Chapter 40: Life Is, Sometimes, A Stairway

Sebastian woke up, startled and aware that he shouldn’t have given in the temptation of closing his eyes, to begin with. Luna must have helped him to the bed, but he didn’t recall the particulars. He forced himself to his feet and dressed, groaning every step of the way. Luna was wrong, after all. Even though the thought of seeing Milo again was soothing for the soul, Sebastian knew, for a fact, that he wouldn’t allow his beloved to see him in such a sorry state. His fate was sealed, and he was at peace with it, but he still had things to do, and right now, he was wondering what Conrad and Galien were doing. By now, they should have let Fiana know that he needed her help.

He was barely decently dressed that the doors to his quarters flew open. Reya walked in, her eyes in flames of blue steel. “What is she doing here, Sebastian?” she asked.

Fiana emerged from behind her, looking majestic in her red dress, adorned with rubies and feathers of the same color. She was slightly taller than Reya, something that Sebastian knew that irked his mother to no end, and she had an even more tempestuous temper. Although goddesses had no age and were immortal, he had heard plenty of rumors of how Fiana was slightly older.

“What I’m doing here, my dear sister,” Fiana said in her no-nonsense voice, “is to come to the rescue when my nephew is calling for help.”

“He doesn’t need your help,” Reya said through her teeth.

“Are you sure? He looks a bit paler than usual.” Fiana ignored Reya and stepped in front, quickly reaching him and tipping his chin. “Yes, I see.”

“I need your help,” Sebastian said directly. So much for perfect timing. Only if he hadn’t overslept.

“Anything,” Fiana said, earning an annoyed groan from Reya right away. “Don’t mind your mother. Sometimes, she can be blind to your needs. Now, tell your auntie what you need from her.”

“I need you to melt some magical ice,” Sebastian replied.

Reya gasped in disbelief. Even without looking at her, he could picture her narrowing her eyes. “What magical ice, Sebastian?”

“I know where you keep Pepin,” Sebastian replied. “Fiana, help me.” He took his aunt’s hand and wished for them to be whisked away. Reya would follow them, but it didn’t matter now. He had powerful allies by his side.

The next moment he opened his eyes, they were at the Shimmering Cavern. Reya was already standing between them and the altar, her eyes determined and her mouth set in a grim line. “What do you want to do, Sebastian?”

“I want Pepin free and by my side. We have an heir to raise, and a kingdom to rule. Or did you forget that he’s my sworn beloved?”

“Interesting family drama,” Fiana commented. “Galien told me everything he knew, but it’s still astonishing to see with my own eyes how still set in your wrong ways you are, Reya. Step aside. My nephew needs me.”

“Over my dead body,” Reya hissed.

“Funny thing to say, seeing how you’re immortal,” Fiana replied. Moments like this made it clear where Galien took his sense of humor from.

Sebastian slapped one hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh. How could he even think about laughing under such circumstances? He was pitting the two sisters one against the other because he hadn’t thought of a better solution. Still, he had no time for regrets.

Reya raised both her hands, making spears of ice fly. Fiana laughed and waved, making them drop in midair and turn into puddles of water by their feet. “You haven’t changed at all, I see. Now, Reya, play nice for a change. All I want is there,” she said and pointed at the altar behind Reya.

“You cannot. Sebastian would be ruined! What would people think--” Reya fumed and made another attempt to raise the icicles around them as an army.

Fiana laughed. “They’ll think of him as a brave and generous ruler, just as he is.”

Sebastian was looking back and forth between the sisters, a witness at best, as there was little else he could do when such powerful beings were at work. He pressed one hand against his chest as sudden pain gripped him again. Reya flashed one worried look at him, and that moment was enough for Fiana to step quickly by her and put her hands over the altar and whisper words only she could understand.

“Fiana!” Reya called loudly but stopped when Sebastian leaned to one side and let himself crumple to the floor.

She was fast enough to catch him in her arms. Sebastian let his head rest against her shoulder as she held him tightly. “It’s all right, mother,” he whispered as he looked into her eyes, swimming in tears. “Let Pepin rule in my stead until our heir is of age. It’s all that matters.”

“That’s not true!” Reya shouted.

“What else? Ifigia will live,” Sebastian added, his eyes closing.

“I don’t care about it,” Reya said and pressed her forehead against his. “I just want you to live!”

Kai rubbed against his chest and stopped for a moment. Good thing Sebastian had trained this body of his for a little while, or probably he would have to be carried by now. Unlike him, Milo kept up with the rest and was actually in front. Plus, he had Tani hanging on his back, so there was no other that could offer to carry him, as well.

Still, he needed to rest for a bit, so he lay with his back against a tree and groaned as quietly as possible. Maybe he would close his eyes for a few moments and catch a breath. Then, he’d follow the others just like that.

Lately, each time he closed his eyes, his mind wanted to think of nothing else but one thing, or better said, a certain someone. Maybe that was true for anyone in love, but for him, it was indeed the first time to experience anything of the kind. Pepin’s clear eyes came to mind unbound, and Kai smiled. “Well, I’m actually coming for you, so make sure you have some of those tiny omelets ready ‘cause I’m starving.”

