Chapter 19
Cuvera was frantically walking19Please respect copyright.PENANAmbw1dY3HUD
around his room dressed in his wedding attire. If Vander thought his outfit was19Please respect copyright.PENANAAzPU6vRNoa
beautiful, it had nothing on the crown prince’s. He was wearing a beautiful19Please respect copyright.PENANAoMDgQ38oXY
sapphire colored gown with white trim along the edges. His hair was slicked19Please respect copyright.PENANAVtzgDJkgUG
back revealing his forehead and he wore a silver necklace with a sapphire gem19Please respect copyright.PENANAo71HjEfMKY
hanging from it. His boots were polished to perfection, which Vander reminded19Please respect copyright.PENANAi00JD675ed
him of that fact so he would stop pacing. He sat down on the bed and held his19Please respect copyright.PENANAmeAQdYBIrP
head in his hands. Vander knew better than to talk to him while he was like19Please respect copyright.PENANAJDhe4GYGJJ
this so the two of them sat quietly until Cuvera was ready.
“Do you think my father was this19Please respect copyright.PENANAQ1Ca8NJ3Hi
nervous before his wedding?” Cuvera looked up at Vander.
“Probably.” Vander shrugged. “I19Please respect copyright.PENANAoahTbRzEYY
wasn’t around for it so I wouldn’t know for sure.” Cuvera punched Vander’s19Please respect copyright.PENANADRZQtK80Mx
shoulder.
“No shit.” He snorted. “I’m asking19Please respect copyright.PENANAqVACeSyHbX
what you think.”
“Probably was.” He responded. “Isn’t19Please respect copyright.PENANAHeemNGktea
everyone a little nervous when they decide to marry someone?”
“I’m not sure.” Cuvera sighed.19Please respect copyright.PENANA0YOgcdMSsm
“But I have more pressure than that since it’s political, I don’t want to mess19Please respect copyright.PENANA6MH6GTr4qt
this up.”
“You won’t.” Vander squeezed his19Please respect copyright.PENANApXEjT4waBb
friend’s shoulder. “Just remember Kiara is probably more nervous than you are.19Please respect copyright.PENANAT1sZquB4Mg
She moved into enemy territory to marry a man she didn’t know. If things go19Please respect copyright.PENANAbQRHRE90vq
poorly both countries will be back at war. Neither one of you want that.”
“Yeah, your right.” Cuvera let out19Please respect copyright.PENANAjrIEK9wW6Y
a sigh. He got up from the bed then walked towards the door. “Will you come19Please respect copyright.PENANAPMS6pZ5Iex
with my to visit mom?” Without saying a word, Vander stood up from the bed and19Please respect copyright.PENANASBCmhAvqOf
nodded. The two of them left the room with Shea following behind.
The memory of his mother was19Please respect copyright.PENANAUZa2AQpyE0
etched into the garden she left behind, but her body was placed in the Crypt of19Please respect copyright.PENANAtJXncP2Alb
Queens, located next to the Crypt of King’s deep below the castle’s mausoleum.19Please respect copyright.PENANAwyvep6i0EB
It was guarded by a crypt keeper who was dangerous as she was scary. Her family19Please respect copyright.PENANAmKyZ3TCBg1
had protected the crypts since the city’s founding, and they took their duty19Please respect copyright.PENANAHOyUFqh1Eq
very seriously. Right now, due to the19Please respect copyright.PENANAaRw5LPogXt
amount of people in the castle, the crypt was locked by the keeper who was19Please respect copyright.PENANANbfofe3NhW
standing in front with a shovel in her hands. No one knew where she lived, but19Please respect copyright.PENANAM00qaCifxn
many suspected she had a room inside the crypt.
“Prince.” She whispered, bowing19Please respect copyright.PENANAVymtqJvNiJ
her head in respect. She was tall and broad shouldered but walked with a slight19Please respect copyright.PENANAYng65Int4F
hunch. Her skin was pale and had light gray eyes. Her hair hung in strands from19Please respect copyright.PENANAXQlt1BmIS9
her head, but her arms were chiseled from marble. Vander had seen her lift a19Please respect copyright.PENANAa4blpzwGGe
coffin by herself once before. She was someone you didn’t want to fuck with.
