He straightened and addressed his sister. “Mercy. Thank you for coming to see us off.” He sounded painfully stiff.
Mercy threw her arms around him. “Try to be safe. Don’t poke any Dreadgods.”
“I’m not a fool.” He pushed her away and glared at Lindon. “Is there something I can help you with, Lindon?”
[At least he’s calling you by name!] Dross pointed out.
Lindon looked over the ship. “Apologies, I only wondered where everyone was going. Are you traveling to the Dreadgod?”
“The Wandering Titan has made his way to the edge of Akura territory. We go to protect the people and to drive away the vultures.”
That was a relief. He had worried that the Akura family might leave the Titan to its own devices. He had to assume that the “vultures” Pride mentioned were the Dreadgod cultists. “You mean Abyssal Palace?”
“Of course, Abyssal Palace.” Pride sounded like he was speaking to an idiot. “But there are always scavengers around a Dreadgod. Not just the cults.”
Naru Saeya passed them, a huge trunk floating on wind aura behind her. She bowed to the two Akura, who both commended her on her performance in the tournament.
As soon as she could manage, she escaped the conversation and pulled Lindon over to the side. “When you make it back to the Empire,” she said, “present yourself to the Emperor. You have done us proud.”
“Gratitude. If you don’t mind me asking, why aren’t you coming home?”
She rubbed her thumb and fingers together. “The Akura family is paying a dragon’s ransom for Lords and Ladies who can fight over the Titan. If you can slip away from Eithan, you should join me. And so should he, if he ever gets the chance.”
Lindon thanked her as she waved him off and joined the rest of the passengers. She was half a head taller than almost everyone else, and the peacock feathers over her ear made her stand out further.
Most of the eliminated Uncrowned competitors seemed to be aboard, so Lindon had a new question when he rejoined Mercy and Pride. “Why do they need Underlords?”
Pride made a dismissive sound. “We need Lords more than anything. Controlling the populace, defending our claim, herding refugees, clearing the land of natural treasures before the Dreadgod razes it…honestly, you can’t afford to be this badly informed.”
Lindon’s usual annoyance with Pride swelled to anger, but he kept a façade of polite behavior. He pressed both fists together. “My apologies that I was not born into a Monarch family.”
“It doesn’t matter if you were born into one or not. If you want to join our—”
Mercy pushed both of her madra-gloved hands over Pride’s mouth. “Ha!” she shouted. “Ha ha! Good one!” It sounded nothing like real laughter, and she shoved Pride so that he stumbled back a step.
He looked genuinely confused.
“Well, we don’t want to keep you from your work anymore,” Mercy continued. “Stay safe, tell Uncle Fury I’ll see him soon, and I’ll join you as soon as I can, okay?”
Pride straightened his outer robe. “See me after you win.”
Then he strode away again, already barking orders.
[Maybe he’ll be eaten by a Dreadgod,] Dross mused.
Lindon didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary around the man, but he didn’t wish Pride any harm. Just some humility.
Mercy put her hand on Lindon’s shoulder and spun him around, so they were walking through the wind and back toward their amethyst tower. “So did you know Eithan could fight like that?” she asked, and Lindon got the distinct impression she was trying to take the subject away from Pride.
“You’ve seen as much of his ability as I have. He might still be holding back.”
She looked doubtful, but shrugged. “Could be! I don’t see him performing much better without advancing to Overlord, but if he has anything else in his pocket, he’ll be a tough one. I’ll need practice.”
“Apologies if this seems rude, but I’ve never seen everything you can do either.”
Any opponents Lindon had seen Mercy face had either grossly outclassed her or hadn’t pushed her to her limit. He still didn’t know what her Book of Eternal Night was capable of.
“You will soon!” she said cheerfully. “I wish I could invite you to watch me train, but a lot of it happens inside my Book, so it’s pretty boring to watch. But if they match me against Sophara, you’ll get to see every card I have to play.”
“What about Yerin?” he asked.
He had been curious about this ever since Northstrider had announced that Yerin and Mercy were going to fight each other. That had ended up being a lie, but he had still wanted to ask Mercy how she rated her matchup against Yerin.
Her face fell, and she dragged Suu along the ground for a second. “Yeah…I’m hoping I don’t meet Yerin until the finals. It’s hard to enjoy the competition when my mother’s life is on the line, you know? But at least we have three allies in the top eight!”
She hadn’t fought her fourth round yet, but Lindon noticed she had no doubts about winning her way into the Uncrowned.
She also hadn’t answered his question.
“Six fights left,” Mercy said. “Six days. After that, the Uncrowned will be taken away for a month of Sage training.”
Lindon gave a heavy sigh. He’d heard about that already. The reason Eithan and Yerin weren’t here with him was because of their status in the top eight. They were having their souls measured for the Broken Crown construct and being interviewed for written accounts of their experience.
The interview was new. Eithan had tracked down scribes of his own volition.
Mercy was waiting for him to respond, but when he didn’t, she pressed on.
“So you have the rest of the week with Yerin. What are you going to do?”
They had reached the door of the tower, but Mercy turned to watch the cloudship, which was still loading.
“I’m not sure,” Lindon said, watching the people bustle around the deck. “We need to spar a few rounds. There are a few ideas I have to work out after our match, and I know she could be more comfortable with the Final Sword—"
Mercy’s staff cracked against the top of his skull.
He flinched back, and the violet gemstone eyes of the dragon-headed staff hissed at him.
“What are you going to do with Yerin?”
Lindon took a slow step away from the staff. “Of course, I’m going to train with her every day. She doesn’t have a minute to waste, and Dross and I can help.”
Mercy closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
[She’s trying to say—] Dross began, but Lindon cut him off by speaking.
“I know what you’re trying to say. But I’m telling you the truth. That is what I’m going to do with Yerin for the rest of the week.”
He wanted to work out his feelings for Yerin, and he wanted to do so with her. Her month of training with a Sage felt like a punishment looming over him.
It wasn’t so long ago that he had been dragged off to the Akura family for training, and he hadn’t enjoyed being separated from her then. Now he would be completely alone.
At least he had plenty of training to occupy his time.
In light of broader events, Yerin leaving was the right thing to do. They needed every advantage they could get to win the tournament.
Mercy’s purple eyes slowly opened. “I hear you. Now, pretend there wasn’t so much at stake. What would you do if everything was calm, and you had plenty of time?”
He examined his own mind. It was embarrassing having all this pulled out of him in public, but Mercy was a friend. And she was only trying to help.
“I would want to try doing something together. With her.”
It felt like a shameful admission, but it was clearly the right answer, because Mercy shone. It looked like she was about to start hopping up and down.
“There it is! I thought you never did anything fun.”