Content Warning: Some cursing, descriptions of physical violence, and brief mention of blood

“The little prince…or Thallios, I should say, since he is a person…I think I know why you want to protect him so much…”

“Why?”

 “Because…he is so beautiful…and why wouldn’t you want to protect someone so precious?”

Leiyu felt the blood drain from his face.  Cold sweat broke out all over as a chill ran down his spine.  He gritted his teeth as he faced Astatine.  “You-!”

“What?” Astatine sneered.  “Are you going to deny it?”

“...”

“Then there is some truth to it…”

“...”

“I mean, it wasn’t hard to tell, from the way you two interacted…”

Leiyu’s jaw dropped.  “What the hell?!  Have you been spying on us this whole time?”

Astatine laughed.  “Relax, I wasn’t watching you day and night.  Only when my raven caught up with you.”

Thallios first noticed that bird when we were in the Northern steppes, Leiyu thought.  “So…you can see what the raven sees?”

“Obviously.”

Leiyu shot him an annoyed glare.  “But how?”

Astatine smiled.  “Magic.”

Leiyu sighed.

“You have a lady too, up in the North?”

“What?” Leiyu suddenly realized who he was referring to.  Sarangerel!  “Don’t you dare go anywhere near her!”

Astatine clicked his tongue.  “My goodness, always thinking the worst of me,” he sighed as he casually spun one of his daggers in his hand.  “I have no intention of going near the Goddess of Wind.  She’d easily defeat me since I’m just a low-level mage.”

Leiyu looked at him in disbelief.  “Why were you following us for so long without showing yourself?”

“Well, the chase is no fun if it’s too short…”

“...”

“Also, the little prince may be weak, but the Fire Goddess is a force to be reckoned with.  Didn’t want to get burned so quickly.”

“Why did the Earth Priestess send you instead of coming herself?”

“Priestesses are not supposed to interfere with the affairs of the world.”

“But they can send others to do their bidding?”

Astatine smiled.

“How about cursing Thallios’ mother?  Is that not interfering?”

“That’s between two goddess avatars.  It doesn’t count as interfering with the wider world.”

“...”  Leiyu gave an exasperated sigh.  “Who makes up these rules?”

Astatine shrugged.

“And what are you getting out of this?”

Astatine stared at him.  “My lady saved my life, so I owe her my loyalty.”

“Heh, is that all it is?  Merely transactional?  Or is there something else?”

Astatine frowned.

“You lost your family at such a young age and the Earth Priestess rescued and raised you.”

“What are you getting at?”

“Do you see her as a substitute for your mother?”

Astatine’s eyes widened with rage.  “You shut up!”

Leiyu smiled.  “Looks like I struck a nerve too.”

Astatine unsheathed his other dagger and began to approach him.  “What the hell would you know?”

“Look, I’m an orphan too…”

Astatine paused.

“And I don’t even remember my original family.  I’d still be a beggar on the streets if I wasn’t taken in by my Shifu.  So I supposed he was like a surrogate father and the other disciples at our sect were like surrogate siblings…”

“I have no idea what you’re getting at.”

“Well, the details don’t matter…but we’re really not that different, are we?”

“Heh, if you’re trying to get my sympathy by acting like we’re the same, don’t bother!”

“Not the same, of course.  I know nothing of your life, nor do you know mine.  It’s just that I don’t think our situations are that different…”

Astatine frowned and tightened the grip on his daggers’ hilts.

“In fact…” Leiyu began to smile.

“What's so funny?”

“You said yourself that Thallios was…beautiful…”

Astatine’s frown deepened.

“Now why would you say that?”

“...”

“Unless…”

They were interrupted by a sudden flash of light.

Astatine turned.  “Oh…look who it is…welcome back, little princ-”

Amara flashed her glowing golden yellow eyes at them.

“-ess?” Astatine gulped.

Amara stared at him, auburn tresses flowing wildly in the wind.  A fiery aura surrounded her.  In her hand was her extended dagger sword.

“Thallios!” Leiyu exclaimed.  Amara glanced at him with her golden yellow eyes.  “Oh…Amara…”  She smiled.

Astatine quickly grabbed Leiyu from behind and held one of his daggers up to his throat.  “Good to see you, little princess…”

“Give Leiyu back,” Amara said coldly.