“Hello Crypt Keeper.” Vander19Please respect copyright.PENANAZq8OLjFK9D
returned the bow. “I’m here to visit my mother.”
“I expected you to be here today,19Please respect copyright.PENANAHNtzezANE4
so I have already tidied up the crypt for you.” she said. “Is the Captain going19Please respect copyright.PENANAX2e3OvAH5s
to be joining you?”
“If you don’t mind.” Cuvera asked.19Please respect copyright.PENANAAzyU7hi2Li
“He is my guard for the day, so I can’t just leave him.”
“Understood.” She stepped aside to19Please respect copyright.PENANAQzvW2z6Cax
remove a ring of keys from her belt. She placed an old iron one into the gate,19Please respect copyright.PENANASq2rCxGj07
he heard a click, then the gate swung open. “If you wouldn’t mind following19Please respect copyright.PENANAcopPiHYKti
me.” Vander instructed Shea to watch the gate as the two of them followed the19Please respect copyright.PENANAoDZR9fd6b9
Crypt Keeper underground.
The first thing Vander noticed was19Please respect copyright.PENANA2ZeunDIUrO
the cold air that wafted up from the depths. He always felt something odd when19Please respect copyright.PENANAzgAUdvRZjB
he visited, a supernatural feeling that he was being watched. Swallowing his19Please respect copyright.PENANAvfA73p7f7A
fear, he took up the rearmost position as the Crypt Keeper grabbed a lit torch19Please respect copyright.PENANACDABjZg2Do
and led the way towards the Crypt of Queens.
It took them five minutes to come to19Please respect copyright.PENANAp4RkDtayXq
a fork in the road. Without skipping a beat, she took the path on the right.19Please respect copyright.PENANA8RfDqNJkaw
The Crypt of Queens was where all the past and future Queens would be buried19Please respect copyright.PENANAELkMKhw4Bg
when their time came. As Cuvera’s mother was the most recent Queen to die, her19Please respect copyright.PENANAD2wAzg1KYe
tomb was the closest to the surface. It was tucked in a little hallway that19Please respect copyright.PENANAHtTQ02VDfI
opened into a full-sized room. There were five caskets placed inside, only two19Please respect copyright.PENANADq1DajnFRm
of them were in use. The casket that was draped with a blue and white cloth was19Please respect copyright.PENANAvTmKt9CRkJ
Cuvera’s grandmother, Malcolm’s mother. She had inherited the throne from her19Please respect copyright.PENANAPDdAjIePOF
father when he died then she married a noble to produce strong heirs. Cuvera’s19Please respect copyright.PENANARXBR8k0b3v
mother was adorned with a simple cloth marking her status as a commoner. Vander19Please respect copyright.PENANAFPHd3Dzr5O
didn’t know the store on how Malcolm and Julie met, but he knew they loved each19Please respect copyright.PENANAt8Ijl6V87o
other. He had nearly executed nobles who expressed their disdain for placing a19Please respect copyright.PENANAK400g6eh3G
commoner in the Crypt of Queens, but Cuvera talked him out of it. She was given19Please respect copyright.PENANAejvqw5bv7U
a small ceremony before being escorted down below.
“I will leave you now.” The Crypt19Please respect copyright.PENANAY2jvKhmECp
Keeper bowed her head. “I trust you know your way back up?”
“I do.” Vander said.
“Then I will leave the two of you19Please respect copyright.PENANA438LIrrhwT
alone.” She smiled. “I will also keep anyone else from coming down her until19Please respect copyright.PENANAVphqNJXI8t
you arrive back up.”
“Thank you.” Cuvera bowed down in19Please respect copyright.PENANAoJxtJGX6p8
front of the casket then placed his hands together and closed his eyes in19Please respect copyright.PENANAoosRUTZkVL
prayer. Vander didn’t want to overhear his friend’s chat with his mother, so he19Please respect copyright.PENANAQD3OICO5z7
decided to make himself scarce. He decided to take an impromptu trip through19Please respect copyright.PENANAhOOz5X3Wb1
the crypt.
