Motive for Banishment

(Raijian's POV)

When morning came, I managed to steal a new outfit while the merchants were still setting up their stalls downtown. Afterward, I kept myself hidden until Aluma arrived.

She stood at the edge of the lake, then crouched down to stare into the water while waiting. Her dress was silver again, with a train at least five feet long. The back was cut so low I could see the dimples above her hips.

"Hey…" I called softly.

As soon as she heard my voice, she ran to me and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Hey… how are you? Did you sleep well? Have you thought about what I asked last time?"

Aluma looked directly into my eyes as she asked, so I nodded.

"Of course, I thought about it."I thought about how pointless it was. How helpless I felt.

"Oh, thank goodness. I'm so relieved… My future husband is supposed to visit in a week, and I need to leave before then."{Even if we can't leave this planet, at least we should get far away from the city… and hide our identities.}Her thoughts echoed clearly in my head.

"I'll do what I can," I promised, cupping her cheeks and pressing my lips to hers.

Questions stormed through my mind, but right now, I only cared about quenching the desire between us. Especially knowing time was running out. As soon as her curfew hits, she'll be taken from me. I couldn't waste it.

That day, I had her on the lake's shore instead of in the water. Her body responded more openly to me—more eagerly. She enjoyed it more than yesterday, which eased a bit of my guilt. Still, I was sending her back to a man who expected a virgin—with sand in her hair and wrinkles in her clothes. I didn't know how she'd explain herself to her guardians… and I didn't care how disappointed her future husband would be. My guilt for him was almost nonexistent. The more I told myself to stop, the more excited I got… and so I kept going.

"W-wait… Tonight, I'll pack my things and meet you here," she said breathlessly. "Let's change our names and move to a small town. That way, I won't have to marry him, and maybe… we can be together instead. Me, you, and even Jey."

She said it just as I was preparing to take her again. The request snapped me out of it. I pulled away.

"There won't be three of us," I said plainly.

She gasped. "Why? You can't leave a young boy like that alone! Does he even have any family?"

He is me. That's why. But instead, I said:

"Yes… he has other brothers and our father. Honestly, leaving without me would be safer for you. I'm… more important than I've let on. If I leave with you, you'll never know peace."

It was true enough that it didn't trigger my vow.

Aluma walked into the lake and began washing the sand from her hair.

"I… haven't been entirely honest with you, either."{How do I tell him about my mission? He'll be too afraid to elope if I do.}

Tears fell from her eyes. I stood behind her, brushing the sand from her back and the grass from her tangled hair.

"What are you hiding?" I asked gently.

She groaned in frustration. "I'm an Infaniyan. The Eastern Prince was captured during battle. My people negotiated with your king for his release. In exchange… he demanded a woman. One with dark hair and dark skin. So they sent me."

I froze.

She's not just any bride—she's meant for my father.

"I don't want to marry him, Raijian. He's cruel. He scares me. He tortured the prince so badly before the trade, he can't even speak now—he's covered in permanent scars. I thought I was being noble… sacrificing myself. But he says if I walk more than 100 yards from the palace, he'll kill me. The other women in the Crimson Palace—the consorts—they hate me. I'm his type, and they know it. I've been poisoned more than once already, but since Earth is my main element, I was able to purge it in time. I… I know this is a lot."

Her voice broke. She hung her head.

"Oh, he's your fiancé?" I said with bitter amusement. "Then you're lucky. Because I hate him more than you can imagine. And I refuse to live in a world where he owns you."

I cupped her face, brushing away the dirt. "Meet me here tonight. I'll take you far away."

I laughed to myself—my vow didn't trigger. I was telling the truth. It surprised me how easily I'd resolved myself.

We kissed, and when she finally left, it wasn't with finality. For once, I fully expected her to return.

I truly meant to take her away… but I never made it back to my shelter. I was intercepted by hunters.

"Found you," one said, holding up a picture of me and drawing their weapon.

I turned to escape, but I was surrounded. I extended my wings to take flight, but a sickle-and-chain weapon flew at me. I blocked it with a wall of flame—just in time—but a second chain struck me from behind. The moment it touched me, I knew. It was a power suppressant.

