Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 31

I soon came across a wall of greenery that resembled plants I remembered from Themyscira.

“Get in!” said a familiar voice.

The wards parted before me, deactivated from the inside.

I stepped through, and when I was on the other side, I was face to face with Myrina and Cyra’s mother, Kyrina Samhain.

“Matriarch Kyrina?” I blinked with surprise. This was a face I hadn’t expected to see again.

“Mother in law now, young man.” She cast me a wink. “But quick, the city guard will be investigating the incident. We need to get you into the manor, or the guards will want to question you when you arrive.”

Kyrina swept me under her arm and pulled me into the Samhain family compound. She guided me past several buildings, and I saw a few heads poking out, most belonging to Amazonian women of various ages.

Kyrina ignored them before we came across a building toward the back. She led me inside and gestured to a nearby bench. It was made of rough-carved wood, but when I sat down, it squished in like it was made of cork. It was too firm to be comfortable, but Amazonians were heavier than they looked and probably enjoyed stiffer cushions.

“You handled that incident quite well, Carter. Utilizing the wards of a neighboring estate was skillful. I doubt many could so effectively foil assasins, and you should be rewarded for your efforts. Alas, given the scale of these things, it’ll be best to keep you out of trouble. We have a few minutes. Tea?” Kyrina asked.

“Please, thank you.” I nodded, shrugging to myself. Perhaps that fight had been pretty impressive to someone who hadn’t been through as many battles as I had. Living on a newly integrated world, I often forgot constant conflict wasn’t a thing for most of the Arcadia Multiverse. Sure, they fought, but big fights for them might be years apart, seperated by months of nothing but training and preparation.

Kyrina vanished behind the counter and set a clay pot to boiling. Meanwhile, I asked the question that had been on my mind.

“So what was all that about back there? I think I was mistaken for some sort of messenger?” I asked.

“I must apologize for getting you caught up in our affairs. Anywhere else on this world and using the Samhain family name will get you out of trouble. But here, in the capital, hearing it spoke is more likely to get you into trouble. Months ago, a campaign from Glacia to the outer worlds met with tragedy, and several young princes and princesses met an untimely end. As a result, those that remain are jostling for position. Among them is my son,” Kyrina explained.

I frowned, thinking back to the young man who’d given me directions and then started a fight with my would-be assassins.

“Is he a B-Grade? With red hair and wielding a hammer-staff? Named Herius, I think?”

Kyrina beamed with the kind of pride only a mother could have. “You saw him back there, then?”

“More than that, he’s the one who gave me directions here.” My mind went back to my interactions with Herius. I hadn’t seen much of him, but he had seemed friendly enough. He’d technically protected me from a pair of assassins, but at the same time might have given me directions, expecting something like this would happen. But this was Myrina and Cyra’s brother I was thinking about. I would assume he had good intentions until proven otherwise.

“The situation is complicated. I would rather you and Myrina remain uninvolved. Dealing with an integration is trouble enough on its own. There’s no reason to involve the two of you in this.” Kyrina poured the freshly boiled tea. I took a sip, and the stuff was so sharp it felt like holding onto a mouthful of razor blades.

I winced, but did my best to smile politely as I set the tea down.

“I appreciate that. I actually came here looking for Cyra. She and I had something important planned.”

“Oh, and what’s that?” Kyrina glanced at me curiously.

I ran my fingers through my hair, wondering how awkward it would be to explain that just one of her daughters wasn’t enough for me and that I planned to claim both. So, instead, I avoided the topic of the duel.

“She and I were up to some things in Mucaria. We were going to meet up and go again since we’re both students.”

Kyrina frowned. “Well, in that case, you can certainly speak to her. She will be going in that direction soon, and you’re welcome to travel with her. Just be warned, Cyra has been assigned some family business to take care of while there.”

“Can I pry into what it is?” I asked.

“Not if you want to remain uninvolved. If you’ll excuse me, I think the city guard has finally arrived. Pay no more mind to the incident on the street. I will ensure all records of you are wiped, and so long as you don’t lean on our name too much here in the capital, it should cause you no further problems. Cyra is in the practice yard in back.”

Kyrina swiftly departed, and I stood and made my way to the practice yard.

I finally saw Cyra again, hard at work on the practice field. Here she was in her natural element. Intimidating other matriarchs, planning a battle, or managing the affairs of vassal cities were all jobs she could do, but they weren’t things she truly took pride in. Her practice sword spun in her fingers, weaving in her new mana blade ability in effortlessly with a set of attacks she’d done a thousand times before. I had seen her running through this exact drill before. I thought she’d already driven the new ability thoroughly into her muscle memory, but thorough wasn’t enough for her.

I spent longer than was appropriate admiring her from afar. Chest heaving and hair dripping with sweat, I probably shouldn’t have found her as attractive as I did. I felt almost guilty staring at her with lustful eyes when she thought no eyes were on her.

For a long time, my thoughts on Cyra had been mixed. We got along well, and she’d been kind to me. She also wanted a husband and seemed to fancy me. There was a natural connection there, and while it might complicate things a little with the Samhain Clan, I would have been willing to do a lot more than that to make Cyra happy.

But now, looking at her from afar, I realized I’d been fooling myself more than a little. Trying to make her happy was just an excuse. I wanted her for myself. The only thing that irked me more than the thought of leaving her heartbroken was the thought that if I did, she’d someday get over me, and some other guy might sweep in and claim her. And if that someone ended up being a guy like Dramonar, I’d end up killing him.

