FOURTH BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF FANTASILIA SERIES
𝘈 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭. 𝘈 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘈 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘈 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦.
Xanthiene Vivenca, a fairy with a bounty for her soul, is caught between...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Footsteps and the consequent squeaks they brought against the floorboards echoed in Xanthy's ears as Nyxis dropped to a seat next to her. The sun had gone down long ago and she hadn't moved since Rutoria left the house.
"Is it still too early to ask what in spicepods did you talk about?" Nyxis leaned against the table as he folded his arms to himself.
Xanthy sighed. He deserved to know, didn't he? She opened her mouth and out came the whole story—the chalice, the oncoming war, and what she planned to do in retrieving the chalice. By the time she finished, Nyxis's eyes were wide. "That was not supposed to be possible."
"Apparently, I was right and you are wrong," Xanthy rolled her eyes. She drummed her fingers on the table and set her mouth in a thin, determined line. "I am going after the chalice."
Nyxis mussed his hair and left it without fixing it back to its signature style. Xanthy knitted her eyebrows. He never did that. "Xanthy, you are not hearing yourself," Nyxis shook his head and closed his eyes. "You would still help him after what he did? I do not understand."
"Is it not what friends do?" Xanthy asked with a pointed tone. This was yet another talk she didn't want to happen with the only friend she had left. "Why do you have qualms about it?"
Nyxis scoffed. "Are you really asking me?" his voice rose. "I thought we already talked about this? He betrayed you, remember? It's natural for us to leave him on his own to die."
Xanthy's jaw slacked as her mouth dropped open. Was this still Nyxis she's talking to? What happened to the Nyxis who was understanding and empathetic? The Nyxis who would drop everything to save a person in need? This wasn't...this wasn't Nyxis. "I expected more from you," Xanthy's insides churned. "We are dealing with a life here—a soul. And you are being cruel."
Nyxis clicked his tongue. Red colored his face reminding Xanthy of a ripe ajilte. "You call me cruel when I am just thinking about you and his betrayal?" he snorted. "I am just worried that if you heal him, he will just betray us all over again. It will be more dangerous if he happens to turn on us in the middle of the war."
The war. Yet again, it was the thing that's coming between her, her friends, and their chances of living in harmony. Xanthy narrowed her eyes. "What makes you think that he will betray us again?"
"He did once," Nyxis glanced at the unconscious half-blood inches away from Pidmena's doorstep lying on the bed behind them. "What is to stop him from doing it again?"
Xanthy clenched her fists. "I will."
"You?" Nyxis waved his hand in Xanthy's face. "You will not be here if you ever plan to use that throne. You are going to leave us with him."
Was she expected to take the responsibility in healing June? Was this what it was? Xanthy crossed her arms. "Are you seriously going to talk down on me with that tone?" she dropped her voice into a harsh whisper.
