Chapter ten
Chapter ten
As I passed Darce some cornbread while we sat around the fire, I gave him a questioning look. “What?” he asked, frowning.
“No complaints about how awful it tastes? I think you’re starting to like it.
” We were already over a week into my journey back home.
We had passed the Mountain of Life with hardly any difficulty.
We’d also paid a visit to where the noc beast fight had occurred.
The land had claimed back the evidence of all the creatures lost, including Raiden.
Darce gave me a few moments to grieve my friend before we carried on.
It felt much longer than a few weeks since that night. So much had happened in that time.
“Okay, I have to admit...it’s not too bad once you get used to it.” Darce looked at the last bite of the bread, almost trying to study its ingredients. “It does keep really well, too. How do you manage that?”
“We add tears of our enemies,” I teased wickedly.
“Careful, Alora. You’re beginning to make jokes as dark as mine.”
“We must be spending too much time together.”
“I would gladly leave you here alone if it weren’t for all the gold you’ve promised to pay me.” Warming himself over the fire, he winced.
“How’s the arm?” Darce had fought away a large pack of night howlers a few days ago. I had managed to take a few out with some new arrows I’d made, but one had bitten him quite badly on the forearm.
“Stop fussing. I’ve told you I’m fine!” he snapped. He wouldn’t even let me look at it for him. He was acting like a child.
“I was only asking.” I held my hands up in surrender before I reached for the water at the same time as him.
Our fingertips touched and sparks ignited between us.
Darce recoiled quickly, acting like he’d been burnt.
“Sorry, was that me?” I stressed. My power had been a little unpredictable since coming down from the sacred mountain.
Trying to channel it wasn’t as easy as I thought.
I’d burnt out on a few occasions already.
Darce had been oddly amiable in helping me try to take charge.
“No, that was my fault. I wasn’t concentrating. Sorry.” Gazing out into the night, he seemed lost in his own thoughts.
“Are you still worried about the dread shifter?” One had gotten a little close to our camp earlier, but both Darce and I were protected from it.
It was the first time I had noticed the charmed, gold chain around his neck.
It was similar to my gold, daisy chain. The shifter had taken the form of my mother, and had been easy for me to realise she wasn’t real.
He had looked a little startled at what he’d seen, but in usual Darce style, he wouldn’t tell me what that was.
“I’m tired, Alora. It’s been a long three weeks.” Was he saying I was a burden? Had he had enough of me already?
“Don’t let me keep you up. You don’t have to entertain me.”
“Don’t I? You’re paying me so well, I presumed I’d have to stay awake with you.”
“Stop being a grouchy asshole and get some sleep.”
“You’re an imperious little thing, aren’t you? What exactly is your role in Dallethas?”
Thinking of the first thing that came to mind that wouldn’t give my real identity away, the words fell out of my mouth. “I’m one of the priestesses’ maids.”
“And you live in the palace?”
“Most of the priestesses reside in the palace.” Judging by the look on Darce’s face, I’d gotten away with the lie. His eyes looked heavy. Exhaustion was finally hitting him. “You should sleep if you’re tired. I don’t mind being on lookout for a while.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’ll manage. Sleep!” Darce didn’t need to be told twice. Within seconds, he’d gotten comfortable on his back and closed his eyes.
****
STARING INTO THE FIRE a while later, I thought about the progress I’d made since Raiden’s death.
I had to admit, I was shocked I’d gotten this far.
Trusting a Noxlin had felt like a death wish at first, but here I was now, six days away from finally being back home and thriving.
Gazing over at a peacefully sleeping Darce, I had him to thank for that.
As I watched him, I wondered how it was possible that I found him more attractive now than when I’d first laid eyes on him.
Those soft, condescending lips were becoming more desirable with each passing day.
His daily insults were becoming a drug to me. I welcomed the banter. I got off on it.
His arms were bare, and I had to resist the urge to run my fingertips over every crease of his muscles, just to touch his skin so I could feel the electricity that surged through my body when we connected.
Did he truly find me plain, or was he using that as a coping mechanism to keep his distance? Why did I care what he thought about me? He was Noxlin, I was Dylin. There could never be any kind of bond between us.
