The Price of Power
1
“As bearer of Envy, Your Highness, your power must never be taken lightly.” Gidion Swan ran his fingers along the glowing runes of his grimoire. “You can’t skip mana training.”
Princess Eydis lay on the damp grass, staring at the eternally gray sky above the royal gardens. It was a sky caught forever in that liminal space between night and dawn, like soone trapped in indecision.
“Not a single raindrop,” she said idly, her voice floating sowhere between daydream and complaint. “I wonder, does the sky hold grudges?”
Gidion coughed. “Your Highness, I regret to ask, but are you philosophising again, or did I lose you halfway through my sentence?”
“Philosophy? No, just an observation.” Eydis sketched invisible clouds in the air. “No sun. No storms. Not even a drop of rain to break the silence.”
“I doubt it’s ever just an observa—”
“Feels like we’re trapped between breaths,” she went on. “Neither alive nor dead.”
“There it is,” Gidion sighed, resigned.
Eydis smirked. “Don’t you ever wonder what’s beyond all this?”
Gidion closed the grimoire and looked at her with sothing gentler than reprimand. It made her feel exposed. Emotion felt as vast and unknowable to her as the sky beyond Mythshollow, and just as rarely acknowledged by her royal parents.
“Your Highness, must you always deflect with a question?
“Must every question be a deflection?” she retorted playfully. “Maybe I’m simply exercising my royal right to ask more interesting questions.”
Gidion sighed. “And here I thought I was the educator. Are you slightly interested in today’s lesson?
“Hmm….” Eydis pretended to consider. “No.”
“But—“
“I’ve morised everything in the Forbidden Library, including Mother’s blood-inscribed scrolls.” She stretched lazily.
“But morising isn’t—”
“—understanding? Oh, trust , I understand perfectly.” She grinned. “I could even recite her monologues. With feelings. Right down to the way she pauses after every sentence to admire her own echo-o-o.”
Gidion gave her a look that was all exasperation and no real heat.
“Knowledge alone isn’t wisdom, Your Highness,” he scolded her, but his smile gave him away. “Even the oldest grimoires can’t capture the true nature of the Sins. Their secrets die with each bearer.”
Eydis sat up straighter. “Now that sounds worth hearing. Tell more.”
“Those books were written by scholars who observed at a safe distance. No one understands a Sin until they carry it. Especially Pride.”
“Ah, yes, Her Majesty.” Eydis raised her hand, and an obsidian serpent coiled around her wrist. “So why didn’t she bother writing that down? Is secrecy just the royal approach to parenting?”
“Her Majesty knew that each bearer must find their own path,” Gidion replied carefully. “So are consud. Others fight back, endlessly, just to hold the line.”
“That much I know intimately,” Eydis said softly, fingers brushing lightly against Envy’s scales. “It’s like keeping a very loud, very unpleasant pet in your skull.”
Gidion’s brown eyes t hers; they held pride.
They held concern.
And that made her look away. “Relax. It’s practically ditation for .”
“You understand more than most,” Gidion said softly. “More than many twice your age. Few have ever dared to bind a primal Sin. Fewer still survived.”
In truth, he ant none at all. Mythshollow was haunted by lesser evils: diluted echoes and fragnts of the true Sins. The townsfolk had refined their binding techniques over generations. Yet only few attempted to bind a primal Sin, fewer still survived.
Power, yes. But at what cost?
She let out a short laugh. “Did you expect to be as naive as those fools who think binding a Sin makes them invincible? We’re just glorified jailers, bleeding ourselves dry to keep these things caged. And sohow we’re the ones people tell horror stories about.”
“How did you—”
“—figure that out? Please. These Sins didn’t pop out of nowhere. They’re what happens when human flaws rot too long.” She glanced at her serpent. “I can handle Envy. Now your Sin, the one you so lovingly call Raven…”
She let it hang, smiling as Gidion’s eyes narrowed.
“Not bad. Looks like our young prodigy is thinking beyond the textbooks. I almost mistook you for… well, a slacker.”
“Prodigy?” she scoffed. “Try curious kid with a dangerous hobby. I still rember Her Majesty’s face when I first summoned Envy. That was the first ti I saw her crack.”
“She wasn’t pleased?”
Eydis shrugged. “Sad, if you can believe it. Almost like she rembered how to be human.”
Gidion stayed silent for a while, struggling for words, caught between what he could say and what was better left unsaid. In the end, at least to Eydis, he chose the safer question.
“And you weren’t afraid? What made you try binding one so young?”
“There were reasons,” she said. “And yes, I was afraid. Still am. But fear doesn’t change truth. The truth doesn’t care if you’re ready. Besides, I wouldn’t mind borrowing her Pride for a day. Just to see what makes her so insufferable.”
“Your Highness!” Gidion’s scandalised gasp made her laugh.
“What? Ambition is a virtue, isn’t it?” Her gaze turned sly. “But really, why did you avoid my question?”
“What question would that be?”
