Chapter 5 #3
Azahara had asked Rowlin if he and Alyse had a thing, but he responded with a breathy laugh.
He explained that while he found her beautiful, he had no physical attraction to her, or anyone, highlighting the stark differences between their preferences.
They both shared a laugh at the contrasts between them.
She couldn’t help but express her wish to be the same way, hoping that Jayce was listening.
When Alyse joined them, she immediately jumped into the conversation.
Azahara realized she hadn’t stopped smiling throughout their time down in the mess.
It was reminiscent of the time at the Idle Fox when she sat at the bar with her family, enjoying herself as if she had no other care in the world.
There was a big part of her that felt guilty.
It wasn’t like she was happy. She was content, and as the night dragged on and more of the crew arrived, she felt the need to leave.
Especially when Zephyra and Tillin came down and seemingly intentionally put themselves all over Jayce.
Azahara wasn’t jealous; that would be stupid, but it irritated her that they were doing it to get a rise out of her.
Jayce, who was soaking in her burning gaze, played right into their little hands.
At one point, Zephyra slipped into his lap and fixed her gaze on Azahara.
A smile, slowly but surely, crept across the Elf’s face.
They both stared at one another. Only did Zephyra fold when Xol joined the table, sat beside Azahara and pierced her deadly gaze at the Elf.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that Xol was someone she had encountered before.
However, as she sifted through her memories from a few days earlier, nothing came to her.
She was confident she would have remembered the striking, pure white being with sharp features, a permanent stoic expression, and unyielding resolve.
There was simply no way she could have forgotten her .
“I’ll take my leave now,” Azahara said, placing a hand on Xol, feeling the coldness of her skin seeping through her shirt.
The familiarity of it was nearly shocking, and while it hadn’t been the cause of her fall, it sure didn’t help.
The sudden, violent rock of the ship was so intense that she had no chance of remaining on her feet, propelling her straight to the floor.
The loud thud of her hitting the ground was followed by another, and a cry of pain that hadn’t come from Azahara.
Jayce knelt beside her, “Are you okay?” His hand came to her, wrapping gently around the side of her neck.
“Yes…” her tone a mere breath of a response.
The ship began thrashing again, sending Alyse sliding down the elongated stool at their table. Jayce wasn’t fazed and began putting his hands under her arms to stand her up.
“I’m fine!” Azahara pulled away, not wanting to be treated like a child.
She placed one hand down to the ground and the other into the hand of Xol, standing beside Jayce. “I just fell; gods, I’ll survive.” Holy shit, she thought as Xol threw her up into her arms. “You are strong.”
Jayce was beside them both, looking at Xol. For the first time, she saw his expression shift. Xol looked at him, the stoic, angry expression never changing. There was so much tension between the two of them that she could have cut it with a knife.
It wasn’t lost on her that Xol had her pinned against her like she was some teddy bear, and she was keeping someone from taking it away from her.
The ship was hit with another giant wave, but neither Xol nor Jayce stumbled. They both continued holding each other’s gaze.
More than anything, Azahara wanted to be separated from the two of them. She feared for her safety. “What the hell is happening right now?” Verbally spilling what she was thinking, she quickly slapped her hand over her mouth. The two of them shifted their gaze to her nearly simultaneously.
“Okay, both of you are freaking me out. Please, Xol, I’m fine. You can let me go. Jayce, go check on Zephyra. You probably hurt her feelings more than her tailbone.”
It hadn’t occurred to her until that moment, seeing the Elf casting daggers right between her and Jayce, that he had likely thrown Zephyra off his lap to come to her aid.
He didn’t move, he only watched as Xol followed Azahara’s instructions to release her. The death glare he directed at Xol was piercing, and she momentarily stared in confusion, wondering what she had done to deserve such a look.
Consumed by their staring contest, Azahara took that moment to slip away, hurrying up the stairs and clutching the railing tightly. The night shrouded the sky in darkness, but the storm clouds were unmistakable, now casting a relentless rain down on the ship.
Just as she pivoted towards her quarters, a sensation of weightlessness enveloped her, and she was lifted off the ship’s deck. It wasn’t a great distance, but it was enough to unsettle her balance and make her tilt forward.
Then, accompanied by a resounding crack, she was forcefully thrown back down, plunging her into complete darkness.