Storm's Rapture | Storm Series: Book One ༄

Chapter 5: Cyris

When Rosanna left with her familiar, Farryn leaned over the back of the couch. I knew she wanted to speak quietly with me, but I cut her off before she could say anything.

"Farryn, don't say it."

"Cyris, you should know by now I don't keep my opinions to myself. So, are you seriously considering training this girl? What benefit will she bring you?" she questioned.

"Her ice magic." I replied.

"Yeah, and? What about it?" Farryn pressed.

"I can draw on her magic—my power will surge, and I will be strong enough to defeat the head of the Trillium Regime." Magic users could often draw on other magic users to boost their own powers as long as they shared the same or a similar power source.

"Zelene Slayer?! We don't even know what she looks like!" Farryn pointed out, "Hang on, you want to use this girl? Cyris, I really don't think—"

"It's the best chance I have," I proclaimed.

Farryn was right on both points: We knew the leader of the Trillium Regime was a female, and we knew her name was Zelene Slayer, but that was it, we didn't know anything else about her. And it probably wasn't the best idea to take advantage of Rosanna. She had been really nice to me so far... I actually felt a little guilty about the whole thing, but I had to do what was necessary!

...Right?

I bit my lip.

"It's the best chance I have, Farryn," I repeated.

I heard her sigh, and felt the weight of the couch shift slightly as she stood up straight. Rosanna and Polaris came back into the living room, and returned to where they were before. Polaris stood beside Rosanna protectively with his hands on his hips, and a sober expression, while she sat down on her sofa chair. Farryn must have disliked Polaris' attitude because she suddenly walked around the couch and sat down next to me. She crossed one leg over the other, then folded her arms across her chest.

"Sorry about that," Rosanna smiled. "About your offer... "

I leaned forward, eager to hear what her response was going to be.

"I accept," she confirmed. "But you need to tell me more about this group that's hunting you."

Farryn and I exchanged looks. I guess I couldn't blame her for wanting to know detailed information. We were complete strangers, and I'd basically asked her to help start a war. The least I could do was prepare her as much as possible, especially if I was going to draw from her ice magic. I needed her to be at her best so I could be at my greatest.

"The Trillium Regime is a group of bloodthirsty, power hungry, merciless magic users," I explained, "They conquered Espor and killed my family."

"They destroyed parts of Riofalt as well," Farryn added. Riofalt was east of Brales and it was a region that was allied with Espor. Well it once was anyway. My father and the King of Riofalt had signed a peace treaty prior to the Trillium ravaging both lands.

Rosanna nodded in understanding.

"Do you know who leads them?" she asked.

"Her name is Zelene Slayer, but I've only heard her name," I admitted. "I've never seen her. I don't know what she looks like, but I know that she's incredibly powerful."

I spent some more time there with her, just talking about what little I knew of the Trillium Regime. It wasn't much, but it was something. And just sitting there and talking with her seemed to ease my mind. We even ended up talking about smaller details of my life, things I hadn't told anyone in years. My favorite color? My favorite food? Being around Rosanna made me feel like a chatterbox, and I wasn't too happy about it. It was time to call it a day. I stood up, ready to leave, and Farryn followed suit.

"Wait, where are you going?" Rosanna questioned, then stood up too.

"I've been staying in a motel, so I'm heading back there," I replied. "It's getting late."

"Oh... well I just thought, you'd stay here with me and Polaris."

"What?!" Farryn gasped. Polaris spat out a sip of water. I looked at Rosanna in shock.

"I beg your pardon?" I asked, not believing my ears.

"Rosanna, can I see you on the balcony for a second?" Polaris insisted.

Rosanna shook her head at Polaris before turning back to me. "It makes sense when you think about it," she told me. "We're going to be fighting side by side in this war you want to start. We need to watch each other's backs."

The rest of us were still speechless, exchanging looks of concern at the idea of the four of us living together.

"Besides, it looks like you could use some decent meals," she added.

This was a bad idea. And yet, the words just flew from my mouth.

"I... have a few days left on the motel bill," I muttered, and turned towards the front door. "So we'll be back then."

"Cyris!" Farryn objected.

I glanced at Farryn, and she understood instantly. She backed off with a slight nod as a gesture of agreement. When Farryn and I left the apartment, the second we got outside she turned to me.

"Cyris, are you crazy?!" she asked.

"What was I supposed to say?!" I growled, "She was partially right... and it's probably best I stay close to her if I'm bringing her into my chaos."

"This isn't going to end well, Cyris," Farryn warned me. "You've created a huge mess with this girl. I hope you're ready to face the consequences when the time comes."

"It's going to be fine, Farryn," I assured my familiar. "Nothing is going to happen."

"You don't know that," Farryn countered.

I sighed. This was a pointless argument that I was going to lose. Farryn was stubborn when she felt she had to be and I guess she felt pretty strongly about this.

"And what would you have said?" I quizzed.

"I would have left her out of this!" Farryn exclaimed. "You dragged an innocent young woman into our mess, Cyris! I still can't believe you did that!"

"I get it Farryn," I sighed. "It was a reckless thing to do. But I need her magic."

Farryn pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're going to pay a price for this, Cyris," she told me. "It was a really stupid thing to do."

"I know, but I didn't have a choice," I admitted. "Besides, there's something about her that calms me... puts me at ease. Although I can't figure it out."

I can't believe I said that out loud. Farryn would never let me hear the end of it.

"She 'puts you at ease'?" Farryn mocked, "See! It's starting already!" she groaned, "Cyris, I'm telling you, you're going to regret this."

Farryn's final warning was the last of our conversation. We reached the motel, and Farryn disappeared to the Ivory Isles before I went into the building. She reappeared once I got to my room, turned on the TV. 

She was trying to ignore me. I left her alone and decided to shower; it was much needed. As the water sprayed over me, I thought about my recent decisions. Farryn was right about bringing someone innocent into my darkness—it wasn't fair to Rosanna. 

But we both knew finding a magic user with ice powers wasn't exactly common. So, who was she? Where had she come from? Why was she really here? There were so many questions I had about her. 

The prospect of figuring out the answers to those questions drew me in, and I found myself wanting to know her. I just hoped that Farryn didn't turn out to be right about all this... I hoped I wouldn't regret this.