Chapter 234: A Raavian Candidate

I purposefully didn’t fly as fast as I could toward Utraxia’s demesne. Purely for the practical reason that while I brought urgent news, it was not so urgent as to cause alarm, of course. At absolutely no point did I stop on a ledge with a lovely view and cry for several minutes straight.

By the time I’d entered the familiar-feeling frozen desert, my head was a little clearer and my heart was a little lighter. Comparing now to before certainly helped. Rather than a mad dash and an uncertain future, the sort of black and white kill or be killed situation helped.

Even if the lack of information stood as an unfortunate parallel. I supposed if I had the answers I wouldn’t need the questions.

When I landed in the courtyard of Utraxia’s magnificent ice castle, Quiraxa was there to greet me.

“Seyari didn’t have time to write a letter, but she sends her regards,” I said as I checked over my summoned outfit. A dress this time, more toward Countess Veronika Elstein’s style than anything risque, and hopefully an outfit that would signal a diplomatic intent.

“A pity,” Quiraxa answered. “Your attire is odd.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Do I look bad in it?”

“Do not alter the meaning of my words. Heels are unexpected for Wrath.”

“What can I say to that? I’m an unusual Wrath.”

She smirked. “Indeed you are. Please, follow me. My Sovereign wishes to meet with you.”

I jogged to follow her longer stride, not for a moment regretting my choice of impractical footwear. It definitely wasn’t because Quiraxa and Utraxia were taller than me.

Unlike my last visit, I was not shown to a waiting room. Instead, Quiraxa took me through several long halls of crystal-like ice. The late morning sun lit prismatic colors that blurred the space until I was walking along a rainbow.

All too quickly, it ended at an opaque door. The moment the pride demon pulled it open, the sharp sounds of combat echoed down the passage.

“Sparring?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” she replied evasively.

The room on the other side was open to the sky, and set up like a coliseum in miniature. Empty rows of seats circled a snow-dusted arena. Down in the center, two figures were locked in combat: a red blur and a blue wall. Or, more accurately, the red figure was desperately trying to make Utraxia do more than shrug away their attacks.

The Sovereign of Pride moved with a fluid grace that belied her size. I’d expect from the books Seyari had been reading for her expression to be bored, or cold, or dismissive. It wasn’t; it was focused and warm.

The next attack sent the other demon’s weapon, a simple-looking longsword, flying into the wall.

“You did not lean into the motion,” Utraxia rumbled.

“I would have unbalanced myself.” The reply was in a familiar voice, one I’d only ever heard in anger.

“You forget your tail.”

When the other demon, clearly not a lust demon, turned to check their long, spaded limb, I got a good look at her. Her skin was nearly the same tone as my own, her tail was similar, and the only other trait marking her a demon were horns a bit heavier than Sonia’s. Sylvia!

The moment she noticed me, she froze. One hand reached for a weapon that wasn’t there, stopping short only to shake as she forced herself to look away. Without a word to Utraxia, she turned and stomped off the field.

Surprisingly, Utraxia let her go, and it wasn’t a minute later she’d taken a lounge-shaped seat in the stands next to me. Quiraxa made herself scarce, and I was soon alone in a coliseum with the Sovereign of Pride.

“That you return so soon is a surprise,” Utraxia rumbled.

My reply was non-sequitur. “I recognized the demon you were sparring with.”

“As I would hope.” She grinned. “Quiraxa did inform you I was aware of your arrival, yes?”

I nodded slowly. “So you wanted me to see her like that.”

Utraxia’s smile only grew. Where I had a mouth of razors, she nearly had tusks for incisors, and their ivory glinted in the winter sunlight.

“…You wanted her to see me.”

“Precisely,” she purred. “She is not yet ready to face you, but she must be made known of our relationship.”

“Which is?” I asked, not willing to ask what Utraxia meant by “face me.”

“What I imagined you came to speak with me about. Why else would you come here today, and with an aura that still looks to be recovering?” She shifted her haunches, pulling herself on her front paws as she leaned closer. “Tell me what it is you fought that has Wrath so scared. Was it Envy? Has Avarice the craven crept from hiding?”

I couldn’t hold back a snarl. “Berethiel.”

Her brows rose and her eyes glinted dangerously. “I know of him.”

“He’s dead.”

Utraxia chuckled, the sound morphing into a rumbling purr as she held her eyes on mine. “You’re serious.”

“I watched Seyari crush his head.”

The Sovereign of Pride shivered, a full spine-length tingle that set her tails waving. “Would that I could have been there. In fact,” she continued with narrowed eyes. “Why is it that I was not invited? Your latest spawn could certainly miss a few days’ training, and you did not even know she was here.”

