Sentria: The War for Askeran (Book 3)

Chapter Thirty-Five: Wartime

That night, I used the gnose rock to connect with the relic villages: wind, water, earth, and fire, and let them know that the time had come. It felt amazing, as if they were there with me in that Stargonian guest room. Eldwyn was lying down. He didn't eat much and as the night went on, he became quieter. I couldn't seem to get him out of his mood as much as I pulled and tried to make him smile. He barely responded to me when I tried to spark a conversation.

When I finished communing with the relics, I put the green rock down and went to lie down in the bed behind Eldwyn. He was holding himself tightly and I spooned him, kissing his neck.

"Eldwyn, what can I do?" I asked.

He didn't answer.

"Please, tell me."

He lifted his head back and I kissed him lovingly. He needed my affection and tender touch. He then slipped down his trousers and I slowly entered him. He gasped sharply, but he kept kissing me as we moved in unison, back and forth, back and forth. He must have also needed a release. I grabbed onto his hips and kept him in one place, driving myself into him harder. He could always turn me into some beast. Tears were streaming down his face, but he told me to keep going and I did. I wanted to love his pain away and make him forget about all his troubles. It was just us in that moment. It was always just us.

In the morning, all of us ate in the dining hall with the Marbury family. It was quietly contentious, and I was reminded that the disdain of royals was beyond logic. I understood that they blamed me for Prince Lucas' death, but he was returned to them. Nothing else should have been important, but they clearly still didn't care for me.

At the end, the four of us met the men outside of the Stargon Castle and traveled northward.

The captains were in the front, behind them were their second soldiers, the knights they trusted the most, then our carriage. Behind us were the Sentria and Stargon forces. They rode on horseback in formation, on one side was the silvers of Sentria, and on the other were the golds of Stargon, in between them were the catapults, and the carriages that carried the supplies.

The weather conditions remained good, as if the gods were shining down upon us wishing us success. We traveled over the White Stone Bridge and through the Summerlands making good time. The knights sang their songs, trading off between ballads from Sentrian and ballads from Stargon, and I thought of Brighton Village. I prayed that war would never come to such a gentle town. They weren't protected by a mighty kingdom, they were simple people living simple lives. That was the true responsibility of the crown, to take on the burden of the world, the battles, and the treachery, so that the realm knows peace. When looking at it that way, it was honorable.

We rode through the night and slept in the carriage. All of us were splayed across the inside of it as it rode along steadily along, comfortable in each other's presence. At first light, we came to Hornswallow and we met with the wind and water relics. We thanked them and discussed what the expectations for battle were. They weren't to attack until the dark wizards appeared. From what I could tell, there were about one-hundred relics in total. The knights outnumbered them considerably, but their powers were not to be trifled with. Once our horses rested and finished feeding, the four of us put on our armor. I never felt more powerful than when I was in my white Griffin Prince armor, and we continued on the trail.

As we were nearing the edge of the Summerlands, the skies ahead of us darkened nearly to black. It was the corruption of the northern forces on their way southward. I felt it like a wave of evil, a shadow that was attempting to blot out my soul, and I wouldn't let it win. I steeled my gaze and looked at Eldwyn, Prince Lucas, and Princess Ilya, as if to transfer my spirit to them. We would win.