Kye Valois

The young man stood by the window looking out into the night, his hands were clasped behind him and his legs were spread slightly apart. Every once in a while he would take in a deep breath, filling his lungs up with the Nuvarian air and then let it out slowly. He had been in this position for minutes now after the news had been passed to him, it was news he had been eagerly and patiently waiting for, it was the kind of news that told him his journey across the Tajon river from the quiet kingdom of Aerilon had not been in vain.

He turned his head to his right and played a soft smile on his lips before he asked again for the one-hundredth time. “And you are sure of what you tell me? You saw  the girl yourself?”

“Yes, I did.”

The man who replied to his question was the same hooded man who had left the inn only moments ago and had come down the alleyway and through the secret passageway, known only as “messenger” to come to deliver the news to his master - Kye Valois.

Kye turned fully and faced him, he smiled widely now and then spread out his hands, asides from him and the messenger, there were three other men in the room. “Our journey has not been in vain, the information was true.”

“And only after spending three days here,” Another chipped in, he stood and clapped his hands together once. “And we get the girl.”

“It would not be so fast.” Kye said.

“And not so easy too.” The messenger added and everyone looked at him. He straightened and faced them. “She is being guarded by someone. Some… people.”

“I do not think there is anyone Kye cannot get through.” Another said and the rest chuckled slightly but the messenger did not see the humor in that and neither did Kye.

“Who is with the girl?” Kye asked him.

“Ryder, the ruler or Astaroth is guarding the girl.”

Hushed whispers broke out among the men and Kye looked around, he could tell that they were not alert just by the mere mention of the name of the ruler of Astaroth.

“As expected.” He said and sighed deeply. “She has been in Astaroth for a while and surely we were not expecting her to be out and alone. We all know how important she is to him and to their kingdom.”

“But she is also important to us. Much more than she is to them.”

“True, but Ryder alone is much stronger than we are right now combined. He is one formidable foe and he will not hesitate to take us out if we are seen as threats to him, the girl, and to his kingdom.” He paced the length of the window. “We cannot afford to make any rash moves now.”

“But Kye, the girl…”

“...has enough time.” He said and waved his hand in the air to hush the man. “There is still a year and a few months until the Osyron sacrifice.”

“But rumors are pooling out from Astaroth that the seal has become even more unstable as the day passes. They might not wait a year and a few months.”

Kye frowned. That was worrisome, and if Ryder was taking the girl on the journey then it would mean that that rumor was true. But something also bothered him; the mountain for the sacrifice was just north of Astaroth, through Fang Peek and to Zagaroth Mountain, so why take the girl in the opposite direction?

Kye turned to face the window again, he breathed out heavily and clasped his hands behind him again. He wanted to understand the ruler of Astaroth, why would he be going in the opposite direction if he was going to perform the sacrifice, or was he not going to do that?

No, he shook his head, the sacrifice was very important to Astaroth. He walked closer to the window and placed his elbows on the window still then looked up to the sky. The moon was high up and bright and the night was silent, so silent that he could hear the sound of the gentle breeze from afar off.

Kye Valois. A one hundred and fifty-six-year-old Khione leader and warrior, he had left Aerilon a few days ago with a handful of Khione warriors and they had come to Nuxvar, in the kingdom of Dergesier for one purpose only, and that was to get the Khione girl back. They were to get Lyra and bring her back to her people, her rightful people where she could take her place among other Khiones.

They had gotten the information from an insider in Astaroth, telling them that the girl had left the safety of the kingdom in the company of only a few people. Kye had not thought that Ryder would, because of her, leave his kingdom behind but then he had underestimated the lord of Astaroth, he may be cold and ruthless but he really did care about his kingdom and its people.

“I think we should let Syrana know of this.” A man chipped in and Kye spun away from the window almost instantly.

“No, we don’t do that.” He said sternly.

They looked at him a little bit confused. “But why not? I think it is important that she knows about this, the girl is however her…”

“I say we don’t, and we don’t. we will not tell Syrana about any of this or it would greatly deter our plans.” He walked away from the window and sat. His eyes fell on the messenger and he waved the man away.

The messenger bowed slightly and then turned around and walked for the exit, stepped out, and closed the door behind him.

“Why do you…?’ Someone started talking but Kye held up a finger to hush him and the man fell silent. Kye listened for a while for the receding sound of the messenger’s footsteps and when he was sure that he had left them and not within an earshot, he put down his hand.

“You should be careful of how you speak about our business to the others.” He warned and the men in the room fell silent again. He sighed and then went on talking. “We cannot afford to tell Syrana what we know right now.”

“But Kye, she needs to know, the girl is after all her own.”

“Lyra might be her child but she is also the future of the entire Khione, Syrana would not…” He allowed his words to trail off.

He really did not have any problem letting Syrana know that they had found Lyra, the Khione woman who has long been searching for her daughter. Maybe abandoning her years ago had seemed like the only right thing to do to ensure her safety, and yes, she had been kept safe for a long while, for more than fifty years until Ryder had known of her and taken her.

It would be wrong to keep a mother from her daughter but this mission was more than just getting the girl back to them, for Kye he wanted her for himself. Call him selfish or whatever, he wanted the girl. She was practically the last young female Khione that they knew of and he knew that if they were to take her from Ryder and return her to Aerilon, she would be prey for all the eligible Khione men. He wanted to take her back as his. His own Khione.

Getting her from Ryder was next to impossible as the man was known to ruthlessly protect what was his, or what was considered his, and right now, Lyra was his. But she would not be for long. Not for long.

But then again, nothing could keep a mother from getting to her daughter, especially a mother like Syrana whose extreme hatred for Astaroth could be used to his advantage. He smirked, maybe it would not be an entirely bad idea to get Syrana involved in this, but he would need to use wisdom if he still wanted the girl for himself.

“Relay the message to Syrana,” He said and the men in the room smiled in support. It was the right thing to do. “Tell her that we have found her daughter but she is in the charge of the Axeris and she is to come to Nuxvar as soon as she possibly can.”

And she would be here as soon as she possibly can after hearing that her daughter had been found, more quickly when she knows that she is being held by the Axeris. He smiled and rubbed his palms together, she would be here by the evening of the morrow or early in the morning of the day after that. Until then, they would have to keep Ryder from moving the girl out of the kingdom of Dergesier, possibly keep them from leaving Nuxvar as well, and maybe he could find out why they had come this way.

-- Ryder, Lord of Astaroth --

by Harriet Ifeanyi