Chapter 110:Hub
His casual way of talking about something so important didn’t sit well with her.
Her grip moved from his wrist to his collar, dragging him closer.
"Faster?" She repeated, voice low and trembling with something far more dangerous than anger," You said it was stable, this didn’t happen in the ship."
"It was, this is the first incident. "
"Then why... "
"I miscalculated the severity, my body is adapting to the suppressants," he said without the usual fear or pain you would expect from someone going through what he was.
Her eyes searched his face, as if looking for something or just anything that could contradict what she was seeing.
A sign of weakness, fear, or even just pain but he was giving her none of that.
Only the same calm expression looked down at her, the same unbearable composure she had always found endearing at times, but at the moment, she just wanted anything.
"Would you have told me?" She asked.
Atheline nodded immediately.
"I got the system notification, the seven planned days have been cut off by half a day," he honestly said.
He never planned to hide anything.
"That’s..." she started then sighed, " let’s go back to bed, we’ll leave earlier."
Atheline nodded and followed her to bed.
"You won’t die right," she mumbled softly.
"Of course, " he reassured her immediately.
"You should take another suppressant," she said bringing another pill to his lips.
Atheline shook his head.
"Let’s not waste that," he calmly said," can you give me a healing potion instead. "
She was quiet for a moment before a small vial was placed to his lips. She fed him herself to make sure he drank the whole thing.
Sleep came easily for Atheline but she was left alone in her thoughts still scared out of her mind.
Thankfully morning came quickly. The port city hadn’t fully woken up since the sun was still on the opposite side, asleep.
It was at this time that Lilith and Atheline slipped out of the inn unnoticed except for the innkeeper who didn’t even lift his sleepy gaze.
The carriage was waiting ready to take them to their destination.
The urgency in the air was palpable, her tension affecting Atheline.
Her gaze never left him. She studied his movements to a scary precision even the smallest out-of-place movements would trigger her worry.
She would occasionally touch him just to make sure he was okay.
"I’m fine, try to relax a bit," Atheline said, trying to reassure her," the suppressants are working fine, I just don’t need to take them in excess that’s all."
She didn’t respond immediately. Her gaze was on his hands that would occasionally flex, like he was trying to ground himself.
Every second they wasted could endanger his life.
Her jaws tightened.
"We’re here," she calmly said as the carriage came to a stop at the teleportation hub.
The teleportation hub of the first human kingdom, Gladia, sat beyond the main port district, closer to the administrative quarter.
This was a place where security was extremely tight, every movement was watched, recorded, and regulated.
Which meant they couldn’t simply walk in.
Lilith helped Atheline out of the carriage and walked towards the large gates under the gaze of guards and officials.
"Stay close," she whispered.
Atheline nodded his grip tightened around her hand.
The teleportation hub itself was enclosed, with stone walls surrounding the large mansion-sized building.
At the entrance a pair of guards stood watch, checking and verifying.
In Lilith’s eyes, she felt as though everything had been slowed to a crawl.
She arrived at a traveller being pulled aside roughly, while another was being taken away by soldiers while shouting out profanities.
She walked directly to the front, without a care for the line.
Atheline could feel the glares.
"You cannot..."
She placed the small universal tokens she had been given to allow smooth entry on the desk.
The guard didn’t even argue, he stepped aside letting them through.
Unlike the other traveller who had to show papers and state their destination, the tokens allowed them free movement through the kingdom but they couldn’t use the same teleportation hub twice.
"That was fast," Atheline said.
A small smile escaped her.
"Yes, coins can buy anything, " she said.
The walk into the white building was uninterrupted. As long as you pass the gates, everything else is smooth sailing.
The teleportation chamber was deeper inside.
It was large, circular, and curved with intricate magical patterns that pulsed softly beneath their feet. It was powered by at most five Aether manipulators to allow long-distance teleportation.
At the centre, was a platform where groups were assembled in batches of twenty.
They were fortunately the first group. Each teleportation requires a cool time of thirty minutes in between.
Energy reacted below them as the magic pattern started to glow. Lilith pushed closer to him, her hand slipping into his.
Atheline squeezed her hand softly.
"If something does go wrong..."
"It won’t, " he cut her off.
This was one of the few times, he had seen her doubtful.
Her eyes narrowed.
"You don’t know that."
Atheline smiled down at her.
"I have you, there is nothing to worry about so stop being pessimistic. "
She was quiet for a moment.
"Okay."
’If something goes wrong, I will burn this kingdom to the ground’
The overseeing manipulator softly muttered an incantation, the magic patterns flared then the light swallowed everything.
....
The capital of the first kingdom, Fraither City.
It was the main hub and gathering place of the nobles.
As expected it was louder, brighter, and more crowded.
The sun had started to rise when the teleportation circle flared.
The moment the light faded, they were surrounded by noises, voices, movements, and the constant hum of the largest city in the first kingdom.
It was a large contrast to the port city.
In the capital the chances of getting recognised were high and that would result in a huge diplomatic headache.
Atheline could feel the blood coming up again, the side effects from the displacement now becoming reality.
His handkerchief went to cover his lips.
A small cough escaped, blood soaking the handkerchief as it left his lips.
He stumbled but managed to keep his balance.
Her worried gaze searched his face.
"We have three more jumps," she said, her voice almost pleading.
"It’s not that bad," he replied.
DING
The system appeared in front of him.
[Suppressant resistance +2% increase]
[Suppressant adaptation:29%]
[Evaluation:Not too damaging]
’You’re really forcing us to hurry’
The notifications felt like the Grim Reaper but also gave him hope.
Her hand brushed against his again.
"We shouldn’t waste time," she said.
"We won’t."