“There was no time.” I hid as best I could my excitement at her excitement. I needed a proper alliance with Pride.

“No time? I do not know of an angel who moves with anything more than the urgency of a glacier.”

“The Church pressured him.”

Utraxia barked a laugh. “No dear, mortals could not sway an angel.”

I wasn’t so certain, but the little seed of doubt she’d just planted begged to be nurtured. “And why is that?”

“They are ageless and conceited. There is no benefit to them to risk themselves and their perfect eternity worshiped by mortals as agents of the gods, and there is no punishment that would be served to them.”

“That sounds like you’ve had personal experience,” I said carefully, trying not to be reminded of the eerie similarities between what Utraxia had just said and my issues integrating into my old homeland.

“Indeed.” Utraxia didn’t elaborate.

“Would you concede that it is possible.”

“No.”

“…I see.” Well it wasn’t Dhias who put that pressure on Berethiel. I risked pushing my luck as Utraxia definitely didn’t seem tense. “What could pressure them to action?”

“If they believe their legitimacy is threatened.”

“Perhaps if a demon has the favor of their god?”

Utraxia laughed at that, a full sort of laugh that rolled her shoulders and saw her claws carve traces in the ice of her lounge’s frame. She only spoke again once she’d composed herself, the last echoes of her laughter still ringing about the large space. “Yes, I suppose if a demon had their god’s favor that would be rather a sorry state for an angel.”

“You don’t think that it can happen,” I said as flatly as I could, taking my tail into my hands to stop it from twitching and keep all four hands away from my horns.

Utraxia caught my tension despite these valiant efforts. “Oh?” Her upper lip rose to reveal that her teeth were, in fact, as sharp as mine. “Do you mean to tell me you have… what’s the name again… Daihis’s favor?”

“Dhias,” I corrected her reflexively.

Her eyes glowed, and I realized very quickly that I’d erred as the temperature plummeted and her muscles tensed. “So you think you do.” Her voice flowed with a growl that shook my seat and I remembered quite quickly just how much smaller I was.

I couldn’t afford to be intimidated, so I straightened my spine, crossed a pair of arms, and let my tail go with extreme reluctance as it slapped against the cold ice by my boots. Then I waited a moment to let her question linger and gather my wits before replying. “I am certain I do. If you doubt me, I’ve a dead angel to prove it.”

“Does he speak to you?”

The air had grown so cold that the only thing keeping my skin and lungs from freezing was my scrambling magic as the sunlight dimmed behind a curtain of frozen mist. “No,” I answered. “And if I did, I do not see reason to listen.”

The temperature crept up just a touch. “Good. How then are you so certain?”

“Holy magic harms me no more than a human.”

“Proximity to your wife.”

I opened my mouth and closed it again. The… timeline matched up, actually. But I could never forget that night in the old shrine. “No, she’d been cast off by Dhias, then accepted along with me.”

“Do you know what this means?” Utraxia hissed, fury edging her voice even as the sun broke through her mist to warm my skin.

“I don’t,” I answered truthfully.

The Sovereign of Pride’s jaw worked. She swallowed, took a breath, and sat up, face making an interesting range of expressions before she finally calmed herself. “Neither do I.” Her voice was small for the admission. “All I know is that it is more than unprecedented, it is anathema. It goes against the very laws of the world.”

“In what way?”

She gave me a pained look, claws scoring furrows of shaved ice as I heard a cracking sound under all four of her legs. “I do not know.”

“Do you know any being that might?”

She looked away and shook her head, shoulders slumping. Just as I’d leaned back into the winter sun’s light, she replied. “Lillith might. She… is my elder by several very important centuries. If she does not know the full explanation, then…”

“Only Ov would know?”

She nodded.

“And you—”

“No one knows where they are!” She practically roared.

I reached forward, hesitantly. She didn’t move away and I placed a hand on her forepaw. “I’m sorry.”

“It is… difficult to admit my flaws, Wrath. You are quite lucky this location is so private.”

I didn’t doubt for a moment she was right. “So I have the favor of Dhias, we don’t know why, and it was the probable reason Berethiel felt compelled to fight me. Why didn’t he know I wasn’t vulnerable to holy magic?”

“Angels are not omnipotent.” She took a deep breath as she slowly relaxed into the half-ruined lounge. I could see the cracks sealing as she poured her magic into it. “And I believe I have demonstrated a potent example of their… conceit. To put it in simple terms, Zarenna, if all that you have said is the truth, then it is likely he had little more than intuition buoying obstinate delusion.”

Not even a quarter of the fight needed to replay itself in my head before I nodded. “I believe you’re right.”

“Of course I am.” Utraxia forced a smile. “And I believe I now know what it is you seek from me.”

