CHAPTER 47

HAKKERAN HAD been sitting on the foot of the queen's bed for more than an hour, but she hadn't said anything. She didn't reply to Hakkeran's question. Not a single word, but Hakkeran knew the queen was awake. He could hear her uneven breathing and her subtle movement on the bed. It was agitating him. The thought that the queen he adored didn't want to speak with him by choice was disturbing him that he couldn't concentrate.

It was vexing, but he had a plan. A solid plan. And this, whatever this was, it might destroy his plan.

Maybe this was better. Maybe this was for the best.

With that in mind, Hakkeran stood up and went back to the cave's entrance. He just had to endure. What's new? Nothing. Enduring pain and longing had always been his specialty.

I endured four lifetimes without her, I have no problem enduring one more.

Hakkeran sat on the ground and sighed. Instead of soothing his aching heart, he closed his eyes to concentrate and recall his plans. At the moment, everything was being ready in the empire. He needed more time to make sure that his plan would succeed, and the queen would give him that as she crossed the three valleys to get to Queen Gatria.

As long as his queen, the Mistress of Flame was making trouble and leaving burnt bodies in her wake, the empire and the kingdom's attention will be solely focused on her and no one else's. And I have to take advantage of that while everyone was preoccupied. He had three lifetimes to plan this. He wouldn't let himself fail.

Hakkeran glanced in the direction where the queen was on her bed. He wanted nothing more than to talk to her, smile and laugh with her and just be with her, but he had more pressing matters to do.

He had to strengthen their prisoner and jailor relationship. It was more safer.

Hakkeran passed the night with that thought and when morning came, they went back outside to try to cross the center of Shivering valley. The queen was silent, not a word was said unlike their previous mornings where she would always greet him with a smile on her face as if she was looking forward to their day together. But, today, no greetings and she became colder than the valley.

Hakkeran was expecting this, but this was too much. The queen's silence was deafening, as if she was silently telling him that this was how she treats people she hates and didn't like.

Dead silence.

She never, not even once, accepted his offered hand to assist her. She became this indifferent and strange person.

But his plan must go on.

Reaching the center of the valley at noon and hearing the howling of the beasts, Hakkeran readied his twin blade from his ring and gave one to Sollel which Sollel silently accepted.

"Don't use strong flame attacks," Hakkeran warned the queen. "We don't want to trigger an avalanche."

Sollel just nodded and blessed the blade in her hand with her own flame. It was a normal blessing, not a blood flame so the sword will hold out until broken.

Holding the now flaming sword in her hand, trying to find the right grip, and balance of the sword, Sollel heard a growl from the steep slope above them. Casting her gaze in the direction of the sound, she stilled when she saw a pack of bluish-white four-legged beasts. Nine feet in length, including their tail and five feet in height. It was huge and there were so many of them. Without using her flame, they'll lose and be a beast food. But if she did, they'll be buried in thick ice.

"They're called snow topaz-furred Wildcat." Hakkeran informed Sollel. "They're fast and agile. Their claws are sharp and deadly. They attack in packs and one pack consist of fifteen to thirty members. But the most annoying part of them are their fur, it's too thick to be penetrated so easily. Not only that, but they could also wield ice to some level to make ice sharp spears—"

Before Hakkeran could finish his words, sharp ice spears appeared out of thin air, floating in the air for a second before it was launched at them at full speed. In a blink of an eye, the ice spear reached them, but before it could hurt Hakkeran who was on the front, a thick wall of flame erected in front of him, blocking and melting all the ice spears.

Hakkeran turned to look behind him and saw the queen's pupil swirling with lava-like liquid.

He was sure that the queen didn't even move to block those attacks. She's getting stronger. Good.

Sollel didn't want to talk to Hakkeran, but she had to set aside her anger for a moment. She had to work with Hakkeran to get out of this situation they were in. "I'll use my flame to protect you. Fight and make a way. I'll be behind you."

Hearing that from his queen, Hakkeran gripped his sword and run towards the beasts without fear. Sollel, who watched Hakkeran confidently attacked the beasts head on, erected a wall of flame on both sides like a wall protecting Hakkeran. Only leaving his front and back open.

Sollel watched Hakkeran fight with war blades in both hands and seeing him battle head-to-head with the pack of snow topaz-furred Wildcat, her conclusion of who he really was became even stronger as he swings and thrust his war blades.

Hakkeran on the other hand had no worries, except for the snow topaz-furred Wildcat in front of him, no beasts could even get close to him. Before they could, a wall of flame immediately erects to block those sharp claws and fangs and even how fast he moves, the wall of flame could keep up.