The chain wrapped around me, pinning my arms. I dropped to my knees. My wings vanished.

"We got him!" someone shouted. A girl, I think, though I didn't recognize her voice."The king's gonna be so happy!""He'll probably pay us extra—it's only been an hour since he hired us!" said a thin man.They hugged each other like fools. Ten of them in total.

"Time to get him home," said the leader, approaching me.

When he got close enough, I incinerated his arm.

"DAMN! WHAT THE HELL?! WASN'T HE SUPPRESSED?!"{My arm—?! What IS this kid?!}

One of the perks of being Chosen: I'm never fully powerless. And I didn't care about their lives.

I melted the chains off me. Fire consumed me—my body fusing with it—burning everything within ten feet. A forest fire exploded outward. The woman to my right caught fire first. The leader crawled away, screaming as his legs ignited.

I stomped down on his back and crushed his heart beneath my foot. Then I watched his corpse burn.

The others had been burned in my transformation, but some managed to flee with minor injuries.

"You monster!" shouted the thin man.

Since he stopped running to yell, I closed the distance, grabbed him by the throat, and let the flames consume him. His screams were maddening. Addictive.

While I was distracted, something struck the back of my neck. I collapsed.

I could still hear them—screaming, panicked, crying.

I wanted to get up and shut them all up.

But they dragged me back to the palace. My father had weaponized a new drug—Tana's invention for sedating Chosen. He concentrated it into a tranquilizer and sent it with the mercs.

"How did you get out this time?" Vetro asked. He was lounging sideways on his throne, legs dangling over the armrest.

"I wanted to leave. So I found a way," I said.

He frowned, got up, and grabbed my jaw, forcing me to look into his eyes.

"Who helped you?"

I said nothing.

He punched me so hard I tasted blood and bounced off the stone floor. His skin was like rough glass.

"Answer me, you little shit! Or do you want all the punishment for yourself? I'll go easy on you if you just talk… hmm?"

My head spun. Even if I wanted to answer, I wasn't sure I could. He shimmered in the light—his body coated in reinforced glass scales. No wonder his punch tore through my skin. But I wasn't about to rat out Zai. Or Valin. Or even Cera. I needed them for what comes next.

"Bring in the others!" he roared.

My brothers—seven of them—were marched in. Vetro removed his robe.

"If you won't talk… we'll fight. How did you break the barrier on your own? And where did you go?"

He summoned a glass sword, pressing the tip to my uninjured cheek.

"I wasn't asking."

He raised it toward my shoulder.

If I go all out… I'll burn the oxygen from this room and take my brothers with me. But if I don't… I'll lose.

"Stop!" Zai shouted.

We both turned. Cera was beside him, crying. Even though terrified, he stood in front of Zai protectively.

"I'm getting sick of you," Vetro snapped.

He charged at Zai. But before the sword hit, Valin appeared, catching it between two fingers. It shattered into dust.

"You've won! Rai is back! Stop hurting my family!" Valin yelled.

Vetro launched attacks—glass spears, shards, vines, chunks of earth. Valin deflected everything and advanced, forcing the king to stumble backward.

"I said STOP."

Vetro—my invincible father—fled.

Zai hugged Valin tightly, crying out, "Thank you!"

But I wasn't listening anymore.

Vetro can be killed.

If I can just fight him alone, I might end this war.

And I will.

Days passed. He kept his distance. I bided my time.

Then, I was summoned.

Vetro looked different. Angry. His usual smug smile was gone.

"It seems you think, because we're blood, I have to share everything with you," he snarled.

"What?" I asked.

Everyone left the room. The doors locked behind them. Everything here was marble and glass. He was dressed for war.

"You've been screwing my wife! Did you think I wouldn't find out?!"

The floor shifted. I shot into the air, wings spread, as spikes and glass daggers launched upward. I barely dodged them.

For once, he wasn't trying to scare me. He was trying to kill me.

I flew toward him—ironically, the safest place in the room.

"She said you weren't married yet!" I spat.

His eyes burned with rage. More spears shot out. I lit up, becoming pure fire. The room melted around me.

"I'll kill you, you son of a bitch!"

…He always did hate my mother.

Wish he'd get over it already.