Ryn hadn't moved in nearly an hour. Night came by way too quickly. Either that or he had been spaced out the whole day.
He sat on the edge of the bed, removing the excessive amounts of jewelry he had to wear to look 'presentable' as a noble.
Thoughts swam in his head, trying to make sense of the day, of Lira, of Scorpio, his next steps…it was all too much.
Then a quiet knock came.
"…Ryn?"
"Amelia? Come in, door's open."
She slipped inside before he could even stand up to greet her, closing the door with the same speed.
For a moment, she just looked at him.
Then she spoke.
"Can I stay here? Just for tonight."
Ryn wasn't too caught off guard, as her expression revealed it all. She wasn't shy, just honest and tired.
He exhaled, tension loosening from his shoulders. "If that's what you want."
Amelia crossed the room and sat beside him on the bed, close enough that their shoulders brushed. The faint contact startled him more than it should have, but he didn't move away.
Ryn lowered his head, thinking about the morning.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "For all of it. For yelling. For dragging you into things you shouldn't have been part of. For… hiding so much."
Amelia didn't speak at first.
She reached out and lightly took his hand, her thumb brushing over his knuckles.
"Ryn," she murmured, "you don't have to explain before you're ready."
His breath caught.
She squeezed his hand gently.
"I can't pretend I understand everything you're going through. But… I know you're trying your best. And that's the Ryn I know and love."
That eased something inside him that had been clenched tight across two lifetimes.
Ryn shifted slightly, but Amelia moved first—resting her head lightly against his chest, letting out a breath that trembled only at the start. She didn't cling; she simply settled there, trusting the space beside him.
Eventually, when Amelia's breaths began to slow, she tilted her head up slightly.
"…Can we lie down?" she whispered.
He nodded. They both eased onto the bed, way larger than the space between them.
Amelia curled against him, resting her head just beneath his collarbone. Her hand slid lightly across his side until it found a comfortable place.
Ryn adjusted the blanket over her, making sure she was warm.
"Is this okay?" he murmured.
She hummed softly, drifting. "…Mhmm."
He rested his chin lightly atop her hair, letting the warmth settle between them. Realizing she was already asleep, he shut his eyes as well, letting the comfort seep in.
Ryn had lost her once before, too powerless to stop it. But now, even if he had to offer everything to gain the power to protect her, he would.
***
They left Deimos at first light, slipping out through the northern gate before the city had fully stirred. They rode on horseback, but since Ryn never bothered to learn equestrian, he sat in the back like a princess.
With both cloaks pulled up against the cold wind, they rode out toward Ironspine Ridge—a mountain known for its abundant amount of minerals and ores…before monsters started inhabiting the area.
The ride up was quiet and smooth, only disrupted by the occasional breaks they had to take because of Ryn's motion sickness.
As they ascended, the air became thinner, colder, and carried a metallic tang that was different from the natural dew.
He watched as terrain shifted from soil to fractured rock, from thick-rooted trees to sparse, twisted pines clinging to the slope
Ryn remembered the Iron Basilisk clear as day. It was a monster that was the very essence of a mountain. It would make its nest within mountain caves, absorbing the abundant ore and mineral-rich energy into its body.
Because of this, the Basilisk evolved hardened plates on its skin, made of a similar material to that of iron, hence the name. However, the most important trait was its poison gland, which had been refined by the energy of certain minerals.
This made the poison incredibly pure, for the purposes of neutralizing other poisons—and later on, the discovery of its potent stabilization property while creating the Vitalis Core.
Ryn knew this was the right choice, and actually regretted that he hadn't gone sooner. This was two birds with one stone. It dealt with both Scorpio and was a rare ingredient for a legendary artifact—all nicely wrapped up in a snake-looking package.
It seemed easy on paper. Until Ryn realized that it was classified as an A-Rank monster.
Now the question was…where even is it?
…
The horse lurched as the path narrowed, and Ryn's stomach flipped for the third time that morning. He tapped Amelia's shoulder lightly, signaling a break.
She stopped near an even plane area where the wind died down a bit. Ryn slid off the saddle the moment the horse stopped, boots hitting the dirt with a little too much relief. He braced one hand on his knee, taking a slow breath as the nausea eased.
Forget the Cult of Evernight. Motion sickness was the one enemy he could never beat.
As he straightened, something on the ground caught his eye. A subtle disruption in the soil…a footprint.
He stepped closer, crouching. The impression wasn't human, nor was it from the Basilisk.
Three toes, pressed hard onto the ground, with grooves that looked like claws jutted out.
The only mountain-dwelling monster that can leave such a footprint, only one came to mind.
The Cockatrice.
A monster that's not extremely dangerous, but can be annoying to fight. They're crafty monsters, usually following stronger monsters to scavenge anything they can. The molted skin of the Basilisk is like a treasure-grade artifact to a Cockatrice.
But Cockatrices weren't famous for their strength.
They were famous for something else entirely—
Their irresistible meat.
Ryn'd seen a hunting party torn apart because one of them had stored Cockatrice jerky in their pack. They thought it was a coincidence. Ryn knew better now.
However… this was the perfect bait to lure out the Basilisk.
He glanced back at Amelia, a slow grin spreading across his face.
"Hey, Amelia… you said you trusted me, right?"
She blinked at him, already sensing trouble.
"…What are you planning?"
Ryn only grinned wider.
Amelia sighed, the kind of long, resigned exhale reserved solely for him.
"Every time you smile like that, something tries to kill us."
He shrugged. "Only if we're unlucky."
"We're always unlucky."
"Then this should feel familiar."
Ryn didn't wait for further protest. He was already moving, steps quick and sure as he followed the three-toed prints angling uphill through the thinning trees. The ground showed the creature's passage clearly: uphill and in a more remote area.
Amelia walked a few paces behind, adjusting the reins as she scanned the treeline. Her earlier grumbling faded as she noticed the tracks too.
And she knew exactly what he was up to, but for the first time, she didn't argue.
The tracks grew fresher as they followed them higher along the ridge, eventually bleeding into a narrow pass where the trees thinned completely. The sound reached them before the sight did—a low, constant rush of water echoing through the stone corridor.
A river.
Fed by melting snow higher up the mountain, its current was fast and cold, curling around slick boulders like a silver spine.
The Cockatrice was perched near the bank.
There was no other way to describe this monster: this was just a big chicken. If Ryn were to point out a discerning feature, it would be its large rat-like tail.
He crouched behind a fallen log at the edge of the clearing, Amelia landing beside him with a whisper of her cloak.
Ryn scanned the terrain, mentally outlining a quick, clean approach.
Simple plan. Scare the bird. Get it to drop the molt. Kill it before it bolts.
He nodded to himself, deciding on the exact angle.
Amelia leaned in, whispering, "Okay… what's the—"
A dry crack split the air. A single pinecone had fallen from the overhang above and smacked the log at Ryn's elbow.
This timeline HAD to be cursed. Ryn thought.
The Cockatrice's head snapped toward the noise instantly, noticing Ryn and Amelia.
Ryn blinked once.
"…That wasn't part of the plan."
Amelia gave him a flat, resigned stare.
"You had a plan?"
Ryn smiled nervously, a last-ditch effort to calm the bird.
"Good birdie?"
BOK-KOOKKK!