Two weeks later
It was a beautiful morning on the shores of Tropica, even if it was almost time to say goodbye. Maria and I strode toward the ocean in comfortable silence. A breeze swirled around us, carrying with it hushed conversations and the quiet roar of distant crashing waves. The sounds grew louder as we crested the final dune, catching sight of the shore, and the hundreds of people gathered there, milling around the ships that were moored to Tropica’s latest construction.
A new dock.
Aletheia’s Prime Cadre of mages had created it for us, insisting they’d replace the wooden jetty the god-empress had obliterated upon their arrival. Rather than extending from the village, the dock was built midway between Tropica and my home, ensuring ships sailed nowhere near the forty sunken vessels now forming an artificial reef beneath the bay.
The dock extended over a hundred meters into the ocean and was wide enough to handle two wagons abreast. Theoris was moored on its north-side, Bob the Boat was moored on the south, and the hundreds of coconut boats were stored in various cubbies along the wooden walkway, hidden and protected, yet easy to retrieve if needed.
Aletheia had forbidden Tropica from helping. Naturally, we disobeyed via peaceful protest, providing snacks and cold drinks that we just so happened to serve right by the new dock. We’d only meant for it to be temporary, but after Sue and Sturgill opened up a coffee & pastry cart, the area had turned into a social hub of sorts.
From there, Tropica had gotten even more obstinate.
Brad, Greg, and the rest of the woodworkers had descended upon the shore, leaving decking, stalls, and tables with long benches in their wake. There had been a minor and good-natured dispute over what constituted working on the ‘dock’ when Greg tried to connect his deck to it. In the end, Theo had mediated a third-party solution. He’d brought in Fergus and Duncan to create a foot-wide, four-meter-long metal plate, which functioned as the border between both projects.
Steven and Ruby had made shade sails for the stalls and umbrellas for the tables. As a result, Maria and I had adopted Fin for almost an entire day, only bringing her back from our forest and beachside adventures whenever she needed to feed.
The shade sails were currently lowered, letting the sun’s warm rays kiss my skin as Maria and I strode down the dune and onto the wooden deck. We joined the end of a long line for coffee and pastries. Sue arched her back to lock eyes with me, and I shook my head at her questioning gaze—I’d wait in line like everyone else.
Now that we were close, I could smell the scents of coffee and fresh pastries. They assaulted my senses every time the breeze changed directions. After a particularly strong gust, the wind suddenly died down, leaving me wreathed in the enticing aromas. I closed my eyes and imagined washing down a bite of buttery croissant with a swig of hot coffee.
“Is he okay?” asked a calm, feminine voice.
“Don’t mind my husband,” Maria said. “He gets a bit excited about breakfast.”
I opened my eyes and turned around, facing the newcomer. “Mornin’, Aletheia.”
“Good morning. Mind if I join you in line, God-King?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. Two weeks ago to the day, Shelly’s ideal had helped the god-empress change her perspective almost immediately. It hadn’t resulted in a breakthrough, though, so Aletheia’s core had remained wounded. The damage was so severe that it still wasn’t completely healed. We’d spent plenty of time chatting over the past couple of weeks while Maria helped restore her channels . . . which meant Aletheia knew I hated formalities just as much as she did.
“Only if you stop calling me god-king,” I said.
“As you wish, Traveler Fischer.”
I groaned.
Maria beamed at me and wrapped an arm around Aletheia’s shoulder. “Can we keep her?”
“I reckon we have enough disobedient strays already.” I nodded toward Claws, who was squatting atop a nearby dune with most of my animal pals, so preoccupied by a feast of clams and fish that she hadn’t noticed our arrival.
“Yeah, but this stray wields divine chi!” Maria squeezed Aletheia tighter. “She can hold the other strays in check!”
I absentmindedly wondered how her recovery was coming along. The moment that thought occurred, tendrils of chi rushed from me, assessing the state of her health.
With the help of Maria and Slimes, the channels lacing Aletheia’s body had been completely restored. Her core was no longer riddled with holes, but neither was it completely restored. Patches of my wife’s pink chi remained, keeping the core stable while it continued to strengthen and regenerate.
“Sorry,” I said, grimacing and forcing my chi to withdraw. “Still getting used to having all my strength back.”
She gave me a lopsided smile and a quizzical look. “Are you apologizing for checking on my health?”
“Nah. I’m apologizing for doing it without asking permission first.”
“Well, don’t. We’re friends now, remember? As are our peoples.”
She gestured all around us, and I slowly spun, taking in the myriad conversations and animated exchanges taking place, though I actively suppressed my sense of hearing, not wanting to intrude.
“You win this round,” I said, turning back to Aletheia. “Same order as usual?”