A flicker in the corner of my eye drew my gaze, pulling my attention away from the camp.
Tiny specks of glimmering gold light were joining together to form a figure near the base of a small tree just outside of the firelight.
I rubbed my eyes to ensure I wasn’t seeing things.
The figure beckoned me over with an arm.
Wait! Was I seeing a wisp? It beckoned me again, seeming to smile at me.
Getting up, I cautiously made my way over to the base of the small tree. The camp was still visible.
“Alora, we mean you no harm.” The voices were young and in harmony. “Come closer.” Instantly, they put me at ease. Once I stepped closer, I could make out the outline of a beautiful, elegant face. “The Holy Mother has been watching you.” Holy Ether! This was a message from her!
“What message does she have for me? Is it about my powers?”
“No, this message doesn’t concern your powers.” I furrowed my brows, allowing the wisp to continue. “You alone can break the curse of Afterlight. Everything has been set in motion. Can you feel the change within you?” This had to be about my power.
“Are you sure this isn’t about my power?”
“Before you harness the full power of the light, you must be trained to control it. You can only reach this level of dominance if you’re trained in battle. You have a long road ahead of you, Alora.”
“I will be trained in battle once I return home.”
“You must let a Noxlin train you.”
“What?” I asked, confused.
“When you return home, even though you’ve completed your pilgrimage, your father will not allow you to train with the warriors. Your only choice is to allow a Noxlin to train you. With his guidance, you will be unstoppable. You will be the strongest Dylin warrior Afterlight has ever seen.”
My head was spinning. I only knew one Noxlin, and he was still sleeping peacefully near the fire. “Are you talking about Darce?”
“Yes. With his help, you’ll achieve your destiny.” With its message seemingly delivered, the wisp started to lose its form.
“No, wait! How do I get him to do that? He’s a stubborn fool.”
“Ask him when he wakes up. He is not your enemy.” The figure was nearly unrecognisable now. “Trust him, Alora. Trust him to guide you.”
“Wait! I have so much more to ask!” It was too late; the lights of the wisp had scattered into the night air.
Get Darce to train me for battle? That was crazy talk. How would we even be able to manage that when our races were sworn enemies? How would Darce training me to use a sword help me to control my powers? None of it made any sense.
As I made my way back to the camp, Darce eyed me suspiciously. “Wandering off? Alora, what did I tell you about sticking close to me? You know I warded the camp.”
“Actually, I didn’t. You warded the cave, but I had no idea you could do that in an open space.” There was so much about his power that I didn’t know. “You seem pretty powerful for a foot soldier.”
“Stop changing the subject! Why did you wander off?”
“I saw something by the base of that small tree.” Pointing out into the distance, I began to take off my gold armour.
“What did you see?”
“A wisp.”
“A wisp? Are you sure? Do you have any idea how rare a visit from them is?” He sat up, fully alert. The rest must have done him some good. “Did it speak to you?”
“Yes. It gave me a message.”
I had his full attention now. “What did it say?”
“You’re not going to like it.” I doubted that he’d agree to train me, but there was no time like the present to ask him. The wisp had told me to ask him when he woke up, anyway.
“Shit! Did it tell you that we’re doomed? Are you going to make it back home?”
“You’ve got to train me.” Wincing as the words came out, I couldn’t bear to look at him. I’m sure his expression would be that of disdain.
“Train you? To do what? To be an even bigger pain in the ass?”
“You have to train me to be a warrior.”
“Fuck! Sweet Mother of Mercy! Why would the Holy Mother ask that of me?” Darce muttered other profanities under his breath before composing himself. “Alora, I can’t train you. It will take centuries. It’s too dangerous. Ask one of your own kind!”
“None of my kind will train me. The wisp told me that I would only achieve my destiny if you trained me.” Darce let out a groan, putting his face in his hands.
“I’ll pay you well. All I’m asking for is once a month.
..at a meeting place of your choosing. Think about it.
I know I’m plain and intolerable, but Holy Ether demands it.
Wisps are her messengers. You know that. ”