Chapter Forty
Wyatt
“Wait up,” I shout after Andi. Grabbing hold of her arm, turning her to face me.
“What do we need to do? Eat? Fight? Drink?” I wiggle my eyebrows at the last suggestion.
Andi flashes me a grim smile and proceeds to pace beside me.
I haven’t seen her like this since her dad died, and her mum disappeared into work, leaving Andi to figure out how to help her family while dealing with her own grief.
“Uh… I don’t know. I don’t know what to think or how to feel, it’s like my emotions are in shock. One minute I’m fine, happy, and joking. Next, I’m angry-crying and tearing apart my clothes. Ronan gave me these.”
I look at her confused, then register the black clothes she is wearing. I saw her and Ronan chatting together in the training field this morning but thought it was just Ronan chancing his luck. My jaw tenses, “Did you two…”
“Uh, no. Nothing like that, you have such a dirty mind. He came by with some food last night, and I was… indecent. I was so angry with Myles and Lura that I tore the clothes I had to pieces because they were hers. Ronan left me them this in the morning.”
I think Ronan and I need to have a little discussion about boundaries. “Okay, fine. But you should stay away from Ronan.” Andi glowers at me and crosses her arms.
“Oh, is that right? Since when do you tell me what to do with my life? Yesterday I was engaged, remember? My ex is still here, walking around hand in hand with his mate. I’m not going to hook up with the first guy who speaks to me. I just… I just need some space, okay? I need to walk for a while.”
I nod. “Whatever you need, but… I’m here when you need a drinking buddy. I know where the good stuff is kept.”
Andi smirks, walking away. “Nobody could ever hide the good stuff from you.”
It’s not like her to want to be alone. I’m half tempted to follow just in case she changes her mind, but then, she’s not the same girl I grew up with. She’s different, stronger.
I hate seeing her like this, perpetually sad, heartbroken, melancholy. That’s not Andi. She lights up the room and brings joy wherever she goes.
My fists tighten at my sides. I want to smash that prick Myles’ face in for everything he’s done. For hurting her. But they’ll be gone tomorrow, then Andi can heal.
I find myself meandering towards Aron and Izaac’s. I haven’t been in to see Aron since I got back, what a shit friend. He’ll understand, I know he will, but that’s not the point. Izaac has probably caught him up to speed with Andi and her drama.
I knock on the door of their hut, it is substantially bigger than mine, but then they’ve been here for years. Izaac opens the door, and Seema is finishing up wrapping Aron’s wound with a fresh bandage.
“Well, look who’s finally managed to pull himself away from Nu’cov’s newest beauty?” Aron says, lying on his bed, he winces as Seema pulls the ties of the bandage.
I fake a laugh at his pathetic attempt at a joke. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.” I pull a bunch of flowers from behind my back, flowers I picked from their own garden—not that they’d notice.
Aron laughs and winces.
“What? Isn’t this what you’re supposed to do to help them feel better? Or would you prefer this?” I pull a bottle of whisky out with my other hand. Aron and Izaac applaud. Seema quickly picks up her bag and grabs the whisky from my hand, tsking at me. The cheers turn to moans.
“Spoil sport,” I shout out the door before she slams it shut.
Aron scoffs, shuffling to his feet, struggling to reach for a top, he spies the worry on my face. “It’s nothing, I’ve had worse. I never thanked you, mainly because you hadn’t deigned to give me your presence until now.”
Izaac helps Aron pull the top over his head, and assists him to a chair, then pulls out a bottle of ale and a few cups. “It’s not as good, but it’ll do.” He hands us a cup and starts pouring. “How is it, having Andi back?”
Aron swigs back his ale. “I hear she’s causing quite the stir? Everyone’s fawning over her.”
“Especially Ronan,” Izaac chuckles. “I’ve never seen him so distracted. We should take advantage of it.”
A wicked smile grows on his face. I grab the bottle from him and refill the cups. “That,” I point the bottle at them, “is not happening.” Aron and Izaac side-eye each other, laughing into their cups. “Stop it. It’s not funny. Andi is hurt and just doesn’t know what to think right now.”
“All I’m saying is, she’s newly single, she’s lonely, and here comes a handsome stranger to make her feel...” Izaac wiggles his eyebrows, and Aron nudges him but nods in agreement.
No, she’s not like that, she’s Andi. But Ronan has been trying really hard with her. I’ve seen the way he smirks at me when he’s around her, like he’s testing me, trying to wind me up.
“Fuck.” I slam my cup down and rush out of the door. Their snickering fades away as I run from their house, asking everyone I pass if they’ve seen Andi or Ronan. With no luck, I rush past folk gossiping on the path, looking out at the farmers hustling along their flock of sheep.
That’s when I see her, strolling along the river, alone, tossing stones into the stream. I let out a deep breath and slump down onto a log. She looks lonely, even from this distance, I can tell she’s been crying.
