The grass withered and the earth turned pulverulent, as if poisoned from the roots upward.
Soon the entire horizon was a disolation of ash; such was the effect of Nyxelene's single step.
Unlike the other two, Draven looked unbothered, his hands were clasped behind his back, and he had a calm expression.
"Lisa," he said, walking to her and resting one arm on her shoulder with casual familiarity, "there's no need for you to trouble yourself with her."
"Is it because you think I wouldn't be able to hold my own against her?" Lisa turned to look at Draven, whose gaze remained fixed on Nyxelene.
"Not what I was implying," he replied evenly. "I just don't want you fighting a battle that isn't yours."
He took two steps forward on the now dry land, his boots crunching softly on the brittle earth.
"Nyxelene," he spoke in a voice devoid of any warmth, "you're just as breathtaking as you were the last time I saw you."
"And you, still refuse to take me seriously," Nyxelene replied as she closed the distance by three paces.
"Of course I do," Draven said with a sarcastic grin that didn't reach his eyes. "You said you came to see me. Is it because you finally agreed to my proposal?"
Nyxelene ignored his question and went straight to the point, her voice so dangerous it felt like Draven's next words would decide whether the night ended in conversation or annihilation.
"Two of my most valuable soldiers were left in a near death state after they crossed paths with you. What do you have to say about that, Draven?"
"Soldiers of Runevale?" Draven played ignorant, tilting his head as if trying to recall. "Doesn't ring a bell." He paused, then added with deliberate provocation, "Oh, you mean the cannibal and the tyrant? Those two were fun to play with."
"What does it matter if some filthy humans die?" Lisa joined the conversation, helping Blank—who was still terrified—to his feet. "Did you come all this way just to avenge two worthless humans?"
"I see," Nyxelene said, closing her eyes for a moment. Her expression remained the same—no feeling, no warmth, just the face of someone stating facts.
"As a queen, I can't let this slide. You assaulted my soldiers without any reason. Someone has to pay the price. Also, there's a very disturbing problem."
"Nyxelene," Draven interrupted, voice mocking the entire time, "I need to remind you of something before you do anything reckless. He's not here. No one has seen him for a long time. So how do you plan on making me take responsibility without your guardian lover?"
"I don't need anyone's protection," Nyxelene replied, looking particularly at Draven. Her crimson eyes were filled with emptiness. "Not anymore."
"The problem I spoke of," she continued, "is that, Draven, you highly overestimate yourself while looking down on everyone. I'm not the helpless girl I once was. And if I wished it, I could make your heart stop in three words."
Lisa only smiled, sharp and confident. Blank remained terrified, his knees weak. And Draven… was nowhere to be seen, as if he had simply disappeared.
"Oh," the voice came behind Nyxelene's ear, warm breath brushing her skin.
One moment he had been in front of her, the next—before she could even blink—he was behind her.
"You can make my heart stop, you say?" he murmured, placing his thumb on her cheek and wiping away a particle of dust the wind had blown onto her face.
"That's the second funniest thing I've heard today," Draven said, his voice low and amused. "Even if that were true…"
He slowly walked around her left shoulder to her front, lifted her chin slightly with two fingers.
A pair of scarlet eyes met crimson eyes, the contact sending a chill through the air that had nothing to do with the night wind.
"I could make yours stop before you speak those words."
"Nyxelene," he murmured, his face closer now, his breath brushing her skin, "you're just as beautiful as I recall. Why did you have to choose him instead of me?"
Draven pulled closer, in an attempt for his lips to touch hers—but his lips touched mist.
Just as Draven had appeared behind her, she appeared behind Lisa and Blank in the same heartbeat.
She placed one hand on Blank's shoulder and the other held his arm. With a lazy pull, she didn't just tug; she unmade the connection.
The sound was sickeningly distinct: the wet, heavy pop of a shoulder socket being forced from its housing, followed by the staccato snapping of tendons that sounded like violent violin strings breaking under too much tension. There was no spray of blood at first—only a momentary, jagged silence before the vessels realized they were severed and began to fountain.
Blank yelled in agony. It wasn't the scream of a warrior, but the raw, breathless sound of a man whose body had been betrayed by his own terror.
It wasn't that he couldn't do anything as his arm was being torn—he could have fought, could have moved—but because he was terrified. Terrified of the one who backed Nyxelene. They could have the support of all the Void dwellers, but that one person behind her did more than even the odds; he shifted it completely in her favor. So even if he could do something, it would be meaningless.
"Just who in the seven hells do you think you are?" Lisa screamed as her hand dripped with green liquid, already in motion toward her. But then, as if the world had darkened at once, they felt a gaze—someone watching. Though they only felt it for a brief moment, like a warning that the first to touch Nyxelene is the first to die.
It was the feeling of a predator's eye pressed against the back of their necks.
Lisa froze, paralyzed with fear.
'This feeling… it's him.'
The air was filled with the miasma of dread of a shadow that wasn't even there.
Draven's mordant expression was gone, replaced by an unwavering readiness for confrontation. No one knew where he was, but one thing was certain: The one backing Nyxelene was watching.
Nyxelene smiled. It was the first time her lips had moved in such a way, and it was more terrifying than her silence. Under the cover of that borrowed, crushing weight, she took Blank's remaining arm, but she heard no sound. The man was too terrified to even feel pain.
'It's him. He's here. We'll surely die.'
'Good thing I saved his presence with the cursed tongue,' Nyxelene thought. 'I didn't know it would be this effective. But I can only use it so many times.'
It looked as though the presence she had used had drawn too many eyes. Nyxelene sensed a lot of unseen gazes on the three of them—watching, and waiting for someone to get injured, so that they could act.
"Draven," she said calmly, "I'll be taking my leave. Next time you lay a hand on my kingdom, I'll be taking more than two limbs."
She faded away like drifting smoke, leaving only the scent of night air and the echo of her words.
"Judging by how she used 'assaulted' instead of 'kill,'" Draven said, his voice returning to its usual calm, "it seems the cannibal and the tyrant are still alive. If that's the case, then she owes us a limb. I'm only willing to pay one limb for both of their treatment back to good health."
He walked to Lisa and Blank.
"Lisa, treat him," Draven looked at Blank as he spoke. The man was a mess and still looked terrified, blood pouring from the stumps.
Lisa's anger boiled, but she nodded.
"After you're done," Draven continued, "take him back to clear his thoughts. I'll be out of touch for a while. Someone needs to attend to those uninvited guests."
With that, Draven disappeared, leaving the two behind in the dead land.
"Nyxelene," Lisa spoke through gritted teeth, her eyes burning with fury, "I won't forget this humiliation for as long as I live."
.....
Meanwhile, back at the inn, Aeloria opened her eyes and noticed that the room was empty.
She looked around, but the man was nowhere to be seen.
"He left you alone?" Rya asked Aeloria, who sat on the bench beside her, telling her about her past.
"No," Aeloria replied quietly, "he only went out to attend to personal matters, or so he told me."
Aeloria stood up from the bench as she walked to the door.
"Wait here, Rya."
She entered and brought out a basket.
"It's cloudy today," she said, looking up at the heavy sky, then back at Rya. "A good time to pick fruits. Would you like to come with me?"
"What about Enoch?" Rya asked as she stood from the bench.
"Don't worry," Aeloria answered with a small smile. "He won't be waking up anytime soon."
The two women stepped into the cool, overcast morning, basket in hand, the forest around them quiet except for the distant call of birds and the rustle of leaves in the breeze.
The clouds hung low, promising rain later, but for now the air was fresh and clean, carrying the scent of earth and distant herbs.