~21~Your Sister Needs You, Cynna

(Don't play music until it's cued)

Ruy looked like a dumbass flailing as he fell through the pit and entered the Dunmer Kingdom. His wings helplessly dangled behind him, straining to get any wind underneath them. He finally straightened out and used his limited strength to open them as wide as possible, the only control he had over them. The minute his wings opened, he urked upward, cursing in the sudden pain. He awkwardly tried to remain straight as he slowed his plummet. It wasn't flying, but it was gliding, and that was some form of progress. Sarai was watching from above, cringing as Ruy flailed.

"What the hell do I do?!"

"Flap!" Sarai called out.

"NO SHIT! I MEAN, HOW DO I DO THAT?!" Ruy roared over the cavern.

"RUY LOOK OUT!" Sarai called out. Ruy looked in front of him just in time to see a grove of glow int eh dark trees growing from the rocky cave side.  Ruy's main focus as he crashed through the branches was protecting his neck and head. He luckily landed in some soft clay-like dirt, didn't feel any broken bones or twisted body parts.

Ruy groaned as he turned onto his back, his wings awkwardly tucked underneath him. Sarai was frozen in the air, her eyes wide and her hands over her mouth. She shook off her shock and sped towards the ruined grove and to Ruy. The two royal spies followed her, glancing at each other. Sarai landed gracefully next to Ruy, running over to him.

"I'm so sorry, I thought you would've known how to fly- I didn't mean to, I should've asked-" Ruy held up a hand, his eyes still closed, taking a deep breath through his nose.

Great start, Ruy, to this whole royal mission thing.

Ruy pinched the bridge of his nose and then sat up, groaning and cursing as he did so. Sarai worriedly bit her lip, her hands clenched.

"I'm so so sorry-"

"It's fine. I probably should've figured it out by now." Ruy rolled his wrist and flinched as a sharp pain shot up his arm.

"Oh my, are you hurt? Here let me-" Sarai reached for his wrist, but Ruy yanked it back, even as his arm barked in pain. Vespera flashed in his mind, his mother striking his wrists so hard blood spewed. Sarai noticed how his body tensed, his eyes immediately going cold and distant, and she gently put her hand back in her lap.

"I'm sorry..." Sarai whispered. Ruy swallowed, but he relaxed a bit.

"No, no, it's fine. Just caught me... off guard." Ruy muttered. Not Vespera. Someone who is trying to make him feel safe. Sarai's eyes saddened as he brushed the action aside, using his other hand to get up. Pretty large gashes decorated his arms, legs, and chest. One of his wings stretched a bit too weirdly, and now he couldn't move them at all.

"Ugh, I should probably go see a doctor about..." Ruy glared at the scratches, "These," he watched as the skin of his gashes slowly inched together, the blood stopping.

"Wounds?" Ruy trailed off, staring in shock as the gashes miraculously started to cleanse and heal the wounds themselves. Sarai smiled slightly as he gaped at it.

"Dunmer powers are different, and since you have never really been in your Dunmer form, you probably wouldn't have noticed. Dunmer wounds heal four times as fast as the average Vatarians." Sarai whispered. Ruy stared at her, then back at his healed cuts, back up at her.

"Again, the Dunmer are pretty different." Sarai chuckled. She looked up at the opal castle on the nearby cliffside as the two royal spies landed beside them.

"My Prince, are you alright?" One of the spies asked. My Prince, ugh. If the Inner Circle heard that they would've been cackling, Mansi probably would've made t-shirts.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," Ruy glanced at his healed wounds once again, "Just a sprained wrist." He assured. He looked around the cavern, even with the sprawling buildings, connecting bridges, the luminescent plant life, and bright crystal lighting, the whole cavern seemed so... lonely. Not lonely, there were people everywhere, flying overhead, worriedly staring at where Ruy crashed, so not lonely, just... foreign. Ruy stared around, getting used to his surroundings again.

