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Chapter 30: Where There’s Fire

“I took away your ability to use Fire Magic.”

…Took away her Fire Magic? Keahi could hardly believe the words that tumbled from Masou’s mouth so intensely. He stood so tall, so domineering. There was a sense of the utmost authority radiating from his form.

A shiver raced down Keahi’s spine. It wasn’t a shudder of fear, though. It was something else, something he didn’t really understand. He had been in awe before, many times, but this time it was different. There was just something so…immortal about Masou.

Again, Keahi looked at Masou in wonder. He was no mere human. He was something else.

“The flames are disgusted with you and now see you as their enemy,” Masou spoke, his voice strong and complete. There was little emotion, only that he demanded respect. His words were final. “You get too close; you’re going to get burnt…again.”

Flamenca was sprawled on the ground, looking pitiful covered in soot. She had a look that Keahi had never seen her wear before. Disbelief. Fear. Shock. So many emotions mixed together.

Masou stared down at Flamenca in silence, almost daring her to try to retaliate in some way. But, under his intense stare, she could do nothing.

“This battle is over now,” Masou muttered as he turned his back to the Fire Princess. He sighed deeply, before turning his head to look over his shoulder. “Why don’t you crawl back to whatever rat-infested hole you were spurned from?”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room, only the sound of Masou’s heavy footsteps echoing throughout the room as he walked away from Flamenca. The deafening silence stretched on seemingly forever.

Then, slowly, with much difficulty, Flamenca struggled to her feet. She was trembling, her slender form covered in soot, her clothes singed in many places, and her once luscious, vibrant hair was tattered and matted. She had never looked so physically pathetic.

And Keahi felt a sense of pity for her. Her petty greed and selfish desires that made so many suffered had returned onto her. He could never forgive all the pain she had caused, but that didn’t mean he didn’t pity her.

Despite the overwhelming fact that Flamenca had lost this battle in so many ways, and that her bottom lip was trembling as she tried to hold back her tears, she sent Keahi a rather weak glare.

“Whether you like it or not, Cousin, I am still the princess,” Flamenca said, clearly trying to be defiant, refusing to acknowledge anything but her own greatness. “What I say goes, you understand me?”

Keahi felt frustration wash over him as he looked at his only living family member. “I think it’s pretty clear, Cousin, that unless you start treating your people with the respect they deserve I will keep defying you.”

Flamenca growled lowly in her throat but made no attempt to send a scathing insult at him. She had nothing to say. There was nothing she could do. If Masou’s words were true, and the intensity of his voice gave the clear indication that they were, Flamenca no longer had any kind of Fire Magic flowing through her. It was only a matter of time before the Fire Elders realised this fact.

Things were going to change one day soon. Good or bad.

Flamenca turned around abruptly, swaying unsteadily for a moment before limping away, moving as quickly as she could despite her obvious injuries. And neither Keahi or Masou made any attempt to stop her or aide her in anyway. She wouldn’t want either, and neither did they.

When she was out of sight, the sound of her feet shuffling across the floor, Masou did something rather unexpected to break the tension in the air. He flung his arms around Keahi, pulling him against his chest in an overly exuberant hug.

“Ooh, Keahi, you sounded so cool!” Masou cooed loudly as he practically swung Keahi around, Keahi flailing unsteadily in his grip. “Honestly, it sent shivers down my spine.”

Masou’s wild mood swing bewildered Keahi somewhat. Then again this man was completely unpredictable. He sent shivers down Masou’s spine?

“What about you?” Keahi said as he managed to gain control over his limps, placing his hands on Masou’s chest in an attempt to either push him back or push himself away in order to look up into Masou’s eyes. “I’ve never seen an attack like that before. That was...that was amazing!”

Truly, he was speechless. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know what to feel at the moment. Everything was just happening so fast.

“Heh, you think so?” Masou asked him, obvious humour in his voice as he smiled that cheeky grin of his, somewhat humbled in his abilities.

Something wasn’t right, though. Keahi had always sensed that there was something…unusual about Masou. He was far too powerful for a FireBrand. Sorceries of Fire, taking away someone’s ability to wield the flames, no FireBrand had that kind of ability, not even a high ranking Priest.

Keahi had never heard of such things before.