However, five snow topaz-furred Wildcat attacked him at once to overpower him, but before the beasts reached him, five bolts of flame from behind him passed him at the speed of light and before his eyes, the bolts of flame burned the five beats ganging up on him and penetrated its skin and incinerating their inside.

In just a few seconds, they died. And seeing the horrible state their kind was in, the remaining snow topaz-furred Wildcat run for their lives, afraid to be incinerated to death.

Hakkeran turned to look at Sollel.

Seeing the look Hakkeran was giving her, she shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not a powerful attack that could cause an avalanche."

Hakkeran wanted to massage his forehead because it was aching. "How is that not powerful?"

Sollel shrugged again. "It's not. Honestly, the bolts of flame I conjured was only meant to tickle them and distract them to give you time to finish them all off."

Hakkeran looked at the incinerated beasts around him. "This... Is your way of tickling?"

Sollel raised her hand to her face level and watched the bolts of flame hopped from her fingers to another, as if playing. "Why? Want me to tickle you too?"

Hakkeran put back his war blades in his ring and sighed. "No tickling. I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Very."

Sollel shrugged and the bolts of flame hopping on her fingers disappeared. "Your loss."

"I don't think so," Hakkeran muttered under his breath before going back to their route.

Sollel immediately followed behind while surveying their surroundings. The snow was thick and that's when she realized that the center of the shivering valley was a mountain. That's why Hakkeran warned her not to use any powerful flame attack that could trigger avalanched.

"Can't we go around?" Sollel asked.

"We could, but it'll be more dangerous and there are no caves in the area where we could stay at night. In all of the route I mapped out, this is the safest."

Sollel sighed and looked up to the sky when she heard the sound of wings flapping. She squinted her eyes when saw a bird figure flying above them. "Is that... A white snow owl?"

Hakkeran cussed when he heard the queen. "Damn it! They're man-eating white snow owl! Quick! Run!" He remembered the same kind of beast attacking him fiercely before he died years ago in this valley.

"Oh."

Hakkeran grabbed Sollel's hand and pulled her close to avoid separating and then, they ran.

But how could they outrun something that could fly? And how could they get away when two humongous snow grizzly bears with red angry eyes were blocking their way?

Hakkeran gritted his teeth and pulled his war blades from his ring. "I'll take care of the bears." He said to Sollel.

"I'll take care of the birds." Sollel immediately summoned back her bolts of fire and willed it to burn the owls above them, but her bolts of flame could only reach few meters. Her strength was not enough so she turned to Hakkeran who was busy fighting and asked. "Can I take off this moonrite ring?!" She shouted to be heard. "I promise not to kill you!"

"Come here!"

Sollel ran towards Hakkeran and when she reached him and he turned his back on the humongous beasts to take her ring off that she couldn't take off herself, Sollel summoned a wall of flame to protect Hakkeran's back.

"Don't be complacent!" Sollel scolded Hakkeran for turning his back on the beasts.

Hakkeran shrugged. "I know you'll protect me. You promised."

Sollel sighed and was about to turn around and look up when she felt a burst of flame essence inside her. It was too sudden that she swayed on her feet and gripped her the center of her chest to feel her own body. And that's when she felt it, two powerful flame essence joined her blood of flame, as if it had just been freed from its confinement.

Two flame essence... From who? Sollel didn't remember taking a flame sorcerers' essence. The last time she fed her blood flame was in the clearing and he already fully absorbed that flame essence.

Panting at the sudden surge of power inside her, she glanced at Hakkeran who was busy fighting the snow grizzly bears. What did he do to me? Whatever it was, when he took off the moonrite ring from her finger, her strength doubled and Sollel could feel that half of her strength was finally back. The moonrite ring... Did he put it on me to limit my flame, or did he put it on me so I can't feel my essence recovering with the help of those two entrapped flame essences? So, I wouldn't find out that he's an ally and not a foe?

Sollel squeezed her eyes shut in annoyance because she couldn't understand the warlord at all. Just like Hakken. She couldn't understand him too!

With anger fueling her flame, it boiled, and bolts of flame erupted from her own body, and it shoots up to the sky. And with Sollel's will, the bolts of flame moving at a speed of light stabbed and burned the man-eating owls above them. The few who dodged the bolts of flame, after seeing their kind being slaughtered by the fiercest flame, fear overruled them and they tried to escape, but the Mistress of Flame's bolts of flame was nothing but persistent. It gave chase and slaughtered every flying beast it caught.

