41. Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-One
Malina
I didn’t know what I expected to happen when I walked through the village of Acalen. While I had pictured what it would be like if the Drift Islands ever returned and I could see my mother and father again, I had never considered the possibility there were other Atarans already living on the continent. At least not without me knowing about it—without any of us knowing about it.
With Nikan beside me, we froze in place, taking in the sight.
I thought it would have been more of a surreal moment, seeing those from Atara for the first time since its ruination, but this was just like any other village. People walked calmly along the streets, or some sat outside near gentle fires conversing. A shopkeeper was closing for the night, and a few males were walking into what looked to be a tavern. Everything looked normal.
The females didn’t have feathers braided in their hair, and the wielders on the outskirts keeping a lookout didn’t have their faces painted like Ataran warriors would. I didn’t recognize anyone.
Nikan and I shared a wary glance. He too was skeptical that these were our people.
Hakoa placed a hand on my back, coming up to my side. “Come on. There’s someone you should meet first.”
I glanced back at Nikan who gave a subtle nod and a look that told me to trust the process for now but to stay alert. We followed Hakoa until we came to a home near the middle of the village. He raised his chin and straightened his spine then knocked on a stone door. Nikan stepped closer to me as he glanced around and behind us while I narrowed my eyes at the door.
A large, burly male opened it a moment later. He had long, black hair draping over shoulders nearly as wide as the doorframe. His honey-brown face was hard and unwelcoming, as were his auburn eyes that cut daggers right into me and Nikan.
Nikan inhaled sharply.
“Hakoa,” the male greeted in a deep, questioning tone. “You’ve brought uninvited guests.”
Great. He’s so nice.
“Luthon, this is Malina and Nikan. Malina, Nikan, this is Luthon. May we come in?” Hakoa more commanded rather than asked.
Luthon’s eyes darted between us before stepping aside, allowing us entry. I could scent the tension of everyone except Hakoa, who walked inside as we tentatively followed.
Luthon shut the door behind us, and we turned to face him. He crossed his arms and held Hakoa’s stare, waiting for him to speak.
Hakoa took a deep breath, glancing at me with a brief smile before returning his gaze to Luthon. “I don’t think there is a gentle way to approach this, but Malina and Nikan are Atarans.”
Luthon’s brows raised as his eyes snapped to us.
I stiffened, as did Nikan. This wasn’t exactly something we had ever expected, and we really didn’t know what to do.
“How?” Luthon asked quietly. “Lord Ryker said there were none left.”
Hakoa looked at us. “This is your history to tell. You can trust him,” he whispered and nodded his head to Luthon.
There was an awkward silence for a moment. We hadn’t exactly talked to many people about our history, and we didn’t know where to start.
Nikan cleared his throat. “We were the only survivors who weren’t of age to be initiated as citizens of Atara. We were placed under the care of the High Scholar of Morah to be trained as Roav for the library.”
I was surprised Nikan was so quick to be open.
“Is that even—” Luthon began, but Nikan interrupted him.
“I remember you.”
My head whipped to look at Nikan, whose eyes were beginning to glisten. “What?” I whispered.
“He’s from Igawa. My family visited there once when I was young, before Tsirra was born. Dego and Oya were my parents,” Nikan said.
Igawa was on the northern border of Atara. It made sense they were able to escape to Oryn in time .
Luthon’s eyes softened. “I remember them. And you. You were very small, you hadn’t even come into your element yet. We thought you all perished in Liska…”
Liska was the capital of Atara, practically in the center of the Nation and where Nikan was born. His father, mother, and sister lived there when the Glaev attacked while Nikan was visiting Ulrik.
“And you?” Luthon asked, looking at me. “Were you from Liska as well?”
I shook my head. “No. Me and Ky— I mean, I’m from Asha. Our village was on the—”
“Western border,” Luthon finished. “I’ve been there. It was one of the trade villages, like Igawa.”
I nodded.
This was a terrible idea. Why did I think this would have been beneficial? Every memory of my family and my village were flooding into my mind, and all I could think about was how fucked up it was Kya wasn’t here to meet an entire village filled with the people she would have been Lady of. She never even got the chance to learn of their existence.
My family could have been here, where they didn’t have to constantly suffer. I could have been with them this entire time.
My skin crawled with guilt, and all I wanted was to stop feeling—
Hakoa grazed his knuckles down my arm, his eyes gazing into mine with concern. “Are you okay?” he whispered so only I could hear.
