Free Web NovelChapter 56: Episode 056: Survive the night.
She stood in the doorway holding Theron.
The baby grabbed a small handful of her pale pink dress and babbled happily. He kicked his tiny feet. His matching pink and white outfit looked incredibly soft in the dim light.
The two men in the living room did not answer her right away. They just stared.
Knox swallowed hard. The thick muscles in his throat bobbed. The Panther King looked completely lost. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He closed his mouth and just kept staring at her.
Caius was also frozen. His golden eyes tracked every single inch of the pale pink fabric. He saw how the dress fit her. He saw how the colour brought out the unique pink shade of her eyes. He saw the baby wearing the exact same colours. A deep, heavy flush of red crept up his neck and settled firmly on the tips of his ears.
Rue sighed. She shifted her weight to her other leg. "Well? Is my hair messy? Did I put this on backwards? Tell me."
Knox finally blinked. He shook his head like a dog trying to get water out of its ears. "No," he said. His voice was rough and entirely hoarse. "You look... you’re..."
He could not finish the sentence.
Caius stepped forward. The annoyance he had felt earlier was gone. The anger over the jungle silk was gone. He looked at Rue like she was the only thing standing in the entire world.
"You’re perfect," Caius said quietly.
Rue felt a strange, warm flutter in her chest. Twirling around to show the beauty of the dress, with Theron in her arms, Caius cleared his throat, trying to push down the thoughts in his head.
"Thank you," Rue said. "Now, are we leaving? The drums are loud. I want to go before it gets too late. The baby needs to sleep eventually."
Caius stopped walking. He looked at Knox.
Knox looked back at Caius.
The snake and the panther agreed on something. They did not need to speak to communicate. They shared a single thought.
"Actually," Caius started, turning back to Rue. "The market is very dangerous tonight. It’s crowded. The air is full of dust. That’s bad for the baby’s lungs. We should stay here."
Knox nodded immediately. He crossed his thick arms over his chest. "I completely agree. The Convergence is full of wild beasts. They drink too much. They don’t have manners. It’s much safer if you stay inside the cabin."
Rue stared at them. She looked at the snake. She looked at the panther. It’s your first time going there!
How do you know that?!
"Are you joking?" Rue scoffed.
"I’m perfectly serious," Caius replied. He took another step forward, moving to block the front door. "I’ll build a fire. We can sit here."
Rue rolled her eyes.
"Let me get this straight," Rue said logically. "You both spent an hour arguing about whose dress I was going to wear. I put the dress on. I dressed the baby. And now you want to sit in the living room and stare at the wall?"
Not going to happen.
"Yes," both men answered at the same time.
Rue was dumbfounded.
She let out a long, tired breath. "You’re both acting ridiculous. You just don’t want anyone else to look at me."
"Exactly," Caius agreed without a single drop of shame. "Other men have eyes. I don’t like it."
"They’ll stare," Knox grunted, his golden eyes flashing. "I’ll have to fight them. It’ll cause a scene."
"Nobody is fighting anyone," Rue stated flatly. She walked right past Caius. She reached out and pulled the front door open herself. The cool night air hit her face. "We’re going. Move your feet."
She walked out onto the porch.
Caius and Knox let out identical sighs of defeat. They followed her out into the dark yard.
The walk to the Convergence was incredibly annoying. The two Kings were like chewing gum to her. Knox took the right side. Caius took the left side. They boxed Rue in completely.
If a tree branch snapped in the wind, Caius hissed at the shadows. If a small squirrel ran across the grass, Knox growled at it. They were acting like armed bodyguards protecting a bag of gold.
Rue ignored them. She focused on Theron. The baby was wide awake. He looked around at the dark trees, completely fascinated by the rustling leaves.
The dirt path slowly turned into a wide stone road. The trees thinned out. The heavy thumping of the drums grew much louder. Rue could smell roasted corn, sweet fruit, and burning pine wood. frёewebnoѵēl.com
Then, they turned a corner.
Rue stopped walking.
She stood at the top of a small hill looking down into the massive valley of the Convergence.
Her mouth opened slightly. She didn’t know the market could be this breathtakingly beautiful.
The valley was a sea of light. Thousands of glowing paper lanterns hung in the air. They were strung between massive, ancient ironwood trees. The lanterns glowed in bright colors, red, gold, blue, and purple. They made the entire market look like a sky full of fallen stars.
Below the lanterns, the market stalls were decorated with vibrant, colourful banners. The wind caught the silk fabrics, making them dance in the air. People were everywhere. Beastmen in their human forms laughed and talked. Females wore beautiful, flowing dresses. free𝑤ebnovel.com
Children ran between the stalls holding sweet treats.
There was a massive fire burning in the centre of the valley. Musicians sat in a circle around the flames. They beat on large wooden drums and played high, sweet notes on bamboo flutes. The music was not aggressive. It was joyful. It felt like a massive heartbeat.
Foxes danced like it was their brand.
Was it?
Small, glowing lights floated through the air around the people. They looked like massive fireflies, drifting slowly over the heads of the crowd.
"It’s beautiful," Rue whispered.
She genuinely meant it. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The warmth of the lights, the smell of the food, the sound of the laughter, it all felt incredibly alive.
Knox looked down at her. He saw the wonder in her pink eyes. His stiff, defensive posture softened slightly. "This is the Full Moon Festival. The tribes stop fighting tonight. Everyone just celebrates."
He may have never been here before, but he had a knowledge of this.
"I had no idea," Rue admitted. "I didn’t know your world could look like this."
Caius stepped closer to her left side. "It looks like this because we fight to keep it safe. But stay close. The crowd is thick."
They walked down the hill and entered the market.
The moment they stepped onto the main festival grounds, the atmosphere shifted. The people closest to them stopped talking. A merchant selling roasted nuts dropped his wooden spoon. A female buying silk stared with wide eyes.
The crowd parted.
They scrambled backwards. They cleared a massive, wide path through the centre of the market.
It was an absolutely terrifying sight for the regular citizens. The Left General of the Swamps and the Panther King of the Nightwhisper Jungle were walking side by side. They were two of the most dangerous men in the known world. They were not fighting. They were escorting a very small, pale female with silver hair and pink eyes.
"They’re staring," Rue muttered.
"Let them stare," Caius replied coldly. He kept his eyes sweeping over the crowd. He dared anyone to take a step closer.
Knox kept his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his blade. He walked with pride.
They walked through the merchant stalls. Rue looked at everything. She saw stalls selling shiny pearls from the deep ocean. She saw stalls selling bright yellow spices and heavy winter furs. She saw people dancing near the main fire. Theron babbled at the floating lights, waving his chubby hands in the air.
Rue felt her tense muscles finally relax. The air was warm. The music was nice. Nobody was attacking them. The two giant predators beside her were actually behaving. This was not a terrible night. It was actually a very good night.
They reached the far end of the market. There was a massive, glowing courtyard marked off by tall white stone pillars. This was the royal section. This was where the VIP pavilions were set up for the Kings and tribal leaders.
Guards stood at the entrance. They took one look at Caius and Knox and immediately stepped aside.
"We’ll sit in the main pavilion," Knox told her. "You can rest there."
"Good," Rue groaned. "My feet hurt."
She took a step forward, leaving the dirt path and stepping onto the smooth, polished stone of the glowing courtyard.
The very second her soft shoe touched the stone, the air in front of her face violently warped.
The warm, yellow light of the festival vanished. A harsh, bright blue screen flashed directly in front of her eyes. It was so bright it made her blink. The text was sharp and completely unforgiving.
[Task: Survive the night.]
