The Demon and the Elf (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty Three pt 2

When he opened his eyes and looked down, he saw where his boot had laid an indent on the soil underneath and saw where his boots were now. He had successfully managed to teleport—

—one inch.

Eial huffed out a breath, one of his eyebrows clenching towards the middle. Then, he shook his head and huffed again, this time one of determination. At least he was mildly successful!

Hands on her hips, Vrona smiled victoriously. "Well done! You just need to trust yourself more. Now that you've gotten a small taste of it, it feels less scary to do, right?"

Eyes gleaming, Eial nodded his head up and down rapidly.

"Keep practicing and be mindful of the tree behind you," said Vrona, pointing her head towards the trunk of the lone tree. "Learn spatial awareness with it. That tree is your only obstacle."

Another rapid nod from the elf.

"Good," Vrona smiled, satisfied with his enthusiasm. "I'll be back, then."

Under the other rare shade in this land, Drokn sat on the ground, the open roots cradling his sides. He had started to grow tired of the repetitive practice as thoughts danced in his mind and his actions had started to become mindless. Until the flame of dark magic exploded high from his palm and he stopped, concluding with his fists tight in a grip.

Suddenly, a looming figure filled the bright space in front of him along with the shuffling of boots. He glanced at the boots, only to swerve his gaze away bitterly.

Vrona crouched down, balancing herself on her feet with her hands on her knees. Looking face level at the demon, she smirked. "You're ignoring him, but you're still expecting him." With Drokn's increasing frown and pinched brows in response, Vrona chuckled and fell backward, easing into a more comfortable sitting position.

Nothing but silence followed, making Drokn shift in his seat. In the awkwardness, he slowly marched his gaze up, hoping to read the demoness's expression or intention. "What are you doing?"

"Making you uncomfortable," the demoness said, maintaining her raised lip. She posed forward, almost in a challenge.

A glare her way, Drokn hoped his expression would steer her away. When that didn't work, he contemplated leaving, himself. However, that provoking expression she wore rendered him still. For, he was faced with a battle and his pride would dare not let him lose.

Another chuckle left the demoness's lips before her expression relaxed. She leaned backwards, propping herself up on her hands. "Well, I'm just gonna be here. So, if you need to rant, you can."

As if subconsciously waiting for an opportune moment, Drokn's lips hissed words before he could even think. "You'd promised me we were preparing to take down the king! Why are we doing something else now?" His teeth were bared and a vein bulged from his temple. His eyes were wide with his bottom lids scrunching up in tension.

"We're still preparing to take down the king, but it's a group effort. We need to coordinate with the rebels inside the castle and out. So, we need to wait and train until the right moment," Vrona responded in an even tone as she sat upright again.

"Why do we need others? As long as I'm strong, I can just take care of the king, myself!"

Vrona stared at the demon in silence, as if to determine the words that would hurt the demon's pride the least. "There's power in groups. If you're planning to be the king after, you have to show you're a good leader. If you charge in head first without listening to the rebels who have been planning for years, why would they need to listen to you once you're king?"

"But I'm fighting for them!" Drokn retorted.

"You need to fight with them."

Heat rose within the demon, but he had no fighting words to claim back.

"As for why we're also focusing on something else while we wait— honestly, I'd rather not have you involved or need to think about this at all. But I don't know why there was an explosion or if you'll be in danger because of it. So while I'm helping you with the coup, I also want to be mindful of what can bring you harm. And since Eial is interested in the investigation, I want to make sure to take time to train him well enough to be safe, as well." In case anything happens.

"We're still going to defeat the king, Drokn. And I'm training you with that trust. Believe me when I say this goal of ours is still very important to me and I'll help you achieve it. I'd like to hope the explosion is nothing significant, but we'll also need to be prepared for anything." Vrona looked downwards, eyes unfocused as her thought drifted into plausible situations and outcomes, all unwelcomed.

Drokn was silent. He had the answers he needed, but none the satisfactory. What had irked him so? Of his many complaints, the ones that burned the most had not been extinguished, and he was saddled, seething in his own flames.

"So? Anything else you want to talk about?" Vrona asked, bringing her own focus back to the present. After a quick stare, she raised her brows and waved her eyes towards the elf whose concentration had been overtaken by his training.

Following her gaze, Drokn left his face forward, but peeked over deep to the side in attempted subtlety. To his failure, the elf, despite his focused training, had peeked over at the same time. The moment their eyes connected, Eial vanished from sight.