Ray is low on time, luck, and hope; his only chance is an artifact that may not even exist. But upon meeting Landon, Ray is beginning to believe he might find all four.
*****
Cambion...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The creation of the artifact took just over three years.
Ray set out for Lady Shobu's estate as soon as her letter—carrying word of the artifact's completion—arrived. His retainers had protested this departure—his stepmother most loudly of all—but Ray had left regardless. No matter what they said about how fragile things were with Koyiti, Ray knew that wasn't the case. Alyra's relationship with Koyiti had been fragile. Now, it was shattered.
There would be no salvaging the situation, no making peace with the other great empire. Ray had ensured that much.
However, no one was all that pleased that Alyra's emperor was disappearing on another one of his silly ventures during a time of crisis that he made for himself. They probably thought Ray to be a petty child, making messes and leaving them for other people to clean up. Eventually, they would realize otherwise. This mess was equally intentional and decorated by countermeasures.
Lady Shobu greeted him in the same place she had last time. She looked different than she had before. Her red hair had dulled in color, making it look more brown, save for a few auburn streaks. She seemed a bit shorter too. Perhaps Ray had misremembered her height. Perhaps he'd grown or Lady Shobu was wearing shoes with smaller heels.
"Your Majesty," Lady Shobu said, curtseying.
"Lady Shobu," Ray greeted in turn.
She offered her arm and like the last time Ray took it, after a sharp order to his guards to stay beside the carriage. None of them particularly seemed to want to, but they did not argue with his command either. Ray's temper had been getting worse with age, or so the whispers said, and many of the people who used to tease him had not dared to for quite some time now.
They went to Lady Shobu's garden once more. It had not changed all that much. Just a couple of new skulls and a couple of new flowers. Everything else was the same, down to the direction the petals pointed. The sweet scent of this garden was as thick as it had been before, but it seemed more nauseating than Ray remembered.
"You look a bit pale, your Majesty," Lady Shobu said. "Perhaps it would be better if we sat on one of the stone benches."
"You dare presume to know what's best for your emperor?" Ray snapped.
Lady Shobu pursed her lips. "Of course not. I was merely suggesting it for my own sake. I'm wearing new shoes and so my feet have grown sore."
"Don't use my name to save face again," Ray said.
Despite his words, he permitted them to sit. He knew that Lady Shobu was lying about her feet, he knew that his face likely had been growing pale in response to the overwhelming smell of the flowers, he knew that snapping at her like that had been childish.
It felt nice to sit. The stone bench was cool and rough and grounding. Ray took a deep breath, returning all of himself to the moment and monster at hand. If he stumbled here, he may very well become the latest skull in Lady Shobu's garden.
