LobsterMobster

[lobstermobster-95]

That’s it. That’s the post.

[lobstermobster-95]

July 26!!

[lobstermobster-95]

Secret & Forbidden

Chapter Nineteen:

"You only really need one piece of advice to have dinner with the King.”

Rayla scoffed. Soren struck her as many things, but an expert in royal decorum was not one of them.

“What’s that?”

“Relax,” he replied matter-of-factly. “King Harrow is pretty much the chillest guy ever when you want to get to know him. All he really cares about is honesty.” 

Rayla swallowed. 

Right, and would that be honesty about her adoptive father murdering a Katolin general and now plotting to murder the King himself? Or would that be honesty about having a relationship with Callum after drunkenly kissing him?

“Noted,” she said. “I guess you’d know, you practically grew up with the man.”

Soren shrugged. “He’s not a hard guy to figure out. Plus, the step-prince has already been sending you presents and junk. Shouldn’t be hard for you all to get along.”

Rayla frowned “What?” She asked, unaware that her voice had returned to full volume.

“I said, ‘we’ve arrived.’” Opeli replied tersely and when her eyes snapped forward, Rayla saw they were in fact now standing before a large set of double doors. “You’ll be announced as discussed and then led to your seat. From there, I expect you will follow my guidance precisely. If you step out of line, I will not hesitate for a moment to have you thrown out of here, no matter what the King thinks."

Read the full chapter now available on Ao3

[blutopaz15]

Callum rolls off the bed and onto the floor in the middle of the night and obviously Rayla has no choice but to join him there 🥰🥰🥰

[lobstermobster-95]

But I wanna knooooooww

[lobstermobster-95]

Wanderer’s Rest

Read the full fic now on Ao3

It had been an uncharacteristically peaceful first day’s travel toward Xadia. The weather had been fair, they’d kept up a steady stream of pleasant conversation and – Callum had to hand it to Barius – they’d started things off with a satisfying breakfast.

It had all put Callum into an inexorably good mood.

After all, there was an undeniably strong air of sentimentality surrounding this trip. He and Rayla were retracing those first life-altering, world-saving steps they’d taken together two years ago.

To say they had been through a lot in those years was a comically gross understatement, especially since she’d come back. There had been more days than not that Callum had thought their relationship beyond saving. He’d been too broken, too fundamentally shattered by her abandonment to ever consider letting her back into his heart.

Then, there’d been Umber Tor, and the thought of Rayla dying before he ever got the chance to laugh with her again, or make her smile and roll her eyes at him again, to tell her he loved her again; it had set the flame in his chest alight once more.

So ever since then, they’d been working on it. Slowly, over several days, they began to talk – really talk – about the whole thing. It had been liberating for Callum to finally unload the crushing weight her departure had left him with, and Rayla listened. Then, when it was her turn, she’d given him two things: the first being an apology that had left them both crying openly while they laid side-by-side on the stone floor of Callum’s room; and the other had been a solemn vow to never cause him that much pain again.

They weren’t back to where they’d left off that night at the moon nexus, but they felt like…friends again, and Callum was ecstatic.

“We covered a lot of distance today,” Rayla said to him in a familiar tone that again reminded him of their first journey. That was her “Nighttime Rayla” voice. He’d heard it many times directed toward him and Ezran to let them know it was time to bunk down for the night.

“Time to rest, so we can do it all over again tomorrow,” she continued, making Callum smile.

Some things didn’t change.

But one thing that had certainly changed since the last time they’d made this trip was the status of the border. The scar Viren had left behind at the Breech had had unexpected diplomatic side effects. For the first time in a thousand years, there was a bridge open between Xadia and the human kingdoms. While it was still tentative and mostly discrete, this had opened the door to travel between the two lands.

That increase in travel had subsequently led to a greater demand for lodging along major travel routes, like the one they just so happened to be using, and Callum hoped what was ahead would be a welcomed surprise.

“Right,” he answered. “But why sleep in the grass, when we could sleep in class?” He raised his arms in coy emphasis.

Rayla responded with a curious quirk of her brow and Callum’s smile grew. “There’s a nice cozy inn just ahead,” he gestured up the road and Rayla’s eyes followed.

Together they spotted the Wanderer’s Rest Inn – a cottage that looked like it must have been lifted from the dictionary beneath the very word “cozy.” Its façade was crisscrossed by widely spaced wood framing with little vines of ivy creeping up like ladders. The thatch roof was steep but sturdy and surrounded a large stone chimney. The cottage itself was nestled on a picturesque hillside that caught the warm orange light of the sunset perfectly.