“Quit stalking her. She’s a big girl,” Ronan says. Sitting beside me, he rests his elbows on his knees, his eyes drifting to Andi.
“You’re one to talk. Why her? You just trying to piss me off?”
Ronan smirks to himself, his eyes still on Andi.
“No, I’m not. You know, I don’t even know.
” He lowers his head, picks up a small stone, and turns to me.
“Look, I know she’s hurting. I just… there’s just something about her, I can’t stay away, I’ve tried.
That sounds so fucking stupid.” He tosses the stone into the river.
“I’m gonna block you every chance I get. You know that, right?”
Ronan laughs as he stands, “I expect nothing less.” I look up and see Andi watching us. Ronan pauses, looking over his shoulder before walking away.
The afternoon sun is nice, warmer than it has been these past few days. The snow has started to melt, but the air is still icy, threatening more snow any day. Winter is a long way from ending.
The smell of cooked stew and vegetable soup sings to me, calling my stomach.
I loop Andi’s arm in mine as she approaches and head to the dining hut.
On the way, I spot Myles and Lura sitting with a picnic basket on the grass down by the river.
I glare in their direction with a tight lip, catching Myles watching Andi with regretful eyes. He lowers his gaze as he meets mine.
“Wait a second. Here,” I place her silver ring in her palm, “you should give it back to him, make it final.” Andi stares at the ring, twisting it around before dumping it in her pocket.
The mess hut is busy, the table is filled with stews, sandwiches, soups, sausages, and bacon. I load everything onto my plate, and Andi watches me in disgust. I shrug, shovelling it into my mouth.
Andi, ever so proper, only has a small portion of stew and a sandwich. When she turns away, I keep adding more food to her plate, waving my hands up in the air, pretending I don’t know how it got there.
Arel plonks down beside me. “Hurry up, you two, we’re drinking. Call it celebrating the return of the lost Tanith princess.” He winks and grabs a few bottles of wine from the cupboard, hiding from the cook.
“Is that what you’ve been doing? Where does all this wine and ale come from? It’s like a never-ending supply?” Andi asks as she finishes her plate.
I’ve never thought about it before, never thought to ask. “I was told they have a trade agreement with a village across the lake, every month, a boat comes through dropping off supplies. Or they steal it. Come on, let’s go before Arel drinks it all.”
She gloomily smiles, taking my hand, heading out to the fire, already surrounded by my friends. Arel gestures to a seat for Andi, ‘the throne,’ he calls it. Andi grimaces anytime someone makes mention of her newfound title, but it’s something she will have to get used to.
The sky has darkened, and we all huddle around the fire with blankets over our legs or bodies. The night is filled with stories and laughter, with Arel taking the lead.
“Then he started rolling, tossing these imaginary spiders off him like this.” Arel rolls on the ground, flailing his arms and legs, pretending to cry. Andi wipes tears away from her eyes, clutching her stomach.
“I didn’t cry.” I scoff—what an imagination. It’s good to see Andi laugh, even if it’s at my expense. I can take the mockery from these guys as long as she keeps smiling.
Izaac has finally allowed Aron to leave the hut, since he’s feeling better, although he hides his wince every time he moves, in case he is escorted away again.
Andi snorts, saying, “You have always been such a wimp with spiders, remember that time I chased you through town with that enormous spider in my hand? You cried so much, Mum grounded me for a week. The funny part was that there was no spider.” Iza spits out her drink beside me, and even Ronan laughs out loud.
I scoff and reply, “Oh, we’re gonna go there, are we? Remember that monster you were terrified of? You swore you could hear it scraping outside your window? That was me.” Andi sneers at me, and I copy her.
Kaleb intervenes, “Alright, children, I think we need to get to know our Andi better.” He passes her the wine. “Tell us about your magic. That must have been so damn cool, waking up one day and having fire shoot out of your arm.”
Andi laughs a little. “It wasn’t quite like that.
And fire isn’t the only thing I have, I can…
I don’t know what it’s called, life, I guess.
I’ll show you.” Andi stands, moving away from the fire.
Digging her fingers into the soil, the dirt moves, and out of the ground grows a pine tree.
Sitting back in her ‘throne,’ she twists her hand, and a bush grows from nothing, bursting with fresh berries.
Kaleb gets up, grabbing a few berries and tossing them in his mouth.
“Oh man, so sweet.”
Andi sits back and brings the cup up to her face. I can tell she’s enjoying the praise for her magic instead of being feared like she thought she would be.
“Okay, that’s cool, but the fire magic, though. Ooof. Did you guys see the firewall she made with a little wave of the hand?” Kaleb swigs from the bottle. “No. The best was that other thing. What was it? Your eyes went black, and their bodies dissolved. Does that always happen with it?”
Over the silence of the curious folk, I could hear a catch in Andi’s breath. Everyone leans forward, waiting for an answer, except Ronan.
“Um… No, that’s something else. Something…worse.”