No Time To Die

[05] Facing The Striga

After we found out about the king's affair with his sister, we went to see Ostrit who apparently was the one who cursed Adda and her daughter.

"What if it was your beloved Witcher that someone manipulated to turn against you?!" Ostrit questioned.

I noticed the look at my direction before I realized it was towards me.

"Honestly...."

I walk towards him and knocked him out with a punch.

"It's none of your concern," I said.

I left the room to get some fresh air when Triss came over to talk to me.

"I know something about Ostrit's question bothered you," Triss said.

"It was a bit offguard, is all," I said.

"Are you sure about that?" She asked.

"He believes that I'm more than Geralt's ally.....I, um, heard his thoughts before he asked the question," I revealed.

"You don't see it yet but you both mean more to each other than you realize.....the day will come when you will have to confront those feelings," Triss stated.

"Where's Geralt???"

I went looking for Geralt when I realized it was already dark and the full moon was out.

"Shxt! I have to find him before the madman gets himself killed," I growled.

"He probably wanted you to stay away from the Striga," Triss said.

"I'm better at magic than him because of my mother so he has a better chance at surviving if I'm there," I said.

I summoned my bow and an few arrows when I saw Triss's facial expression.

"This is simply to grab its attention, I promise," I said.

"Alright, now go help Geralt," Triss said.

I teleported to the abandoned castle as I heard the commotion so I went running up the stairs to find the striga throwing Geralt around like a ragdoll.

"Fvck!" I whispered.

I took out an arrow, pulled it back against the bow's string, and I grazed her with the silver arrowhead.

"Valyria, Go!!!"

I used my magic to build a wall to shield myself as the striga went for the attack.

"No! We're doing this together!!!" I shouted.

I used my magic to slam the striga against the castle wall and held her there long enough to help Geralt and take my arrow.

"You should've stayed with Miss Merigold," Geralt argued.

"And let you be killed by the striga?! Are you mad?!" I argued.

"The last thing I need is for you to die because of me!!!" He hissed.

"That isn't your choice to make!!!" I shouted.

While I was distracted, the striga got loose so I tried to block her but she grabbed me and threw me to the end of the hallway.

"VALYRIA!!!"

"LOOK OUT!!!"

Geralt was thrown to the other side so the striga went after him immediately which forced him to destroy the floor and we fell into where the royal crypts were. I got up to help Geralt when the striga attacked me from above, scratching my arm and I used my magic to shove her off, hitting a pillar.

"Valyria!!!"

Geralt helped me up, noticing the scratch as the striga wasn't staying put but the sun would be rising soon. The striga was trying to escape repeatedly so Geralt put on the silver brass knuckles to hit her. We all noticed the sun rising so I used my magic to box the striga in as Geralt picked me up to get inside the crypt together.

"Hurry, I can't hold it for long!" I warned.

Once we were in, I was laying on top of him as we closed the crypt and Geralt used his magic to keep it closed while the sun breaks the girl's curse.

"So, Ostrit believed we were lovers," He mentioned.

"Yes, it was quite amusing," I chuckled.

"At least Jaskier was right in calling you 'The Fierce Fox' in his songs," Geralt said.

"Don't you ever get killed on my watch," I warned.

"It goes both ways, Ria," he argued.

We waited awhile longer before we finally got out of the crypt and saw that the curse was broken by the sun.

"Stay here.....I'll check on the princess," Geralt said.

"Be careful, Geralt," I sighed.

He went to take a closer look at the princess when she scratched his neck so he grabbed her to bite on her neck.

"GERALT!!!"

I tried to check on him but I had to calm the princess down first so I gently took off my cloak and gave it to her so she can cover herself.

"It's alright, you're free from the curse," I whispered.

Triss came to help us out of the place and I took care of Geralt while she sent the princess somewhere safe for her to catch up with the world. Triss would help me patch up Geralt and myself as I was exhausted from using my power as well as losing alot of blood.

"You should rest Valyria, you've overused your powers and lost blood.....it's a miracle that you didn't die yourself," Triss mentioned.

"Thank you, Triss," I smiled.

I lay down in a separate bed and fell into a deep sleep.