“...Masou, just who are you really?” Keahi asked quietly, an unsettling sensation forming in the pit of his stomach. “And don’t say just some guy. Some guy cannot possess such amazing skills!”

Masou quirked his head to the side, his expression not faltering in the slightest. “Well, I guess that I am simply more in-tune with my inner Pyro,” he said rather simply, like it wasn’t at all a big deal to him.

While it meant nothing to him, supposedly, it meant something to Keahi. “Be serious.”

“I am,” Masou instantly replied as he gave a one shoulder shrug. He then moved forward to gently place his hand on top of Keahi’s head, the touch giving Keahi a sense of comfort. “Didn’t I tell you before that using fire takes passion and courage? Well, I have the passion, the drive to live my life the way I want. Is that so wrong?”

Keahi stared into Masou’s eyes and saw gentleness and sincerity. It didn’t annihilate the feeling he had that Masou wasn’t telling him the whole truth, though. “...No, it’s not,” he replied.

Masou continued to smile down at him. “You know, if you have a bit more belief in yourself, the Fire Dragon would love to help you.”

The corner of Keahi’s mouth twitched into a half smile. “Fire Dragon? Alright.”

“Don’t forget to smile!” Masou said childishly as he grinned broadly. “Did you see the look on her face? Priceless, right? She’s going to have a hard time from now on getting people to agree with her.”

Keahi nodded his head absentmindedly as he allowed Masou to curl an arm around his neck and drag him toward the exit. Masou was right.

Even so, there was an uncomfortable feeling of dread in the air.

“Let’s go check up on Bharath,” Keahi suggested with a slight frown on his lips. “I hope he’s alright.”

-------------------

Brendis waited until the healer had left the room, nodding distracted as the kind young man offered him some words of reassurance. While he did not doubt his words, Brendis never fully trusted anything unless he had witnessed or experienced it himself.

Walking over to the small bed, the only one in the room, Brendis sat down heavily on a wooden chair. Although the sight of beautiful Bharath lying unmoving and pale on a pure white bed was simply gut-wrenching, he couldn’t take his eyes off of him. His hair had been pulled into a loose and rough braid, draped over one shoulder, his hands folded neatly over his torso. His chest rose and fell in a gentle rhythm. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully, and could easily be mistaken for such.

If it wasn’t for the many bandages gracing his slender frame.

Brendis supressed a feeling of rage toward the…bitch who did this to his Bharath.

Pushing his anger aside, Brendis lifted a hand to remove his glove. He then reached forward, to touch Bharath’s cheek. There was a graze there that he just didn’t like.

“Awakening Flame,” he said lowly, his eyes drifting close as a warm sensation appeared at the very top of his head before flowing down his arm, to his hand that was so gently caressing Bharath’s face.

Suddenly Bharath’s eyes fluttered open as he leaned into Brendis’ hand. Although his gaze was hazy, he immediately recognised Brendis’ presence, offering him a tired smile. “B-Brendis?” his voice was rough and coarse, his throat dry. “S...since when do you know how to heal?”

“Please,” Brendis snorted as moved forward, gently placing an arm around Bharath’s shoulders to pull him into a sitting position. “A reckless idiot like me has to learn a thing or two very quickly.”

Bharath hissed lowly, his body giving silent protesting to him moving. But he sighed softly when Brendis held him, cradling him against his strong chest. “Thank you, Brendis.” He felt safe here, wrapped up in Brendis’ arms. A place he could easily fall asleep.

But he couldn’t.

“Where’s Master Keahi?”

“That Masou guy is with him,” Brendis immediately replied. “He ordered me to look after you.”

“I...see,” Bharath murmured, his body tensing with a sense of fear. Princess Flamenca was truly dangerous. She had lost all touch with reality. Would she be too much for Master Keahi? Masou was with him, but Bharath had no idea his level of Fire Magic was. What if she overwhelmed them both?

It was too much to think about.

“I’m glad he did,” Brendis spoke, pulling Bharath out of his musings. “I know it’s my duty to protect Master Keahi, but I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate properly because you were injured.”

“Brendis?” A sense of guilt gnawed at Bharath and he tried to sit up fully, to position himself so he could look into Brendis’ eyes, to both reassure him and to apologise sincerely for causing him grief. “I’m sorry, she caught me by surprise.”

