[B2] Chapter 100 — A Die Cast

Phaelys vigilantly followed where Ria led as she made the rounds greeting all the guests that she had invited.

With how well Ria was handling her introduction to noble society, he doubted there was anyone meeting her here today who would believe her peasant origins as anything other than a cover for her true identity.

Except maybe those who need it to be so as a matter of convenience. For those, her perfect manner would be seen as all the more presumptuous and insulting. He only needed to back up Ria a few times before the other opportunists understood that their petty games would rebound against them.

Unfortunately, that caused the less forgiving among them to seek out Ria’s perceived friends and supporters as easier targets. Her friends weren’t wallflowers though, particularly the hero’s daughter Zena and the mind mage that Lady Asara seemed interested in pairing young Faris with. The Ravelle girl made herself useful as well—to the surprise of many who thought Administrator Rente’s daughter would share their resentment.

Personally, Phaelys found Ria’s friends to be interesting and different from the usual youths that attended these sorts of events. He wondered if he would have more opportunities to create connections with them after the night’s event was over.

Thoughts for later. Phaelys could tell Ria’s focus was flagging. It was already a miracle of the gods that the first-year girl had made it this far while maintaining that tiring aura projection.

He tapped her hand to get her attention. “Ria, we should retire to the gardens and enjoy the stars and fresh air.”

Ria gave him a thankful nod, seeming to realize just how tired she was.

The girl Ria was talking to blushed at his words, but ushered Ria on with a leaned in whisper of “Go on, Ria. This is your chance!”

Phaelys found it a bit tiresome that girls on the debut circuit—who should know better—didn’t understand that heirs from the Greater Houses usually didn’t get much, if any, say in their own arranged marriages.

Rather than try to win him over, they needed to have accomplishments and a bloodline that would get the attention of his grandfather and the elders—like Ria had done and clearly had. They were mistaken to think that he was at Ria’s side because she asked him to be there.

Another attempt, Jarrel groaned to himself as his eyes caught a guest hiding that he was applying an oil to the surface of his glove while his female companion was busy chatting with another lady of similar status.

Ria was visiting with another academy student nearby, so it was obvious she or Young Lord Phaelys was the target.

Only a few moments were required to discreetly close the distance and take hold of the baronet’s wrist.

“This way, sir baronet,” Jarrel smoothly instructed, leaning in to whisper, “Make a scene and you won’t live long enough to take your next breath.”

“Wha-? What is the meaning of this?” the minor lord asked bewildered, his voice quiet but breathy with the fear that widened his eyes. The feel of cold, sharp steel meeting flesh where fabric should be convinced the man to not risk more than that as he was led away.

“I got this one, Jarrel. The Vesali welp is my responsibility tonight,” a man dressed in fine but less attention-attracting clothing, not unlike his own, greeted.

“Krazek,” Jarrel acknowledged with a nod, letting go of the noble’s wrist and withdrawing his hidden shortblade from poking the fabric under the man’s rib as the Inquisitor’s magic took effect. “Been a while.”

“So, the foreign royal-bloodline girl is your charge, huh?” The goateed man smiled sinisterly as the minor noble managed to turn his head enough to see his captor. “I’d heard that the Inquisitor leadership had sent Swordmaster Klaven’s last disciple on a secret mission; looks like your success earned babysitting duty. Still not bad with how strong she is. I can see why House Vesali is interested.”

“Must be nice being stationed here in the capital,” Jarrel grunted, his eyes scanning the crowd around Ria and the others for additional threats trying to take advantage of them being distracted.

“Ha! Nothing like Greater House politics to-,” Krazek started to say before changing tone, “Looks like they’re on the move.”

A quiet curse left Jarrel’s lips, he was already starting to move before the Inquisitor prompted him but was still too late as the crowd of young nobles shifted to engage in and make room for another set of celebratory dances, cutting off any direct path to follow.

Ria had greeted so many important people and their families, and her instructors and their children and grandchildren. And all her friends and other invited guests. Ugh. It was exhausting!

And that didn’t account for Orlisi’s grandfather using up so much of her energy with his stunt! The food and drink and a discreet energy replenishment potion had helped, but even so, she was honestly in a bit of a daze with her focus slipping when Phaelys took hold of her hand and led her toward the great hall's garden exit.

She was surprised at his sudden assertiveness and went along with it as they escaped from the constant and suffocating social obligations of the debut party and out into the festively decorated gardens.

Ria looked down in surprise at the hand firmly encouraging her forward. Without his gloves, Phaelys’ hand was much softer than expected.

“I noticed it when dancing at the afternoon tea; your hands are rougher than I expected,” Phaelys observed once they were alone, having noticed where her gaze had been lingering.

Ah!!!

Mortified, Ria wanted to pull her embarrassingly peasant-like hand away from his, but Phaelys wasn’t satisfied with telling her about it. He pulled her hand up to his face so he could get a better look and gently caressed over her finger pads and calloused palm with the fingers of his other hand.

Even embarrassed as she was, the way he was touching her hand made her breath still and her heartbeat quicken.

“You must have trained hard.”

Stupid Jarrel! she complained in her head, but Phaelys’ tone of voice caused her to want to groan in a different way. The battle-obsessed prince-boy sounded impressed! Argh!

Ria sucked in a breath and admitted, “Jarrel made me train a lot when we were crossing the Highland Wilds.”

