MIXED emotions of wonder crossed Eleand’s face when they reached the mountainous part of the Autumn Region. They walked for over an hour after Zanti’s teleportation, but he did not have the slightest idea what they were searching for. Everywhere he looked, the plants and trees were in the season of fall. The leaves were red and yellow, while the other trees were completely out of leaves.
“What kind of animals are we trying to catch?” Eleand could not endure asking questions because it would be better if he got an idea, so he wouldn’t be surprised if it was another weird and frightening creature. Besides, he was still alert whether Zanti might do something to him. However, the Assassin proved himself that he was trying his best to be friendly.
“We are not hunting animals. We’re going to catch a Migus. It’s challenging.” Zanti smiled.
“What is that?” His forehead crumpled. The name of the thing brought himself to doubt on his companion’s intention.
Zanti’s smirked made him feel uneasy. Surely, he was planning something bad.
“Migus is a lesser faerie living in the shadow. You’ll see that they’re incredibly fast, and we’ll measure our capacity as expert hunters. We just need to shoot an arrow to its heart.”
His jaw dropped, and he shook his head sharply, “I can’t kill a faerie.”
Zanti laughed. “You get it wrong. We’re not going to kill it. Once we hit its heart, it is the perfect time to capture the Migus. It won’t die because that’s the way to catch it.”
Eleand looked puzzled. “Sorry, but that’s bullying a lesser faerie.”
Zanti roared his laughter. “Migus is an excellent fortune teller. You can ask about your missing sister because we are allowed to ask two questions.”
“Really?”
Suddenly, he became excited to capture a Migus, whatever kind of creature it could be— if this were the only way to know what happened to Elida.
“And you can ask it about your luck in love as well,” Zanti said in a serious tone.
Eleand almost laughed about it. This Assassin sought a piece of love advice, and he was sure it would be about Nahil. At this point, his doubt of Zanti disappeared. He became at ease in his presence.
“I’m not interested in that. My marriage sucks, so I think true love does not exist.”
The Spy-Assassin looked surprised. “Is that so? In the world of faeries, love is a bond. There is a link connecting their souls. Once we find our mate, we will cherish each other in our entire immortal life.”
“You mean you can love only one faerie in your whole life?” His eyes widened. Faeries must be loyal and faithful when it comes to love.
“Well, precisely. But we are not that lucky to find our mate. We can spend centuries or even millennia not finding the right one. That’s why we have lots of lovers, and some get married for alliance and security.”
“The same from the human world, we have this thing called ‘soulmate,’ the right one. But only a few are lucky enough to find them.” He bitterly laughed upon remembering his ex-wife. He thought Brandy was his soulmate. Unfortunately, not.
Both of them paused when they heard a crackling sound nearby. Zanti raised his index finger to his mouth, gesturing him to be quiet. They slowly walked and approached a dark cave a few meters away.
“I think we’ve found one,” he murmured.
Thanks to his faerie sight, he could see every detail inside the cave, even it was dark. He almost jumped in panic when he saw a tall figure that seemed to paddle in a small stream in the corner. A cloud of dark smoke almost covering its body.
Eleand gaped when he examined it closer. It looked like a human cat! The creature had white whiskers, long black fur, and bright blue eyes.
They split up and found a suitable position to capture the Migus.
Zanti put an arrow to his bow and made himself ready. He signaled to Eleand to prepare, and he tightly held his bow. Then they targeted the creature, still oblivious to their presence.
Eleand was wonder-stricken when Zanti started to attack and hit the Migus several times, but he could not properly hit its heart.
The Migus seemed alarmed to see them, and it suddenly moved swiftly.
Eleand held his bow steady and targeted the creature, but he missed. He heard Zanti cursed many times because his arrows landed on the Migus’ foot, back, and hips.
Eleand breathed out to concentrate harder. He gently closed his eyes and tried to grasp its movement. When he established the pattern, he opened his eyes again, and he could see the direction repeatedly done by the beast.
It was moving like a whirlwind around the cave. He found the right time to let go of his arrow, and the creature looked in his direction.
Their eyes met.
The creature suddenly stopped moving for an unknown reason, and he took advantage of hitting its heart. Zanti did the same. Their arrows landed at the same time.
They walked nearer, and the creature, still dumbfounded, looking at Eleand. Perhaps it knew that he was not from their world.
“Two questions…” Its voice was like coming from the deepest chasm of the earth.
It’s talking! Eleand acted as if he was not bewildered.
“Right, one for me and you. Fair enough, yeah? We caught it.” Zanti looked excited.
Eleand did not hesitate to ask, “Where is my sister, Elida?”
The Migus shook its head and attempted to concentrate with its eyes closed, “I cannot see her specific location. It’s dark. But I could feel her aura. She is safe.”
“That’s all? Where can I find her?” he sounded irritated.
