Dragon Aster Trilogy (36 page)

“I can’t find him. Why is Aragmoth doing this to us? First the Fay Wall, and now my Prince.”

“Your Prince is not who you think he is,” Sybl said. She didn’t know how she had forgotten Cirrus. He didn’t seem to recognize her in turn.

Cirrus smiled and then laughed, as if impending madness was tickling him. “If you are the Caelestis, then bring my Prince back. Release him like you can me from this nightmare that is not reality. Stop sending everyone I know to join me here.”

Sybl clenched her fist at the memory of Lintrance. “I can’t bring Nafury back.”

“Why not?”

“Because Nafury is Damek.”

“The first Awl known to history. The greatest warrior Aster has ever known, and now a Prince of Toria, and you would leave him in death? Is that how the Caels reward their best servants?”

“His soul has to stay here.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Cirrus replied, and his smile all at once vanished. “You’re just a typical human. Naturally you fear for the Fate of Earth. Why else trap him here?”

“Damek is nothing of the Nafury you remember.”

“How would you know? You weren’t here for his whole life. You didn’t have to watch him grow up and then fall to his death. What is it that you want? A sacrifice? A trade to free him from here? If so, by all means take me and let him go.”

“No,” Sybl replied, certain.

“Well, you won’t have me otherwise. I won’t follow you back, because if you will not hear my prayers, then I do not recognize you as any goddess. You are nothing but a Caelestis turned against Aster by Hino. The only thing the caels have done for us is damn us. So damn them in turn.”

Sybl forced herself not to cry. There was a piece missing from Cirrus’ memory, and she had no idea how or why. “So what will you do? Lie here until you can’t come back anymore? Is death the only solution you see now?”

“I’ve already made it clear to you,” Cirrus said, closing his eyes to blindly face a cloudless sky above. “I’m not leaving without Nafury. Now leave me alone you wretched, tormenting spirit.”

Sybl turned around and started to walk away from him, before her heart could shatter into a million pieces from his words. When she woke up, she found something soft beside her. To her surprise, Kenshe was sleeping in his phelan form. “There you are.”

He opened his red eyes from where he hid under the covers. “Sorry.”

“I won’t let them punish you,” Sybl said and lifted him out from under his arms.

“Your nightmare was bad. I could see it.”

Sybl set him to a sit on her lap. “They’re all bad now. But the scarier part is I can’t tell which ones are real and which ones are of what could happen.”

“You should have a Nightmare Eater. Isn’t that what the first Eminor were?”

Sybl touched his head as if to size him up to the task.

“I can’t even tell if I have the Aeger.” Kenshe sulked and shook out his fur, before sitting back down.

“You can only have the Aeger if you have given up all hope.”

Kenshe whined like the puppy-size he had taken to. “You can see everything—past and future. Have you never looked into your own?”

“I can’t see the future, Kenshe.”

“Yes, you can. You’re just too scared to look.” Sybl frowned at him, and he quickly looked side to side to try and find a means to patch up his last words. “I mean, you have estus energy in you. Estus energy can see the future. Aragmoth is made of estus energy, and he is always a step ahead because of it.” His grizzled fur stood up all at once like a cat’s then.

Sybl didn’t feel like arguing with him, and looked at the door where Kas had silently been standing.

“Leaving you unguarded is going to get all my Custos whipped bloodless before the Atrum even gets here.” Kas leaned off of the door frame then and looked at Kenshe, before looking back at Sybl.

“It wasn’t their fault,” Sybl replied.

“That is not your decision. It is mine as they are my responsibility. But on a brighter note, Xirel has agreed to assist us with his Tribe. He found the whole ruckus you three made rather inspiring in our chances of winning against the Atrum. Particularly as it has been the dragons that held most of his concern.”

Sybl looked away from Kas.

“I am going to have a small celebration, as is customary with any new allies gained to our cause. You are going to come to it, and further show the chimeras that they can trust us.”

“And if I don’t?” Sybl asked.

“If you do not show up at the party and embarrass me further than you have already, then I can promise you that you will not like my resolve.” Kas turned his threatening glare from her then, and left her room.

Sybl felt like she was being fitted for an execution. The corset that Ishtar dressed her in was tight enough to squeeze out any air that she might need for running later. And the ayame was anything but gentle about it.

“Do humans not have parties on Earth?” Ishtar asked, then tightened another string to the corset.

Sybl gasped in answer, having no air left to give a reply beyond that. She looked in the mirror, as she thought about Loki. He would have found out about what happened to his brother by now, and she had to speak to him.

“Good grief ayame, stop suffocating her.”

Ishtar’s red eyes glowed dangerously at Gwa, as she looked to unleash a psi barrage of yelling at him.

Gwa winced, before opening his eyes again. “No disrespect, but I only answer to Kas and the Caelestis.” Then he continued to eat his apple as he looked at Sybl.

“He can help me with the rest,” Sybl insisted.

“A male should not be dressing a female unless they are their Bond,” Ishtar replied.

“He is of my Pack—I can do whatever I want with him.”

Ishtar straightened her own dress down, and lifted her chin higher. She brushed past Gwa and left the room.

“Help!” Sybl squeaked.

Gwa hesitated. “Anything you want with me, eh? I don’t know… Maybe it is safer to keep you in that thing….”

“Gwa!”

“Just kidding!” He gripped the apple with his front teeth and began to loosen the strings to her suffocation.