[lobstermobster-95]

Down in the Wicked Depths Below

Woe to the man

The dark-eyed sailor

Ship’s adrift

And the sea’s his jailor

Drag him down

Down, down, down

Down in the wicked depths below

Woe to the man

The dark-eyed sailor

Ship’s adrift

And the sea’s his jailor

Drag him down

Down, down, down

Down in the wicked depths below

Lost at sea, the sailor cried

I will not die

The sea shall bow to me

“That was quite a display,” Finnegrin said as he rummaged through the piles of assorted junk on his desk. His gruff voice drowning out the singing voices of the crew on deck. “All that talk about how love makes you stronger, but the second you see that elf girl in pain, you completely lost yourself.”

Callum looked away.

The tidebound captain wasn’t wrong. Seeing Rayla like that – writhing and screaming in pain, skin turning blue as if she were already dead – it did something to him. Just like it always did something to him when he thought he’d lost her.

That spell had simultaneously caused a pain in Callum that was so deep that he couldn’t think or see straight. He’d forgotten any spells or tricks that could have helped him and instead did the only thing he could think of.

It had at least been a solid hit – something his younger self would be in awe of for several reasons. A lot of good it had done him though.

At that moment, Callum caught sight of Bait’s empty cage and for a terrible, brief second, thought perhaps the little guy had already been cast into the depths. However, Finnegrin stepped aside and revealed the glow toad had been crammed into another smaller cage.

“What are you doing?” Callum asked, feeling confident he already knew the answer.

“Oh, don’t worry. The cage is for his protection,” the captain replied with a smug smile. “This way, he lures us a leviathan but doesn’t get eaten.”

He crossed the room and stood before Callum, looking down at him with the black-hearted confidence of a man who had spilled more than his fair share of blood. “The one getting thrown into the sea serpent’s hungry mouth is your elf girl.”

He may as well have been strapped to an anchor and dropped into the sea for how quickly Callum became submerged in the crushing weight of dread and panic. He struggled against the chains that bound him to the post, but there was no give.

He couldn’t lose Rayla. Not again. Not ever again.

“No, no wait!” The words leapt from his tongue without his consent. “A dying breath, blood filled with hatred, and a unicorn horn. That’s the dark magic you want. Just…just let her go.”

They could deal with the ramifications. They would find a way to protect Domina Profundis, but Callum had to protect Rayla first.

A beat passed as Finnegrin paused in the doorway before he began to click his tongue in disappointment like a parent about to scold their child. “Oh, my poor lad,” he said. “That deal was no longer on the table.” He chuckled, pulling the door open and quickly disappearing through it, leaving Callum alone as he sunk even deeper into despair.

“No!” He called out to no avail. “No!”

Again he struggled and again the chains around his wrists did not budge.

Hot tears began cutting their way down his cheeks. This was really it. Rayla would die and a piece of him would die right alongside her. They had only just begun to truly mend their relationship. The last few weeks began replaying in Callum’s mind

Staying in his and Ez’s old, adjoining rooms had been his idea. After Umber Tor, he’d shed the last piece of the already-cracked and crumbling armor he’d built around his heart over the last two years. He’d opened himself back up to her, and it was wonderful. They’d often stayed up late during those nights, fretting over Ezran and the others or just talking like they used to.

Then they’d traveled to Lux Aurea, retracing the steps they’d taken together on that first world-changing journey. The route had been easier this time. There was no dragon egg to hide and protect, no duplicitous aid from Soren and Claudia, and no race to outrun an impending battle with Viren’s corrupted army.

And with the border open, the route itself had become more traveled, leading to amenities like the inn they’d stayed at. Seeing Rayla happy and at peace that night had filled Callum’s heart in a way it hadn’t been in two years. He’d wanted to kiss her again, to hold her and tell her he loved her.

Now he desperately wished he had.

He could hear shouts and thuds from above him and his heart began to pound. He didn’t have much time.

Looking around for something, anything he could use to free himself, Callum spotted it. The slug Finnegrin had offered as a dark magic conduit.

No. No he couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

He’d sworn to himself that he would never do dark magic again. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t who he wanted to be. He’d vowed to write his own destiny.

…But what would that destiny look like without Rayla?