He didn’t want to disturb anyone’s19Please respect copyright.PENANAqDF3KrU5YY
rest, so just stuck to hallways. Eluvian’s were particular about the dead.19Please respect copyright.PENANA8PU9weX2k5
Vander had long believed that there was nothing after death, just a black void19Please respect copyright.PENANAwKlWkJaW73
that your consciousness floated in for the rest of time. He wasn’t going to see19Please respect copyright.PENANARqdwrt2jLh
it himself because once he died his soul would be claimed by Unna and he would19Please respect copyright.PENANARWxXHhEwf6
be forced, like all the other mindless beasts in her forest, to fight and kill19Please respect copyright.PENANAUutkENtMtR
for survival. Eventually he would lose anything that made him human.
As he ventured further down the19Please respect copyright.PENANAj5OIsNdSJn
crypt, things grew cold. It wasn’t unexpected since he was further underground,19Please respect copyright.PENANAjKm7k1iclU
but the rate at which is became cold alarmed him. He turned around to head back19Please respect copyright.PENANAIfdofpPYnL
towards the surface, but he found that he was stuck inside of a sealed off19Please respect copyright.PENANAUQuHSoVD36
room. Mist circled around him, clawing his leg. He heard stone moving on stone.19Please respect copyright.PENANAA1otkr9JJV
As he turned around, a skeletal hand popped out from the sarcophagus. Bone19Please respect copyright.PENANA6lzmSwYSdC
tapped against the side as a skeleton that had long been since stripped of its19Please respect copyright.PENANABN77Q70g1y
flesh popped out. It was wearing a torn cloak that had been nearly destroyed19Please respect copyright.PENANAsZ9bTJGIq4
along with rusted armor that still clanged as it pulled itself up from the19Please respect copyright.PENANACdkpg2kf6v
coffin and stood in front of Vander.
Vander tried to move, but the mist19Please respect copyright.PENANA4YYHV7iV4n
clung to him solidifying him where he stood. The skeleton opened its mouth then19Please respect copyright.PENANAqb2AcdgPAk
the mist removed itself from Vander then flowed right into the skeleton’s19Please respect copyright.PENANA8Bxv8AQraw
mouth. The mist formed skin on the skeleton and the more it inhaled, the more19Please respect copyright.PENANAnTl3qxCYNN
lifelike the skeleton became. The armor became shiny as the cloak elongated to19Please respect copyright.PENANAB7VFy4LyrP
its original length. After a few seconds the skeleton became human once again.19Please respect copyright.PENANAFwgY9zmOUP
This was someone Vander recognized, but this man had died thousands of years19Please respect copyright.PENANADfDCrTrUfN
ago.
“So, you’re Unna’s newest scion.”19Please respect copyright.PENANAQWoqMttpdp
The man rasped. He wobbled over to Vander then grabbed his jaw to examine him.19Please respect copyright.PENANAbYMuFse9SE
He muttered to himself as he moved Vander’s head around. “Smaller than the last19Please respect copyright.PENANA9nzV7mCzTS
one, but I can feel strength in you.” Vander smacked the man’s hand away.
“I’m getting real sick of the19Please respect copyright.PENANAk9HDA2MeeW
Deities summoning me and giving me cryptic bullshit.” He snapped. “What do you19Please respect copyright.PENANAn08susZ4wS
want?”
“That is no way to talk to your19Please respect copyright.PENANA1aNnSb7xKx
predecessor.” The man leaned up against his coffin.
“How is it you are here?” Vander19Please respect copyright.PENANAD7oDwFUZIg
snapped. “I was just in the Crypt of Queens and last I check you weren’t a19Please respect copyright.PENANAwJlQLZXfvm
queen in your past life.” The man was named Boar, and he was the first Blade19Please respect copyright.PENANAWLTpikRyv4
elected after Eluvia’s civil war shortly after the murder of the first king. He19Please respect copyright.PENANADamA0BCpiD
had been the son of the general who had done it.
“I have been given a brief19Please respect copyright.PENANAgNBQ6RgLle
reprieve to talk to you Vander.” The man said. “You have been brought to my19Please respect copyright.PENANAEwFwmpkKYh
resting place, but no worry, once we are done here you will be taken back, and19Please respect copyright.PENANAEWcQ9nDvbG
this will be the last time you are bothered for a long time. The deities are19Please respect copyright.PENANAOJADZqbqC8
losing their powers, they need some time to recover.”
“What’s got them so bent out of19Please respect copyright.PENANATW8G4HmRxR
shape that they needed to send you to talk to me?” Vander crossed his arms.19Please respect copyright.PENANAI7UG90WpRl
“And why have they not told me before now during the numerous times they’ve19Please respect copyright.PENANAogqoDbmXs6
bothered me?”
