Chapter 755: The Soul Of The Beast Goddess [II]

She stretched both small hands out into the storm of circling eggs with her fingers spread wide.

SKREEEEEE!

Sunny leaped from her black hair and hovered right in front of her chest on beating golden wings with his tiny throat swelling until a brilliant molten ember lit up deep inside his beak.

VUUUUUUM!

Rika’s emerald eyes vanished completely, swallowed by two blinding pools of liquid gold.

From the center of her chest, right behind the hovering Phoenix chick, a torrent of shimmering life poured out...

It spread outward like ribbons of liquid dawn, spinning through the air in eleven separate glowing streams and every ribbon found an egg with terrifying tender precision.

FZZZZZZT!

The ribbons touched the shells, and in an instant the wild defensive flares of the eggs settled.

The violet lightning of the Stormcrown Thunder Drake stopped snapping and grounded itself in its golden ribbon, dancing along the thread like playful sparks.

The choking dark around the Abyss Stalker parted and drank in the warmth... The Magma Behemoth’s raging fire calmed into a slow steady pulse that matched the beat of Rika’s own heart perfectly.

The howling gale of the Skyrend Void Roc softened into a gentle breeze, The Thornback Hydra’s vines curled around its ribbon like ivy around a branch and the rest of the eggs had a similar reaction.

THUMP-THUMP!

THUMP-THUMP!

Silas felt the beat through his boots, it was like a deep harmonic hum that ran through every inch of the soul space.

Rika wasn’t forcing her will on them... She was breathing her own life straight into their sleeping hearts!

She was feeding them the warmth of the Phoenix, the memory of the wild and the fierce protective shelter of a mother who would never let them go... Under the shells the faint shapes of the sleeping creatures grew sharper and clearer, and their pulses swelled stronger with every beat.

A tail coiled inside the Leviathan’s shell, antlers stirred inside the Stag’s while something with great folded wings shifted inside the Roc’s egg and settled again, feeling quite content.

The whole dimension sang with the joy of life being called up out of a long cold sleep.

Reina’s breath left her in a soft trembling gasp as a tear rolled down her cheek and dissolved into the warm orange air.

"It’s... it’s like a lullaby," she whispered, her hands gently stroking her own egg. "...They’re being loved."

’Loved? Is it only me that doesn’t fully understand what’s going on here?’

Wasn’t his Gold core supposed to give him an affinity for different kinds of magic... So he didn’t have one for Beast Taming?

Rika slowly closed her hands into loose fists, and the eleven eggs which were soaked through with her soul, slowed their wild orbits and drifted peacefully down into the thick golden clouds below their feet, nestling into the amber mist like resting chicks.

"That," Rika murmured as the gold slowly faded out of her eyes and left them bright emerald again. "is the soul-hearth."

FLASH!

The amber world folded in on itself with a soft weightless pop as reality snapped back into focus with the solid reassuring thud of boots landing on polished oak!

Silas blinked and shook his head to clear the leftover dizziness.

The familiar warm air of the bedroom settled around him again, the wardrobe, the windows rattling faintly in the evening wind and the soft wool rug underfoot.

Beside him Reina landed with an unsteady wobble of her knees and a sharp squeak, clutching her heavy sapphire-steel egg to her middle with her gray eyes still wide and dazed.

Silas looked down at her and saw the slight tremor in her arms as she balanced the forty-pound egg.

He scratched his chin and turned his dark blue eyes toward Rika, who was quietly brushing a stray strand of black hair off her cheek while Sunny settled back onto her crown.

"Hey, Rika," he said, resting his hand on his hip. "Your soul’s already that big, and you’ve got room for a whole army in there... can’t you just take Reina’s egg in too? Help her incubate it with the others so she doesn’t have to haul a forty-pound metal boulder down to the paddocks?"

Before Rika could even open her mouth, Reina shot up straight and shook her head so hard her ash-blonde bangs whipped across her forehead.

"No, Lord Silas!" she blurted out. "Please, no!"

Rika crossed her small arms over her chest, and a proud approving smirk lifted the corners of her lips as she looked at the tamer.

"She’s right, Master," Rika said smoothly. "A tamer doesn’t hand off the foundation of her bond... The soul-hearth works because the egg learns the spirit of whoever nurtures it. If I pulled her egg into my soul, the Kirin would imprint on my flame, not on her... When it hatched, it would look at her like a stranger so since it’s her beast, she has to take care of it herself."

"Exactly," Reina agreed firmly, nodding with solemn determination as she pulled the cold egg tighter against her linen tunic. "Lady Rika’s right, my Lord. Even though I can’t use my soul to nurture it, this egg answered my touch... I’ll build a warm pedestal for it in the pavilion, run my own mana through the shell every morning and every night, and watch over it day and night. I’ll try my very best to make sure it hatches, no matter how much work it takes."

Rika looked down at the sapphire-steel shell in Reina’s arms, and her emerald eyes narrowed slightly as her ancient senses read the dense stubborn frost locking the plates together.

’That one seems really hard to hatch...’ she thought, and a quiet note of worry tightened at the back of her mind. ’The shell’s layered like glacier ice over steel, and the life inside is buried deep behind three layers of sleeping frost. At least, that’s how it looks from my side. For a mortal tamer without a soul-hearth, getting through that will be a long hard fight...’

She glanced at Reina’s determined sweat-streaked face and let out a quiet sigh through her nose.

’I hope she can hatch it in time.’

"Well said," Rika said out loud, giving a rare respectful nod. "Don’t let the frost bite your spirit... Go take care of your charge."