The question seared his heart like a brand because he knew the answer immediately. Without Rayla, he had no destiny. If he allowed her to die when there was something, anything , he could have done to save her, the anguish would fester in his body like a blight and consume him from the inside out.

He would do anything for her.

Anything.

Pulling against the chains one last time, Callum reached out and grabbed the slug.

~

The sunrise was beautiful, almost mockingly so after all that had happened the night before.

Callum sat at the base of the mast, feeling no modicum of triumph or elation at their victory. He felt like a liar, a sham. He was the first human mage to do primal magic and still he’d resorted to dark magic.

He thought he was better than this. But was he? Was he any better than Viren or Claudia if he would dirty his hands with the lives of innocent creatures if pushed far enough?

“So…” Came a voice through the fog. “Two primal sources? Now you’re just getting greedy, mister mage.”

Callum saw Rayla as she sat down next to him, felt the warmth of her living, breathing body, but he didn’t feel any less ashamed. If she knew what he’d done to save her, she’d be disgusted and furious, as she should be.

“Callum, are you okay?”

Was he? He let the question sink deep before nodding his head and letting his eyes finally unfocus from the abyss he’d been staring into.

“Yeah,” he said, pulling a smile up along with him. “Yeah, I’m okay. I am.”

He looked at Rayla as she smiled back at him, his heart feeling full and complete as she brought a hand up to his cheek.

“I’m glad,” she said softly.

She pulled him into a hug and Callum felt guilt wrap itself around him along with her arms. Below them, somewhere in the guts of the hull, two dark magic snakes now slithered and slunk because he’d brought them to life.

He’d broken his oath, and as Rayla sighed contentedly, holding Callum like she had when they’d first fallen in love, he knew that he would do it again in a heartbeat to save her.

And that’s what scared him more than anything.

[lobstermobster-95]

Let’s go!!

[zuppizup]

I am excite!

[lobstermobster-95]

Look at them! They’re all so majestic! 

[yurayuramiharin]

There she is. I want her to obliterate me.

[lobstermobster-95]

😭

[lobstermobster-95]

Holy shit…

[lobstermobster-95]

Is he..is he enchanting her arrow?!?!?

AAAAAHHHHHH

[jelicatessen]

147.

mad at @raayllum for this post

The chaos is the worst part. They can see it from the castle: the wave of corrupted elves and soldiers overruning what's left of the Katolan army; the common folk scrambling for safety as anyone able herds them towards the castle gates; the bodies falling and rising again, just as terrifying, just as corrupt.

Opeli has lived through sieges before. They have been far and few between, but she knows the terror of being trapped in the towers and the uncertainty of whether the kingdom will last the night. She was a novice last time: fifteen and afraid, her hands shaking as she assisted Phoebe, the High Cleric at the time, lead the common folk in prayer.

Justice and her sisters have been kind in the past. Opeli doubts that even they can help now.

There's movement to her left. A blur. A flutter. A flash of light and a flurry of feathers, and Callum all but collapses against an embrasure in his exhaustion.

"There's no stopping them," he manages. "They keep getting up like it's nothing. I don't know what Claudia did to make them stronger but I don't know what else to do!"

Opeli's face tightens. She glances at the gates below, drawn shut and locked tight. She looks at the fires on the horizon and knows there's nothing else to be done.

"You need to go," she says shortly.

Callum stares at her. "What?"

"You need to go," says Opeli again. "You and Ezran. Soren and Rayla too. Prince Azymondias can carry two of you, you can carry the last."

"I—Opeli, what are you saying?"

"You know exactly what." She gives him a hard stare, hoping the severity of it is enough to hide the fear clawing at her heart. Callum stares back, confused, or perhaps reluctant to understand, because she can see the conclusion dawning in his eyes, and then the refusal to accept it.

"I don't understand—you don't mean—We're not going to leave—"

"You have to," says Opeli. "Ezran is the last of your father's bloodline. He cannot be lost to this. Neither can you, and there is no one better able to protect you both than Soren and Rayla. The four of you have to go. Now."

"Opeli—"

"I won't argue with you about this, Your Highness."

"You can't be serious—"

"I am, and you're wasting time."

