AETHER BEASTS

"Hope!"

Jericho rushed over and took his daughter from Misty, embracing her tightly. He pulled back then frowned as he noticed she was asleep and pale. "Hope? What's wrong with her?"

Aether surged around him and he turned a glare onto Misty, but before he could do anything else I stepped between them, allowing some aether to bleed off me. "She's just tired, now disperse your aether. I don't think it wise for us to fight, especially since we just saved your daughter."

It was also because Misty would probably tear him a new one if he tried to pick a fight with her and I did not want to start a war with the upper city of Bullock. It didn't matter how big and strong he looked, she was a vampire, and even with one core not yet filled, I knew she could take him.

He calmed visibly at my words then sighed. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to accuse. Porter had your reward. I used all my connections to find the best cores I could, I think you'll be pleased with the selection."

I nodded. "Thank you. If that's all then we'll be leaving."

"Are you sure?" He asked. "There is a place for your three in Bullrock, we could always use three powerful arcanists."

I shook my head. "We have our sights on something else, but we appreciate the offer."

There was no way we could stay here and we wouldn't even if we had the choice. Our goal was the border cities, and the lands that lay beyond the great scar.

"Well, then goodbye and thank you, if you're ever in Bullrock again and need anything then please come to me." He bowed low.

We bid him goodbye then collected our rewards from Porter who thanked us profusely before running up to the mayor's room, presumably to check on Hope. He would undoubtedly be busy in the next few days if word got out that we'd been seeing the mayor and with the way the guards had escorted us, it most likely would. I felt a bit bad, but with his strength and influence, he could deal what it, or so I hoped. It wasnt like we'd done anything against Bullrock so it shouldn't be too bad.

With our reward in hand, we quickly made out way out of the city before any stone revenants caught up to us. It wasn't that I thought they could actually pose a threat, but I'd rather not have to fight in a densely populated city. The chance of people getting hurt would be larger even if I did think I could end things quickly. The only ones who could challenge us in the plains were those who led sects and those at the border cities which we were headed to now.

But first, I needed to have a long conversation with Zirani, Misty, and Sandra since there were all just as much a part of this as I was now. I love both of them as odd as that seemed. It had only been a few months and my life had changed so damn drastically, and I had a feeling it would only escalate as we moved towards the border. With everything I'd learned about the lands beyond the great scar, it was shaping up to be a very interesting and dangerous place, after all, they called the plains, the peaceful lands.

Once we were a distance away from Bullrock, we took a break and went over the cores Jericho had acquired for us. There was a wide variety, and we had plenty of all the elemental cores and to my great surprise, he'd somehow managed to get his hands on all of the combination cores such as Ice, storm, molten, or magma as some called it, and nature. Combination elements were exactly how they sounded, they were combinations of the base elements. Nature was of earth and water while ice of water and wind, etc. There were generally rarer than base elemental cores, but that was not the greatest of the cores.

"Is that what I think it is?" Sandra asked, staring at the glowing purple core in Misty hand that she'd pulled from the spatial ring Proter had placed the cores in.

"A gravity core." Zirani sounded shocked. "It seems it was all worth it. This is a very rare core, even in my lands. Time, space, and gravity cores than to go for higher prices when sold. Here there are almost nonexistent, in my lands, they are just rare."

"Whose going to use it?" I asked.

Misty and Sandra glanced at each other and for a second thought an argument might occur but then Misty handed it over to Sandra who frowned. "You don't want it?"

Misty shrugged. "Not really, I have another plan I want to try out for my second core."

Sandra looked at me. "And you."

"My second core is already filled," I replied somewhat bitterly.

I understood that my second core was impossible and had a lot of potential, but it also held her, and well, I didn't really know how that was going to work. Ever since the fight with the had she'd been silent. I could sense that she was awake and listening at times, but no emotions came through our bond and she never talked, not even when I tried to communicate when Zirnai asked me to try. It seemed she'd gone from screaming to ignoring.

"We'll do it together," Sandra said to Misty. "What is your plan for your second core."

Misty smiled, showing fangs. "I have death, I want life."

With that piece of information revealed, she turned and walked away.

"Where are you going?" I asked, confused.

She turned back to me with a smile. "To test something out. I'll explain later. I couldn't do it in the labyrinth since we were all in an enclosed space. If you need me just use the bond."

Sandra placed the core in her won spatial ring then ended up going off on her own to do some training, leaving me and Zirani alone.

"So, you want to talk?" Zirani turned to me.

"Not now," I replied. "I want it to be with all three of you."

"Alright, then let's talk about her." Zirani glanced down at my chest like she could see the core and the queen who resided within it. It sort of felt odd to call her queen, but I didn't really have any other name for her. I sure as hell wasnt about to call her great master or mistress. She may have saved my life, but that didn't me I was suddenly going to treat her like one of my lovers or even as a friend. I'd called us acquaintances but I doubted we were even that.

"What's there to talk about?" I asked. "She's gone from screaming and curing me, to just ignoring me. I get that you want to use the power and I do too, I really do, but is there no way we can—"

I blocked off my bond with the queen, not tapping her, but essentially hiding my emotions. She was currently dormant, but no point in risking it. "Get rid of her?"

Zirani shook her head. "The core, yes, her, I'm not sure. It would most likely involve some sort of soul ritual where we would pull her from the core while leaving her power behind. I'm not sure, it seems as though her natural form is one of pure energy, pure power. I have some knowledge of the soul and its inner workings, but I'm not an expert and the last thing we need is for it to backlash onto you or worse, free her."

"Could we find an expert to help us?'

She snorted. "Aiden, the moment someone saw your impossible core, every single powerful arcanist would want to get their hands on it, even… them."

I was confused for only a moment on who 'them' was, but then I remembered back to how she'd told us about the arcanists who were above the rest and extremely powerful."

"Well, would they not sense me when I cross the scar?"

Zirani rolled her eyes. "Aiden, you've been walking around freely without a disguise for the past two weeks. How have you not realized that no one's noticed? It seems it appears as empty to anyone who tries to sense it, which may be her doing, or an instinctual defense to keep yourself safe."

"Oh."

Now I felt pretty dumb, and lucky since if people had sensed it, I would have been in trouble.

"So what then, you want me to try and negotiate with her again?" I asked.

"If you think that will work." Ziranisuddenly became serious. "But do not, and I mean do not, make any soul oaths, deals or agreements or agree to any deals that are asking for too much or seem too good to be true."

"Soul oaths?"

"A binding agreement of the soul," Zirani explained. "If you make a soul contract and then break the contract your soul is considered forfeit and depending on the contract could either be destroyed on the spot or be taken as payment for breaking the deal."

I gulped. "Really?"

She nodded. "Be careful how you word anything, do not mention the word soul when you speak with her. All it would take is one wrong-worded contract for her to have limited control over you. An example would be if she asked to be let out every time you were happy. Now it sounds simple, but if you didn't clarify whose definition of happiness then well, you get the picture."

"No soul deals." I nodded. "Got it. Anything else?"

"Don't let her push you around." Zirnai placed her hands on her hip." She may have saved us, but she still started a war and committed many evil acts. Do not let her get under your skin or provoke fear or terror. She is more your prisoner right now than bonded, and don't speak of harshness. If she were a normal beast then it would be different but after everything she's done, she does not deserve mercy, not until she changes."

Zirani sighed. "if she can even change."

I held back a sigh. Trying to communicate with the queen seemed like it was going to be rough and complex, and somehow worse than the screaming.