“Oh, absolutely not—didn’t you hear? Sue stayed up all night making a special syrup. It’s all anyone has been raving about.”
I scanned the surrounding people again. Sure enough, many of the conversations seemed to be centered around the mugs they were holding. I craned my neck, trying to catch a glimpse of the golden liquid within, but Maria’s exclamation arrested my attention.
“Adephagia’s gluttonous curves!” she swore. “Fischer. Over there!”
I followed Maria’s gaze to find a bulbous bunny slumped atop one of the dock’s posts. She was lying on her back, her rotund stomach greeting the sky. The sun’s golden beams shone down upon her. She looked like the subject of a renaissance painting. The fur surrounding her mouth had been dyed a deep purple, giving me a good idea of what the syrup’s main ingredient was.
“The syrup must be good,” I said with a smile. “I’ve not seen Cinnamon overindulge like that since she first tasted Barry’s chi-filled sugarcane.”
The queue before us slowly dwindled. Just as Aletheia had joined us in line, so too did she join our comfortable silence. All three of us—a god-king, a god-queen, and a god-empress—simply enjoyed each other’s company as the pleasant sensations of a morning by the ocean washed over us.
Before I knew it, way before us had opened up, and Sue’s radiant face beamed up at me. Calling her radiant wasn’t an exaggeration—she was practically glowing. She gave Maria and me a wink, gave Aletheia a curtsy I hadn’t seen coming, then became a blur. She poured milk with one hand, tamped down ground beans with the other, and used a slight exertion of will to ready the espresso machine.
As the shots flowed from the portafilter and into separate glasses, she set three mugs in a line. Then she picked up a white jug, which she swept past the mugs, pouring a viscous, dark-purple syrup into them with a practiced flourish.
I pursed my lips as she started steaming the milk, giving it all of her attention. “Aren’t you gonna ask what we want?”
She didn’t look up from her task, but the corners of her mouth curled up into a victorious grin. “Don’t need to. I already know what you need.”
Fifteen seconds later, she tipped the shots into each mug, then swiftly added the frothed milk, letting increasing amounts of foam through as she went from my cup, to Maria’s, to Aletheia’s.
Though they looked like our regular orders when Sue slid them forward—a flat white, a latte, and a cappuccino minus the chocolate powder—they started transforming before our eyes. I leaned closer, my brow furrowing in confusion before rising in surprise. The dark syrup seeped up from below, slow at first then all at once, coloring the golden crema a vibrant purple, leaving the white froth untouched.
The System tried to make me inspect the drink, but I swept it aside without reading it. I passed Maria’s and Aletheia’s to them, then grabbed my own, breathing deep of the fruity notes. I raised the mug to my lips, paused for a moment as I appreciated the purple and white latte art of a swan, then took a slow sip.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
The unmistakable flavor of passiona husk exploded across my awareness. Its hints of Passionfruit and strawberry danced over my tastebuds, almost too sweet. The flavor of the passiona husk was so strong that I wondered for a moment if she’d also infused the beans with it. But then the taste of the coffee came crashing down, bitter, earthy, a touch burnt. Alone, either ingredient would have been too much. Together, they perfectly complemented the other, the bitter and sweet notes weaving across my awareness. A shiver rocked my upper body, my arms breaking out in goose bumps.
“I roasted the beans twice,” Sue explained, confirming my suspicions. “All the test batches were too sweet until I used a plain dark roast.”
“Sue…” I held up a finger, took a sip, and shimmied my shoulders in delight. “Normally, I’d have called you doing test batches without me a capital offense, but I’ll forgive you this time.” I went to take another little sip, but it turned into an indulgent swig, the deliciously hot coffee leaving me no other choice. “Damn. It’s so good. Filled with chi, too.”
To my side, Aletheia upended her mug and sculled the rest of her passiona latte. Maria, Sue, and I all watched her as she shook her mug, ensuring she got every last drop. In that moment, I was struck by the difference between the god-empress who’d arrived on our shores, and the one who would soon depart.
From maniacal tyrant to a woman embracing her inner child—who was now using a finger to scrape any remnant foam from her cup—Aletheia was unrecognizable. I couldn’t help but smile, the change somehow making my own latte taste all the sweeter. Maria squeezed my arm, also seeing the contrast.
Sue, however, had a very different reaction.
“Silly girl,” she said as Sturgill stepped forward with three pastries. “Now you have nothing to wash your croissant down with. I’ll make you another.”
Despite Sue’s words, I didn’t miss the gratification plastered across her face while she swiftly prepared another beverage for Aletheia.