No.
“I’m fine,” I lied.
He could see right through it. “Why don’t you sit down? I’ll get you some water. You’ve had a long day. In fact…” He looked at Luthon. “Why don’t we continue this in the morning? I just wanted you all to meet. I’m sure you have a lot to catch up on.”
“I’d like that,” Luthon said.
“We’ll be at the encampment,” Hakoa stated, taking me by the hand and leading me to the door with Nikan following behind.
My ears started ringing as we left. Hakoa was talking, but I wasn’t registering what he was saying. My breathing became rapid, and my heart pounded against my chest. I knew it was wrong, but I wondered if there was demid in the village. Surely someone had to have some. Or maybe there was another village nearby …
No. Stop it. You’re done. You can do this. You don’t want your people to see you like that.
My feet moved across the ground guided by Hakoa’s gentle pull on my hand. I heard Nikan speaking with him, asking what was going on, but I was too fucked up to pay attention to the words.
I stopped in my tracks.
“Oh, Gods. I just met an Ataran, and I’m coming off demid,” my voice broke. I started gasping, clutching my chest. “I’m such an idiot. Why did I come here?”
Why didn’t I wait until I was recovered? It had only been three days. They were going to see what a mess I was.
Hakoa gently grabbed my shoulder as I began to hyperventilate. “You’re going to be okay, Mal. Mal? Sunshine, can you hear me?”
I knew he was talking, but I could only comprehend every other word.
“Water…block…needs…alone.”
No, don’t leave me alone, I can’t be alone. I can’t get through this alone. Alone is where I’ll drown back into myself.
I shook my head, trying to clear the fog in my mind. I blinked hard, and when I opened my eyes Hakoa was holding my face in his hands, brushing his thumbs over my cheeks. He wiped away something wet.
Udon’s balls. I’m fucking crying again.
“It’s alright. This is normal. The first few days are the hardest,” he said softly over a low humming sound.
I looked up and saw he had wielded water around the two of us, like a cocoon.
“Take a few deep breaths. We’re almost there, then you can sleep. That will help the most. I promise,” he soothed .
“Okay,” I said, releasing a shaky exhale and noting we must have been walking for a while because it was fully dark out now, and the village was in the distance.
Hakoa wielded the water away and took my hand again. Nikan walked by my side.
The next thing I knew, Nikan and I were alone in a large stone tent. I was sitting down on a pile of furs, and he was dabbing a cold, wet cloth to my forehead.
“Quit that,” I mumbled, reaching up to stop him, but he just pushed my hand away.
“No. You have a fever. Your body has relied on the demid for too long, and since you stopped, you’re having a bad response,” he said quietly. “When was the last time you took a dose? Two, maybe three days ago?”
“Three,” I whispered. I could probably tell him exactly how many hours it’d been too, if I knew what time it was.
“That’s what I thought. The demid has completely left your system by now. Tonight is going to be rough. Did Eamon give you a capsule to take?” Nikan asked.
“No. He didn’t give me a—anything,” I stuttered, my body felt cold and hot at the same time, and I was shivering.
“It’s okay. I kept one on me just in case.”
“What’s a capsule?” I asked.
He pulled out a small round ball from his pocket and held it in his palm. “It’s a small, concentrated dose of an elixir.”
“I’m trying to stop taking elixirs, Nik,” I said pointedly, laying back on the furs and pulling one up to cover my chilled body.
“I know. But this one will help the symptoms you’re having. It won’t stop them, but it will make this process more bearable.” I wasn’t sure if he was telling that to me or to himself.
“Where did you get it? Is it the same one Eamon was going to give me?” The last thing I needed was something from some shady dealer on the market.
“Yes. And I got it from a healer in Dusan. I talked to over a dozen healers, trying to find the best thing to help you once you decided to stop, and I gave one to Eamon in case I wasn’t around,” he said quietly.
“Oh.”
Tears welled in my eyes. He was an asshole, but he would go to the ends of the realm for me. He didn’t deserve how I had deceived and treated him.
“I’m sorry, Nik. I’m sorry for blaming you. It wasn’t your fault.”
“It’s okay. I just want you to get better. Swallow this. I was told it will make you sleep for a while, but I’ll be here the entire time to keep an eye on you.”
“Gods, you’re going to watch me sleep? I’m not dying.”
