The Daughter of Cursed Steel Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Tears Across Worlds

Read chapter 4 of The Daughter of Cursed Steel by Ashfell on NovelPedia.

Chapter 4: Tears Across Worlds Logan finally arrived at a hidden cabin, its roof swallowed beneath the massive branches of Yggdrasil. The colossal roots coiled through the ground like petrified serpents, rising in gnarled arches around the clearing. Faint motes of light drifted down from the shimmering leaves above, bathing the cabin in a dim, emerald glow. Here, at last, he had returned to where he truly belonged. Sitting in a rocking chair outside was Rina, a beautiful elf with short green hair, crimson eyes framed by delicate glasses, and a noticeable swell in her belly. Her pointed ears twitched faintly with each creak of the chair, and a knitted blanket lay folded across her lap, half finished. The moment she saw him, she froze. The blanket slipped from her fingers and she rose quickly, the chair rocking back with a soft thud as she rushed forward, throwing her arms around him in a loving embrace. She pressed a kiss to his lips, tears streaming down her cheeks as she whispered, "I’m glad you made it back safe. I’ve been praying every day for your return." Logan held her tightly, burying his face against her shoulder for a brief, stolen moment. The lingering scent of leaves clung to her hair, grounding him more than any magic ever could. His voice came out low and steady. "I’m home. And I don’t plan on leaving you ever again." Their embrace lingered, the soft rustle of Yggdrasil’s leaves whispering above them, until they finally turned toward the cabin. But there, standing before it with an irritated expression, was the Goddess Veyra. She looked completely out of place in the humble clearing. Golden hair flowed down her back in perfect, gleaming strands. Her dress shimmered like liquid starlight, untouched by dirt or dust. Bare feet hovered a finger’s width off the ground, refusing to touch the mortal soil. The air around her seemed heavier, distorted by a faint ripple of divine power. "So this is the true reason you refused to return," she said coldly. "You thought this tree could hide your presence from me?" Her eyes slid up to the massive trunk behind the cabin in a contemptuous glance, as if even Yggdrasil was nothing more than a mild annoyance. "Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. The Demon Lord is dead, and I have no need to play nice with you any longer." "Unfortunately for you, you made a mistake." She held up a singed piece of paper between two fingers. Logan’s eyes widened the moment he recognized it. It was the note Princess Sophie had given him. His stomach dropped. He must have lost it during the battle. Then, with a casual snap of the goddess’s fingers, a body suddenly collapsed from the air and slammed into the ground in front of her. Rina gasped. Logan froze. Princess Sophie lay crumpled at Veyra’s feet. All four of her limbs were broken and twisted at unnatural angles, bent so badly they barely looked human anymore. Both of her wings had been mangled into spiraling, shattered shapes, their bones snapped and folded in on themselves like crushed frames. Her eyes stared in different directions, unfocused and lifeless, while thick foam dripped from the corner of her mouth. The goddess grinned at the two of them, clearly pleased by the horror on their faces. "This princess refused to speak," Veyra said, her tone almost playful. "Even after all the torture, she still wouldn’t tell me where you had gone. So I had to do it the hard way and forcefully read her memories... which caused a bit of brain damage." She said it so casually it made the words feel even more monstrous. Then, with a lazy flick of her wrist, Sophie’s broken body was hurled across the clearing. She tumbled through the dirt and came to a stop right in front of Logan and Rina, her mangled limbs bouncing limply against the ground. A sickening chorus of snapping and shifting bones followed her landing, making the entire clearing feel even colder. Logan’s eyes narrowed as he pushed Rina slightly behind him, his hand already half reaching for the sword a