Anybody who hasn't been stuck in the dark before, who hasn't had the shit scared out of them before, they might have hauled ass as fast as possible out of the Dunmer kingdom. But Ruy felt... gods Ruy didn't know what he felt, but he knew it wasn't fear.

"Could we get back to the castle. I need to speak to my father." Ruy asked.

"Of course, my Prince. There is a private path only a short while walk from here to the castle." The other royal spy answered. Ruy thanked the gods he didn't have to try to fly anywhere and followed as the spies led Sarai and Ruy back to the castle, and to the King waiting inside.

Nearby was a Dunmer Temple of Mara. The priestess of Mara was also a healer, and luckily she was in the castle when they all arrived. She gently took Ruy's wrist, running her fingers over it, her eyes closed. Ruy glanced at Sarai, wondering what the hell kind of healing this was. But then the numbness in his wrist melted away, the ringing pain dulling into a gentle hum. Ruy glanced at Sarai.

"Another Dunmer power. Again, we are a peculiar species." Sarai whispered. To have enhanced healing to heal open wounds was terrific, but to be able to treat other's injuries beneath their skin with just a touch of the hand was astronomical.

"Thank you," Ruy muttered as the priestess let go of his hand. The priestess gently pressed her hands in front of her, bowing for him before returning to her business. Ruy was given some clean clothing, a black jacket with silver piping, and matching pants. Ruy asked about his belongings to one of the guards, the belongings he accidentally left behind in his rush to help at Foxfire, to which the guard assured him they were tucked away in his former room. Ruy followed the guards to what looked to be a dining room, the massive long room accommodating carved stone table sitting within.

Ruy sat down at the long dinner table. Sitting next to him was Sarai, who was there for support. Ruy didn't know why, but around here, he just felt... safe. Cared for. Cato and Kalem were not aware Ruy had returned yet, however, and he had no idea how his half brothers would react. The sound of heavy running steps echoed through the halls, and King Dorian ran in. His crown was not on his head, and his eyes widened at the sight of Ruy. His hair was disheveled, the marks running down his face creasing as he looked over Ruy.

"Hey, Dad." Ruy cleared his throat. Dad, not father, not King, dad.

King Dorian walked towards Ruy, looking him up and down, looking for injuries and really just taking him in. Ruy got up from his seat, his hand nervously drifting on the table. Before Ruy could say anything, Dorian wrapped his arms around him, shaking.

"You're okay," Dorian muttered. Ruy didn't know what to do with his hands and awkwardly hugged his dad back. Sarai chuckled a bit at the discomfort, her hand propping chin. Dorian pulled back and glanced at Ruy's dragging wings.

"Are you okay?" Dorian asked.

"I'm alright. The wings are a bit... cumbersome, but that is part of the reason I am here." Ruy said. Dorian sat down in one of the chairs, his black markings moving as his face tightened.

"What is it?" Dorian asked. Ruy sat back down, took a deep breath, and recounted the Battle of Foxfire, the Conference, and the Neverseen plans to infuse Mirthless. By the end of it, Dorian had his hands tightly wrapped in front of him, and Sarai was wide-eyed.

"The Dunmer Royal Family has been requested to be at the Conference." Ruy finished.

They both were quiet, "Why?" Sarai asked.

"They think it is time the Dunmer and Vatarians move past their quarrels in the face of this new threat," Ruy said. Sarai looked at her husband, her wings rustling behind her. Dorian was still quiet, biting on his lips, figuring out what to say.

Instead, Ruy piped up, "How many of our men died?"

Ruy knew Dorian heard it, our.

Because even though Ruy hated it, he was a part of this. And the Dunmr people looked up to him, the Lost Prince that could be their bridge above ground again. Ruy never had a family before. He had Alvar and Lilac in the Neverseen, that was it. And now he has a family of guild members, the Inner circle were like brothers and sisters to him, Sophie was just amazing... but a blood family always felt like a joke to him.

Dorian sighed, leaning back in his chair, "About 470 winged warriors. Captain Doreah is making the rounds to their families now."

