Crimson and Gold

After waking up and during their trip back to Aervelis, Saria and Lysandra barely talked. The things they saw in the memories made both of their hearts heavy. This kind of burden couldn’t be lessened with words.

It could only become lighter with time and silent companionship.

Their visit to the Temple did bring some positives as well.

Hearing that the Goddess was looking after her and protecting her gave the Princess a—much needed—boost of confidence.

The mystery of the Faolán necklace was also temporarily resolved, so both of them were able to shift their focus to the matters at hand.

The next handful of days passed under the same routine.

Saria was going out on the patrols with Eris, taking out the infection zones, while Lysandra focused on developing the countermeasures to the drug.

Before either of them could get comfortable with this routine, the disruption appeared.

The outbreak was no longer limited to the slums only. The Husks started appearing in other parts of Aervelis, taking the chaos right to the Emperor’s doorstep, where it couldn’t be ignored anymore.

By the time Octavius and his subordinates realized that this was a real threat that shouldn’t be neglected, the Husks spread so much that even the Emperor’s personal army was struggling to contain them.

To make matters worse, there was also a break-in at the Grand Library. Countless precious scripts and art pieces were either robbed or destroyed, and there wasn’t even a single name that could be taken as a suspect.

When a week had passed and there was still no good news, someone had to be held responsible.

Of course, it couldn’t be the Emperor, who time and time again ignored the issues, just because they were far away from the splendor of the Golden District. Every citizen of the Empire knew that the Son of Gods made no mistakes, ever.

No.

The guilt surely laid with someone else.

That someone else turned out to be the Centurion leading the city guards.

To restore the credibility of the government and give people hope that a change was coming, the man was found guilty of negligence and violating the military code of conduct.

His execution was held publicly at the Aervelian Arena, where every free citizen was able to witness with their own eyes the death delivered to the criminal by the Emperor himself.

Octavius made sure to give everyone a good show, immolating the man with the almighty golden flames wielded by his hand. His eagerness wasn’t only for show. The Emperor put all of his recent frustrations into the fire, which brought him only a small relief.

The public execution bought the Emperor some time, but it wasn’t much. It did bring some calm to the people, but it didn’t stop the main cause that was stirring the pot.

The Husks still had to be dealt with.

“Bring me the daethri,” Octavius gave the order. He was sitting by the desk in his office, his shoulders were unusually slumped, and there was a clear sign of weariness in his eyes.

The recent trouble in the Empire, for the first time, made him feel the burden of time.

He wasn’t the youngest anymore. The years spent on wars and politics were slowly revealing the toll they took on him.

The servant cleared his throat nervously. “Wh-Which one?”

Octavius stopped rubbing his forehead and looked at him with bloodshot eyes. “The one that can singlehandedly kill a chimera, you imbecile,” he growled.

The young man jumped slightly, seeing the anger written all over his master’s face. Bowing, he spun on his heel and rushed out of the office, fumbling over his shaken legs.

Not even ten minutes later, he arrived, leading the person in question and, to Octavius’ surprise, one more guest.

“I don’t remember calling for you, Lysandra,” the Emperor said, as they stood before his desk.

“I didn’t know I needed your permission to accompany my daethri.” The Princess stared at him with defiance.

She had this look on her face more and more often when dealing with her father. Something unthinkable just a couple of months ago.

Octavius rested his folded hands on the desk. “I told you that you are no longer in charge of this slave. Loukios is. Stop making a scene and leave us.” He waved his hand dismissively.

The Princess didn’t budge. She folded her arms on her chest and stared down at him. “And I believe I made myself pretty clear when I said that I no longer care about your opinion on the matter.”

Lysandra was afraid of her father. It had been true for as long as she remembered. Her very first memory of this man was his furious face as he was trashing her mother’s bedroom. Till this day, she didn’t know what they were fighting about at the time.

But the terror she felt when seeing fear in her mother’s eyes was still vividly remembered by her.

Even when she grew up, her body would tense and shrink whenever she heard her father’s raised voice.

At least, that used to be the case.

Seeing what Loukios did to Saria, she could no longer cower behind others. Lysandra thought that she could spare her lover pain if she acted obediently towards her father, but the reality proved that it was not possible.

She understood that her inaction only enabled those who were aiming to hurt her. That was when she made a decision to never again stand by idly.

The fear of her father’s anger couldn’t even compare to the fear of losing the one she loved.

If it meant keeping Saria safe, she was willing to take the heat.

Octavius groaned and cursed under his breath. Things were already exhausting, he had no energy for a pointless squabble with his daughter.

“I have no time to indulge in your weird moods, Lysandra,” Octavius said, then shifted his eyes to Saria. “You, slave, you will join the city patrols with the guards and the soldiers. I need that infestation gone as soon as possible.”

Saria opened her mouth but hesitated to speak. Even if she did, she’d be cut off by Lysandra. “Absolutely not,” the Princess said instead.

The vein on the Emperor’s neck nearly popped the second he heard his daughter’s voice.

“You will not use her to cover up your mess,” Lysandra continued. “I will not let you turn her into another scapegoat for your failures and the leader. Find someone else. Or better yet…” a mocking smirk appeared on her face. “Do it yourself.”

It was the final straw for Octavius.

He bolted up from his seat, and the heavy chair crashed to the floor with a bang. His golden eyes lit up in fury, his clenched fist burst into flames as he slammed it on the desk, causing a massive crack to appear on its surface.

“INSOLENCE!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, spitting saliva in front of him. “You worthless bastard! I should have drowned you the second your useless mother pushed you out of her womb!”

Veins bulged dangerously on Octavius’ neck, his skin flushed read making his bloodshot eyes appear even more manic.

Lysandra instinctively took a step back, shaken to the core by her father’s outburst.

Suddenly, she saw Saria step in between them, diverting his attention from the Princess to herself.

“I’ll do it,” she said, facing Octavius. “I’ll stop the infestation.”

Having someone finally listen to his orders, the Emperor visibly calmed down.

The flames on his hands disappeared alongside the killing intent in his eyes.

He snorted and looked at Lysandra over Saria’s shoulder. “Your slave has more common sense than you.” He spat the words in disgust.

“Tomorrow at dawn, report to Centurion Drakimus in the barracks. He’ll brief you in on everything.” Octavius fixed the fallen chair and sat down. “Now get out of my sight. Both of you.”