost in meditation. His expression is calm, his shoulders relaxed in a way that almost makes him look... at peace. I push myself off the bed, quietly making my way to the door. It creaks as I open it, and Domnik's eyes flick open, his gaze settling on me.

"How'd you sleep?" His neck is bruised and I can see a cut on his side.

"I actually slept pretty well. Did you go somewhere?" I ask as I point to his wounds.

He looks into the field. "No, we just had some visitors..." he stands and starts to walk towards the ladder. "Nothing to worry about now, you ready to go pay Muthos a visit?"

He's acting weird. There is something about last night he doesn't want to talk about, I can feel it but I don't want to start anything. So I just nod.

"Good, I got the ritual circle ready. I'm still cut off from the void so we are going to have to split the powder, I've got another flask."

He starts to move down the ladder and I follow him into the field. He gets inside the ritual circle he's created by burning the grass, leaving a thin black line of chard. He pulls out his flask and reaches his hand out to me, prompting me to hand him mine so he can half it.

I reach into my pocket and hand it to him. He begins to pour its contents into his flask and then hands the rest back to me. Something still feels off, he seems too downbeat but I can't find the nerve to question him just yet.

———Domnik———
"Ready?" I ask as I lift the flask to my mouth.

"Yeah, whenever you are." He mutters under his breath. There's a tension to it. He wants to talk about something but isn't willing.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"What if this is a trap? What if Muthos already knows we are coming? You said we had visitors last night, they were vampires again weren't they?"

I don't know what to say but he doesn't need to know about Hail. It will only complicate matters more. I shake my head.

"No, yes... um. Yes, they were vampires but no, I doubt Muthos knows we are coming. I promise, it's nothing to worry about. Besides, you already killed one god, nothing can stop you now. Let's just get in there, get Alyse and finish this."

He nods. "Okay, on three. One...two...three!"

"Bottoms up!" I lift the flask up high with its neck in my mouth.

The void powder fills my senses, and in an instant, the vision of the Shores invades my mind. The ground pulls at me, yanking me down with a force that leaves no room for resistance. I'm spiraling now, plummeting through a whirl of shifting colors that blur past me in a rush of heat and light. I can barely keep my bearings as I fall faster, the air around me going from cool to stiflingly hot, and I'm not slowing down.

Then, I look up in a panic to keep from defecating myself. It's as if my mind is playing tricks on me while my eyes meet the sky—and I can see the world from above, mirrored and distorted, as though I'm staring through the ground itself. It feels like gravity is tugging me in two directions, stretching me out across reality until I'm sent flying back up towards it—bam. I hit solid ground.