Chapter 93: Frozen Wild lands.

To everyone’s shock, he suddenly walked to Zyra and leaned closer to her. His voice turned warmer than usual, almost charming and coquettish. "Zee. The best Scorpion in the world. The champion that brought down Big Vince." He lowered himself to match her height and rubbed his head against hers,

Hunter’s mouth fell open. "Damn!" Was this the same Achilles that normally dismissed Zyra with cold glances and a mocking tone? The same man who still didn’t think she was good enough for him! Where was his shame? At the sight of a treasure map, he had sold himself!

Zyra, however, was not fooled. She watched Achilles carefully, sensing the unusual shift in his demeanor.

Hunter smacked the back of Achilles’ head with a heavy palm and pulled him away from Zyra. "Focus, dude, the map is not going anywhere."

"Ouch! Right, focusing," Achilles muttered, rubbing his head.

The screen zoomed in rapidly, narrowing down on a massive, unexplored northern section labeled The Frozen Wild land. Near a jagged, towering mountain range on the map, a bright green dot began to blink rhythmically.

Hunter massaged his chin, his dark eyebrows knitting together. "A frozen area? In all my years of traveling and hunting, I have never heard of a frozen area existing as part of the Wild lands."

Zyra glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, a smug smile on her face. "Well, now you have. A majority of the world remains unexplored to date because of weather and political instability."

"Somnivores are at the top of that list." Hunter contributed with certainty.

Achilles’ excitement turned into a cold sweat as he stared at the blinking green dot. "If humans don’t even know this place exists, it means we will be encountering primordial beasts that are completely unknown to human records. Zyra... maybe it is better to leave this place unexplored. It feels like a death trap."

"I have to have that fungus," Zyra said, her voice dropping all humor. "It’s not up for debate."

Hunter nodded slowly, accepting the challenge. "Then we go. But looking at the distance on this map, even with Tyrant’s speed, it is going to be a long, exhausting journey. It could take months."

Zyra giggled, a sound that seemed entirely out of place in the serious command room. "Months? Hunter, did you forget? We have an awakened Soul maiden now. Tessi can open a portal and teleport us directly to the border."

Hunter blinked, then let out a rare, self-deprecating chuckle as he tapped his own forehead. "Right. It completely skipped my mind that we have living cheat codes now." His expression turned serious again. "In that case, I am going to go a select team that will go with us." He considered asking why she couldn’t teleport them where they wanted to go but decided not to do so in Achilles’s presence.

Zyra nodded. "Go ahead."

Achilles checked a small pocket watch and sighed. "Well, that’s my cue to leave. I need to catch my ride back to civilization. I’ll see you guys when I get back from the wedding. Try not to die in the frozen place."

"Wait up," Zyra said, walking toward the exit with him. "Before you go, I’m going to help you pick out the specific beast supplies from the supermarket that you can take with you. We need to maximize our profits. Sell them for ridiculous prices and buy my supplies at low prices."

"Oh, I love the way you think!" Achilles laughed.

The two of them walked out of the security room, chatting and laughing like two greedy merchants plotting a heist.

Left alone in the glowing blue light of the command room, Hunter stood completely still. He watched their retreating backs, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes narrowed into suspicious, brooding slits.

*****

Back in Atlas city, Logan had long left the Spegger home for his home. There was no way in hell was he going to the Mystic Sanctum to beg Trinity, that terrifying woman to give his niece a lighter sentence. Was he crazy? Trinity would probably think that he was overstepping his authority or under looking hers! Ava made her own bed, so she had to lay in it for now.

"I love my sister," Logan grumbled to himself as he poured a huge cup of expensive spirit tea, kicking off his mayor shoes. "But I love keeping my skin attached to my body a whole lot more." He scrolled through his phone, wondering who to bribe to break Ava from prison and replace her with a low-born.

They would have to kill the low-born of course, and stage the scene to look like a suicide. Nobody would question Ava’s reasons for killing herself.

He landed on the right number and grinned before dialing.

Meanwhile, back at the Main Seven Island, things were going about as badly as Ava had feared. Actually, it was worse.

She was tied tight to a massive stone pillar right in the central plaza, directly under the scorching, merciless sun. Her back was burning like someone had dumped liquid fire on it. The result of thirty heavy lashes from the disciplinary whips. Every single runaway Soul maiden that had been found was lined up and tied to their own pillar, turning the whole courtyard into a giant, sunbaked warning sign for anyone else thinking about escaping.

"Hey," the girl tied to the pillar next to her croaked, her lips dry and cracked. "On the bright side... at least we’re getting a tan?"

"I am glad that at least one of us can still make jokes," Ava rasped, wincing as the sweat dripped into the fresh cuts on her back.

By the time evening rolled around, the blistering heat finally faded into a cool breeze. The heavy iron chains clanked loudly as the guards unhooked Ava and dragged her to the center of the grand court. They dumped her on the ground, forcing her down onto her knees.

Julia walked over, her silver heels clicking softly against the marble floor. She pulled out a long paper made of gold silk, unrolled it with a sharp snap, and began reading in a cold, smooth voice.

"Ava Spegger. For the crime of desertion during a time of crisis, the law demands public execution by firing squad." Julia read, glancing down at the bruised girl. "However, the Divine Soul Maiden has granted you mercy."

Ava slowly lifted her head, her eyes bloodshot. "Mercy?"

"Instead of being executed on the spot," Julia continued, rolling up the scroll, "you are hereby ordered to lead a front-line expedition team beyond the Veil."

Ava’s heart dropped into her stomach. Beyond the Veil. It was practically a death sentence, anyway, just wrapped up in a prettier title. But before she could worry about her own skin, a terrible thought hit her.

She looked up at Julia, her voice trembling. "What... what about my family? What did you do to my mother and father?"

Julia knelt down, squatting right in front of Ava so they were eye to eye. She reached out, gently patting Ava’s bruised cheek...a gesture that felt more chilling than a ice spell.

"Oh, sweetie," Julia whispered, her voice deceptively soft. "It’s not what we did to them. It’s what you did to them. You brought trouble right to their doorstep."