Chapter 528: Chapter 516: Back to business

[Realm: Uhorus]

[Location: Verdantis]

[Capital City]

"I have to say, all of this has been remarkably informative." Victoria spoke with a small smile, though there was a thoughtful quality behind it. The look of someone whose mind was already attempting to organise an overwhelming amount of information into something coherent.

The group had long since left Alyssia’s chambers.

Now they stood within a broad section of the castle.

A circular ruby carpet occupied the center of the space beneath their feet, golden threading woven through its surface in patterns. Hanging prominently upon the wall beyond was a portrait of a woman with raven-black hair and lilac eyes dressed in dark attire, her painted gaze seeming to follow the room.

Two separate hallways branched away from the chamber-like intersection.

The castle seemed silent around them as Fiona released a long sigh. The sound carried more exhaustion than frustration.

"Informative is certainly one way to describe it." Her ears twitched slightly. "Personally, I’d call it overwhelming." The Solkari rubbed the back of her neck. "Actually, overwhelmingly informative might be more accurate."

Lucinda found herself agreeing immediately; there had been revelations layered upon revelations. Even now she wasn’t entirely sure she had processed all of it. Yet enough time had passed that the initial shock had begun to settle; the information no longer felt impossible, merely immense.

"That is probably a fair assessment." Lyra’s voice carried a hint of amusement as her gaze moved between them. "Still, overwhelming or not, I trust all of you will make good use of what you’ve learned."

Then her attention settled upon Victoria specifically; the shift did not go unnoticed.

"As a fellow seeker of knowledge, I confess I have particularly high hopes for you."

Victoria blinked as Lyra smiled.

"You ask good questions." The compliment was simple, yet sincere. "You pay attention to details others overlook."

Victoria’s smile became slightly more subdued.

"And unlike many scholars, you seem willing to challenge your own assumptions." Lyra folded her arms loosely. "Who knows? Perhaps one day you shall be the one who remedies this calamity."

For a moment Victoria simply stared; she did not really believe the praise was warranted. But Lyra’s words were genuine, which made them considerable.

Victoria let out a quiet breath. "Those are rather high expectations." Her smile returned, seeming thoughtful. "I shall do my best to live up to them." The response carried only sincerity as Victoria turned towards Lucinda, her expression softened. "You take your time here, Lucinda." The words came naturally. "I mean that." Her gaze briefly shifted towards Alyssia, then back. "The two of you already seem surprisingly close."

The observation caused Alyssia to immediately huff.

Victoria ignored it completely.

"It would be a shame if you spent your entire stay worrying about everything else and forgot to enjoy any of it."

Lucinda couldn’t help but smile; she understood what Victoria was really saying. Take care of yourself; try to live a little and to not carry every burden alone.

The message was familiar.

Though she rarely followed it herself.

"I will." Lucinda nodded as her expression became slightly more serious. "But if anything happens in Galadriel..." Her gaze moved between Fiona and Victoria. "If anything at all comes up, I want to know immediately."

Victoria exchanged a glance with Fiona.

Then nodded.

"We will," Fiona answered first. "Without question." The wolf-eared girl crossed her armoured arms lightly. "Though, honestly, I doubt we’ll be seeing another Abyssal Warden any time soon." Her ears flicked as she continued. "But that doesn’t mean we’ll become careless." She looked directly at Lucinda; the concern there was hard to miss. "You be careful as well." Her voice softened slightly. "The Abyss has already proven it doesn’t follow rules."

Lucinda held her gaze for a moment, then nodded.

"You as well," she said back.

A brief silence followed as Lyra lightly cleared her throat.

"Well." Several gazes shifted towards her. "If the goodbyes are done, I shall send you back." The statement was delivered casually, as though transporting people across vast distances was no more difficult than opening a door.

They still weren’t entirely accustomed to that.

Before anyone could add another word, a circular red glyph expanded beneath Fiona and Victoria’s feet. The magic appeared instantly as layers of red symbols unfolded across the floor. Countless lines rotated within lines as patterns shifted.

Fiona glanced downward as Victoria merely watched with interest.

Neither appeared particularly concerned as a moment later, a red light erupted upwards. It was a brilliant red radiance that enveloped both women completely. For a brief instant their silhouettes became little more than shadows within the light.

Then they were gone.

The corridor returned to silence, and the glyph faded, with the red glow vanishing. And the space they had occupied stood empty.

Lucinda stared for a moment longer than she intended.

Even after everything she had witnessed recently, it remained difficult not to be impressed.

Eventually she looked towards Lyra.

"I have to admit..." There was genuine admiration in her voice. "The way you perform teleportation across entire regions so casually is remarkable."

Lyra glanced towards her, then shrugged. The lack of reaction made it even more absurd. "It merely takes practice."