"Those families are going to be mad, they are going to want to know what their loved ones died for." Ruy leaned forward, "Let's show them. We go above ground, we negotiate, we fight for the Dunmer's right to be above ground."

"The whole reason we went below ground is too hide away from the Mirthless, what will happen if we go back up?"

"The Vatarian cities have anti-Mirthless defenses, and I am sure we can establish something. We don't have time to debate this." Ruy looked his father right in his eyes, swallowing, "Things are changing, father, and we need to change with them. We have a chance to really change things for our people."

There it was again, our.

Ruy wasn't backing down from his title, from his new responsibilities, anymore.

King Dorian blew air out of his nose, squinting at the table as he thought it through. Sarai's leg bounced as she thought it through, playing with one of her curls.

"Please. This could be the first step for not only the Dunmer but for the whole world." Ruy begged. His father finally looked at Ruy and sighed.

"How long of a ride is Egypitnat from here?" He asked.

"Well, Ricin is waiting above ground, and with him, it is probably a 5-hour trip."

"I don't know if that would be appropriate for the royal family." Dorian thought. Ruy miraculously resisted his urge to scoff.

"Who is on the Egypitnat throne now?" Sarai asked.

"Queen Arsinoe the II," Ruy answered.

Sarai looked to her husband, "We have plenty of crystals lying around from before we went underground, I'm sure I can find some to Egypitnat. We can use the Pyre to contact the queen to tell her we are attending."

"Pyre?" Ruy asked.

"It is an ancient Dunmer artifact, able to send messages to whoever we wish in a matter of minutes. It is one of our only contacts to the upper world, but even then, we normally don't have anybody to contact." Dorian answered.

"Wait, so, you guys are actually are doing this?" Ruy gaped.

Dorian smiled, "You have a point son, it is time some action is taken." Dorian nodded to his wife, "Could you go tell Kalem and Cato that their brother is home and that we are going to be leaving tomorrow? I will start drafting a letter to Arsinoe to give to the Pyre with Ruy, along with teaching him to use those wings of his."

Ruy stopped.

"Wait. What?" Ruy asked, gaping.

King Dorian smiled, crossing his arms, "You have to learn someday, why not today? Besides, how will it look if the eldest son of the Dunmer king can't even fly."

"Wouldn't this kind of thing take a lot of time to learn."

"You said it yourself, son, we don't have time for debating. If this is what it takes, then so be it." Dorian got up from his seat, looking at Ruy. It was somewhat startling to see how much they looked alike. Ruy had the color of his mother, her raven hair and azure blue eyes, but the dark golden tan of his father, the same eyes shape, jawline. Ruy swallowed, but he nodded.

"I will do whatever you need me to do," Ruy assured.

"Good." Dorian turned to his wife, "Honey, make sure Lysandra is on the list to attend with us as well. We haven't made any royal alliances or meeting in a while, and it would make sense for your lady in waiting to be with you."

"Of course. I'll go looking for some Egypitnat crystals and find the boys, fill them in."

Sarai smiled at Ruy, "Cato really misses you."

And with that, Dorian kissed his wife on the cheek as she ran off to complete her tasks, then pulled out some paper. With Ruy, they drafted their official acceptance of attending the Vatarian Conference.

Alvar followed as Arsinoe angrily walked away from him, his voice desperate.

"Your Highness, please reconsider! You can't actually be thinking of allowing the Elven Council to attend the Conference!" Alvar begged. Arsinoe stopped and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"It wasn't just me that allowed them to attend." Queen Arsinoe sighed.

"What?" Alvar spat.

"The minute I was inquired about the Elven council attending the Conference, I realized it wasn't just me that is a part of this equation. The Elves have always been on rocky ground with the Vatarians, but after they sold out Inalia during the Fall of Inalia, they have created a sort of feud between Inalia. I inquired to all of the Vatarian leaders about their position at the Conference, and though they were skeptical about it, they agreed that it was mostly down to Inalia to make the deciding factor. Alvar, the Inalian Senate, are the ones who made the decision to allow the Council to attend."

Alvar's heart stopped.