“The second question…” it said, ignoring him and turned its attention to his companion.
“Okay, wait.” Zanti seemed to be immersed in deep thinking, “Nahil likes me, right?”
Eleand almost burst into laughter upon hearing his query. If this guy was a human, he was immature for his age. He looked like a child asking a question.
“I cannot answer questions when you already know the answer.” Migus looked unbothered.
“You think I will ask you if I already know the answer?” Zanti tried to get his sword from the scabbard, but he stopped him.
“The second question….” the creature repeated.
Zanti remained silent for a moment. When he finally raised his question, he looked very serious. There was no hint of immaturity and being funny. He was deadly humorless as he approached the Migus.
“Where can I find the Ancient Queen?”
Eleand witnessed how the Migus was taken aback. He could feel its hesitation before answering. It looked at him and took a moment to answer.
“The Ancient Queen never stays in one location—she could be in Muhler, Alegerio, or Erganiv. Protect this mortal. The Faerie Queen is coming….”
His jaw dropped upon hearing the Migus, “How did you know I’m a human?”
It ignored his question again. The next thing he observed was the arrows stuck in its chest melted away, and the creature suddenly disappeared.
“Wait, who is this Ancient Queen?” he asked.
He saw him clenched his fist, “Rieska, the Faerie Queen.”
Eleand just nodded and paid little attention. It doesn’t bother him, anyway. He could not even care what was going on here. Totally none of his concern.
FOR over two hours, they continued walking around the mountains of the Autumn Region. Zanti toured him around to be more familiar with this world. He noticed a few faerie houses on the hill, and its residents were busy cultivating the land.
“These mountains are the boundaries of Summer and Autumn Region. There are plenty of animals to hunt in this area. If we’re going to straight from here, we will cross the territory of Gwiazda. Don’t dare to intrude in their borders unless you have any official business. The rules in Gwiazda are so strict, and they won’t hesitate to kill you.” Zanti lectured him.
“I don’t have a plan at all,” he chuckled. With this information, he would not even dare to stroll around here alone since it was very dangerous for his kind.
At this point, he felt calm upon knowing that Elida was safe. According to Zanti, the Migus never lied. Eleand was sure that his sister survived the accident. Maybe she was in the hospital in their world. He also hoped that his father was fine, too.
Eleand was lost in his thoughts when Zanti paused from walking. They were currently on a hike on a hill from which there was a crevice on the side. A sea of clouds covered it, so he should take extra precautions on his steps.
“I smell odd, something rotten.” Zanti hilted his sword, “follow me.”
His heartbeat went fast. He could sense the danger as well. The way Zanti held his sword seemed like he was ready to kill.
Eleand tightly clutched his bow. He looked around and heightened his senses. If things got worse, he could defend himself without asking Zanti’s help.
The Assassin ran towards a huge stone wherein blue liquids spattered around. It appeared that faerie blood was blue. But there was no time for him to be amazed at this kind of situation.
Both of them were stunned upon seeing a male faerie lying on the ground. His body and face were mutilated.
Zanti studied the dead faerie, “The Alundra is not the culprit in this murder,” he held the dead body, and a black mist suddenly surrounded it. He chanted in a faerie language then the body turned to ash.
“We need to get back to the palace.” Zanti gritted his teeth.
Eleand nodded. He put his hand to the Assassin’s shoulder, and they both disappeared. Then he noticed they were already in front of the Golden Palace. The teleportation was quick that made his knees wobbled.