The god-empress was much more reserved with her second mug, sipping it slowly between bites of steaming-hot croissant. “My resolve to sail back home is diminishing with each meal. I can’t believe how good you have it here.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that.” I nodded toward Theoris and Elegos, whose hulls were packed with crates of produce. “They might not be as skilled at first, but I’m sure your citizens will advance quickly with the ingredients and farming methods you’re taking home with you.”
She turned to lock eyes with me, her expression suddenly serious. “Thank you, Fischer. Really. I am at a loss for words with how much you’ve done for me and my people. We—”
She cut off as the ground shook, followed by a deafening boom. Already knowing what I’d find, I glanced up, finding a mass of muscle and outrage sailing toward us.
“Incoming,” I called, raising a bubble of chi around everyone.
Lucky I did. Barry created globules of molten glass when he landed on the nearby dune, anger radiating from him in waves of boiling heat. He took a step toward the animals, who all gazed back at him with varying levels of curiosity and fear.
“Uhhhh, Barry?” I said. “You good, mate?”
“Not now,” he hissed, steam billowing from his mouth.
“Mate, I’m not trying to tell you off, I’m just letting you know . . .” I pointed at his semi-glistening torso. “You’re only half oiled. I thought you might wanna go finish the job, then redo your dramatic entrance.”
He ignored me, instead jabbing a finger towards my animal pals. “You went too far this time.”
If there was any remaining doubt as to who had angered him so, it was cleared up a moment later when a grinning otter pointed at herself. “Who, me?” trilled Claws, feigning ignorance. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You put dung in the bottom of my moisturizer! I’ve been using it for weeks! I put that on my face!”
She rotated one forepaw dismissively, the other discarding an empty clam shell. “That could have been anyone. Besides, you should probably thank them, whoever it was. Your muscles need all the help growing that they can ge—”
Barry exploded forward so swiftly that he almost caught her by the scruff. Cackling with laughter and scattering shellfish all over, Claws fled, zapping toward the southern mountain. I raised another protective barrier as Barry took off after her, displacing half a ton of sand from each dune he stomped across.
Theo had come running through the crowd, ever keen to mediate. Now that the disagreeing parties had departed, he came to a stop between Maria and Aletheia, gravitating toward the god-empress.
Aletheia avoided looking at him. “Tropica is always so . . . energetic.”
“Sorry about that,” I said. “I wish I could say it was a rare occurrence, but—”
“Lie,” both Theo and Aletheia said at the same time.
In tandem, they glanced at each other, then at the ground, hints of red rising in their cheeks.
I barked a laugh. “You two are terrible at this. How are we even supposed to tease you if you make it so obvious?”
“Stop it, you.” Maria gave me a soft whap on the arm, and them an apologetic smile. “We think your budding romance is cute.”
If my comment had added a stroke of color to their cheeks, Maria’s added the rest of the paint tin.
“Well, uh, yes. It was lovely seeing you.” Clearly panicking, Aletheia grabbed and shook Theo’s hand. “Bye now!” With that, she disappeared in a streak of golden light, appearing back on her repaired galleon, Theoris.
An immature man would have pointed out how similar Theoris was to the name Theo, so I did. Theo put his head in his hands, doing what he could to hide his face. It earned me another smack on the shoulder, but I knew Maria was enjoying herself just as much as I was.
Someone cleared their throat to my side, and I turned toward Eustace and Fern, both women giving me a meaningful look.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “Already on it.”
I reached for my power, wrapping twin tendrils of chi around a Truthsayer and a god-empress, preparing to teleport them both to the other side of Tropica, far from prying eyes. It wasn’t like they’d never see each other again—Phostheia’s fleet already had plans to return in a month—but I was too much of a romantic to let them part on a damned handshake.
Before I could finish moving them, however, Aletheia shoved my essence aside. She streaked back over, crashed into Theo’s chest, and kissed him square on the mouth.
Apparently, it wasn’t just Maria and me who’d noticed how much time they were spending together. The crowd of cultivators erupted, cheering and whooping and flaunting good-natured taunts. Loudest of all were Eustace and Fern, who celebrated like their lives depended on it.
Aletheia stepped back, her shoulders squared and chin high, refusing to look at the ground despite how much she was blushing. “Bye, Theo,” she said, departing once more. Only a ribbon of gold marked her passage back to the deck of Theoris. “With me, Kingdom of Light!” she called.
Her followers rushed to obey, only pausing long enough to hug their new friends goodbye—or grab some croissants for the road, as three enterprising young cultivators did.
Of the entire fleet that had come to assault Tropica, only two women remained ashore.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go back?” Maria asked Eustace and Fern, leaning against me.