"You are joking."

"They see it as putting the entire Council on trial, not only are we discussing Vatarian and Dunmer concerns, but finally learning the truth about the Council."

"They say it was only three rogue councilors who made the decision to sell out Inalia."

"That is for them to decide." Arsinoe sighed. Alvar groaned, running his hands down his face. With Arsinoe allowing them to attend, Alvar might have been able to negotiate her out of it, but the Senate? No chance.

"Arsinoe, there has to be something you can do-"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Vacker, the decision isn't mine to make. They are arriving with no knowledge of where they are, however, the location is completely anonymous. And with the Conference now public knowledge, I had to rearrange some things."

"Such as?"

"The Conference is seen as a big gathering of the biggest names in the Vatarian world, and now I am setting it up like that. A public showoff that we are all gathering together to try to change the new world. It will keep the public off our back-"

Arsinoe froze as she stared at the golden fountain in the middle of the courtyard, where she and Alvar were debating. Alvar turned and stared as a blue flare flame emerged from the fountain. The water turned to liquid fire, the roaring blue flames howling. Arsinoe stumbled back as out of the blue flames spat out a letter, unharmed by the fire, and suddenly extinguished themselves.

Alvar and Arsinoe stared in shock, their mouths agape.

Egypitnat royal guards came rushing in, staring at the fountain in shock and rushing around Arsinoe. Alvar carefully slid his hidden blade out of its gauntlet, and cautiously approached the letter. He tapped it with the end of the blade, inspecting that it was a typical letter like any other. Outside the wind whipping around the sand and the chipping of cicadas and foreign birds were the only sounds among the rowdy Egypitnat night, everyone in the building utterly silent as Alvar nervously picked up the letter. It was sealed in a dark black envelope, silver adorning the sides. On the front, a dark blue wax seal painted over in silver paint shone in the pale sunset. On the back, Queen Arsinoe the II was written in the same silver ink.

"It is for you, your highness," Alvar said, holding the letter out. Arsinoe moved to retrieve it, but the guards surged forward and snatched it out Alvar's hands. They inspected it on all sides, gaping at the letter to the fountain, now back to it's normal clean running water.

"Just give me the letter, you buffoons." Arsinoe snapped, stomping forward and snatching the envelope out of their hands. Everyone carefully watched as Arsinoe opened the dark letter and read through its contents.

Arsinoe smirked, and read it out loud.

"I, King Dorian of the Dunmer Kingdom, have accepted your request for the royal family's presence at the upcoming Vatarian Conference. We will arrive on the day of the Conference. We look forward to discussing and debating the future of our world.

King Dorian."

Arsinoe looked up from the letter to stare at Alvar. Alvar acted like he was totally casual with it, but inside he was letting out the biggest sigh of relief. Ruy actually did it.

"That was fast." was the only thing Arsinoe admitted. Arsinoe gently set the letter down, crossing her arms.

"I am not prohibiting the Council from attending this Conference, Assassin. They are attending in allowance from the Inalian Senate, so in the end, it is out of my hands. We all agreed the Senate should have the deciding factor. All there is left to do is to wait." Arsinoechecked her nails, "I heard that Amalia has assembled my men from the Emerald district, set up a perimeter around the area, and is heading towards the believed site where the murderer is hiding." Arsinoe said. Wow, how did she hear about that so fast-

"I know everything that happens in my city, boy." Arsinoe snapped, as if she read his mind. Alvar sighed, stretching himself out. The minute Lia came back, Alvar had to break the news to her.

"The elven Council asked that we also presented a package to Amalia, could you deliver it to her? It is on the bench." Arsinoe asked, pointing her head to a box on the bench. It looked to be elven, a large lightweight silver box with a big green button on the top. Alvar slid it under his arm, and he turned to Arsinoe.

"Are you sure this is the best action to take, your highness?" Alvar asked, placing his other hand in his pocket. Arsinoe's face was uncrackable.

