11. Chapter 11 #2
"There aren't that many people on Wellea either," I countered.
With the world still so new, the population was sparse, small clusters of villages like Sorrel and the one we stood in few and far between.
I always wondered what the rest of Yllsora was like, if they had become more populated over the years, or if they had decided to take their time, establishing their settlements before populating them.
Malik nodded. "So, you can only imagine how desolate it was. It was peaceful for a long while, as if no one else thought or knew the island existed. Which made finding our place on Uscal easy. But then, only months ago, the mainland men made their way to the island."
Malik's hands fidgeted with the sword at his hip, his body tense as he took a turn about the temple.
"We were wary the moment we saw their ships in the distance.
And then they landed and were being friendly .
. . helpful, almost. But something in me knew not to trust them.
It was our first time hearing of the man who declared himself king, and that is when I began to panic, began to think of you, began to think that I needed to get back to you, to make sure you were okay. "
Malik stopped walking, turning to face me, the regret of the last ten years decorating his face.
"But I couldn't leave just yet. I needed to listen to them, to hear what this new king had to say.
Apparently, he just wanted to explore other parts of Yllsora he had not been to yet, wanting to meet his subjects.
When he learned that we were from Wellea, he wanted us to guide him here, to show him the lay of the land and all of the best parts of the island.
I was suspicious of this, as this man I had never heard of declared himself king of all Yllsora, yet instead of embracing what was, he questioned everything he saw on Uscal, saying that it was all wrong and not how things should be.
We ignored it all at first, thinking that Uscal was just a shock to him.
But then the mainland men started to make their objective clear, questioning my mother and everything she stood for," he said.
"You knew her. She wanted nothing but the best for everyone, even those who were rude to her.
She'd kept a low profile ever since the Shroud, trying not to draw attention to herself.
She spoke calmly to the mainland men, trying her best to explain the ways of the Mother Blessed, what she was doing there, but they wouldn't hear it. "
Malik let out a shaky breath, as if it pained him to say the words that came next, to remember his mother so soon after her death.
"My mother had spent years on Uscal teaching the people there about the Divine and the Mother Blessed, teaching them about crops and how to tend to them, how to live off the land.
The people of Uscal took to it, and they were thriving, but then the mainland men came.
They did not like to see a land mostly untouched by the Mother Blessed taking to their ways.
So, they used my mother as an example, forcing her to prove her abilities, to coax the roots so much that they turned on her, like they knew it would happen. "
My stomach turned at the thought of what the mainland men had done to Selene.
I could only imagine the pain she had felt, the fear and horror of having to use her powers to such an extent that it killed her.
Even being off Wellea, she had to have felt the changes the roots had undergone following the Shroud, had to have known what was going to happen when forced to push herself like that.
I walked over and stood next to him then, wanting to comfort him, but no longer knew how. Malik shifted to be just a fraction closer to me, not enough to be looming, but enough to feel one another's presence. And in that moment, that was all that was needed.
"When that happened, I had no idea that it was because the roots had changed alongside the Mother Blessed's power all across Yllsora.
My mother never gave any sign that her powers had changed at all.
I thought it was just an isolated event to make a fool of her.
And then we learned that my mother wasn't the first they had done this to.
It was happening to other Mother Blessed.
The mainland king was making a show of the Mother Blessed as far as the mainland, turning people against them.
He's been destroying Astaros trees where he can, severing the Mother Blessed's connection to Rida, torturing them and forcing Yllsora to turn on them.
Uscal was their last stop before coming to Wellea, and they wanted us to be their guide, in exchange for glory on the mainland that he claims is on the rise. "
My throat tightened at his words, at the thought of so many Mother Blessed's connection to Rida being taken from them, all because of men who were hungry for power, who didn't understand that they could not live without Rida and that our connection wasn't something they could just take for themselves.
And they had wanted Malik to guide them here, to the heart and soul of everything the Mother Blessed were.
My emotions must have been clear on my face, for only a moment passed before Malik said, "Lyra, the moment we found out the king's true intentions, we put the people of Uscal onto what ships we could and left and abandoned the mainland men there.
I came back here for you. To protect you. I did it all for you."
I studied him, wanting nothing more than to put all my trust back into him, but the pain of him leaving refused to release me.
The Dures' departure in conjunction with the Black Shroud had put Sorrel into a time of strife, one that, for a long while, I wasn't sure we would come back from.
I had suffered at the hands of his abandonment, and there were still so many questions to ask, so many things to say.
"You may be back now, but why did you do it?" I asked. "Why did you leave Sorrel, like we didn't matter? Like I didn't matter?"
Malik's throat bobbed at my question, and we stood there for a moment, the silence heavy around us as we took each other in.
Time stretched and then narrowed when he didn't answer, and my anger reignited with his unwillingness to reply.
With nothing to be said, I turned back to the Astaros, holding back tears that threatened to stream down my face, unable to look at him any longer.
"We should rest here for the day, and then keep moving in the morning," I said softly.
Malik's continued silence was my only answer.