“My Princess,” Hadjar nodded and bowed. “I need to talk to you.”
“And I with you,” her voice sounded calm and confident.
He wondered what her test had been like to lead to such major changes. Besides, this was the first time in a long time that she’d addressed him with respect.
“Please go ahead, my Princess.”
Elaine touched her tattoo. The sword, now looking like thick smoke, was sucked into it and the glow died out. The Princess rose to her feet, brushed off her dress, and walked closer to Hadjar. He could smell her, and at the moment, her scent was like a mixture of fish, sweat, and river water.
“I would ask you, General, to swear an oath.”
“Oath?”
She nodded.
“I understand that I’m asking for a lot,” both confidence and a touch of pleading appeared in her beautiful blue eyes. “But at the moment, Lidus can’t afford such a discovery. If they find out about the Tree or the Grass of the Azure Star, our Kingdom will be doomed. I don’t want to cause the death of millions of innocent people.”
Hadjar swore quietly. His sister wasn’t stupid. She‘d been grown in the castle, like a flower in a greenhouse, had known nothing but lies, but she certainly wasn’t an idiot.
He pretended to think about it intensely for about five minutes.
“Perhaps you are right, we certainly don’t need a second ore mine.”
Elaine frowned slightly.
“Mine? Lidus doesn’t mine any ores. Our main export is grain.”
When Hadjar had fought the monster created by the Tree, it’d taken all his strength to survive. Now he had to use every ounce of willpower he had to avoid cursing like a dockworker. Thanks to Dogar, he and Nero could swear much better than one, anyway.
“You are probably right,” these were the most agonizing words he’d ever said in his entire life. “I have some problems with understanding the economy.”
As if trying to encourage him, Elaine extended her hand first. Hadjar didn’t need to be told what to do next. He took out a knife from his ankle sheath and offered it to her, handle first.
The Princess was surprised by his confidence, but didn’t say a word.
She cut her palm and spoke the right words. Then Hadjar did the same. Their wounds flared and then quickly healed. The River of Energy had heard their words and forever sealed them in blood.
“My Princess,” Hadjar rose, adjusting Moon Beam’s sheath. “We should keep going. At night, these places are dangerous.”
The girl nodded.
“Do you know where we are, General?”
Frankly, Hadjar had been dreading that question. If the neuronet had been operational, he would’ve easily been able to orient himself. Alas, without it, all he could say was that they were on the opposite side of the ridge, at least a week away from where they’d fallen in. It was unlikely that the royal search party and Nero had even gotten close to here or had even managed to inspect much of the land around the site of their battle with the giant worms. This meant that they had a long way to go to get back. Together…
Hadjar remembered their childhood games, when they’d gone on a variety of adventures together... Well, not together, but because Elaine had followed Hadjar...
“I saw it, General,” Elaine said, her voice slightly muffled.
“What did you see, exactly, my Princess?”
“Your war. I had a dream about your war, you and my brother fighting side by side. I sometimes even seemed to participate in the battles...”
Stars were shining in the sky. Cicadas were singing in the grass. They walked down the slope, toward the dense forest. Hadjar pondered whether he had to return to the volcano and try to burn the Tree of Life, may all the demons take it.
“I want to say,” Elaine continued, “that I understand why you didn’t help that man. I understand it, but don’t accept it. I still think that you were wrong.”
Hadjar turned to the Princess. There was nothing but determination in her eyes.
“You might be right, my Princess.”
They walked the rest of the way in silence.
Chapter 216
Elaine moved over the grass. Her sword slid through the air like a snake, leaving a scarlet streak behind. A wolf-bull — a terrible mixture of a wolf and a bull — howled and growled as the blade cut into his eyebrow and right eye. Pawing the ground, he bared his fanged maw and lowered his huge horns.
Elaine stood firm, resolute and fearless. Assuming a high fighting stance, she swung her blade, sending a fire bird toward him. A falcon’s cry filled the clearing. The grass began to smoke from the heat of the Technique, and the treetops became slightly charred.
The monster hit the ground with its hoof once again and launched energy from its horns. It looked like the concentric circles that were the result of one throwing a pebble into a lake, only potent enough to tear up trees. The fire falcon got entangled in them. It repeatedly struck the barely visible barrier with its beak, tore into it with its claws, and burnt it with its wings, but to no avail. Seeing that her Technique couldn’t break through the enemy’s defenses, Elaine turned into a morning fog.
She slid over the grass quickly and smoothly. However, the monster, whose skin was littered with scars from past battles, was ready for this turn of events. When Elaine’s blade was just a few inches from the artery on the mighty wolf-bull’s neck, the beast jumped sharply. The impact of his hind hooves would’ve crushed her if it had hit her ribcage directly. Fortunately, the girl had managed to bring her blade up to block. There was a metallic clang, and Elaine, flying about ten yards back, slammed
