Dark Prince & the Doe

Chapter Forty-three: Accountability

Chapter Forty-three: Accountability

Calden

"Larken," Calden whispered, pulling at his brother's shoulder. The tinderhorse's head bucked, blue sparks were cast into the air by its stamping hooves. Larken wouldn't meet his eyes, but they were aglow with the Blue Flame. His brother's hands had curled into tense fists; blood ran between his fingers and dripped to the thirsty battlefield below.

"Larken," Calden warned, slowly guiding his brother away from the tinderhorse while holding onto his upper arm. An uncomfortable heat radiated from his shaking shoulders. "You need to look at me. Tell me what happened."

Larken hissed out through his teeth and tried to pull his arm away from Calden's grip. "No," Calden said sternly. "You can't do this right now. I won't let you. Talk to me."

"She's the one," Larken said tonelessly.

A small gathering of ambassadors had crouched around the collapsed priestess. She was holding one hand out, a finger pointing accusingly at Larken. The wind rippled her green sleeve, the gold embroidery glittering in the sunlight.

"The one...what?" Calden asked as gently as he could.

"She's the one from the Final...the City of Delvist. That lord's daughter."

"That can't be," Calden said, shaking his head. "Think about this logically. Why would that woman come as a peace ambassador? It's been almost eleven years, you're mistaken."

Larken scoffed. "You think I wouldn't recognize the one who nearly clawed my eyes out with her bare hands? She certainly recognized me. So, I'm removing myself before something regrettable happens."

"Whether or not she's from the Final, you were justified in –"

"Do not justify my actions to me!" Larken roared, shoving Calden back and leaving bloody handprints on his shirt. "That was not justice!" Larken strode back towards his tinderhorse and yanked himself up into the saddle, turning his steed back towards the Gates.

"Coward!" a shrill voice pierced the air. Calden and Larken both flinched. The priestess had stood, wind whipping her hair furiously around her. The Atrezins stepped back – shocked by her outburst. "Come back and face me, you coward!" she screamed. Leaning over, she grabbed something from the ground. Her hair swirled around her face as she hurled something at them.

The crystal orb didn't cover the distance, but it certainly conveyed her point as it shattered to pieces on the ground. "Too afraid to look me in the eyes!" She howled and leaned down, grabbing a handful of stones. "Come back and face me!" She threw a stone, and it skittered across the ground, rolling towards them in the dirt. "Do you have no shame, you soulless beast!"

Larken snapped the reins of his tinderhose and galloped back towards the Gates. The priestess didn't stop screaming. "How does it feel to burn down an entire city? The innocents caught in your flames as you turned the dreams of hundreds of families to ash! How could you look upon a weeping child and threaten to kill him beside his father's...burnt...body!"

She hurled a stone with each screamed accusation. Kiren stepped in front of the flying stones, and one struck his face. The priestess's hands dropped back to her sides, dirt and stones slipping through her pale, quivering fingers.

Everyone went deathly quiet – even the winds stilled – as if the entire world was holding its breath. Terror flooded the old battlefield as Kiren stared down at the priestess. The ambassadors waited, frozen in fear, unsure if he would lash out at her, cut her down, and leave her corpse to feed the ever-hungry crows of war. Calden prepared himself for conflict.