“Easy,” Brendis immediately scolded, tightening his hold on Bharath so he couldn’t move and put further strain on his body. “Don’t move around so much, you’re still hurt.”

“I’m all right,” Bharath said, an automatic response, but he settled back into Brendis’ arms nonetheless. The weight on his newfound knowledge was too much for him to bear on his own any longer. “Brendis? I know who killed those villagers.”

Brendis tensed for a moment, surprised by Bharath’s suddenly admission. “What?”

“It was Princess Flamenca,” Bharath told him, his hands gripping tightly at the green sash that rested over Brendis’ shoulder. Tears pooled in his eyes and he squeezed them shut to prevent them from falling. “She did. She admitted it.”

“She’s the one who is using Dark Fire Magic?” The anger in Brendis’ voice was clear and blatant.

“Yes,” Bharath whispered, a tear escaping to slip down his cheek and he buried his face into Brendis’ chest. “She…said it so casually, as if their lives meant nothing. Brendis, what do we do? I can’t follow a Princess who kills her own people!”

“I know,” Brendis immediately replied as he ran a hand through Bharath’s hair in an attempt to sooth him, reassure him and calm him down, not wanting to hurt himself further. “I can’t either.”

Well, shit…he hadn’t expected the one to be using Dark Fire Magic so recklessly would be his own Princess. What could they do about that? Even if they confronted her now, she was far too insane to be dealt with.

And, worse still, Keahi and Masou was actually doing that right now.

What should he do?

“We’ll…find something,” Brendis muttered under his breath as he held Bharath closer to him. “There has to be something we can do.”

“Bharath?”

Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard, startling both Brendis and Bharath. Immediately, they both looked toward the door way to see Keahi standing on the threshold, alive and unscathed. Utter relief washed over the three of them.

“Bharath, I’m so glad you’re all right,” Keahi said as he quickly entered the room, practically jogging over to the bed.

Brendis loosened his grip on Bharath, helping him to shuffle over to the other side of the bed where Keahi was. As soon as he was in range, Keahi did something that was rather uncharacteristic of him; he threw his arms around Bharath in a hug, the relief on Keahi’s face was obvious.

“I’m sorry for worrying you, Master Keahi,” Bharath said, his own arms reaching up to hug Keahi back.

With his arms still around Bharath, Keahi shook his head almost desperately. “No, it’s my fault. She injured you in order to get to me. I’m sorry.”

“Master Keahi…” Bharath wanted to say more, but he tensed and whimpered lowly from a sharp streak of pain. “Ngh.”

“Don’t push yourself, idiot,” Brendis scolded as Keahi practically leapt backwards, several soft apologies on his lips. “Some of your injuries may have been healed, but you are still recovering, so take it easy.”

“Sorry,” Bharath whispered as Brendis lowered him back onto the bed, Keahi tucking in the sheets around him.

“Yes, rest now,” Keahi said, trying to give a reassuring smile as he stood up. “Flamenca is no longer a threat. There’s nothing for you to worry about. I’ll explain everything when you’re feeling better, I promise.”

Brendis and Bharath both wanted to know what had really happened, but they simply nodded in understanding. After everything that has happened, some peace and quiet would be good for them.

Before turning to leave the room, Keahi gave his two oldest and dearest friends another smile. They were safe now. The other Priests could deal with the damages that Flamenca had caused to the temple. The elder Priests won’t be happy about that. And when word gets out, Flamenca would have a very difficult time explaining everything.

The next Council meeting was going to be interesting.

…She’ll probably try to put the blame on him, though.

“Bharath will be alright.”

Keahi jumped slightly at the sound of Masou’s voice, pulling himself out of his musings. “Ah, yes, he is strong,” he agreed, placing his hand over his heart, truly relieved to physically see that Bharath was going to be fine. His wounds will heal, he will recover.

But…

Keahi hand clenched tightly into a fist by his side. “Flamenca…she…”

“This cannot continue,” Masou said abruptly, knowing what Keahi was about to say.

Although he was angry, Keahi felt his shoulders drop a little in frustration. “I know, but-”

Keahi was suddenly interrupted when the earth beneath their feet began to tremble, a rumbling noise filling the air. Fear clutched at Keahi’s heart when he staggered over to a window, looking out to see thick, black smoke erupting from Obsidian Volcano.

His breath was caught in his throat.

Obsidian was awakening.

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