"I will see you at the Conference, Mr. Vacker. Careful walking back, don't want my people to learn you are an elf. They might tear you apart." Arsinoe said as a goodbye, turning on her heel as she snatched up King Dorian's letter and gracefully departing up the stairs on the other side of the courtyard.

Alvar groaned, pulling up his hood and walking out of the royal palace, the guards eyeing him.

He just wanted to get this over with already.

(Cue music)

Sophie, Alexios, and Mansi carefully hid in the outer brush outside of the cave carved into the sandstone cliffside. Around them, men surrounded the entire cave entrance, ready to pounce. The Neverseen already knew they were here, but they had nowhere to go. Alexios stared at the Egypitnat Medjay*, waiting for the signal.

Sophie and Mansi tried their hardest to peer into the cave, looking for any sign of movement. Sophie was no longer in the white to piece ensemble, but instead, the Egypitnat force lent them some of their raiding gear to borrow. It was similar to the Grecian armor Sophie and Alexios wore on their first night here, but instead, it was a bit tighter and a bit bulkier. The Medjay flashed his beacon twice, their signal. The three assassins pulled up their hoods and rushed the cave.

Sophie's blood thrummed in her veins as they desperately sprinted towards the cave. By now, the sun had set, and their black armor melted in the pitch-black night. It was harder to run on the loose sand than the hard ground, like what Sophie was used to, but she trained for this and kept moving. Soon they were outside the mouth of the cave, their bodies pressed back against the rock. They slowly shimmied through the mouth and into the darkness. It was pitch black, but soon their eyes adjusted enough to move forward. The sand barely scuffled against their light and fast feet, the wind moved with them as they pushed further and further into the cave. Their job was simple. Take out any traps or guards awaiting the entrance and track down any Mirthless they find and take them down.

Finally, far enough in the cave, it opened up a bit, and revealed about 15 different guards standing along the sides. Alexios and Mansi didn't need to stop and ask Sophie for what to do, the entire Inner Circle has trained and knows what to do in each situation. The only light in the room was coming from a small fire fueled by dried reeds and booze in the center of the room. The guards held their weapons, most of them being elven style ones with an Egypitnat twist. A melder combined with a *cudgel, goblin throwing stars combined with Egypitnat barbed metal.

Interesting.

Sophie and Mansi branched off to either side as Alexios came through the middle. Alexios stood right out of their line of sight with the fire as Sophie and Mansi were on the sides. Sophie carefully slid her throwing darts out of their pockets, making sure to avoid the blades. Luckily, this morning when Alexios dropped off her breakfast and weapons for her, he brought most of her weapons. And these daggers were very special.

Seeing as they were coated in Oxalite.

The Oxalite spring Alexios and Sophie found in the cave in Inalia was closed off after they anonymously tipped the Senate off about it, but not before switching all of their poisons out with the stuff. She spied Mansi and Alexios, also pulling out their throwing darts, and then they sat in wait. And soon, Mansi, the one with the highest and best position of all of them, let out a call.

A sparrow call.

The known call among the assassins.

All of the hurled their darts, landing them with perfect precision in the necks of the guards. Sophie aimed for their necks, her steady hand hitting each target right where she wanted. They didn't even get the chance to scream as the Oxalite pumped through their blood, and they were dead as their bodies all slumped onto the gravel floor.

Sophie, Alexios, and Mansi waited for a few moments to make sure no one came running after them before carefully moving forward. Surprisingly, there was little resistance, a few guards here and there that were easy to take out, but no massive defense a Neverseen hideout would have. The guards they were taking out seemed new and inexperienced and seemed to only change their positions right before everyone got there. They weren't as alert as they should've been.

Something was wrong.

"Please tell me I'm not the only one who is getting a sense; we weren't the first ones here," Mansi whispered over the trickling water of the cave. It didn't make any sense, where were the men, where were the weapons, where were the Mirthless? The Assassins have raided plenty of Neverseen hideouts and bases, so why was this one so different?

