The Fall of Vequera

Chapter eight | Koa

LOCATION: PERTIRU, VEQUERA

YEAR: 620 C.E

KOA DELACROIX WITNESSED THE DEATH OF HIS CHILDHOOD BEST FRIEND.

Rage, Fear, and Confusion were all he felt as he stared down at the dying knight on the ground. He wanted to kill him, and he didn't care that the knight had done nothing wrong. But in the back of his mind, he knew that would not make the pain go away. He had lost someone he cared about, and that man did not take her from him. His hands balled up in fists as he turned to the unconscious princess but before he could walk away the man called out to him. "W-wait, please help me. I have a family. They need me." The knight croaked behind him.

Arya had been an orphan, but he had become her family. Her family had been killed during the massacre of God's land and now, there was nothing left of the Cardaidrases. Except for Arya who was born years after the massacre and her mother but her mother soon died of grief. The knight's chest rose and fell quickly as a pool of blood formed under him. A hiss left his lips and Koa rolled his eyes.

He only had a day to make it to Eler with the princess alive. His mother's orders and he didn't have time for this. Wondering why his mother wanted him to kidnap the princess wouldn't do him any good. He had been in Vequera watching her for the past few years. Arya and he had been sent there to observe the Queen, but Arya's priorities shifted as time went on and his stayed the same.

'Humans weren't worth saving. They ruin everything that they touch.' He thought, darkly. The princess was no different from the dying man in front of him. She was more to blame than he was. Her love killed Arya. It took her away from him. He wanted to kill her as well, but he knew, he could not.

A dark thought wandered into Koa's mind, and his eyes fell back to the knight. He had changed his mind. His mother will scowl him for it but before he could think it over, he had begun to chant. "Blood of my blood. Blood of our blood. Come forth from Yas with a gift, you have blessed upon my blood." He closed his eyes and flashes of the man's death made the tips of his lips curl to a sinister smile.

Yas had accepted his prayer. He absorbed the man's fear and Yas's blessing with ease. Power boiled in his veins, but it did not last long before it started to fade away. Whatever the gods gave them tended to do that. Nothing the gods gave them would last as long as they were unbalanced. "Return to Vequera and tell no one of who you saw here."

Koa watched as the man miraculously stood from the ground like his injuries did not phase him. The knight's eyes had turned a chalk white as he blankly turned away from Koa. Koa shook his head as everything came back to him. The princess was still unconscious, and he hadn't left for Eler yet.

His eyes moved around him, and they fell on the carriage as the horses pulled it into the distance. He glanced over his shoulder before he bolted after the carriage. His body cut through the air and in a matter of seconds, he caught up with the carriage. "Luvi. Calm." He spoke calmly in Feygani then in common tongue and the horses rapid breathing had begun to relax. He let out a sigh as he glanced at the carriage and began to unhook the horse from the carriage and pulled it by the cheeker.

He spotted loose rope on the ground, and he picked it up before letting the other horse go then grabbing the other horse by its cheeker, he threw himself over the saddle. The free horse took off in the distance.

"One day. It's only one day." He reminded himself. A cooing noise broke through the air, and he stopped the horse before it could move. He knew better than to follow the noise so, he ignored it. His mother used to tell him stories of the beasts that lie in those woods. The Black Forest. A chill ran down his spine as he pulled the horse further away. The cooing got louder but stayed in the same area. The princess groaned as he reached her. She opened her eyes but she didn't move, just vacantly stared up at the sky.