“Sure, you can give me more bloodline abilities than Faluel, but you can’t give me the most precious of her gifts: trust and loyalty. Back when Lith hid a crapton of secrets, Faluel could have blackmailed his ass into oblivion, but she never did.
“Faluel did more than teach us magic. She protected us, our families, and our secrets, no matter how stupid they might seem to you.” Friya couldn’t mention Nalrond, since his knowledge of the Fringes was still dangerous, but she thought of him no less than Lith.
Faluel might have forced the Rezar instead of bargaining with him to teach her Light Mastery. She could have extorted his bloodline legacy from him and everything he knew about the Fringe he came from, yet the Hydra had never abused her position of superiority.
Even when it would have been most convenient for her.
“If I become Faluel’s Harbinger to save my parents and she promises to help me, I know she’ll keep her word. You or any of your friends, instead, might as well order me to forget about my parents once the ritual is complete and I could do nothing about it.
“You could take everything Faluel has taught me from my mind, my father’s secrets, everything. The power you offer is no temptation to me because it’s laced with the poison of betrayal.
“No matter how many pretty words you spout. To me, you will always be one of the bastards who killed my sister and thousands of innocents just to follow the orders of a madwoman!”
The seven Divine Beasts lowered their heads and said nothing. The memory of the many walls they had visited was fresh in their minds. It destroyed any excuse or rationalization they could find to justify their actions.
Ufyl fell butt-first on the ground and hugged his knees.
The memories of him witnessing Phloria’s final moments while waiting for the inevitable haunted him. Her fight with Lith flashed in front of Ufyl’s eyes, forcing him to notice the many chances he had missed to step in and save her life.
In Ufyl’s mind, Phloria died every time he willingly ignored one of the many openings during the fight, hiding behind his duty to Thrud. In his mind, he was the cause of Phloria’s death no less than the Mad Queen.
“That was a nice speech, but it doesn’t answer my question, Friya.” Faluel broke the prolonged silence. “Are you sure this is what you want and not just a spur of the moment decision? There is no turning back.”
“I’m as sure as I can be.” Friya fell back on her right knee and offered Dreadnought to the Hydra again.
“Slow down.” Faluel pushed the blade away gently. “The books I gave you missed a lot of details on purpose. They were meant to scare the crap out of you and make you second guess your decision until you either backed down or strengthened your resolve.
“Becoming a Harbinger isn’t like Awakening. It takes time for your body to adapt to the blood of a Divine Beast, even a Lesser one. In a way, you can consider it similar to the process by which a living being is turned into an undead.
“It happens gradually and over time. Do you still want to do it?”
“With all my heart.” Friya raised her eyes, staring into Faluel’s with determination.
“Okay then.” The Hydra clenched Dreadnaught’s blade, cutting her palm until a single drop of blood came out.
Outside her body, the shapeshifting ended and the blood drop expanded back to its real size, bigger than Friya’s head. It slithered along the rapier, sucking Friya’s blood before moving on to her still-open palms.
The Hydra blood seeped slowly inside the human’s body under Faluel’s strict supervision. She kept the spark of her life force intact and burning as it moved toward the center of Friya’s being.
There, the Hydra had the two life forces mix, the weaker one reshaping itself after the stronger. Friya felt every fiber of her body burn, her blood flowing in reverse as a part of her humanity was purged and replaced by Dragon blood.
She felt strength. She felt pain. She felt one single note of the song that all Dragons heard at the beginning of a Dragon Dance. For that brief moment, her eyes turned bright yellow and her pupils into black slits wreathed in fire.
Then the moment passed and Friya found herself on all fours, puking her guts out. Once she was done, she rolled on her side and gasped for fresh air, away from the stench of her own vomit.
“Are you feeling like crap?” The Hydra asked while cleaning Friya and destroying the puke with darkness magic.
“Yes.”
“That’s a good sign.” Faluel nodded. “It means the ritual is working. Take your time and get plenty of rest. You can get an infusion only when you are in top shape. Anything else would be too dangerous.”
“What powers have I gained?” Friya panted.
“None.” The Hydra’s answer made her groan. “Hey, I told you it’s similar to becoming an undead. A Vampire’s thrall doesn’t get a full six-pack after the first sip. Also, Hydras have only their seven heads as a strong point.
“Sure, we have our scales, acid, and all the shebang, but we don’t get even close to a real Dragon. You’ll get your extra heads only after the process is completed.” At that news, Friya groaned harder.
“I’ve been honest with you, young lady!” Faluel said in annoyance. “If this disappoints you or a Hydra isn’t enough for Her Majesty, there’s always Ufyl.”
“Fuck no!” Friya sat up in outrage soon falling back due to her malaise.
The Divine Beasts and Doppelgangers had another laugh at Ufyl’s expense, making him turn beet red.
“I just meant that I didn’t expect the process to be this unpleasant. How many more doses do I need?”
“A few. The exact number depends on the subject.” Faluel replied.
“What about our master-servant bond? The mind reading and everything else?”
“Like the heads, that kind of thing will come last. Right now, I can’t even tell you if you are hungry due to your empty stomach or you are still nauseous.” The Hydra shrugged.
“Still nauseous.” Friya smiled, inwardly sighing in relief. “What happens if we stop the process?”
“The same as what would happen to a threall.” Faluel said. “Your body rejects my blood, your life force purges mine, and you go back to being a regular human.”
“That’s interesting.” Friya’s smile widened as she exhaled a much bigger sigh of relief.
“As a self-proclaimed loyal idiot, I can understand why this female human wants to become your Harbinger, Faluel.” Leari said.
“I have a name and it’s Friya.” She sat up abruptly, triggering more puking.
“Her mother is a piece of work but compared to the True Queen, she’s a saint. She deserves help in her time of need.” The Thunderbird ignored the retching human. “What I don’t understand is what you gain from this bargain.
“You’d be the first Lesser Divine Beast to ever had a Harbinger, but you don’t strike me as someone who cares about pride and glory much.”