I shook my head, taking in Cyra’s deadly physique once more. Maybe the rumors in Crownhill were right. I really did have a type.

I was certain Cyra noticed me during my staring, so I waited patiently a while before speaking up just to make sure.

“You missed our little date on Themyscira. I was worried.”

Cyra swung her sword in an arc and then brought it to rest on her shoulder. Moments later, a straw practice target fell to pieces like it had been evenly cut a dozen times in the blink of an eye. But what was truly impressive about the move was that she’d made those cuts with a dull wooden practice sword.

“Truthfully, I’d convinced myself you’d forget about it,” Cyra replied, turning slowly. She wore a complicated look on her face.

“How could anyone forget a woman like you?” I chuckled, though the compliment was genuine.

She turned away from the praise, eyes cast to the ground.

“Don’t flatter me. And... forget about the marriage duel. We can’t have it. Not anymore.”

The smile I was wearing slid right off my face.

“Is there something getting in your way? Just tell me what it is, and I will dismantle it piece by piece. I don’t care if it’s tradition, your family, or--“

“It’s nothing like that, Carter. I saw the fight outside and heard what it was about. I was going to rush in to help you, but Mother warned me not to. She said my brother would handle it. You hadn’t even set foot on our estate, and already you were a pawn in games for B-Grades. I won’t allow that.”

“That fight was nothing, Cyra. He was B-Grade, sure. But B-Grades aren’t gods. I’ve slipped away from more than one. Besides, that assassin didn’t even seem like a particularly good B-Grade, since he was playing mercenary to some C-Grade snob.”

Cyra shook her head. “He is among the least of the threats my family faces. And what you’d face if I dragged you down into the mud with me. You and Cyra have your integration to deal with.”

“Cyra, I can handle my affairs on my own. If you want the duel to happen right here and now, keep talking.” I put my hands on my hips.

“Examine me. My level’s shot up quite a bit while you were gone.” Cyra gestured to herself.

Cyra Samhain (Amazonian Matriarch, Level 165)

I blinked in surprise. What? How? And most importantly, why?

The two of us had made plans. I’d finished my preparations. This was going to happen. All she had to do was wait for me to gather my wits and courage, since Cyra was a fearsome foe to fight in the ring.

“It’s not just the level. These aren’t hollow stats. I’ve been training day and night since you were gone, complete with the best instructors and opportunities a planet can provide. If we were to duel, I think I’d win. And for that reason, I have to advise against challenging me.” Cyra flashed me a sad and sorry smile.

“If you didn’t want to marry me, you could have just said no,” I muttered.

“Duty calls. And I fear the challenges before me will not wait. I will have to gather strength fast to keep pace with them. There will be no leisurely century of growing into my power for me. It seems the System plans to make a grown woman of me sooner than I hoped.” Cyra let out a sad sigh.

“I’ll catch up to you again! I did it before, you know.” I warned her.

“We may cross paths in Mucaria, but you should stay clear of me. Otherwise, getting dragged into jail will be the least of your worries.” She wandered back into the house, and I followed her. There, resting on the table in a neatly folded pile, was the set of armor I’d made for her. She knelt reverently and scooped it up before dropping the bundle in my arms.

“Here. Perhaps another lucky Amazonian warrior can make better use of these than me. I’m afraid I’ll be wearing another set for the foreseeable future.”

I took back the gifts I’d given Cyra like I was being handed a severed head. We walked in silence down the hall to a nearby teleportation array. As Kyrina promised, I’d be accompanying Cyra to Themyscira. But I hadn’t dreamed it had been like this. I would have rather faced another assassination attempt.

“Goodbye, Carter,” Cyra said, turning swiftly. There was a flash of wetness in the corners of her eyes, but she turned her head too quick for me to be sure.

“Please clear the array for the next in line!” said the teleportation array technician.

I stepped off the array before I was caught in a spatial distortion. While useful, these teleportation arrays weren’t exactly safe. In those scant few seconds I disembarked. Several people wandered between me and where Cyra had walked off to. By the time I got clear of them, I could see no sign of the warrior woman.

She was gone.

I clutched my brow between my fingers, expecting a torrent of choked-off sobs. I stumbled my way to the nearest bar. All the times I’d had non-Earth alcohol, I’d regretted it, but this seemed like a day I was going to regret anyway.

I sat alone for hours on end, sipping on an overpriced glass at an empty table for one. I could have gone home to spend time with my companions. Myrina especially could have made me feel better. But this was a wound that I wanted to let fester awhile.

And in that melancholy festering, my sadness hardened and calcified.

Cyra thought she was protecting me from her family’s affairs by breaking things off with me. But I didn’t want her protection.

I thought over every moment with her and analyzed her every expression. She thought she was sacrificing herself for me, but who said I wanted that? It was like she thought I was some damsel in distress who needed to be protected.

Fuck that. I stood on my own feet. She had a few levels on me, but so what? I’d built a level farm of my own. So she had some fancy armor that was better than the stuff I gifted her with when I was just a master artificer. I could make it better. So, she’d added more proficiency, titles, and levels. I was living through an integration and could get plenty of that myself. She was here, in Mucaria, seeing to some family business.

Well, maybe I ought to see to some family business of my own.

<Note>
When outlining this series, Cyra was the last character I thought would have such an elaborate romance arc. Strange how these things just shake out. I guess that's proof enough that these stories and worlds have a life of their own. I do my best to steer the ship, but the setting and characters are the ocean beneath us.