Chapter Text
“Are you done at last? If strapping this thing on will always be so arduous, perhaps it wasn’t worth making after all.”
Henry sneered and made an unsuccessful attempt to kick Thanatos. “There you have it. I’ve just accomplished the feat of rendering my legs motionless. Applaud me, will you?”
“Oh, this is perhaps the one perk of it all.”
Looking down at the restraints that had previously inspired his and Teslas’ pride, Henry now felt a tinge of irritation as they held him securely in place on the flier’s back. Adapting to this would certainly be a process.
He adjusted the broad belts around his thighs that were connected down to leather pieces resembling the front halves of boots strapped to his regular footwear, both in the front and back. The entire setup was specifically designed to secure his legs in place as firmly as possible while maintaining comfort. Despite the flawless mechanism, Henry suddenly found himself grappling with second thoughts. The idea was to eliminate his leg movement, and it worked perfectly. He just didn’t know if he liked that anymore.
Nervously, he checked the two hinges on the insides of his knees that connected him to the collar-like saddle directly. To dismount, he would have to laboriously remove all the gear, and like this, he couldn’t even move on his own. The thought made him uneasy, yet Henry shoved it aside.
“Feel restricted yet?”
“At least now the discomfort is two-sided,” grumbled Henry, running his hand along the saddle strap and then leaning back to inspect the contents of the two additional bags.
“You think?”Thanatos unfurled his wings, prompting Henry to reluctantly sit upright again and meticulously double-check all his other belts and pockets. “Know that we have a forty-hour flight ahead of us, and I will use every second of it to make you regret ever fastening us into this thing.”
“Alright, then I shall use this time to persuade you that it was a good idea after all.”
Thanatos scoffed. “I wish you the best of luck with that. Are you certain that you have not forgotten anything? Your backpack seemed awfully limp when we departed from the colony, and who knows when we shall return?”
“This is because I need not everything I own,” replied Henry. “The pups may play with my figurines, and we need not many supplies. Besides, your saddlebags now relieve my bag.”
Thanatos hissed and sank his talons into the edge of the steep cliff ahead. It descended vertically, roughly two hundred feet, and below, Henry distinguished the turbulent waves that formed the perimeter of the waterway. It seemed to be near where they had been washed out before being carried to the jungle.
Henry’s hand brushed the straps of his backpack before darting over to his neatly lined-up weapons. Mys was at his hip, as usual. He found Charos’ long, double-handed hilt with the flier pommel right by his head. And next to it . . . Henry smiled as his hand gripped the freshly re-wrapped hilt of . . . well, he may have to come up with a name for it now, probably. “Igniter” was high up on his current list, as that was exactly what it did.
Upon receiving the fractured remnants of his original sword, Teslas had done so much more than just restore it. It necessitated a substantial amount of Ignifer, and I absolutely do not wish to forge another blade like this ever again, yet it now ignites without the need for separate application of Ignifer. This should save time.
Henry’s grin grew wider as he suppressed the urge to draw his original sword and inspect the new, polished blade, which now shimmered in a multitude of colors when brought close to a flame. Although he didn’t technically need it anymore, Henry had not discarded his dispenser, along with a small number of pellets for emergencies. He casually patted his backpack, knowing it was in there somewhere. And now, this sword was no longer inferior among his rather impressive array of weapons.
The sole weapon he didn’t carry was the golden dagger he had retrieved from Tonguetwist’s body during their return to loot Longclaw’s camp with Thanatos and Dalia. He had claimed to be after the crown for Luxa, but deep down, he also longed to reclaim Hamnet’s gift. However, he wasn’t in a rush to wear it again . . . It felt like he had outgrown it.
The slingshot was tucked away in Henry’s backpack too. He had plans to use it eventually, just not at the moment.
“Ready when you are,” he said to Thanatos.
“Set,” replied the flier, and faster than Henry could react, he spread his wings, leaped off the cliff, and steadied himself on a strong current.
Henry ducked when the current abated, and Thanatos resumed his struggle with the currents like last time until he eventually discovered a good one. They surged forward, and Henry couldn’t help but grin. “Onward.”
They may have flown for ten minutes when Thanatos first asked: “Are you bored yet again?”
“I am not bored.” Henry grinned. Making sure his backpack and sword belt were properly fastened, he reached for the rotation lever. “I’ve got a new toy to play around with now.”
Without any warning, he firmly pulled the lever, and this time he managed to release it just in time for the saddle to only rotate by an exact ninety degrees. The saddle snapped into place, and Thanatos let out a surprised yelp, then began reeling through the air sideways. “Halt . . . halt, rotate downward at least! It is difficult to stay aligned when you’re positioned on the side like that.”
Henry complied and rotated by another ninety degrees, finding himself seated upside-down and making a mental note to use the sides only in emergencies. He blew out a breath and assessed his footgear, then a grin spread across his face. “I may be the very first human to sit upside-down on the back of a flier,” he exclaimed, resisting the urge to scream with joy at how well it worked. In the air, not even the limit of his mobility bothered him.
Henry was in the middle of imagining the kinds of stunts they could attempt with this gear when Thanatos unexpectedly lost altitude. Henry let out a shriek as his head was suddenly submerged. Snorting and coughing, he managed to grab onto the gear and pull himself upright. “What was that all about?!”
“I wager I could have warned you,” said Thanatos pensively. “But I figured I may return the surprise that you gave me when you activated it.”
Henry was tempted to let his anger out; he truly was. His hair was tousled and drenched, clinging to his face, and he crossly brushed it away. However, he couldn’t deny that he would have done the same, were he the flier.
Rather than wasting his energy on anger, he completed a full circle and realized that the most difficult part was the upward motion. “This is phenomenal.”