“You know,” Eustace said, “maybe it would be nice giving some people a proper goodbye, but not if I have to spend one more minute with a certain old toad!”
“Let me know if you change your mind, hag!” Anius called from Theoris, where he lounged on a bench that had been the topic of many a debate over the last fortnight. “If you decide to come, you won’t have to deal with my company—I’ll throw myself overboard!”
“Hmmm. Maybe I should go. What do you think, Fern? Would you come with me?”
“I’m good here. I have nobody to say goodbye to. Besides, I’m only just getting the hang of fishing.”
“Here, here!” I said, raising my empty mug in a salute.
“Then it’s settled.”
“Bye, Tropica!” Aletheia called. She waved enthusiastically as the sails of two galleons unfurled, the only ships remaining of the grand fleet.
We all called back, a chorus of goodbyes, wordless cheers, and animal noises. Only one of us infused his voice with chi, and I flinched, pressing a hand to my ear.
“Bloody hell, Ellis. Glad you’re feeling better, but give me a heads-up next time you do that.”
The archivist had denied Maria’s healing and refused to elaborate on the matter. He’d still been under the weather yesterday. Today, he actually had some color in his cheeks. Not as much as Theo, though, who was glowing beet red from Aletheia’s kiss.
Ellis smiled at me, his wooden pipe clenched between his teeth. “Lots to be happy about, Fischer.”
“Does that mean you’re finally gonna tell me what the frack you did in the alchemy workshop? Or where the first sister is?”
“Oh. You noticed that?”
“Pretty hard to miss the disappearance of a lava slug, mate. And don’t change the subject. What in the divine hells were you doing in the alchemy workshop?”
“Sorry, Fischer. I—”
“—cannot tell you,” I finished for him. “Yeah, yeah, mate. Loud and clear.”
“Speaking of loud and clear . . .”
I frowned at him, but he just nodded out to sea, grinning as he puffed on his pipe. All of those who had come to attack Tropica—an entire fleet’s worth of people—crowded the decks, hands cupped to mouths. I felt chi building in their cores.
“Wait. What are they—”
“All hail God-King Fischer!” they droned with the slow, inflectionless cadence of students addressing a teacher.
It triggered a panic response in the depths of my core, reminding me of the time Tropica had conspired to turn me into a god-king. When nothing happened in my abdomen, I let out a weary sigh. “Oh, ha-ha, Ellis. Very funny. I hope this little prank made you feel better about—”
“All hail Tropica!” they continued, and my world shook.
No, really. The entire world shook, the ocean going still in stark relief. When the tremors subsided, the waves returned, lapping at the shore as if nothing had happened.
I whirled on Ellis. “You dastardly, conspiring, rat-lookin’ son of a goat—”
“Fischer!” Rubes chided, covering Fin’s ears. “Not in front of your chosen champion!”
I rubbed my temples as I felt the network below shifting. I groaned when I felt hints of divine chi flow into it. “Mate . . . why are you like this? Can you not just . . .” I squinted at Ellis, his eyes distant, some of the world’s chi connecting to him. “Hold up. Did you just finish a quest?”
He shook his head, returning to the present. “No.”
More chi connected to him, its signature unmissable as it flowed through my Domain. His eyes went vacant again.
Mine went flat. “And you just got a new one, didn’t you?”
He puffed his pipe as his vision cleared. “I have no clue what you are talking about, God-King.”
I groaned again as it all snapped into place. “That’s why you’ve been leaving me in the dark, isn’t it? I thought it was odd that I got no more quests after the last ones. You’ve been getting them? Is not telling me one of their conditions?”
He took his time, circulating his chi as I continued to spiral. Finally, with a great exhalation of smoke, he looked over at me with the air of a sage addressing a rowdy disciple. “If that were all true, which I am absolutely not saying is the case, confirming it would only hamper said quest, would it not?”
I gazed out at the departing ships, their forms already growing smaller, great gusts of divine chi hitting their sails. “Maria?”
“Yes?”
“Did George and Geraldine ever dig those latrines?”
Understanding me better than any other, she snapped to attention. “No, sir! I believe they assumed you were only joking, sir!”
“Good. Mark Ellis down for latrine-digging duties.”
“Yes, God-King!”
“And it has to be the best damned latrine I’ve ever seen.”
“Yes, God-King!”
“One more thing,” I said, giving Ellis a pointed look. “If he doesn’t actually do it, instruct Corporal Claws that she is forbidden from further pranks unless Ellis is the target.”
Though he was trying to play it cool, his eyes darted toward the southern mountains and the lightning crawling through the sky above them. Claws’s chittering laughter reached our ears a moment later, only cutting off when Barry leaped into the air after her, swinging an uprooted tree directly at her head.