"Leave her be." Alyssia interjected before Lucinda could say anything further. "Lyra has a terrible habit of bragging whenever someone gives her even the slightest amount of credit." Her tone carried the familiar annoyance that seemed reserved exclusively for the Court Mage.

Lyra looked delighted by the accusation.

"I simply appreciate being recognized for my accomplishments."

"You absolutely do not," Alyssia accused.

"I absolutely do."

Alyssia sighed; Lucinda was beginning to suspect these arguments had occurred many times before.

Lyra placed a hand against her chest. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"And besides, if I am being completely honest, I would appreciate praise from my little Alyssia in particular." The grin that followed immediately told everyone she knew exactly what she was doing.

Alyssia visibly regretted engaging. "I am not dignifying that with a response." She folded her arms tighter. "Every time I answer one of your comments, you somehow find a way to tease me for the next hour." Her gaze immediately shifted elsewhere, a tactical retreat.

Lyra looked almost proud.

"Finally learning." She nodded approvingly. "You make me proud."

Alyssia narrowed her eyes; the compliment somehow felt insulting.

Before the conversation could continue any further, Lyra simply gestured for them to follow.

"But come." Her voice softened. "We can continue talking while we walk."

As usual, she did not wait for agreement; the Court Mage turned and began moving through the castle corridors without another word.

Alyssia immediately followed; Lucinda fell into step shortly afterward.

The hallways stretched before them, quiet save for the sound of their footsteps. The dim light still bled through tall windows, light from that twisted sky.

For a time, nobody spoke, and Lucinda found her thoughts drifting. There was simply too much to think about: everything she had learned, what Lyra had revealed, and what was still left unanswered, but eventually one particular question surfaced above the rest.

"Lady Lyra." The Court Mage hummed softly as Lucinda continued. "Aside from Archbishop Percival... who else knows about Alyssia?" The question felt important, important enough that she was surprised she had not asked it sooner.

Lyra, however, seemed entirely unsurprised; in fact, she sounded almost amused.

"Took longer than expected for you to ask that."

Lucinda blinked. "You expected the question?"

"I would have been more surprised if you hadn’t asked it." Lyra’s answer came easily, and then she began listing names. "The Inheritors Aerinon, Maerwynn, Rowena, and Lilith."

Lucinda’s brows furrowed slightly; it wasn’t a large number. Yet it was still more people than she had anticipated, and Lyra noticed immediately.

The impressive part was that she did so without even looking back.

"Aerinon and Rowena are trustworthy." Her voice remained calm. "Both are among the more levelheaded Inheritors." The slight emphasis on "levelheaded" suggested that not all Inheritors deserved such a description.

Lucinda noticed.

"As for Lilith..." A small smile appeared on Lyra’s face. "That one was a happy little accident." The Court Mage gestured vaguely toward Alyssia. "This one decided wandering off was a perfectly reasonable use of her time and somehow managed to run into her."

Alyssia looked entirely unrepentant. "It worked out well."

"It did." Lyra nodded. "Which is unfortunately encouraging for her, and it means her luck is absurd."

Alyssia ignored that. "She’s quite lovely." There was genuine fondness in her voice. "I liked her immediately."

Lucinda glanced toward her.

Alyssia did not seem the type to openly speak about people so positively.

"She taught me space-time abilities." There was appreciation there, but just as quickly her expression shifted. "Though that Maerwynn girl..." Alyssia frowned; the reaction alone said enough.

Lucinda immediately recalled the name.

"The Inheritor of the Forsaken God." She had seen Maerwynn before, only from a distance. Never close enough for a conversation. "I’ve encountered her a few times," Lucinda thought back. "But we’ve never actually spoken."

Lyra’s expression became difficult to read.

"She’s..." For once, the Court Mage seemed to carefully consider her wording. "...a rather unique individual." The statement sounded remarkably restrained, which immediately concerned Lucinda. "And a dangerous one." Her gaze remained forward. "If I am being completely honest, perhaps the most dangerous one."

Neither Lucinda nor Alyssia spoke immediately; that did not seem like a description Lyra used lightly. Not after everything they had learned, at least.

Alyssia’s eyes narrowed slightly, and Lucinda found herself paying even closer attention.

Lyra continued.

"Best stay clear of that one."

Alyssia nodded immediately. "You need not tell me twice."

There was none of her usual skepticism, which spoke volumes.

Lucinda quietly lowered her gaze.

Her thoughts drifted elsewhere.

("So only a handful of Inheritors and Percival.") The number still seemed surprisingly small, especially considering what Alyssia represented.

A spawn of Octavia.

Her gaze drifted toward Alyssia walking beside Lyra.

("But how long can that really remain hidden?") The question lingered; secrets had a habit of spreading, and the larger the secret, the harder it became to contain.

Sooner or later, more people would learn the truth.