“No, but you could vomit, so I’m going to make sure you don’t choke on your own bile in your sleep,” he said.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if after all the shit I’d been through in my life, I died from my own regurgitating?
The sides of my mouth lifted, and I took the capsule with a shaky hand. “Alright. But try not to kick me in your sleep this time.”
He rolled his eyes and snorted a laugh. “Just swallow the damn thing already.” He began dabbing my head with the damp cloth again, and it felt wonderful, chilling my fevered skin.
I put the round capsule in my mouth and swallowed it. It took only a minute before my eyelids grew heavy and darkness took me.
My eyes fluttered open. I was in the rock tent and sunlight trickled in through the cracks, dimly lighting the space. Whatever that capsule was that Nikan gave me worked because it knocked me out hard. I didn’t remember a thing, and I felt a little better.
With a groan, I pushed myself to a sitting position. I was alone, and the temperature had dropped, my breath fogging in front of my face. The furs puddled at my waist, and I noticed I wasn’t wearing the same shirt as before.
He changed me?
I heard people moving about outside the tent—voices and elements from many people by the sound of it. The smell of food cooking over a fire had my stomach rumbling. I was starving, and my throat was dry. I decided to get up and go find something to eat. There was a cup of water resting on the ground next to me. I quickly grabbed it and tilted it up against my lips.
“Son of a bitch,” I grumbled. The water was frozen. “Damn northern weather in this freezing wasteland of a Nation…”
“Oh, stop whining. It’s not that bad,” Ryker’s voice sounded in my mind.
“Get the fuck out of my head, pigeon boy, or I’m going to think of Hakoa’s dick and let you have a good look,” I snapped.
“That’s…disturbing,” he said.
The thick cloth flap to the tent entrance moved, and Ryker stepped inside. He had a cut above his eye and looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Crossing his arms, he looked me up and down.
“You look like shit. How do you feel? ”
“Speak for yourself. What are you, my nursemaid?” Since when did Ryker concern himself with my well being?
“At least until Nikan comes back,” he mumbled.
I quirked a brow. “The great Lord of Oryn couldn’t find someone more qualified to look after me?”
Like Hakoa. Not that I expected the Chief of the Noavo to have the time either. Or maybe he didn’t want to…
“Trust me, this wasn’t by choice.” He pointed to the cut above his eye. “Your brother is very particular about who he allows near you.”
“Nik hit you? And you let him?” I gaped.
“I’m not such a bad male,” he deadpanned. “I argued about watching after you, and I may have even told him to fuck off. He swung at me, then I agreed to look after you. What did you expect me to do? Beat him because he cares about his sister?” he asked with a raised brow.
“Oh,” I said quietly. He had a point. “Where is he anyway?”
“He’s…dealing with something. He needed a break after watching over you for nearly three days straight.”
“Dealing with what? We just got—Wait, did you just say three days ?” No wonder I was so hungry.
“Yeah, you’ve missed quite a bit,” he huffed.
“Such as?”
Ryker shrugged. “More than I wish I knew. At least about his personal life. I’m not getting into it.” He shook his head. “Look, I was just told to check in on you and make sure to show you where the food is if you woke up. I don’t have all damn day, so come on.”
“You mean to tell me that you’re taking orders from Nik because you’re afraid of him hitting you again?” I snickered. This was a sight.
“Don’t underestimate a brother’s wrath,” he said. “Now, let’s go. I have places to be.”
While I would have enjoyed taking my sweet time just to piss off Ryker, I was famished and quickly pulled on my boots and a cloak before hastily following him out of the tent.
The light was bright in comparison to the dimness of the rock enclosure, but my light wielding allowed my eyes to easily adjust. The mid-day rays of the sun’s light reflected off a thick blanket of snow that covered every surface. Noavo warriors littered the encampment, and there looked to be about fifty or so of them.
“Why are there so many Noavo out here? We’re in the middle of nowhere,” I said, walking next to Ryker through the maze of stone tents.
He took a heavy breath and ran his hand through his dark hair. “It was set up right before I brought you here. There’s a good chance the other Nations will come to claim Atara once they discover it’s been restored.”
“Yeah, Eamon said something about that. Are you really going to be able to defend it?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “But that’s why I need you here too. You and Nikan. Atara needs to be protected, and you two are the only Atarans remaining that have any type of skill to do so.”
“What about that burly male I met? Luthon, right?”
Ryker chuckled. “Luthon is a merchant. I doubt he’s capable of killing a fly, let alone trained wielders.”