ON the golden throne, Aserah stood up when Zanti and Eleand came around. A moment later, Winzi and Ahldrin suddenly materialized from sight and appeared out of breath. Ahldrin’s arms were bleeding.“What happened?” Aserah’s forehead creased.“I was roaming around Croea when I saw a threatening vision,” Winzi said, not even blinking.“What vision?” Ahldrin asked. His wounds were slowly healing. Every faerie of royal blood can heal themselves fast unless heavily wounded. It would take time for the body to recover.“I’ve seen the Ancient Queen along with her trusted cadre, visiting the Golden Palace.” Winzi looked agitated.Aserah nodded. She silently gritted her teeth, but she composed herself. She needed to add more warding spells to the palace.“How about you Ahldrin, you rarely got wounds in a fight. Who did this to you?&rdqu
MEANWHILE, on the other side of the throne room, Eleand met Winzi’s gaze. Her silver eyes were glimmering as she gave him a warning. This little witch immediately ran into him when the intruders came inside, a female faerie in black and a male that looked like a warrior.Winzi was communicating with him in his mind while holding his shoulders.Don’t look at them. Just look at me.She followed Winzi’s command. He could sense the danger; he couldn’t control his body as it trembles voluntarily just in the presence of the female faerie in black. He could hear her talking with Aserah. Her voice was dangerous and sweet in her ears. Maybe it was a typical attribute of one faerie—enchanting.The intruder’s laugh was soft but sinister. An invisible force made him look in her direction. Even Winzi was trying to block his sight.Thanks to the gift of faerie eyes, he coul
INSIDE his room in the Golden Palace, Eleand came back to his senses. He could still feel the sweat forming on his forehead. He saw something. A bloodbath. He vividly visualized hundreds of bodies bathing in their blood.He had a frightening dream. It was so unpleasant that he felt throwing up. Maybe this was just the after-effect of the presence of the Ancient Queen because he saw her in his dream. Although her face was blurred, he was sure the slaughter was her doing. Darkness was everywhere, and the queen held a bloody sword. The pommel was a black diamond in the hilt of her sword. There was no remorse in her face when she slew a hundred warriors.Shit, he cursed more. He slowly got up and leaned his back on the headboard. His throat dried because of his nightmare. Maybe the evil queen cast a spell on him?“Thank the heavens. You’re awake.”He spotted Winzi emerge from the terrace
ELEAND stared at the faeries minding their own business outside the Golden Palace, and in his hand, he held the book of magic Aserah gave him. He had a lot of things going in his mind, but he made sure that his goals were clear. He had to survive and endure everything to be able to wield strong magic.He stood few meters away from the main door when he went back to his senses. Some faeries looked at him and mostly didn’t even care. He would always look forward to getting back here.“Are you ready?” asked Winzi behind him. He was caught in awe because of the white fur cape resting on her shoulder.Eleand figured that she knew what he was thinking. Winzi rolled her eyes and scrutinized him from head to toe.“What is your problem?” he asked with unconcealed irritation. He just didn’t like the mocking smile plastered on her face.“How many times do I have to tell you
“TAKE it easy. He won’t bite.” Winzi reassured Eleand after she was satisfied making fun of him. This witch was lying! The beast ran fast, going to their spot, and Eleand was ready to shoot. But it suddenly transformed into a male fae. Just like everyone, his appearance would make those human male magazine models envious. His pointed ears and tanned skin were impeccable. There was a triangle mark on his forehead. His long red hair smoothly flowed, and his vibrant green eyes somehow looked friendly. “I guess I have visitors.” The faerie smiled at them, then turned his attention to Winzi and winked, “Hello, Princess. I’m glad you paid a visit.” Eleand drew a deep breath and relaxed when he heard his welcoming voice. Then he almost laughed when he witnessed how Winzi blushed, and her cheeks turned reddish than normal. Now he got an idea of Winzi’s type—wild faerie beast. “We are going to Fariyah’s temple, so I dropped a visi
THE guards arched their heads down to acknowledge Winzi. At the same time, Eleand was apprehensive when he entered the temple. Winzi just tilted her head to the guards, and she guided him inside.The vast hall startled Eleand as they strolled. Six large blue chandeliers were hanging on the ceiling, the intricate details on the wall were painted in gold.At the center of the hall, there was a colossal statue of a woman made of ice. The sculpture held a lance. Maybe this was the representation of Fariyah.“That is the ice statue of Viera, the Goddess of Winter,” Winzi said upon reading his thoughts. She even rolled her eyes and spoke again, “She is Fariyah’s ancestor.”“Nice,” he was amazed to know. It seemed like the source of the mythology from his world had a basis.They were both stunned when a female faerie emerged from nowhere. She wore a white hooded swirling gown. Her
ENKILLE provided him breakfast when he woke up in the morning. She proudly showed him the walk-in closet where his clothes were neatly hanged. All were winter clothing and several battle armors.“Today, I suggest you wear special armor and a fighting suit because Fariyah will test your strength. Physically and mentally. Best of luck!” she said when he finished his meal.She immediately left after giving him some advice for his first day of sparring with the priestess. Although he was agitated thinking about what could happen, Enkille reassured him that everything would turn out good if he did his best.Eleand chose the appropriate clothing according to Enkille’s advice. He picked the black suit with silver linings. That combination became his new favorite for an unknown reason. He just really loved dark colors.He went down with his golden bow. Better be prepared because he could not wield any other weapon.
THE worried face of Enkille welcomed him. There was a blue light emitting from her hand, and she was gently pressing his stomach. He was shirtless, but surprisingly, he could not feel the cold around. He was lying in his bed, and the faerie was using her healing magic.“Wait, hold on. I’m almost done,” she lightly exhaled.“I can’t believe that I’m still alive!” he exclaimed. Still remembering how deep his wound was and the loss of so much blood. He was still lucky after all.Eleand tried to get up and leaned on the headboard.“Luck is on your side. I heard you call my name. You were dying.” Enkille shook her head.“Fariyah tried to kill me. How could I fight back to a goddess?” His face contorted when he sensed the throbbing pain in his back and stomach.“Turn around. You have a wound on your back as well. Let me fully close the wound behind