Rykka (Beastborne: Book 1)

Part 19: Last Night

Song: Come As You Are - Nirvana

The next two days were full of travel and various wards. Lithias also began to form more and more bonds with the creatures they passed by. They were making extraordinary time with a quick pace and an unhindered path thanks to the cooperation of the creatures of the earth. Lithias found herself soaking in the scenery with eager eyes. Lynsias remained as quiet as ever, though he was constantly nearby with a warm emotion if she needed, but Althira was something else entirely. She spent more time talking than she did silent. She talked about anything and everything.

She told Lithias about all the places she'd traveled. She'd even been to the second continent and visited the old world when she was younger. She told her about every creature she'd ever seen and rated them on how much she thought Lithias would like them. She talked about where they were going only a few times. Their immediate destination was a place to rest, they were aiming for Fort Balrin after. The idea of being in a fort made Lithias nervous but she was assured that she would not be persecuted based on race like she would in Nendonis but that didn't mean she was safe being revealed as beastborne. That wasn't necessarily the problem. Lithias wasn't sure if she wanted to go at all. They were pretty set on taking on her burdens and giving up their lives to spend the rest of them helping her run and hide.

She knew in her heart she could not allow them to throw everything away for her sake. No debts were worth both of their lives being cut short. That was her fate and she could not allow herself to make it their too. Still, the more Lithias was around them the more she could not imagine leaving. Althira was like the first days of summer, warm and bright, she brought life to even the coldest parts of a persons soul, and between Lithias and Lynsias there was plenty of ice in need of melting. Then there was Lynsias. He'd known her father and he clearly thought of him highly. One minute she was angry that he'd forced his presence upon, chosen to follow her without asking to start with, over some stupid debt she would've never known about. The next...she couldn't help but think that she would've done the same thing in his shoes. She was a creature bound by honor and whatever her father had done for him and his people, it must have been incredible to be worth the highest form of repayment.

In the moments when Lithias found herself lost in her troubled thoughts and Lynsias was...Lynsias, Althira got to work on redoing the wards that apparently had been obscuring Lithias's true eyes from the world her entire life, unbeknownst to her.

She'd always been able to see them and so had her father but the more she thought about it the more unsure she was that her Aunt Vaylia could. She never mentioned them and when Lithias had asked her about geodes after her father made the comparison she had gone a sort of sad look on her face before changing the subject. She wondered if it was her aunts choice not to see them everyday and be reminded constantly what she was. Her aunt was young and ultimately was killed because of the blood that ran through her veins. Even Lithias would've been at risk if she wasn't beastborne. She technically still was, but she had been assured that wouldn't be a problem once they reached the plains. So they would need to conceal her eyes and come up with a better solution for her magical needs.

Lynsias assured her that once the two of them returned to duties as knights they would use more magic. Until they could all disappear without drawing attention they had to act normal so they were returning to the fort to face consequences for abandoning their squad and be served duties. They hadn't explicitly said what their excuse for her presence was going to be but Althira seemed a little too happy with herself when she had said they had something in mind. Lithias was very interested in the way Lynisias's face had crinkled at the statement. Althira's favorite thing to do was tease him endlessly and Lithias had to admit it was fun to get a reaction from the statue. He'd been extraordinarilly kind to Lithias, even when she had not been so to him, and he'd saved her life more times than she could count but she couldn't stop herself from joining in on Althira's goading.