Hellion's Reckoning
Chapter 40

Keira woke him with a gasp, the vibrant morning sunlight streaming through the thatched walls, casting a radiant glow over the room. Inias groaned and blinked his eyes open, the other still buried in his pillow. Her fingers glided through his hair like a whisper of wind. “Did something sneak in there?” Inias half-growled, closing his eye again.

“Those are real…” Keira muttered, as if she hadn’t been listening at all. He sat up and ruffled his hair. “Is it a parasite?” Inias asked, recalling how tiny insects would nest in hair. She reached into her bag by the bed and produced a small mirror. “Look,” she said, and as Inias studied his reflection, he noticed subtle hints of red mingling with his jet-black locks. It wasn’t the fiery crimson of Ashryn’s hair, but a rich blood-red that added a striking contrast to his dark mane.

Inias took a lock of his hair and pulled it forward, eyes widening as he realized it wasn’t some mirror illusion. “I’ve never seen it grow so late,” Keira said, reaching out to inspect each highlight. Multicolored hair was once a symbol of pride amongst the hellions. It developed as they grew, changing colors until it settled around their preteens. Hellions considered those with the trait especially gifted. They were often the most respected among hellions because of their stunning beauty.

“I get it! You were suppressing your nature so strongly it cast a glamour,” Keira realized as she slid her fingers through his hair, still in awe, “I thought it odd yours was solid black. You’re too strong.” Inias blinked at the lock of red hair still grasped between his fingers. Only his hair? That’s all he could suppress. Or had the shame in the way he looked already been so deeply fed to him before his hair was noticeable? He would’ve been too young to understand then.

Inias knew whatever his hair or eyes looked like it didn’t make him a monster. In this hellion forest, he had found nothing but beauty and excitement. He wasn’t so afraid to look at himself anymore. “How does it look?” he asked, closing her little mirror. “I love it! The black was so boring,” she said, her fingers still buried in his hair as if she were looking for more colors, “You look amazing!” Inias couldn’t help but blush when he caught that look in her eyes, the same she had when they’d been thrashing each other in the forest.

As her hands came to cup his cheeks, Thaddeus’ voice echoed from the patio. “Sorry to rush you lovers, but there’s an urgent matter!” He said as if he were speaking through a horn. Keira groaned and rolled off the bed. “That’s going to get annoying,” she said, as if she could see every morning interrupted by him.

Inias slid his boots on and chuckled, “If it does, I’ll set Styx on him.”

The two left the bedroom to replace Ashryn and Ruvyn sitting on the sofa. They barely saw Thaddeus perched on the sofa back, waving them over. “Now, my dear, tell them everything,” Thaddeus said softly to Ashryn. From the look on her face, it would not be a cheerful story.

Inias and Keira perched on the gate facing the waterfall as they listened. He gripped the wood tight as she went on, with every word his claws dug in a little deeper. The Magistrate couldn’t even gift her the mercy of a swift death. He set her up as bait to break Ashryn’s resolve. Pumped that little room full of mind-numbing mist until Endolyne became nothing more than a giggling lump.

“Ailog isn’t so cautious anymore,” Thaddeus said, breaking the silence once Ashryn had finished her story. “His power has beguiled him. He thinks himself a god, indestructible. Even cut the army’s pay in half for their protests to the slaughter.” One important rule to maintaining power, especially for a new ruler, was to keep the army on your side. Always. Even Inias knew that much from watching his uncle and father. Once you made an enemy of them, the walls would come crashing down. In his fear of losing power, Ailog had broken that rule and left his gates open for rebellion.

“Good,” Inias said, a smile growing on his lips, “You said the city would tear itself apart. Win or lose, he won’t be in power for very long.”

The others smiled as well, even Ashryn, as she wiped her tears. “If we don’t kill him, they will!” she said with a wild grin on her face. If only they could take the city for themselves, but on the rare chance the people accepted them, they would never hold it against Ivaran’s army. They were to travel northeast towards the Freefolk Forest, where a small community of hellions had gathered.

“I suspect Sylvis will inherit the city,” Thaddeus said, lightly tapping his white furred chin, “Without him the people will suffer as power passes from hand to hand in an unending struggle. If we face him, he must survive. They will need a stable leader. I suppose he’s better than nothing.”

Inias blinked, having forgotten Sylvis’ involvement in all this. What would he do when they killed his father, vow vengeance and hunt them down? For the rest of their lives, they would look over their shoulders for him, always on the run. Regardless of the outcome, they couldn’t allow Ailog to survive. It would only breed more suffering. Sylvis had fought to protect Keira once. He wasn’t the monster his father was.

“Maybe he’ll come with us,” Keira said hopefully. Thaddeus shook his head and sighed, “I’m afraid his convictions are rooted too deeply. Maybe someday. We can hope and pray Heaven shows him his errors, but for now, we need him to keep Dusk Haven in one piece.”