My Devourer System: Rise of the Bastard Son

Aya heard Lucen fall to his knees, and Thomas laughing heartily. Her heart pounded against her chest wildly. It couldn't be. The stone cell became colder.

"Your arrogance killed you, halfblood. If you got on your knees and begged, I might have spared you."

Selene rushed out of Aya's cell, and froze, shaking violently. When she found her voice, an anguished scream split the silence of the pits.

"Lucen, what happened to him?" asked Aya, her raspy voice urgent. Selene fell to her knees, tears pouring from her eyes.

Thomas had a wolfish grin on his face, striding towards her. "The whore that mothered that filth. I'll enjoy myself before I slit your throat."

There was a loud metallic snap. Her strength returned in a sudden surge. Aya marched out of her cell shakily, dragging her broken chains behind her. Standing between Selene and Thomas

"You call yourself a Knight?" Aya sneered.

"I can kill you too, if I like. Say you tried escaping with the halfblood. Don't worry, if I enjoy myself enough, I'll kill you quickly."

Aya shivered. Her eyes found Lucen's body. She wrapped the chains around her fist, and walked forward. She would die too.

But someone had to take action. Do the right things, make the painful sacrifices. Maybe Lucen was right, she was just using death as an escape. This time she would stand and fight.

She raised her fist, and Thomas rolled his eyes, preparing to behead her.

Then he froze, eyes grew wide in disbelief. Aya raised an eyebrow, wondering if she should take the initiative.

Then someone rose behind Thomas, spear to his back, and grinning with bloody lips.

Selene jumped to her feet. "Lucen!"

Lucen's blonde hair was matted with blood, his golden eyes shimmered with malice. The deep gashes in his neck healed, and he coughed up a blood clot.

"Dirty bastard, never speak to my mother again. Well, you're not going to be speaking anymore, actually."

Thomas turned white, stammering. "W-wait, you can't kill me. Chester knows I'm down here. I'll swear an oath to never harm you again."

Lucen's tattered lips formed a gruesome smile, the skin stitching itself together. Aya grabbed Selene and pulled her back into the cell.

"Too late," Lucen said.

He let go of the spear, and Thomas' figure shot forward in a last ditch attempt to escape. Aya saw him appear briefly at the cell's entrance, then a beam of light blasted through his chest.

Blood painted the black stone, and there was a wet thud. Thomas fell face-first to the ground, dead.

Lucen grabbed the man's leg, and dragged him from the entrance. "I'll be right back."

Lucen came back, and used [Forgotten Embers] to burn away all the blood both he and Thomas left behind. Selene jumped into him when he returned, staining her black dress with blood, and cried softly into his shoulder.

Lucen smiled at Aya. "Thank you for protecting her."

"Thank you for not dying," Aya replied.

Once all the tears were past. Lucen looked down at himself. "I need a change of clothes and a shower."

Selene nodded, then turned to Aya, saying firmly. "Are you coming with us?"

The silence stretched. Aya fiddled with her chains, staring into the rough black metal.

"I can't," Aya said finally. "But I will plead for my life before the Veiled King."

"Chester is planning to execute you without telling the king," Lucen warned, "I don't know what he's planning, but we should just escape and hide for now. The Ainsel sky castle is coming here. You can give yourself up to them."

Aya searched his eyes for deception. She pursed her lips, and followed them. She swore to Chester on the Pillar of Eternity that she wouldn't escape. But this wasn't escaping, she would be back.

On their way out, Tron rejoiced. "The Medaza may rise once more! And maybe Lucen will consider freeing me one day, for all my help."

Lucen glanced once at the man trapped in the stone and chuckled. Aya bowed once. Tron did help warn them that Thomas was coming.

But she had her suspicions of what he was, and releasing him sounded like a horrible idea.

Climbing the ladder back up made her arms feel like they were on fire. Lucen pulled her up at the top.

His calloused finger wrapped around her arms and carried her up gently. He smelled like blood, his lacerated skin was almost fully healed. Silver lines covered his body, and were slowly disappearing.

They took her upstairs to their room. Lucen pushed the great wooden doors apart with great effort, and went in to bathe first while Selene gave her something to eat and prepared some clothes.

It felt odd to Aya that a boy, nearly a man, would share a room with his mother. But she also found it cute and nice. She remembered her mother's face in death, and a cold ball of grief turned in her heart.

Once they both changed clothes, and had a bath. Lucen turned to his mother.

"Stay here, we'll be right back," he said, "and don't worry, I'm not going near the Tyrant wolf."

Selene shared one last hug to her son.

Aya wore one of Selene's loose black trousers, and a blue blouse. Her hair was packed under a bonnet to try and avoid recognition. She hadn't worn a veil because it would draw suspicion.

Once they were down in the courtyard, Aya asked. "Sorry, why is there a Tyrant wolf here."

Lucen pointed to Castaway. Her blood turned cold at the sight of the glowing red wolf hanging in the sky. The battle was furious, but they seemed to have forced the wolves to one side of the city, and dealt with the raging flames.

Aya stumbled, a sick feeling washing over her. The fatigue also seemed to catch up to her. Lucen put his hand around her waist softly. She flinched at his touch and looked up. His face was so close, golden eyes gleaming with worry.

"You've been trapped down there for days," Lucen said, "maybe you should hide somewhere else."

She shook her head. They already agreed that disappearing into the chaos at Castaway was the easiest way. "Just a bit light-headed."

She blushed, unsure whether she wanted to escape from his arm. Lucen unfortunately let go of her , and summoned his spear.

He was about to prick his own finger before he froze, and turned to her. "I have a spell that can heal you, but you'll need to ingest my blood… you know what, never—"

"It's okay, I'll do it." she said. He must have been worried she would find it blasphemous, and it was. But this was Lucen, so its different.

Lucen cut his finger. "So all you need is a drop—"

She took his hand, and slowly licked his finger. The moment her tongue tasted blood, fire ran through her to relieve all the pains in her body. She groaned as it burned through her.

Once it resided a little, she opened her eyes. Lucen's ears were red as a tomato, he was staring at Castaway. Aya smiled a little, letting go of his hand.

"Alright, I'm good now, and I'm ready to fight."

"No fighting, just hide, and wait," Lucen chided, "If anyone recognises you, we're dead."

"Well, I need to keep you alive," she turned to Castaway, the fires in the distance glowed in her teal eyes. "And I think you'll need all the help you can get."