Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
ALINA
Tynan did not come back for the next couple of days.
No matter how hard I tried, I could not stop worrying about him.
In the short time we had spent together, it became absolutely necessary that I saw him everyday and knew he was doing well.
Knowing nothing about him, seeing nothing of him, was something I could hardly endure.
I did not tell anyone about my encounter with Gabrielle.
Her words and her motives were still unclear to me.
She wanted Tynan back, but at the same time, they were not together, that was obvious to anyone who observed the two of them together.
She was a married woman, and Tynan was not the type who would overlook something like that.
I could not help smiling when I recalled Gabrielle knocking on our door just the other day and receiving a cold greeting from everyone.
Victor crossed his arms on his chest just staring at her and Frid did not even let her come in.
Tynan’s friends were very protective of him, and I hoped he realized that there were so many people who truly loved him.
Life in the cottage moved along at a slow pace when every day resembled the previous one.
Grace started asking all of us to contribute and we gladly did some chores for her.
This morning, Victor and Sol were chopping wood and working on patching the roof, Frid was scrubbing the floor and I was doing laundry.
I first warmed up the water on the stove, then I took the wash outside.
I had to tie my skirt around my waist and tuck my hair under a scarf, something I saw so many times done by the other women.
I had just raised my head to move a lock of hair that fell down to my cheek when I saw Tynan walking toward me.
Slowly, I stood up. Tynan looked disheveled, dark lines were clearly visible beneath his eyes, and the paleness of his skin made me want to reach out and stroke his cheek.
I dropped the dress I was holding. The piece of wet clothes landed in the bucket splashing my skirt with soapy water.
“Tynan,” I whispered, while my eyes searched his face.
“Are you alright?” he asked. His voice sounded hoarse, as if he had not used it for a long time.
“Yes. How about you?”
“I’m good. I need to wash up.” He touched his cheek.
“Did you stay with Sage?” I asked but abruptly stopped, looking down. What if he didn’t? What if he stayed with Gabrielle or some other woman?
A sharp pain pierced my heart, and suddenly I could not take it any longer. I had to look away because he would see what I was thinking, what I was feeling.
“Yes. I had to help him out,” Tynan said, his eyes still on me.
I leaned forward to pick up the clothes.
“Ty!” Frid approached him and immediately gave him a big hug.
She just did what I truly wanted to do, but contrary to Frid, I was a coward. So, I just stood there experiencing what could be described as a burst of jealous envy.
“Let me breathe.”
“I was worried about you.” She pushed him away searching his face, “You look exhausted. What the hell was that? Where did you go?”
“I was helping Sage,” he calmly said.
“With what?”
Frid pushed him toward the house. I stood for a long moment, almost paralyzed. The fact that he had become so essential to me was apparent. If I had any doubts about being completely and utterly bewitched by him, all those thoughts died as soon as my eyes landed on him.
I returned my gaze to the basin filled with soapy water. It took everything I had not to run after them.
The fire was warming up the sitting area where Frid, Victor, and Solomon shared the cramped sofa while Tynan and I sat on the remaining wooden chairs, having our dinner. As it turned out, the legs of the table were beyond repair and all of us had to balance the bowls of soup on our knees.
“I still can’t believe you two are together,” Sol observed, placing a spoonful of soup in his mouth.
“Yeah, man. It just happened unexpectedly,” Victor said.
“I always knew you had a thing for Frid. Since we were five or six,” Sol continued.
I watched Victor’s face take on a shade of dark crimson.
“You’re mistaken. Victor hated me when we were kids,” Frid snorted, but Victor stayed silent.
He had loved her for years without ever telling her about his feelings. He was always there for her, staying no more than her friend. Still, to this day, she could not see it the way everyone else could.
My eyes fell on Tynan who looked so incredibly handsome in his brown cotton shirt.
He had taken a bath and changed his clothes.
His hair looked almost auburn in the soft glow of the fireplace.
He started acting differently after that day at the training ground and spent most of his time with Sage or Hanoch.
When he was with us, he was closed off, detached, as if nothing around him could break the invisible wall he had built around himself.
My heart ached every time I remembered the way he looked when Denis shouted those insults at him.
“We will have to change our sleeping arrangements,” Victor said after a short pause.
“I suppose you want my room?” Tynan said slowly.
“Yes.” Frid looked straight at him.
Tynan was quiet, only his furrowed eyebrows indicated that he heard what she said.
“What happened to you the other day? Did you meet the wild pig?” Frid abruptly changed the subject.
“Yes. That was humiliating.” I sighed.
“You just turn to your dragon form. No animal is crazy enough to threaten a dragon,” Frid said.
“I could not . . . do it.”
“Why?” Frid looked puzzled.
“I froze. I could never turn as quick as you guys,” I explained.
“We used to train for it. Remember, Ty? We climbed up the wild peak and jumped. It was so long ago,” Frid added.
“You jumped? How would that help you to turn faster?” I asked.
“You jump and then you try to turn before your body hits the ground.” Frid lifted her eyebrows.
“But what if you can’t turn on time?”
Instead of answering, Frid made a not so discrete gesture of slicing her throat with her finger.
I looked down at my bowl, trying hard to tame the fire that burned deep in my chest. I promised myself that I would never turn down opportunities because of fear or uncertainty.
I promised myself that I would stay strong if I survived, that I would be a warrior, not a victim.
If that meant that the old me had to perish for a new one to be born, I was ready for it.
“I want to try it,” I said, noticing Tynan’s head jerked in my direction.
“It’s too dangerous,” he finally said.
“You all did it,” I protested, shifting my gaze from him to Frid and Victor.
“That was long ago. We did not know any better,” Tynan responded.
“I don’t know what the future may bring. I don’t know what will happen to me tomorrow. But I want to be prepared.” I glared at him.
From the corner of my eye I saw that Frid was nodding in agreement.
“I will take you,” Frid said.
“No. I will,” Tynan responded and stood up.