62. Chapter Sixty-Two
Chapter Sixty-Two
Malina
“ T hey’re all going to die,” I grumbled under my breath, visibly cringing while looking over the Atarans as they practiced.
Hakoa rolled his eyes at my remark. “They’ll be fine. They won’t be at the front, but at the very least, you’ve taught them basic defense and offense maneuvers. That’s more than they knew before and gives them a better chance.”
I gave him a flat stare and pointed to one of the females. “That one just slipped on her own ice.”
Hakoa pursed his lips. “Maybe we keep them very far back from the front then.”
This was just great. I was going to get the Atarans killed all because I had the delusional thought they could learn to fight in such a short amount of time. I definitely wasn’t cut out for being a trainer. Nikan was here. He should have been the one to do this, but he was busy doing Gods-know-what every damn day, constantly disappearing.
Hakoa reached for my hand. “Hey. They’ll be fine. In fact, the best case scenario is if they don’t even have to fight. If they do, it means the border has been breached, and we’re all fucked anyway. ”
“How comforting. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
I glanced back at the massive wall behind me, casting a large shadow over us as the sun faded. I hoped it was big enough. The purpose wasn’t for it to be unbreakable—a few dozen strong terbis wielders could take it down—but for it to delay them long enough for us to take out the terbis wielders, eliminating at least one of the elements to fight against.
If it could stand and we kept the battle on the other side, we could keep Atara protected.
“Alright, everyone. We’ll end for the night. Be back here at dawn,” I barked at the panting Atarans.
Hakoa smirked and put his arm around my shoulders and led me back to the base with the Atarans following behind.
“What are you smiling about?” I grumbled.
There wasn’t exactly a lot to be happy about right now. Not with the impending war and his Lord having mysteriously disappeared after fighting with Daegel. First Kya, now Ryker. No Worthy to help protect Atara. The stress was getting to me, and I itched for a vial of demid.
“I just really enjoy your authoritative side. It suits you.” He shrugged.
I forced myself to let his praise erase my previous thoughts.
“I bet you do.” I winked.
His brows raised. “Maybe we should skip dinner tonight.”
I snorted. “Not a chance. I haven’t eaten all day.”
He chuckled.
As we came around the corner, Nikan was walking toward us with Mavris. My brother glared at Hakoa. Hakoa’s features turned stone cold—that of the Chief of the Noavo—and his arm around my shoulder tightened.
I rolled my eyes. I doubted any male could ever get Nikan’s full approval.
“Hey, Mal,” Nikan greeted as we approached, then he grumbled his acknowledgement to Hakoa. “Chief.”
It was getting dark, so I flicked my hand and wielded balls of soft light above us, illuminating each of our faces.
“Sunshine,” Hakoa chuckled under his breath so only I could hear.
“Shut up, brute,” I grumbled and elbowed him.
“Any news on Ryker?” Mavris asked Hakoa.
“Nothing. And no sign of Theron either.” Hakoa shook his head.
“Is that normal for him to just disappear like that?” I asked.
“It’s not not normal, but he usually isn’t gone for this long. At least not without informing at least one of us,” Mavris said.
“Hakoa, have you… heard from Ryker?” Nikan asked with a weird look.
Hakoa glanced at me from the side of his eye. “It’s fine, Nikan. She knows about his ability.”
My mouth fell open, and I glared at Nikan. “He told you about his ability before me ? He can’t stand you,” I scoffed.
Nikan rolled his eyes. “Ayen’s ass, Mal. It’s not like he chatted with me about it. He… talked to me when I was being held by Daegel back in Voara. Not to mention, we’ve spent some time together recently, and it was needed.”
I noticed Mavris grow pale and a worried look in his eyes. “Mavris, are you okay?”
He shook his head. “I’m just on edge. Daegel shows up and disappears, then Ryker disappears too without saying a word. No mental warning or anything.”
“I saw him leave willingly with Theron though. He wouldn’t let anything bad happen to his Worthy,” Hakoa said reassuringly.
“Except if something did happen, we would never know.” Mavris shrugged.
That would fuck everything up so much more. Not only would Oryn be without a Worthy, but with him gone, Asmen likely wouldn’t join in against the other Nations coming for Atara. We couldn’t defend it without Ryker and Dusan.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Mavris is right. It’s very concerning. If the other Nations show up—”
“Malina,” Hakoa interrupted.
Mavris perked up and smiled.
I glanced at Hakoa, and his eyes were distant for a moment before he looked down at me, and his lips spread into a wide grin.
“Udon’s balls… Why are you smiling so much today?”
He gasped a quiet laugh and grabbed me by the hands, pulling me back.
“What are you—”
“Come on! Nikan, you too. Let’s go,” he said quickly.
I glanced at Nikan, who was looking between Mavris and Hakoa with a raised brow like they were the strangest things he’d ever seen then looked at me questioningly. I shrugged.
“Hurry up!” he said with surprising excitement and pulled me farther along as Mavris darted ahead of us.
“Okay, okay.” Nikan rushed up next to me.
“Hakoa, what has gotten into you?” I asked as he dragged me through the tents with Nikan right behind me while we followed Mavris.
He didn’t respond and continued to lead us toward the plains. And just a couple of minutes later, I saw the form of a dragon in the quickly passing spaces between the tents.
I moved faster, hopeful to see Ryker and get some answers as to where the fuck he’d been the past few days. But as we came around a corner with the field in full view in front of us, I stopped, frozen in place.
Blood rushed to my head, and there was a buzzing in my ears, blocking everything else out. I faintly registered Nikan sprinting past me, but still, I couldn’t move—I couldn’t breathe . I just…stared, disbelievingly.
My vision blurred, and all of a sudden my feet moved, slowly bringing me closer and closer toward the phantom of my torment. My heart beat heavily in my chest—every thump bringing with it a different emotion.
Doubt.
Guilt.
Shame.
Relief.
Anger…
Figures parted before me as I approached the almost unrecognizable yet unmistakable form that had caused me so much pain and anguish, driving me to my self-destruction. And when I was close enough to gaze into the pine green eyes of my lost sister, my reality shattered.
Words were lost on my tongue, but my hand wasted no time in cutting through the air toward her face. The sharp sound registered before I felt the stinging sensation on my palm. Tears poured from my unbelieving eyes as I lowered my hand.