She dispersed Envy, cutting off their ntal link. “Why stay here? Your mind’s wasted in a kingdom without sun, stars, or rain, teaching an inconvenient princess.”
“‘Inconvenient’ is a little harsh. I prefer ‘challenging.’” He replied with a teasing smile. Catching her glare, he added, “And have I ntioned how deeply I value your concern?”
“That’s deflection,” she accused, cheeks warming. “Admit it, you’re hiding sothing.”
He rose. “There are indeed matters I care about here.”
“Soone, you an,” she challenged, standing to et his gaze. “Soone worth forsaking the sun, the stars, the rain? Quite a high price for devotion.”
“Price?” Gidion murmured, eyes distant, following the elliptical flight of ravens.
She almost expected him to stop there since Gidion was good at dodging anything too personal. But then she heard the hitch in his breath, and saw the way his eyes lingered on the birds a little too long.
He always looked up when he didn’t want to answer.
But he continued gently, “Maybe one day, when the rain finally falls, you’ll see things with a different perspective.”
“I’ll believe it when Pride’s bearer sheds a tear or two. Now that would be worth witnessing, wouldn’t it?”
Gidion’s laughter was infectious. “Then, I fear, you may be waiting forever.”
“Very bold. If she turns you into a statue, I’m not helping,” Eydis deadpanned. “I’ll just decorate you with flowers or sothing.”
Their laughter trailed behind them.
Then gone.
Queen Eydis watched the raindrops race each other down the windshield, like the tears the forr queen had never dared shed. She eased her grip on the wheel. The hard turn she’d taken earlier to silence the pompous politician in her rearview had been justified.
But no speed could outpace the past.
She caught a glimpse of Noah’s reflection just as he sucked in a dramatic breath, clearly preparing for yet another soliloquy of self-importance.
“Pride!” Noah thundered. “Show yourself!”
In response, a noxious purple haze poured from the shadows and curled around him like a predatory serpent. Emboldened by this, he laughed, the relief evident.
“End this masquerade!” He dropped his voice, trying for nace. “Co now. I don’t have all night.”
The car’s interior was silent except for the faint rush of the heater. The airtight system made it seem deceptively calm, and the electric motor stayed soundless even as they tore blindly toward the city’s darkened edges.
Noah took a deep breath. “Pride, I summoned you!”
That earned a chuckle from Eydis.
“Summon? And I must say, calling this a masquerade is quite fitting. But not in the way you think, Senator. Still, by all ans, shout louder.”
He clicked his tongue. “Pride!”
“Or you could try flattery,” she said with a shrug. “It’s surprisingly effective on those who can’t get enough of themselves.”
“Enough of your insolence, child!” His voice trembled ever so slightly. “Foolish to think such pathetic taunts can move .”
“Child? Oh, be serious. ‘Your Majesty’ suits far better.”
“Your Majesty? If you ruled anything, I would know. You’re nothing but an irritating shadow trying to poison my bond with Pride.”
“Shadows,” she corrected, barely paying attention. She thought back to the sa conversation with Astra, and her mouth lifted despite herself.
Focus.
She went on, sharper. “For all your skill at deception, you’re remarkably easy to deceive yourself. Seems to run in the family.”
He fud. “How dare you?” Then, almost pitiful, his eyes turned pleading toward the mist. “Pride, remind this fool of her place!”
But the mist remained motionless, so still it was almost as if frozen.
“P-please.”
Eydis followed his gaze, clapping her hands lightly. “Oh this? I’m afraid you’ve got it wrong. Wrong Sin, I an. Envy, co and say hello.”
In answer, the mist thickened into the shape of a sleek, obsidian serpent, its tongue flicking as it hissed, clearly amused, clearly teasing him. It slithered up Noah’s chest and wrapped around his throat until his eyes bulged and he gasped, “Envy?”
“And here I thought he’d never stop talking.” She turned to Envy. “You’re late. Tell , did she follow your essence?”
“Finding you at this breakneck speed is a challenge, Your Majesty,” Envy grumbled. “But she didn’t, not this ti.”
“So tricks work only once.” She clenched her jaw.
Envy coiled tighter, relishing Noah’s pathetic thrashing. “So, why the distraction? Worried she might get hurt?”
“Watch yourself, Envy. Speculation is a dangerous habit in my presence.”
The serpent flinched, then squeezed Noah until his face turned deep purple.
Forgive , but I trust you don’t mind that he overheard, Your Majesty.”
Catching Envy’s little powerplay, Eydis’s voice turned sly. “Not in the slightest. He won't live to tell anyway.”
From the backseat, Noah let out a scream, clawing at the serpent. “F—Help! Pride!”
Eydis rolled her eyes. “Persistent, aren’t you, Senator? But did you really think Pride was behind this little ga?”
Horror flickered across Noah’s face. She could almost hear the slow, clumsy grinding of his mind catching up.
“Sorry to pop your bubble, but Pride has a taste for a very specific kind of company. You’d need a miracle just to be a varlet.”
And just like that…
Click.
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