Kai moved back a little as he crossed his arms, eyes flickering to the blood on Eliot's palm before he cleaned it with a handkerchief. The blade had drawn him clean, a mark of worthiness.
"Ok, now I'm offended," Kai muttered under his breath. "Didn't expect to be chosen or anything, but still ouch."
Eliot, wiping his hand, smirked. "Oh, don't pout. Consider it fate. The knife knows style when it sees it."
Kai bowed dramatically. "Your Majesty."
Eliot threw out his arms. "Yes, yes, my subjects, bask in the presence of your High King."
"Jesus Christ," Penny groaned. "Kai, don't indulge him. Lord knows he's already hard to live with and now this"
Later that night, everything had been set in motion. The hall was lit, music echoing faintly. Fen appeared in her white garb, walking the aisle with solemn grace. Everyone clapped, smiled, whispered, but Kai tuned most of it out. His eyes tracked Penny slipping away in silence probably to astral project into the dungeon to see Vicky. He shook his head then, he leaned toward Julia.
"So," Kai murmured, "was this everything you dreamed about as a kid?" Julia gave him a long look, her expression softening. "Honestly? It's more. From the moment I learned about magic… I wished for something like this. A place, a meaning." Her gaze drifted to Quentin, who held Alice's hand with a quiet tenderness.
"It's what we always wanted. And now… we're living inside our wish." Kai listened with rare gentleness. "That dream doesn't really go away, Jules. That kid inside us? The one who wonders and hopes? They are still there you know. Just buried under all the shit life piles on. People call it adulthood."
Julia smiled faintly, shaking her head. "Didn't expect that from you."
He chuckled softly. "Gotta keep that part of us alive. Or else, what's the point?" Her breath hitched, and she said quietly, "I love you."
Kai blinked, stunned and definitely not expecting her to be the first to say those words, but then he allowed a small genuine smile to show on his face. "…I love you too, Julia." He leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
The ceremony faded into revelry, laughter and music filling the air. Eventually, the knife-maker arrived with a polished box. He opened it with pride. "Your price as promised."
Kai, standing with Julia, barely had time to react and warn them not to touch it before Quentin stepped forward and touched the blade. The scream was immediate. "ARGH—fuck!" Quentin yanked his hand back, clutching his singed skin.
Kai sighed. "Yeah, I don't think any of you should touch that right now." Eliot stepped forward with mock bravado. "Please. I'm the High King. How hard could a knife be?"
Kai smirked at that. "Be my guest."
Eliot reached for it, only to howl and recoil instantly. "Owwwwww, what the actual fuck, Kai?! That's like… a few thousand degrees hot!"
"The Leo Blade was forged with a blessed flame," Kai explained casually. "It's always burning. Only a master magician can wield it."
Out of nowhere, Penny strolled in, eyes catching the blade. "Oh cool." He picked it up only to scream bloody murder, tossing it away.
"FUCK! I hate this goddamn place!"
Kai bent down and lifted the blade with ease, holding it up with a smirk. "At least we've got one master magician here."
Margo rolled her eyes. "Yeah, choke on it, why don't you."
Kai just chuckled.
Later, Penny brought grim news. "Victoria's still in the dungeon. We need to get her out now."
Eliot scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, sorry, guys, but I've got… obligations. A Fillorian bride to impregnate, apparently."
Kai snorted. "Sure, let's all risk our lives while you get to bury himself deep inside a virgin who knows next to nothing about good sex. Sounds fair."
Margo burst out laughing.
"Man, If I die while this idiot's balling himself out," Penny growled, "I swear I'll haunt the shit out of him."
Kai laughed again. "Ok, ok. Penny, Alice, Josh, Margo you go get Victoria before the Beast realizes she's missing. As for the rest of us…" His eyes sharpened. "…it's time we meet the coward of Fillory."
Quentin frowned. "Who?"
"Why, Ember of course," Kai replied with a grin. Julia blinked. "Wow. You actually want to meet Ember now?"
"Yep. Chop chop," Kai said, clapping his hands. "We've got a traumatized kid-turned-Beast to kill. Let's get to it."
——————-
The temple was as filthy as a pigsty, scattered with debris and the reek of piss. Kai wrinkled his nose as his vampire senses were hit with a wave of disturbing smell. "Knew what to expect, but damn, this is pathetic. He really needs a makeover."
"I do, children of Earth," came a voice.
From the shadows stepped Ember, half man, half goat, leaning on his staff.
"Well hello Philoctetes, nice to see you in this twisted version of Disney. Did Hercules let you go or something??"
Kai's first words were an offensive joke which made Julia smack him. "Ouch!"
"That's rude," Ember sniffed, taking a seat on his makeshift throne. His eyes locked on Quentin. "You're usually dead by now. Funny. You don't normally make it this far." He giggled.
Quentin ignored him. "Why are you here, Ember?"
"I'm trapped," Ember said bitterly. "That wretch killed my brother. If I leave, he'll kill me too."
"The Beast?" Julia asked. Ember scoffed. "If you want to call him that."
"You're a god," Quentin pressed. "The god of Fillory. Shouldn't you do something?" Kai laughed from the corner.
Ember's eyes locked on Kai as the boy chuckled from the shadows. "What's so funny, child of Earth?" the god demanded.
Kai stepped forward slowly, his arms folded. "What's funny? You are. Look at you. A god. The god of Fillory. And yet here you sit, rotting in your own piss and filth while a traumatized little boy runs around tearing your kingdom apart. Tell me, Ember, when did you decide being a coward was easier than being a god?"
Ember's jaw clenched, but Kai didn't stop.
"You had all this power. Worship. Devotion. This land was your creation. And the second things got hard, you let it all go. You hide here while children actual children get butchered, twisted, consumed. You let Martin become the Beast because you were too absorbed in entertaining yourself."
Kai's voice cut sharper with every word, venom dripping from his tone. He gestured around the ruined hall. "This? This is what you've been reduced to. A god playing hermit in a garbage heap."
Ember gripped his staff tighter, his nostrils flaring. "Do you even remember what it means to be divine?" Kai pressed, stepping closer. "You were supposed to guide, to protect, to inspire. Instead, you cower. You slink in the shadows while your people suffer. You let some broken child take everything from you, and you didn't even try to stop him." He tilted his head mockingly.
"Tell me, do you still fuck naiads while Fillory burns? Still chase 'entertainment' while the world screams for your help? You're not a god you're a joke. A sad, lazy goat that cares more about his own hide than the land he swore to protect. What would Umber say if he saw you like this? Oh wait… he wouldn't. He never gave a shit about you either."
That was the final push. Ember surged to his feet, slamming his staff into the stone. "ENOUGH!"
In a blur, Kai appeared before him, vampire features showing, voice cold and sharp as a blade. "Or what? Go on, say it. I'd love to hear it. Just so you know, I can be much worse than that pathetic kid you let drown in magic."
Quentin and Julia froze, chills running down their spines. Ember backed down, slumping into his throne. "You're right. I am a coward."
"Yeah," Kai muttered. "Should've done something. But you didn't. I just wanted to see what you really were. Turns out you're nothing but a pitiful goat with too much power." He turned to Quentin and Julia. "Let's go."
They left Ember behind, drowning in his own shame.
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