"Thank you, Lady Rika! Thank you, Lord Silas!" Reina beamed, her exhaustion swallowed up by a radiant wave of pride.

She turned on her heel, balanced the heavy cold egg on her hip with the practiced strength of a seasoned handler, and gave them a cheerful wave with her free hand as she backed toward the doorway.

"I’m heading straight down to the paddocks to set up a warm stall for it!" She called with her boots clicking briskly on the hallway floorboards. "I’ll make you proud, my Lord!"

With a soft energetic laugh she disappeared down the stairwell.

Her quick footsteps echoed down through the Keep until the heavy front doors groaned shut far below and left the upper floor quiet again.

Silas caught the door with his left hand and swung it shut as the latch settled into place with a muted click.

The room went still.

The sweet smell of Rika’s warm Phoenix heat lingered in the air, broken only by the soft steady breathing of the little golden bird resting on her head.

Silas leaned his back against the closed door with his hands resting easily in his pockets and looked at the petite Goddess of Beasts.

"Thanks for today, Rika," he said warmly, his dark blue eyes holding hers with genuine appreciation. "Seriously, Teaching me that lesson, showing me your flames and taking Reina under your wing... you’ve done a lot for the territory today. Blessed Land is in a much better place because of you."

Rika puffed out her small chest and set her hands on her hips with a lofty sniff, though her emerald eyes danced with open pleasure at the praise.

"It’s only natural, Master," she said, lifting her chin high. "A goddess doesn’t sit around when her territory needs her... It was fine, really."

Then her dignified face cracked. Her shoulders dropped half an inch, and her stomach let out a tiny high-pitched gurgle that broke the quiet of the room.

Rika’s cheeks flushed a sudden bright crimson.

She pressed both hands flat against her stomach and looked up at him with a narrow demanding pout.

"However..." she mumbled, her voice turning sweet and a little petulant, "I want a small reward for all that helping. Pouring my soul into eleven SSS-Rank eggs at once takes a lot out of me, Master and I’m hungry... Starving, actually."

Silas burst out laughing, and the sound filled the bedroom... chasing away the last of the divine tension.

"Fair enough," he chuckled, walking over to her. "If you’re hungry, go find Kaelia. Tell her I said to make you a feast and eat until you can’t walk."

Rika’s emerald eyes lit up like twin stars at the word feast, and her mouth practically watered on the spot.

"A feast... with roasted ribs? With the thick sticky glaze...?"

"With the thick glaze, absolutely," Silas grinned.

He took two slow steps forward and closed the distance until he was standing right in front of her petite frame.

"And as for the reward..." he murmured, his voice dropping low and soft.

Rika blinked and tilted her head up at him in mild confusion as he leaned down.

Before she could work out what was happening, Silas bent forward with his dark hair brushing her bangs, and pressed a gentle lingering kiss right in the center of her forehead.

SMOOCH!

His warm lips stayed against her skin for two long deliberate heartbeats, right underneath the dozing Phoenix chick.

Rika went completely stiff as though she was an iron ingot.

"U-um..."

Her emerald eyes bulged and her pupils blew wide.

Her hands froze in midair beside her hips as a blazing wave of crimson surged up from her collarbones, over her neck and all the way to the tips of her ears.

Silas slowly pulled back with a teasing lopsided smirk brimming with pure mischief.

"You were really amazing today, Rika," he murmured, his dark blue eyes glinting gold. "And I want to fight you again soon... Next time, I plan on managing it without getting a hole punched through my ribs."

"I... y-you... M-Master..." Rika stammered, her voice squeaking up three tones as her tongue tied itself into knots. "Th-That was... a fight is... y-you can’t just...!"

"Rest up," Silas laughed, and gave the tip of her red nose a light playful boop with his finger. "Go get your food..."

He turned, walked to the door and pulled the latch open.

CREEEAK!

He stepped out into the lamplit corridor, threw one last teasing wave over his shoulder and pulled the heavy door shut behind him.

THUD!

The latch clicked into place and sealed the room in total silence.

Inside, the Goddess of Beasts stood frozen in the middle of the rug for three long agonizing seconds then her knees turned to water.

FLUMP!

Rika collapsed straight onto the floor.

Her legs folded under her and she sprawled out flat on her stomach, burying her burning scarlet face in the soft fibers of the rug.

Sunny tumbled off her bangs and landed with a soft plop on the coverlet, squawking in indignant surprise as he shook out his golden feathers.

"Eeeeeeeeek..."

A long muffled pitiful whine leaked out between her fingers.

Her small toes curled frantically, and her cheeks burned so hot that the wool around her face felt warm to the touch while her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped wildcat.

’Master is unfair...’ she thought, clawing her fingers into the rug as she curled into a tight trembling ball. ’He’s completely unfair! He talks to me about battles like I’m a warrior, and then... then he kisses my forehead like that! A goddess of the wild shouldn’t turn into a puddle over one little kiss! How am I supposed to keep any dignity at all when he smiles like that...?’

She rolled onto her back and stared wide-eyed up at the dark beams with both palms pressed flat over her burning cheeks.

’...But it was nice,’ she admitted, so quietly that not even Sunny could hear it. ’It was really, really nice.’

She lay there for a long minute and let the cool evening air slowly soothe the fire in her skin, while Sunny hopped over and tucked his head under her chin with a soft trill.

Outside the window the first stars were coming out one by one over the valley.

Then her stomach let out another hollow demanding growl that echoed through the quiet room.

Rika rubbed her flat belly with a small exhausted pout, and her voice trailed off in a dazed pathetic whimper.

"I’m really hungry..."