“Thank you.” Sybl breathed.

“I think it was her intention to make sure you had no air to runaway.” Gwa laughed, and finished off his apple before tossing it in her wastebasket.

“Yeah, no kidding.”

He went over to the bed and studied the blue dress. “It’s not that bad.”

“I can’t wear that.”

“Why not?”

“Sentimental reasons.”

“Fair enough,” Gwa said, and bunched it up in his arms. Then he went over to the closet and stuffed it in as if it were an old blanket. Then he looked over the other choices. “I can’t help but get the feeling your brother doesn’t want anyone looking at you at this party.”

“Oh just great. Well, I have to wear something,” Sybl said. “By choice, it would be entirely black.”

Gwa turned around as an idea came to his mind. “Well, you’re the same size as my mother. I know she has a good fashion sense.”

“I can’t wear your mother’s clothes. You’re crazy.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I was still brilliant last time I checked. I’ll be crazy when I become too brilliant for myself to handle. Slip something over you, and let this mastermind lead the way.”

Sybl gulped. She pulled over her head a casual beige dress, and then followed after him. They snuck down the halls to where she guessed Celia’s laboratory was. But on hearing a conversation inside, they both stopped outside the door and listened.

“Jru, I already made it clear that I won’t have you sacrificing what you love to do, for me.”

“I’ve served this temple since its founding days, Celia. I will take you for myself.”

Sybl looked at Gwa as he gulped.
You didn’t tell me this…

“What’s there to tell?”
Gwa replied, surprising Sybl with how well and clearly he could use psi, despite being a chimera.
“He’s been after her since he found her running from the Fall’s forces. But they’re both as stubborn as kyrie.”

“This is about the goddess kidnapping incident, isn’t it? There isn’t a single phelan in this whole temple who would pass up the chance to kidnap her for an impression, Jru. You’re overreacting. Gwa is fine, I am fine. He’s half human, so of course he’s going to be a bit lost in his teen years. Most human teenagers are.”

“They are?”
Gwa asked Sybl by psi.

Eh, I guess?

Celia went to her test tube rack, and picked one of the samples up.

“Stubborn woman,” Jru said, and took the glass from her, setting it back in the rack. Then he pulled her next to him and kissed her.

Sybl forced her head to stay on straight, as a memory of Cirrus passed through her mind. She stopped breathing when she tried to figure out how and when she had forgotten him after the nightmares.

“Sybl. Sybl!”
Gwa hissed at her.
“Do something!”

What you want me to do?
Sybl replied, shaking her head out of the clouds so she could fall back to the present.
It’s not like I can just walk in there and fire him.

“He can be ‘fired’ if you catch him in the act—Custos aren’t allowed to have a woman while they serve the Sanctus.”

I’m not going to humiliate—
But before she could finish, Gwa grabbed her and shoved her into the room without a warning. Sybl stood frozen for a moment, as Jru quickly pulled away from Celia and tried to regain his composure. They looked to debate between themselves what she may or may not know about the rules, before leaving their eyes on her. “Um, hi. Sorry to intrude…but I need to speak to Celia about something.”

Jru stood up straighter, as his first fear of what she would say didn’t hit him. “I’ll be on my way then. Excuse me, my Lady,” he said with a small bow and started to leave.

“Oh, and Jru,” Sybl called after him.

The dark-skinned phelan somnus stopped in his tracks, and then turned slowly to face her again.

“You are retiring.”

Jru looked at Celia, before looking back at Sybl. “Effective when, my Lady?”

“Immediately.”

Jru nodded briefly. “Thank you, Sybl.” He turned and left then, looking more relaxed.

“You wanted to speak to me about something?” Celia asked, turning Sybl’s attention to her and away from the controversial topic of her relationship with Jru.

“Mom, you gotta help her,” Gwa said, entering the laboratory from the back door that he had snuck around to. “Kas is trying to humiliate her by using dresses.”

“Dresses? You would think the High Priest could spend some gold on something decent for his own soultwin… No offense, Sybl,” Celia added.

“I think it’s more of a dilemma of different perspectives.” Sybl looked at Gwa.

“Well, I am in your debt now, and I don’t like to carry those around. I don’t have many, but you’re welcome to any dress you like in my closet,” Celia offered. “I don’t wear any of them anymore.”

“Thanks mom,” Gwa said and kissed her cheek. Then he quickly retreated with Sybl in tow.

Sybl didn’t stop shaking after she peaked out her window. The gardens and the training courts had been turned into a lavishly decorated party. She hated being around so many people at once. The whole idea of a Caelestis of War being scared of crowds was just laughable.

Sybl looked at the door as a knock came, and she quickly hid under the curtain. “Go away! I’m still dressing!”

“You are by far the worst liar,” Kas said as he opened the door to find a shaking velvet curtain. “Now let us go.”

“I want to go with Gwa.”

Kas’ boot steps came across the floor, and he pulled the curtain away. He found her dressed, not in a blue gown, but a silver one that revealed a lot more unexpected curves.

Sybl ducked and closed her eyes, fearing he would explode with no one around to save her. But the seconds went by, and he said nothing. So she opened her eyes and tried to get a read on what he was thinking.

But he wasn’t thinking as much as he was trying to understand her thoughts in turn, before finding the one he needed to say something. “I was not aware that you had a blue dress on in your nightmare. I could have had a silver one made for you.”