The cave constricted a bit before opening to a massive open room full of cages and tech, just like Thavma said. Sophie and Mansi stayed back a bit as Alexios pushed forward a bit to investigate. The only coming through was from small holes that worked as skylights highlighting the empty cavern. It was only until Alexios lit up his hand with a pale white light that their questions were finally answered.

It was an absolute massacre.

Neverseen soldiers were torn apart, no sign of mercy or guilt from the killer. It was a massive cave, and there had to be at least 200 soldiers inside, but every single one of them was dead.

Mansi cupped a hand over her mouth, trying to keep in her heaving, Sophie had to look away and take some deep breathes before tiptoeing towards one of the bodies.

"Guys?" Sophie whispered. Mansi and Alexios gathered around her as she inspected the wounds.

The same wounds of Kartek, of all of the murdered Egypitnat people.

"Cynna did this?" Alexios whispered. Mansi grabbed a pair of black leather gloves from her belt, carefully sliding them on and inspecting the wound. As she did so, she was getting paler and paler, breathing through her nose.

"Hey, you okay? Unfortunately, we have seen a lot worse." Sophie whispered to Mansi.

"I'm alright, I have just been a little sick recently," Mansi responded as she took to examining everything a bit closer

"Woah, what? Why didn't you tell me, I wouldn't have wanted you with us if you were sick Mansi." Sophie hissed

"That's why I didn't tell you. Besides, it's just my monthly cycle." Mansi whispered.

"Bullshit, we have been synced since we were like 10, and we have one more week-"

"Can y'all save your girl stuff for later, I right here," Alexios whispered. Sophie and Mansi shared a look.

Men.

"This is Cynna, alright. The wound is still fresh, same gashes, the Medirasa poison hasn't even begun to take full effect yet."

"Wait, if the wound is fresh, then that means-"

"Cynna is still here," Mansi whispered.

A distant roar echoed through the blood-soaked cave, freezing the three of them in their spots. If Cynna just murdered everyone, then where the hell is she?

Mansi slid her gloves off, making sure to avoid the Medirasa poison dripping on the fingers as she tucked them back into her belt.

"Listen, I'm a beastmaster, but Cynna is part Medirasa. She may act differently, and even bits of Cynna may still be alive." Mansi whispered. Sophie swallowed as the underlying question popped into her head. If they do find Cynna, is there any chance Sophie could bring her back to Inalia like she promised Thavma, or is there... no saving her.

It seemed Alexios and Mansi were thinking the same thing, and Sophie sighed, toeing another dead body with matching scratch like wounds.

"We move forward. We still need to see if this may be a setup. The men outside will wait for our signal to enter." Sophie rolled her shoulders, her hands on her daggers at her hips.

"Let's get moving," She muttered.

Sounds were coming from every direction it seemed, the howling wind making the massive cage doors slam open and shut, the rocks tumbling off the sides of the looming walls. The creaks and tumbles of nearby crappy tech and wooden chests and bridges didn't help either. With every step, it seemed something would shoot out of the darkness and skin Sophie alive, but either way, she kept going, Mansi and Alexios beside her.

Alexios kept darting his head around, and Mansi's hand nervously kept drifting to her stomach, a new nervous habit of hers. Not only were all of the Neverseen members dead, but around them, Mirthless corpses were heaping piles of rot and tar and smoke, slowly wasting away into nothing. It seems Cynna didn't spare anything.

They eventually hit the end of the cave and were completely stumped.

"We searched this entire cave, where the hell is she?" Mansi spat, the sparks starting at her fingertips, showing just how angry she was. Sophie straightened out and searched around. It seems Cynna was infused with a Medirasa, and they like places that are wet, dark, and warm, according to Mansi. But Cynna always likes the sun according to Thavma, but both of them like the heat.

Sophie froze, her head darting up to the wall of the cave. Heat.

Sophie felt around the back of the cave, running her fingertips over the bumpy rocks.

"Lia, what the hell are you doing?" Alexios hissed. Sophie tuned him out, following as the rocks got warmer. This far in the cave, there should be no sign of natural warmth, yet as Sophie trailed her fingers, the feeling of sun radiated through the hard wall.

