"I will walk!" Aren snaps at her, not being able to endure her staring. Is she an idiot? How could he sit with her? A cold shiver runs down his body. She's...
"Can you catch you with a horse with enhanced stamina?" She narrows her eyes on him. "Take the usual path to the dark castle. We will meet after two days."
"You are going to leave without me?" He grabs her thigh when the horse steps ahead. Kresi pulls the reins and glances at the hand on her thigh. Realizing his mistake, he takes his hand back awkwardly. "I told you. You are just a girl in my eyes. I don't think of you as a woman. This gesture means nothing."
She's too young. A kid. She's not even fully grown. If he was thirteen or fourteen, this might have been normal. He's freaking… Ah! He was so popular in Ilucia when he was younger.
"If you want to come with me, climb the horse." Kresi glares at the weirdo in front of her. "Don't waste my time."
They were attacked a moment ago. How could he leave his brother with her? He doesn't have any choice. He hates this idea so much. This girl is his mother's murderer. He hears her sigh loudly, seemingly annoyed by him.
"You are the most annoying creature in the entire universe." He sits behind her, taking the reins from her hands. "Where are we going?"
"Broken Fog," Kresi mumbles. "It was Misty Groves in the lower realm before the unification of the realms."
How far is the Dark Castle from Broken Fog Woods? It seems like they are going further and further away. Kresi bends down and touches the horse's neck, tapping once. The horse neighs loudly, running ahead. Aren clenches his teeth, trying to control the enraged horse. Only Kresi and Ai are sitting with calm faces as Aren does his best to control the horse.
It keeps running until they are in the midst of the Broken Fog Woods. It becomes lethargic suddenly. They climb off the horse. Aren looks at the dying horse and sighs. This is the effect of enhancers. That drug was created in the middle realm. It was widely used on humans, half-lings, or spirits who fought in the rings. He glances at Kresi who is patting the horse's head as it takes its last breath. Thrown in the den of mad halflings? But why? She was a Mirin, a royal bloodline. She was still a Renasir's daughter. Even if she was abandoned, she shouldn't be thrown into the fighting den in the middle realm.
Kresi closes the horse's eyes and stands up. It's already night. They are furthest from the Dark Castle. She scrutinizes the area around her. It has changed a little. But the stars and the moons won't lie. She looks up at the sky, checking the positions of the moons and the constellations. How much time does she have before Cina notices that she's in this forest?
"How did you get to the dens?" Aren's question makes her frown. What's his problem? Can't he keep his mouth shut? There's suspicion in his voice. "Did you lie? You were only thirteen. Children under thirteen aren't allowed to visit the underground realm."
"Or so people believe." She looks at him calmly. She has no expectations from anyone from the world. It's not surprising that he has no idea about how the world worked. Even now, things haven't changed. Much. Maybe children aren't cursed anymore. So what? "Mirai and Pebby were eleven when they became Gianna's slaves. Pebby lost her first child when she was twelve. Mirai wasn't the father. She was entertaining a guest and things went rough."
Aren inhales sharply. Lady Gianna is Andareanesi's Bagoodi's wife. He knows about the dark dealings of the underground realm, but he hasn't expected it to be that bad.
"Their lives were better than other cursed children who sought shelter there." Kresi stares at the sky again, speaking with a mechanical tone. "There were so-called nobles from the higher realm who liked to watch the cursed children fight the spirit beasts. I was the hand of Andareanesi once. Back then, they had rings where nobody could do magic. You relied on your strength or other skills. There were matches where only one person would survive. I picked up a skill or two during those times, I think."
She speaks as if it's normal. They were around the same age. When he was at the palace, she was in the middle realm. "Why did Gabriel let you fight there?"
"Belan would only give shelter to the kids younger than thirteen." Kresi starts walking in the north direction. Aren picks up Ai and the bags; and then, he follows her. She keeps glancing at the sky as if it's a map. Can she also read the star? What does she not know? Mayaeira Mirin must have taught her well.
"The older ones had nowhere to go." She continues, "Hiding in the lower realm was okay, but we were also preparing for war. Andareanesi was interested in me. So, I volunteered to be Andareanesi's toy in exchange for support from him. In return, the older ones will find shelter in the middle realm. " She lets out a chuckle. "It's funny. Our efforts were a waste. The war didn't happen."
Little Ai is listening to her in silence, though he can't understand everything completely. The man named Andareanesi seems bad. He quietly adds that name in his list. In his heart, he removes the sister's name. She doesn't seem that bad.
Her back doesn't show any weakness. Aren realizes why Gabriel and others rely on her. By the way, what does she mean by war? Is it the prophesied war between the chosen one and the dark god? They have been preparing it for a long time? "Where did you get that Serpent's Sting? Did Lord Andareanesi give you that?"
Serpent's sting is supposed to be in the temple of Sion, the god of war and destruction.
"I stole it." Her voice is small and quiet. Aren shakes his head. Why is he not surprised?
"Did it occur to you that you should return it now?" Aren questions her.
"Why should I?" She pats the snakes in her pocket. They are lovely. "That god doesn't lack weapons. He doesn't even remember the serpent's sting."
"But it's not yours." He looks at his brother who is listening to Kresi with a serious expression. Is his brother learning this all? His brother would become a thief if this goes on.
"If it's in your hands, it's yours." She stops walking, stretching her arms. "It's been such a long time since I fought with someone. Maybe I should find Andareanesi and Gianna after this is over."
Aren sighs. He must ask Ari to teach good things to his brother. "Why do you want to meet that halfling?"
"I am going to beat him up for fun." She winks at him. "No revenge, no revenge."
"..." This girl has learned nothing.
Kresi walks to him and shoves something inside Aren's pocket. "If you keep going north, you will find a cave that looks like a mouse's mouth. Enter that cave. Keep walking until you reach a fork. Go left. You will meet a dead end. The end of the cave is a gate. All you need to do is use this talisman on the gate. It leads to another cave near the dark castle."
"How do you--"
She slaps his lips. His curiosity is annoying. "I went there to meet the dark god once."
"Is that still going to work?" As much as he knows, all the gates except for a few ones stopped working when Belan died.
"If it doesn't work, take the usual route." She pushes him away.
"What about you?" He frowns at her. Is she abandoning them? She promised that she would help the Renasir.
"Cina is almost here." She stares at the tree in front of them. "The distraction didn't work for long. It must be your chattering that attracted him here. Go now. I will deal with him."
"I can't leave you alone to die." Aren puts Ai down on the ground. He gives the talisman to his brother and explains, "Ai, you heard her, right? You have to find that cave and use that talisman. After you reach the dark realm, wait for us. We will come soon."
"Are you mad?" Kresi scrunches her nose. "You are sending your brother alone."
"He will be fine." Aren rubs his brother's head. "Do you know where north is?"
Ai nods. He can tell that much.
"Go. Your brother will find you soon." Aren pats his brother's back. Ai runs in the north direction. Kresi gapes at him. Did he forget that he is afraid of her?
Aren smiles at her. So, she shows that kind of expression too? "I can't leave my enemy to die here."
Strange person! Kresi huffs at him. He must want revenge. "So, you do want to kill me with your hands."
"I want to fight with you in those dens." He steps closer to her. "If I win, you must submit to me, okay?"
"If we live through today." Kresi promises him, "I will certainly grant your wish for blood."