“The deities see time as19Please respect copyright.PENANADxM7xcN2YI
scattered, not linear like us, so sometimes things escape them.” He shrugged.19Please respect copyright.PENANASU2uwJ89Mj
“Plus, they’ve been busy looking for someone. Imitae, he has been missing.”
“That’s not news.” Vander scoffed.19Please respect copyright.PENANAk4JkwyERnT
“He’s been wandering around since the beginning of time after the war with19Please respect copyright.PENANAfveszN1EA5
Darkness. Makes sense that they can’t find him.”
“The deities relate to one19Please respect copyright.PENANAANMWMwHy7Z
another; they can always feel each other despite the distance. But not now.19Please respect copyright.PENANAR7fBEKOlIZ
It’s as if he just disappeared.” Boar explained. “Now the deities are divided.19Please respect copyright.PENANAFfCXcWsEKd
Some have turned on each other.”
“Explains why Veyar was trapped in19Please respect copyright.PENANAqiQf3pqdr8
a storm when I saw her a couple weeks ago.” Vander frowned. “I assume that’s19Please respect copyright.PENANASwJmu5Xo8i
Rolous’ doing?”
“Indeed.” Boar nodded. “I’m here19Please respect copyright.PENANAH7Ch33LOgX
to tell you something. There is a book within the King’s library, something you19Please respect copyright.PENANAP69Owg0ZpJ
must steal.”
“A book?” Vander asked. “What kind19Please respect copyright.PENANAc16yVPcTlW
of books?”
“You were shown it the last time19Please respect copyright.PENANA8xtPXoSNOF
you were in Malcolm’s office.” He explained. “It’s of vital importance, you19Please respect copyright.PENANAfnG5DQF5dF
must not let your enemies get their hands on it.”
“What happens if I don’t?”
“Then the world will be at risk.”19Please respect copyright.PENANAhnXALjF9V7
Boar narrowed his eyes. “You must do this, Veyar demands it.”
“The deities have been nothing but19Please respect copyright.PENANATXgc18hw6C
a curse.” Vander spat.
“I cannot promise there will be a19Please respect copyright.PENANA59dodmfZRP
happy ending, all I know is that everything will end if you don’t do this.”19Please respect copyright.PENANAb2j2R0Wt8G
Boar’s voice became serious. “Protect that country Vander, do your duty as a Blade, no matter what happens.” With that19Please respect copyright.PENANAzeu86UxN9z
Boar tapped his shoulder then stepped back towards the coffin. He released all19Please respect copyright.PENANAu3bdYoPIO6
the mist that he had held before slipping back into the coffin and sliding the19Please respect copyright.PENANAmcRMmSArnf
top shut.
Vander bolted up from the ground19Please respect copyright.PENANA1SpYPV2nyV
with his heart beating in his chest. He looked around and saw that he had been19Please respect copyright.PENANA0MWZgtbnNB
leaning up against the wall just outside of the area where Cuvera’s mother had19Please respect copyright.PENANAImTzVXNVTi
been buried. Cuvera walked out a moment later with a small smile on his face.19Please respect copyright.PENANAoshj83Fns8
Vander contemplated telling his friend what had transpired, but he didn’t want19Please respect copyright.PENANAvBrcoWzukG
to ruin the joy that was plastered on his friend’s face. He didn’t even think19Please respect copyright.PENANAKVAueJ1SQv
he would believe him.
“Did you get what you needed?”19Please respect copyright.PENANASzEPf8bXea
Vander asked, wrapping his arms around Cuvera’s shoulders.
“I feel better.” Cuvera sighed. “I19Please respect copyright.PENANAWxltKRRWCC
just look forward to tonight once the wedding is all over.”
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“Come, let’s get you married.”19Please respect copyright.PENANAH2hZPcbarL
Today might be hard for Cuvera, but tonight was going to be harder for him. He19Please respect copyright.PENANANA5mXLPh21
had to let someone he knew die when he could do something to save them. After19Please respect copyright.PENANAlXMFzPbvnN
tonight, he would have nothing to do with the deities and their sick games. He19Please respect copyright.PENANAIf9KpBt9EG
was done.