Thanatos let out a sigh. “It is odd, is what it is.”
“I cannot say it is not.” Henry shifted back into the upside-down position, his gaze sweeping across the horizon as his mind delved into their destination—the unknown territories of the Underland. The allure of what lay beyond in all directions—above, below, north, south, east, west—beckoned to him. This was the kind of excitement he longed for and a welcome departure from looking after the questers or pretending that he was anyone but himself. Henry of . . . Regalia?
Henry of . . . the Dead Land. The title brought a smirk to his face. The Prince of Rats. The Wielder of Light. The Bringer of Buzzer Wings. The Great Achilles. The Death Rider . . . he mentally counted his ever-expanding list of titles.
The list of titles Henry of the Dead Land could call his own was far more impressive than the lone title Henry of Regalia had possessed. And unlike that, he had not been born with them. He had earned every single one himself.
“Think you that we should see Kismet again when we return? I already miss her yet again.”
“She told us to visit soon,” replied Thanatos. “I wager she will be disappointed if we do not.”
Henry nodded, his smile widening at the brief but joyous reunion they had shared with Kismet last week. As much as she had marveled at Charos and his new Igniter, she had been happier to see Henry himself than he had anticipated . . . almost relieved, so he thought. And not once had she rebuked him or claimed that he should work on his skills harder.
“She may truly be proud of me,” said Henry.
“She has always been.”
“I wish she may have been there to witness Longclaw’s demise.” Henry laughed, recalling her baffled face and the genuine shine in her eye when he had recounted to her the events of the most recent quest. The way he had ended Tonguetwist had made her howl with laughter.
“We shall see her again,” said Thanatos after a while.
“And when we do, I shall deliver on my promise and defeat her in battle,” replied Henry. So he had promised . . . Much like Ripred, he had promised Kismet a duel as well, in order to prove that he was worthy of bearing the title of her greatest warrior.
He expected Thanatos to rebuke him, yet he did not. “You may,” he said instead, and an unprecedented surge of pride swept over Henry.
“I must!” proclaimed Henry. “I must . . . prove myself to her.” To her, without whom he wouldn’t be here now. Her, without whom he would not have made it through any of these recent trials of outcast life.
The fresh feeling of omnipotence granted by his freedom, as well as new skills and weapons, created a sharp contrast to the sense of defeat he still recalled feeling on the crawler island. Henry couldn’t help but smile—he had kept his promise to himself. Just as he had found a way out of his first rock bottom, he had now conquered the second one. And he owed much of it to Kismet. “Not only her, but Ripred too, I shall challenge to a duel when we meet again,” he announced, eliciting a scoff from Thanatos.
“Fine,” his flier said, to his surprise. “Judging by the way you fought against Longclaw . . . Perhaps it is time for this.”
“You mean that?”
“Henry, have you any clue how astonished I have been to see you in that fight? It was . . . an unprecedented sight. Just when you then strip Ripred of his bothersome right to boast about being undefeated, at least promise to me that you shan’t become like that as well.”
Henry broke into vigorous laughter. “I shan’t promise anything!”
Disregarding the cautions of both Kismet and Thanatos to not overestimate himself, he could not help it. Every fiber of his was filled with overpowering strength and resolve. Now more than ever, he was ready to challenge the world for anything that may come his way . . . their way. Together, he and his flier would face any challenge; he had not one doubt about that.
Briefly, Henry glanced down at his right hand and allowed the faint memory of the most recent pain to touch his heart, eliciting a shudder. He instinctively pulled himself upright. Among the numerous lessons he had embraced over the past year, some had come at a steep cost. Everyone can be broken, Kismet’s voice resonated within him . . . But not everyone can piece themselves back together again, he added in his mind.
Yet Henry had.
This thought enveloped him wholly, filling him with a different kind of pride. He had . . . come back from his darkest, lowest point. And what a comeback it had been! It had . . . made him stronger, thought Henry. But not in the way he had previously understood strength. This strength was different. And oddly enough, it provided more security than any of his previous strengths ever could.
The kind of strength that lay in awareness, in care. The strength that lay in . . . vulnerability. In togetherness.
Was it not ironic, indeed? Only a few short months ago, he had battled his bond to the death in a gnawer arena. And now . . .
“Is something the matter?”
“I have merely been contemplating that my theory has proven itself correct time and time again,” said Henry. “That every setback, every pitfall, every mistake, and every trial may be turned into . . . not only an opportunity and a victory, or into success, but also a lesson. Something of value to hold close to your heart in the future.”
“Something to aid your growth.”
“Is that not what true strength is?” asked Henry out of the blue. “The ability to . . . view one’s mistakes and shortcomings as lessons. To rise back up after being knocked down.”
“That . . . is a wonderful definition,” said Thanatos.
“Then I shall never fear that I may be weak again.” Henry twisted back downward and reached out, his hands extending until they grazed the water. “I have prevailed, and I have reforged myself into someone truly to be proud of.”
“And I can no longer even mock you for your lack of humility, for I have experienced you humbled now, and I honestly never wish to experience it again.”
Henry laughed. “I stand by the fact that I need no humility. After everything I’ve withstood, I doubt anything could sap my will anymore.”
“Watch out lest the serpents or the leviathans nibble on your fingers.”
“I’ve still got a score to settle with the serpents, come to think of it.”
Sensing the cool water against his fingertips, an overpowering feeling of endless freedom swept over Henry yet again, and he barely restrained a scream. Whyever he had feared freedom, he couldn’t even begin to explain. There were no restrictions, no borders, no regulations, and no limits. Not for them. It felt somewhat like a grand victory, yet . . . better.
Henry’s arms stretched out like wings as Thanatos gained speed and soared over the glimmering sea . . . into the unknown.