Requiem for a King [MxM]

Bonus 1: Quintus' Reprise

This chapter takes place 6 years after the Epilogue.

Quintus slammed the tome shut and leaned back in his seat with a bone-weary sigh. Fucking useless. He'd been at it for weeks now, combing through every book tome and scroll on necromancy he could get his hands on. Heck, he'd even gone down to the market and invoked Jaredeth's name to get a few more.

And nothing. There was nothing in any of these scraps of paper that could help Octavia. He had half a mind to send off a correspondence telling her to evaluate the island. Jaredeth had been making preparations if it came to that.

Quintus gazed up at the roof of the study as though the polished would held the answers he so desperately needed. There had to be a way to weed out the anchor. Necromancy didn't work on living things—well it wasn't supposed to, but that branch was still new and underdeveloped. Octavia wouldn't want to go that route anyway.

"Amadeus."

Amadeus peeked over the stacks of books in front of him and adjusted his glasses. "Yeah?"

"Do you remember anything at all from your studies at the archives that could assist us?" Quintus braced his foot against the table and tipped his chair back on its hind legs.

He pulled off his glasses and shot his head, working dust and smudges from the glass with the hem of his shirt. "This is the first I'm hearing of it, I'm afraid. I'm surprised Hedalda is still standing all things considered. Even large cities usually fall after two attacks, Divine City or no. They're very lucky."

Quintus nodded his agreement. Hedalda was short on a lot of things, but luck wasn't one of them. The Priests there seemed at least semi-competent, but they'd still be no match for a large-scale threat. Only once before he'd seen a situation like the one in Hedalda, and it had been easy to weed out the anchor—a nightwalker chained in a forgotten cellar. One song was all it took.

A knock on the door pulled him from his ponderings and he looked over in time to see Havers poke his head in.

"Pardon the intrusion. Master Quintus, I've procured the item you requested." The major domo stepped fully into the room and handed Quintus a little black box.

Quintus didn't miss the small, sheepish smile painting the elder man's face. "Did you tamper with it?"

"Of course not." Havers' smile grew into a grin. "Do let me know if you need anything else."

"Sure. Thanks again, Havers." As the door clicked shut, Quintus tucked the box away and made a mental note to inspect its contents later. For now, he needed to stretch his legs before he went cross-eyed.

"I'm taking a break," he told Amadeus as he stood. "I'd suggest you do the same thing." He stretched and arched his back until it cracked before leaving the study.

The apartment Amadeus shared with Undine was tucked away in the east wing of the castle, overlooking the ocean. Jaredeth had decked it out with all manner of nonsense, as per their resident necromancers' request. Amadeus liked weird surrealist art, abstract images of creatures more haunting than the netherborne. Undine liked a cozy atmosphere, and the two did not blend well.

A chill always ran down Quintus' spine when he glimpsed the wood-carved wolf head, with its ratty fur and blood stained teeth, hanging over the cutesy tea table. He gave the "art" his back and left the apartment.

It was still relatively early, which meant his majesty was either walking Jaliah to classes or entertaining some stuffy diplomat. Quintus descended the steps to the first floor and followed the halls to the castle's library. No Jaredeth in sight.

He turned into the main hall and arched a brow at Jaredeth's ancestors, peering down at him from gilded frames. He liked to imagine they were seething at the necromancer sullying their royal halls. Good.