“Or what?” Astatine pressed the dagger’s blade closer to Leiyu’s throat.  “I’ve suppressed his powers and he’s heavily injured, so he’s completely helpless right now.  No sudden moves or this will be a short reunion…”

“Let him go, it’s me you want, isn’t it?”

Of course, but I need leverage…Astatine thought.  “Put your sword away!”

“You know,” said Leiyu, being careful not to brush against the dagger’s blade, “if you kill me, Amara will not show you any mercy…”

Astatine smirked.  “Well, lucky you, guess we’re at an impasse.”

Amara pressed the jewel on her sword’s hilt and the extra blade retracted, shortening it into a dagger.  She returned it to its sheath.  Looking up, she murmured softly, “Leiyu…close your eyes…”

Leiyu wasn’t sure what she was up to, but he did as he was told.  After his eyes were completely closed, blinding light rays emitted from her eyes.

Astatine winced and looked away, dropping the daggers.  “What the f-!”  He loosened his grip on Leiyu.  Amara rushed forward and snatched Leiyu away from him.  She leapt a short distance away.

“You ************!” Astatine screamed as he held his hands over his eyes.

Amara held Leiyu in her arms.  “Are you all right?”

“Yes…” Leiyu breathed as he collapsed against her.

As Astatine’s eyesight returned, dark waves began to encircle him.  He picked up his daggers and began to flip them in the air.

Amara leapt backward further and set Leiyu down.  She cast a protective barrier around him.  “Stay here.  I’ll be back soon.”

Leiyu stared at her as his breath quickened.  Amara unsheathed her dagger and extended it into a sword.  She and Astatine faced each other.

Astatine made the first move.  He sent a barrage of dark waves toward her.  Wanting to keep Leiyu out of harm’s way, even with the protective barrier around him, Amara leapt forward and met the waves head-on.  She slashed her sword and deflected the oncoming waves with an explosion of flame.  Streaks of light and darkness arched through the air like fireworks.  Sparks bounced against the protective barrier surrounding Leiyu.  He stared at them with his mouth agape.

Astatine was incensed.  This scenario was exactly what he was trying to avoid.  He had no idea how powerful Amara was or whether he had a fighting chance against her.  

“Ah, f- this!” he growled to himself.  Gripping the hilts of his daggers, he summoned thousands of sharp pieces of gravel and full-sized rocks and levitated them into the air.  With a wave of his hand, he launched them toward Amara.  Leiyu gasped.

With the grace of a dancer, she twirled and burned away the smaller rocks with ribbons of flame.  Leaping into the air, she ran across the larger incoming rocks as if they were a bridge.  Her eyes glowed as she approached Astatine.  Before she was able to slash at him with her sword, Astatine wrapped himself in smoke and vanished.  She looked to her side for a moment and then turned around and brought her sword up to block Astatine’s daggers as he reappeared above her in a flash.

They continued to go back and forth, blades clashing, and robes fluttering in the wind.  He fought with the wildness of a madman, while she retained a graceful detached calmness.  He saw an opening and tried to slash at her with his daggers, only to be met with a swift kick to his face from below.  She flipped in the air and landed softly on the grass.

Astatine wiped the traces of blood from his mouth and snarled.  He then noticed Leiyu in the distance.  With another wave of his hand, he disappeared in a swirl of smoke and reappeared next to Leiyu.  Amara bolted and glided towards them.  Her sword met with one of Astatine’s daggers.  While the blades ground against each other, he flicked his free hand and pierced the protective barrier around Leiyu with a talisman.  The barrier dissolved.  Astatine broke away from Amara and lunged toward Leiyu.

Wanting to protect Leiyu and acting entirely on instinct, Amara shrieked and swiped her sword at Astatine, surrounding him in flames.

“AHHHHH!!!” Astatine tried to shield himself against the flames.  The heat was intense and his energy was fading fast.  With nothing to lose, he leapt toward Leiyu, grabbed him, and heaved him into the rushing river near them.

“LEIYU!!!” Amara screamed.  Leiyu was dragged away by the rapids.  She dove into the river after him.

Astatine collapsed and passed out.  The flames extinguished and smoke curled into the air.

Amara swam through the rapids, trying to catch up to Leiyu as he floated through the choppy waters.  He coughed as he choked on water and he struggled against the silver threads binding him.  As she approached him, her eyes widened.  The sound of rushing water became more deafening.  She looked in horror as he went over a waterfall.

Leiyu!  She followed him down the cascade and they disappeared into the mist below.