It wasn’t because of the omelets that he wanted so much to see Pepin, but surely, they were a bonus. Hmm, but what if Pepin had like morning sickness, and now he couldn’t stand the smell of eggs whatsoever? Yes, he had read some mom’s blog about what to expect when expecting, and now he liked to think that he was a tiny bit ready for what it meant to care for someone pregnant. Surely, some of that advice might not apply since Pepin was a dude, and the baby was magical, but still, he had to take all kinds of things into account. Like learning how to cook stuff that wouldn’t make Pepin puke all the time.

Well, that was on the do-to list. But first, he needed to get on the move and to Pepin as fast as possible. Kai stood to his feet and brushed the bottom of his pants. And next, he looked around only to realize that he was alone.

“Um, guys?” he called out cautiously.

The forest was pretty dark, and the evening had already set. However, the worst thing was that there were no traces of light through the trees like before. Kai inhaled, exhaled, and began walking. “Hey, anyone around?” he shouted.

Damn, he must have fallen asleep or something. How else could have the rest of the group gotten so far that they couldn’t hear him anymore?

With determination, he set himself to walk. Did they go in that direction? He turned around, but all the trees, tall and dark, seemed precisely the same. “What was that thing that people into hiking did to find north?” Kai put one finger into his mouth and extended his arm up. That was supposed to help him get it which way the wind blew or something. And north had to be where moss grew, so he began to feel the trunks of the trees for any signs of growing lichens.

“Ouch!” he exclaimed as he tripped over an unearthed root and fell face first. Clearly, all of Sebastian’s training must have gone to waste if he managed to be so terribly uncoordinated. “Great, now I’m never going to find Pepin because I managed to get myself lost,” he murmured and closed his eyes for a moment.

“You’re stronger than that,” a voice called from above.

Kai turned on his back and stared. To his surprise, it was no longer dark, but a gentle light washed over the forest around. His dad smiled and offered his hand to help him to his feet.

“I’m totally dreaming,” Kai said to himself but accepted his dad’s hand.

“Let’s stretch our legs a little,” his dad suggested and took him by the shoulders.

There was something different from the last time he had dreamed of his dad. There were more silvers in his hair now, and he seemed older. It was no longer evening around them, but it felt like a chilly invigorating morning. Puffs of steam floated in front of them each time they breathed out and disappeared like mist only to be replaced with their next exhalation.

“You’re the strongest boy I’ve ever known,” his dad said.

“Which means that you haven’t known many boys, right?” Kai joked. “Come on, dad, let’s face it. I’d totally embarrass you if you were still alive...” The words died on his lips.

His dad just laughed. “I am still alive, Kai. You still remember me. And Tani, and your mother, too. Just for the record, you’re not embarrassing me at all. But I’m not here to talk about me. Tell me what’s on your mind, son.”

“It looks like I got lost,” Kai explained. “And I must find Pepin. Shoot, you don’t know, but I sorta, kind of, um, how should I say this ... I guess there’s no easy way to say it, so I’ll just say it.”

“Say it, son,” his dad encouraged him.

Kai took one deep breath. “I got him pregnant. In some magical way that I can’t explain because I don’t even know how it happened. So we’re basically expecting, as the Internet says, and I don’t exactly know what that means.”

His dad chuckled. “You’ll know what it means as it happens to you.”

“Hey, that’s not very helpful. I mean, I’ve read some mom’s blog about it when I could because mom took our phones ... The thing is that I don’t know what to do exactly. And the baby, you know, the one Pepin and I are expecting, is not some ordinary baby.”

“I’m sure he’s not. That’s why you shouldn’t fret so much. You’ll be a good dad, Kai. Because you care.”

They stopped, and his dad pointed ahead. “Was this where you needed to be?”

Kai raised his eyes, and his jaw dropped right away. “We’re at the Shimmering Cavern! How did you--”

Like before, his dad was already gone. Kai smiled. He didn’t feel abandoned like before. Whatever lay ahead, he would know what to do. Somehow. His dad said so, and he was always right. With that thought in mind, he set himself to walk the steep stairway that allowed mere mortals entrance to the cave. His answers had to be there, and with all that had happened lately, Kai was pretty sure that nothing would take him by surprise. Funny thing, when he had been to the Shimmering Cave before, he hadn’t noticed a stairway, but he had been on Adhe’s back, so he might not have paid attention to that kind of details.

Luckily, he wasn’t completely out of breath when he reached the entrance. “Hello?” he called out tentatively.

He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight in front of his eyes. Sebastian lay in his mother’s arms, completely still. And there was someone else there, a tall lady in red leaning over the altar of ice at the center of the cave. “Oh, no, did I get here too late?” he asked.

The ice goddess only then seemed to notice his presence. For a moment, her teary eyes took him in like he was some kind of alien, or a bug, or an alien bug. “Who are you?” she hissed.

The question was merely an afterthought because Reya didn’t wait for a moment for him to reply and sent a spear of ice toward him. Kai stared in disbelief, his body jolting in expectation of the pain that would surely follow, but the spear melted just as it was about to hit him square in the chest.