"We're not leaving you!" bursts Callum. The frustration in his voice makes her heart ache: there's no other choice and he knows it as well as she. There's nothing else that can be done now. There are no more options. And yet—

"We're not leaving you," he says again, his breath heavy, his eyes damp and frustrated in the dimming light. "You, and Barius, and Corvus, and the rest of the people behind the gates. We're not—we can't—"

"You can," says Opeli gently. "The gates will hold for some time but if all else fails... Katolis can't fall tonight."

"If we leave, it will! Ezran and I—we'll have failed, and there'll be nothing left to protect—"

"Callum." Opeli offers him a smile. It's grim, and despite it all, unafraid. She swore an oath when she became High Cleric to serve the Crown, and swore another, quieter one when Ezran and the others came into her care that she would protect them in their parents' stead. Sarai and Harrow and Lissa are all gone. Viren caused this. Rayla's family abandoned her when she chose the truth and justice over petty revenge.

There has been no one to watch over them these few years but her. How can she live with herself if she didn't do what was best for them now?

"Callum," she says again. "You and Ezran are more than the Crown to me. You know this. I am not asking you to leave for the sake of it. I'm asking you to leave because I need you to be safe. You have to go now, do you understand?"

"I can't—we can't—"

"Yes, you can," says Opeli. "And you will. And you'll protect each other, and keep each other safe, and perhaps when you come back, we'll still be here—but you have to go now. Okay?"

Callum scowls. He kicks a stone across the flagstones. He rubs furiously at his eyes. Then he pulls her into his arms and hugs her tight, afraid it might be the last. "Swear to me you'll be okay."

"You know I can't do that," says Opeli, chuckling ruefully against his shoulder.

"Do it anyway," snaps Callum. "We'll—we'll go, and maybe we can get to Duren and find reinforcements in time and—swear it, Opeli."

She sighs. "I swear it," she says, even if she knows it's a promise she can't keep.

Callum tears himself away from her then and leaps over the embrasure, his wings materialising over his arms. He dives towards the keep and then he's gone and Opeli is alone on the tower bridge watching the horde come tearing towards the castle.

She takes a breath.

She swore an oath the Crown once, and then another to the boys who would have to bear it. What's one more sacrifice to keep them safe?

[lobstermobster-95]

Secret & Forbidden

Summary: The world changed when Thunder fell. It’s been thirteen years and now half of Xadia is under human occupation. Lives continue to be lost and relations between elves and humans are less certain than ever. Despite it all, a human prince and a moonshadow elf find themselves falling in love. But with their people at war, what can two hearts do to stop the fighting?

Chapter Eighteen:

Rayla kept a careful eye on the older woman as they crossed paths for the first time. She, likewise, seemed to be keeping watch on the elves, but didn’t seem outwardly hostile. In fact, Rayla was surprised to see a certain aloofness about Claudia. She hummed a myriad of upbeat tunes while she worked and occasionally skipped back and forth from the carts. 

She was…not what Rayla had been expecting from a daughter of a dark High Mage. 

It also afforded Rayla her first unobstructed view of Claudia. Now that she wasn’t looking through a curtain, Rayla could clearly see the tall frame, distinct curves, and long, dark hair that had clearly caught Callum’s attention. Rayla chided herself. Comparing her looks to other women was something she’d never wasted time with in the past. 

It was this internal dialogue that eventually distracted Rayla so thoroughly that she didn’t see when a figure ahead of her stopped suddenly to let a sunfire child run by. With her eyes still on Claudia, Rayla’s feet continued to lead her forward until she collided with the back of a crownguard. 

The bags of nails she’d been carrying smacked loudly against his armor, alerting everyone within the immediate radius to her outrageous clumsiness. Her face burned hot with embarrassment as she felt pairs and pairs of eyes snap to her. 

Why? Why did she always have to be such an absent-minded idiot?

“Sorry,” she said quickly to the stranger. “I should have been paying more attention.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that even Callum and the others around the planning table had paused their progress to look in her direction. 

“It’s alright,” came the stranger’s voice as he turned to look at her. Much to her relief, he did not sound angry or even particularly annoyed. “I didn’t feel a thing.” He emphasized by wrapping one fist against his chest plate, the sound drawing Rayla’s gaze to him and then up to a pair of golden eyes that jolted her so hard and so suddenly that she dropped one of her bags entirely. She saw concern pass over the human’s face and his lips moved as he said something else that she didn’t hear. 

Read the full chapter now available on Ao3.

[lobstermobster-95]

He looks so happy 😭

[lobstermobster-95]

LOOK AT THEM!!!!

Wowjevabqukwebvkq