“Will you?”

Her jaw set, and she looked up at the sun, then away to the north. For a long time, she was silent. Long enough that I contemplated the pattern of the floor, the shape of distant peaks, and the way her demesne’s magic wicked against my heated skin.

“You must deliver a letter for me.”

“Anywhere and to anyone,” I answered easily. I was no courier service, but as a favor to an ally, I found I didn’t mind at all.

“I have not written it yet.”

“That’s alright.”

“...It will take some time to write.”

“How long?”

She didn’t answer, just pursed her lips. “You mustn’t look at it.”

“Of course. Who and where does it need to go?”

“I do not know where, and I… cannot tell you yet who.”

“...Alright.”

“Will you do it?” She looked at me with… were those tears?

I poked a thumb back into my chest. “I already said I would.”

“Thank you.” She breathed heavily. “Until I have it written, I shall dispatch Quiraxa to Astrye. I presume you want protection from retaliation?”

“I do.”

“Do you think they will send more after an army and an angel?”

“Probably.”

“Mortals are often tenacious beyond their means. Shall I also presume you must leave to attend to your political duties?”

“I am marchioness no more.”

That earned a genuine smile. “Finally throwing off that human king’s tether?”

“Indeed.”

“Marvelous. There’s hope for you yet. But you are young, and your demesne is weak. I cannot promise full cooperation until our alliance is formalized, but…” Her voice shrank down with her shoulders. “May I consider you a friend?”

“Absolutely!” I jumped up and pulled her into a surprise hug.

She yowled and nearly stumbled off the lounge before freezing. “Don’t… Actually, thank you.”

“Of course.”

“You can let go now.”

I let go in a hurry and backed away, feeling a bit of a blush.

“You use those arms for hugging more than killing don’t you.”

“Yes.” I grinned, all teeth and no bite. “Proud of it.”

Utraxia chuckled. “I suppose, I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re an odd demon, Zarenna. And your affiliation with a mortal god is as unprecedented as a Raavian candidate winning over enough houses to take the Derrish throne. Perhaps your strangeness is for the best; a better future.

“But speaking of odd demons, you will need to take charge of your newest soon. I cannot train her forever, and she craves the companionship of mortals for all her stubborn denials.”

“Now that’s something I understand!” I bowed slightly, awkward from a seated position. “Thank you for taking her in thus far; you were under no obligation and I won’t forget this kindness.”

Utraxia grinned, clearly pleased, and motioned for me to sit back up.

“As soon as she is able,” I continued, “she is welcome to come to Astrye. If I or Seyari aren’t there, I’m certain my daughter or Sonia can help her settle in.”

“You may have to convince her, Zarenna.”

It wasn’t hard to see a parallel with Lorelei. “I think I can do that much. I owe it to her, in a way.”

“You owe her nothing,” Utraxia growled, then sighed. “But it is not my place to discipline your underlings unless they interfere in my plans.”

“I take it she hasn’t interfered?”

“Not for lack of trying. She’s got enough self loathing to earn the pity of an envy demon.”

I remembered the scene she’d left in the mountains, and my worries of its origin were suddenly confirmed. “Has she tried to…”

“Thankfully, no. But I’ve had guards posted to watch just in case. I do believe she at least understands the precarious position she’s in and the value of my training.”

I glanced back down at the arena. “Why are you training her?”

Utraxia scoffs. “So she can be capable.”

I risked several limbs to roll my eyes. “She was quite the fighter before her death, as were any other shards now present within her. Tail balance notwithstanding.”

“Training focuses the mind,” Utraxia replied with a withering glare.

“Then I will reiterate my thanks.”

“As you should. Now, is there anything else you need? I’ve quite the schedule I must stick to.” Utraxia stood up off the lounge and stretched.

“I believe that is all. Just to clarify, you will be sending Quiraxa as a guard, and… what name does she go by?”

“She has not yet decided.”

“I understand. She may come to me, or I may need to retrieve her from here. And after I send a letter you’ve yet to write to a person you’ve yet to tell me to a place neither of us know, we’ll have our alliance.”

“Correct.”

“But friends as of today?”

Her lips curled up just the slightest amount. “Yes.”

I held out my arms.

Utraxia rejected my hug attempt, instead taking a hand to shake. “Not yet, but your enthusiasm is noted. Now get out of my castle and return to your wife.”

“I can carry Quiraxa back.”

“I doubt she would like that. She is quite the runner.”

I shrugged. “Do I just go out the way I came? I’m not sure I can remember.”

Utraxia pointed at the sky. “You have wings, do you not?”

“A fair point.”

And with that, I jumped out over the arena, called upon my wings, and soared for home.