"Hmm..." The Mistress of Flame who was just watching her bolts of flame slaughtered the flying beasts hummed as if watching a good show. "So, it was not just a feeling. Half of my strength is back."

Then Sollel looked at the hand chain bracelet on her wrist, it was glowing since Hakkeran took off the moonrite ring on her finger. It was unheard of for a firestone to glow this brightly unless they had been enchanted by Druids.

Ever since Hakkeran but it in her wrist, all she did was take its essence to balance the draining power of the moonrite ring. What would happen if she imbued it with her flame, now that she knew it had been enchanted?

With that train of thought, Sollel infused the firestone with her flame and watched it glow blindingly bright until the brightness dimmed, presenting her a fiery flaming bow.

Holding the bow in her hand, her blood flame that had forged countless of weapons in Infernal Empire felt the weapon's origin. A bow made by the Dwarves, then passed to the Druids for enchantment, turning the bow to a hand chain. And then, it was put on her wrist. She was its first owner. Its first wielder.

Sollel stared at the flaming bow in amazement before she gripped and positioned it, then she pulled the bow string and conjured an arrow made of flame. Aiming it at the fleeing flying beast, she released, and, in a heartbeat, the beasts fell to the snow, dead and burnt beyond recognition.

"Amazing..." Sollel muttered under her breath before she withdraws her flame essence from the firestone, and it returned to its original form— a hand chain.

Sollel turned to Hakkeran who was still fighting with the humongous snow grizzly bears. Even though Hakkeran only had little wounds and he did a number on the bears, but instead of slowing the beasts down, it angered them even more. And since she was not allowed to use a powerful flame attack, she was left with one choice.

"Hakkeran! Step back!"

Immediately after Hakkeran jumped back, Sollel cut her palm with the war blade Hakkeran lent him and tossed her blood flame on the ground. Quickly heeding her will, her blood flame crawled in the snow, melting everything it touches as it surrounded the two bears. And before the beasts could react, the hot fervid flame rose, surpassing the height of the snow grizzly bear until it covered all of them, forming a cage made of flame.

This was Sollel's powerful imitation of Zassia's flame cage that saved her back in the valley of bones. Ah, my student is getting stronger.

Seeing the snow grizzly bear caged inside the flame cage, Sollel turned to Hakkeran, and her eyes met his. He was looking at her warily, as if she was about to do something nasty to him.

Sollel smiled at Hakkeran. "Relax. I promised not to kill you, remember?"

Hakkeran didn't reply and just continued watching Sollel as she walked towards him.

Hakkeran didn't move an inch when Sollel placed her palm on his cheek, as if she was cupping his face, their eyes never leaving each other. Then Hakkeran felt it, a burning sensation on his skin. He waited for his death by his queen's hand with bated breath, but his death didn't come. Instead, he saw his wounds being devoured by flame and as the flame disappeared, so did his wound.

"What..." Hakkeran was lost for words as he stared at Sollel. "What... Y-you— you have healing abilities too?"

"What?" Sollel frowned at Hakkeran before she shook her head. "Of course not. I'm not Gatria. I can only heal myself because of my blood flame."

"Then... Why am I all healed up?"

Sollel shrugged and glanced at Solaris on Hakkeran's wrists. "Don't know. My blood flame must have really liked you."

Hakkeran's eyebrow furrowed even more. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't know..." Sollel sighed before she gracefully offered her hand at Hakkeran. "The ring. Put it on."

Hesitation flickered in Hakkeran's eyes. "You want it back?"

"Hell, no." Sollel grimaced. She hated anything that had moonrite in it. "But I figured, as long as I'm wearing it while we're together, you won't get into trouble even if we bumped into your pals in the empire and the kingdom." Sollel sighed and waited for Hakkeran to slide the moonrite ring back on her finger.

"There," Hakkeran rubbed his thumb against the moonrite ring that was not on Sollel's finger. "Done."

Sollel took a deep breath when she felt the effect of the moonrite ring almost immediately. Afterwards, she patted Hakkeran's chest. "I don't know what you're thinking, my lord, but I know you're planning something. And instead of ransacking my head to figure your plan out, I'll just shrug my shoulder and let you do whatever you want." She smiled nonchalantly, almost as if she was having the time of her life. "Surprise me, my Warlord Hakkeran Adral. If you managed to do that, who knows, I might forgive you for lying to me."

Warlord Hakkeran Adral. Hunter Hakken Arages, Sollel thought as she turned her back on Hakkeran and smiled, alright, then. The queen accepts your challenge.



CECELIB | C.C.