"Alexios, Mansi, help me out," Sophie whispered. Alexios and Mansi confusingly helped Sophie as she pushed on the wall. The warm rocks began to crack and tumble a bit, before crumbling before them. They all backed up as the wall came crumbling down to reveal the entrance to a small valley.

"What the hell?" Alexios muttered as they carefully navigated out of the cave. It was a small carved out valley from the cliffside, the only entrance in was the cave itself, the entrance covered up a while ago by the look of the rocks. Only until Cynna was searching for a place to keep the cold blood warm, and she managed to seek out the exit into the sun riddled valley. The sunset warmed the massive dark stones wonderfully, even though they were in the soft sands of Eypitnat, the perfect place for a reptile. In the middle, propped up on a hill of dead grass, was a carving.

"Oh dear gods," Mansi muttered under her breathe as they all stared at it from the small entrance.

A fallen chunk of stone from one of the cliffsides, carved in a womanly face. But not just any face, one with hair of snakes, pointed teeth coming from the bottom lip, and pupil-less eyes. Alexios started towards it before all of them, even as Sophie and Mansi hissed and begged him to get his ass back. Cynna could be anywhere.

Alexios lit a torch and brought it up to inspect the head, his hand steady as he investigated it. Shit, this wasn't good. They were wideout in the open, in this mysterious gorge no one knew about, with a mutated monster hunting them.

"Alexios get your ass back here-"

"It's old, ancient, even," Alexios called out. No kidding. As Sophie looked around, she was startled to see how much Inalian influence was here. Tall crumbling Inalian columns, carved statues that seemed to be made by Inalian hands, prayer bowls, and even the same porcelain plates and cutlery from Inalia.

Where the hell was this place?

"We should signal down the Medjay and tell him what the hell is going on here-"

Sophie went still as her eyes set on a woman, standing at the edge of one of the ruined buildings, staring at the setting sun. Mansi and Alexios spotted her at the same time, and both of them readied their weapons, but Sophie inched forward.

She promised Thavma she would try to bring Cynna back.

Cynna was huge, almost 8'6, at least. Her hands were huge as well, her skin not pale, but white, sheet white. On her body was Inalian war paint, on one side of her body, were Inalian designs meant for protection and were drawn with a steady hand, the other side of her body they were drawn shakily and those symbols?

Those were Inalian symbols of bloodlust and war.

Sophie nearly bleated in panic as she noticed the thick coils around Cynna's head weren't curls... they were snakes. Real. Fucking. Snakes.

Sophie stepped forward, her eyes set on Cynna, that she didn't notice the bundle of sticks under her foot. They barely crunched, but it was enough was Cynna to stiffen, and for Sophie to say her prayers to the gods.

The snakes on Cynna's head whipped around, hissing and snapping at Sophie, even though Cynna didn't turn around.

"Cynna? Cynna Firenze?" Sophie whispered. No answer.

"Your sister sent me, Thavma." Sophie continued. No answer.

"She doesn't blame you, she knows this isn't you," Sophie begged. No answer.

Mansi remained behind, Alexios below them right next to the massive carven head.

"Your sister needs you, Cynna." Sophie whispered.

No. Answer.

"Cynna-"

"Leave." The woman hissed. It wasn't Cynna's voice. It was the voice of a mangled tortured soul, a thousand roaring fires that stolen her mortal voice. At that moment, Sophie realized.

She wasn't getting Cynna back.

Sophie's hand drifted to her sword on her back, not pulling it al the way out yet, just gripping it.

"I said," Cynna whipped around, and Sophie paled.

Gods above. She was... a monster. A full-blooded monster.

"LEAVE!" Cynna roared.

Sophie's hands shook.

"I can't let you hurt anybody else, Cynna."

Cynna growled, her chest rising and falling so fast she might have been trying to suck in all of the air in the world, her fists clenched, and her cracked lips snarled, revealing black stained teeth.

Sophie screamed as Cynna roared and charged her at full speed.

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