“But he seemed like the leader of Acalen.”
Ryker shrugged a shoulder. “More like an intermediary.” He looked down at me. “This is serious, Malina. I need you to get well so you and Nikan can protect Atara until I can bring Kya back. I can’t do everything myself.”
Well…shit.
We turned to go around the next tent and stopped when we spotted Nikan and Mavris speaking to each other near the outskirts on the side of one of the tents.
“Nik, it’s fine. You don’t have anything to worry about. We can sort this out,” Mavris said to Nikan. He was practically pleading.
“I have too much shit going on already. I can’t deal with this right now.” Nikan’s hand came up and pulled at his hair as he began to pace.
Mavris stopped him, grabbing his face in his hands and pressed his lips against my brother’s. He whispered something before Nikan placed his forehead on Mavris’ shoulder.
I knew Nik had a thing for Mav! That lying—
“Let’s give them some privacy,” Ryker said quietly, walking away in the other direction.
I followed him until we came up to a large pot of boiling stew over a fire.
“Did you know about Mavris and Nik?” I asked.
“Not until recently. Mav usually tells me everything, but it’s not my business. And right now, I don’t really care about his personal life. I don’t have time.”
“Well, Nik is pretty private, and he can’t stand you, so he probably told Mavris not to say anything. Kya and I had our suspicions though.” I shrugged, grabbing a bowl and spoon. “We got a real good kick when you thought he was sleeping with her, seeing as he doesn’t sleep with females at all.”
His eyes grew hard and distant at the mention of Kya.
“Okay, you have your food. I’m going now.” He began to walk away and shouted over his shoulder, “Don’t fuck this up, Malina.”
No pressure. Got it.
I poured a ladle of stew in a bowl and decided to take it back to the tent. No way was I eating out here in the cold. Just as I turned to go around a tent, I nearly bumped into Nikan.
“Mal! You’re awake,” Nikan said with a grin.
I slapped his shoulder.
“Eh! What was that for?”
“For lying to me,” I hissed, leaning closer so no one else would hear. “I knew you hooked up with Mavris on that first night in Oryn. You told me you went to bed alone .”
Nikan sighed and rolled his neck. “No, I said I slept alone.” He started walking away, and I followed.
“You blatantly misled me, and you know it.”
He groaned. “This is exactly what I was trying to avoid. It’s done. Just leave it.”
Back at the tent, he threw back the heavy cloth entrance then went over and plopped down on the furs. I sat down next to him, folding my legs beneath me.
“Was he bad in bed or something?” I huffed a laugh, elbowing him with a smirk.
His little bit of drama was just what I needed, keeping me distracted from thinking of my own problems.
“What? No…” He shook his head and looked away.
My smile quickly fell when I noticed the heartache in his eyes.
“Oh. You really like him,” my voice softened. “Why did it end? Did you have a fight or something?”
“Sort of? I don’t know,” he sighed. “Look, we need to get going. We don’t really have time to get into this right now.”
We may not have had much time, but I could tell that he wanted to talk about it.
I gestured to my food. “Just explain it while I’m eating, then we can go.” I started scooping up spoonfuls of stew into my mouth, eating slowly so he could see he had enough time to explain even though I would have gulped it down all at once with how hungry I was.
His shoulders relaxed slightly. “Yeah, okay. It really just started as hooking up here and there. It was more to relieve tension than anything, at first… I don’t know. He started thinking it was more than that, but we had so much going on already and trying to deal with what was—or wasn’t—between us would have just gotten in the way.” Nikan leaned back against the tent wall, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Mav deserves someone who can give everything to him, not just a few minutes behind a locked door. So I ended it just before we left to get Vicria in Bhara. Today’s the first day I’ve seen him since.”
“Wow…” I said with a final mouthful. “You’re stupid.”
“Mother above,” he mumbled under his breath and stood, extending a hand to me. “You’re one to talk.”
I wiped my hands on my pants then stood as well. “Yeah, yeah. So where exactly do we need to go?”
“To talk to the other Atarans in Acalen.” He led the way out, and I stepped up to his side as we made our way out of the encampment.
“Why?”
“Well, they’re antsy, wondering why we’re here.” He gestured to us and the Noavo Warriors. “But I wanted to wait until you were ready so we could tell them together.”
“Tell them what?” I tilted my head to the side.
The side of his mouth curved up. “That we all get to go home.”