Phaelys nodded. “There’s a spell called Crystal Grip that I can teach you when you are more rested. It is useful for gripping things that are too hot or cold, sharp things as well.”

She blinked stupidly. Did he prefer her to have softer hands, after all? Did he want to meet again?

Wait. Meet again. This was the chance she had been waiting for all night! A chance to invite him to explore the secret passages under the castle!

Remotivated, Ria spun up a weak barrier made of shadow to muffle and diminish the sound of their voices. Air magic would’ve been less obvious, but she still hadn’t wrapped her mind around how air could block sound—something she’d have to ask Katria about. The air-type privacy spell was on the topic list for her class with Elder Genwald, so she would need to learn it soon anyway.

Since her dome of privacy was obvious, she felt the need to keep it from darkening too much. Completely blocking her and Phaelys from view would be sure to result in a scandal. If only she had the skill to drain away the sound without affecting the light passing through her barrier! But, she didn’t have such fine control yet.

Phaelys was giving her an amused and curious look.

Taking a deep breath, Ria tried to calm her nerves. The others were counting on her, and this was her plan and her responsibility. Another opportunity to talk with Phaelys alone might not happen!

Another deep breath. And a mental kick in the britches for procrastinating.

“Phaelys…”

“If you’re going to ask for an engagement. That’s something that needs to be worked out with my House,” he calmly warned.

Ria felt her cheeks heating, and she desperately waved her hands in denial. Of course, he would think that!

“It’s not that!” Ria vigorously corrected and hastened to spill out her pitch, her prepared speech all but forgotten. “It’s… my friends and I discovered something—something that I think you’ll be interested in. And it may have revealed a possible way to reach a place that has been lost for a very, very long time…”

“...a place that has been lost?”

Ria nodded.

The way his eyes were lighting up with interest was a good sign, so she plowed on, “We’re—my friends and I—are planning an expedition based on a map we found, and we think your knowledge and magic would be helpful, and I was hoping you might want to come with us…”

“Sure.”

“I know it is a lot to ask and…” Ria blinked. Did he just agree?

Phaelys laughed, a bit of a boyish grin tugging the corner of his mouth. “You expect me to turn down what sounds like adventure?”

“I just… didn’t think you’d agree so easily…”

He held up a finger to indicate a ‘catch’, and Ria’s breath caught.

“I assume this will require escaping the watchful eye of my chaperone. And there will be consequences faced afterward for that,” he pointed out with a more serious expression and a gaze leveled at her full of meaning. “You have something in mind to that end?”

Ria gulped. “I-I do. There’s a hidden way under the Grand Library.”

The quirk at the corner of Phaelys’ mouth raised unabashed this time. “And the consequences?”

“I was kinda hoping that asking you along would help us mitigate consequences, should we get caught…,” Ria cringingly admitted.

“I see.” Phaelys slowly nodded then broke into a full grin and clasped her on the shoulder. “Alright. I’ll handle it.”

“Y-you will?!”

“I will.”

Sighing out in relief, Ria raised her gaze-

{Danger!}

Phaelys’ expression turned to horror just as a warning came from Ranger. The older boy was already wrapping his arms around her and turning them both around.

A protective shell of amethyst forming from Phaelys’ back awakened a primal fear in her about what was going on, and she was already spreading her orichalcum domain as she commandeered Ranger’s sight.

A feeling of empty void and Ranger’s view of the raised crossbow releasing its quarrel confirmed her fears.

Assassins!

As she felt the devouring emptiness of voidstone, Ria could only groan in frustration that Phaelys had placed himself in the bolt’s path instead of pulling them both out of the way.

She was already empowering herself to throw her and Phaelys to the side, but there wasn’t enough time! The void was already upon them, hungrily dissolving its way through Phaelys’ crystal that had yet to settle into the world as real.

From her desperate need an instinct arose, and the world slowed around her.

Tracing the trajectory of the quarrel, she twisted, turning Phaelys enough that the suddenly slow-moving projectile missed his heart as it bit through his back and continued with inevitable forward motion.

Ria pushed her true aura as densely as she could against the approaching danger, even knowing it was futile.

Voidstone could be overwhelmed. She’d witnessed as much when her own voidstone arrow saturated after striking Shining Sun Hall.

She would at least slow the cursed thing! Even if by will alone!

Focusing every fiber of her being, every dram of will, on that one spot—that singular path the insatiable emptiness was following, she poured energy and the judgment of her Seed into slowing it, and… slow it did.

She could do it!

She could stop it!

Time slowed even further as her domain was filled with that one thought.

Slower and slower yet until the movement was excruciatingly glacial, the voidstone quarrel pressed against her regalia, slowly, slowly, cutting through one of her dress’ blessed Xernium ribs and eating away at the crystalweave as Phaelys’ blood sprayed out in a slow moving mist around the shaft.

STOP!

She willed it even more intensely. Ignoring the pain in her mind and mystic gates.

The quarrel pressed against her flesh and she could feel each signal of pain as her strengthened body resisted with all its power. The agony stretched and burned at her mind as time froze almost to stillness, and scraping between her ribs, the quarrel came to a stop, leaving only a minor injury—one she could easily handle.

Her senses were darkening around the edges from the extent of her effort, and her energy was already draining into the voidstone with a wrenching whorl of unrestrained greed, but she had succeeded! There was still time to remove the-

It was only as the darkness overtook her that her muddled mind became aware of the burning spreading to the orichalcum within her body.