Wings of Fate

25. Offering Encouragement

    Sweat beaded on Kalian's brow as he raised the ax once more. He cleaved a log in half with a single blow, then set the pieces up to be chopped again. Bellamy sat nearby, cleaning an assortment of pistols. Delilah was also with them this morning. She was busy mending several different clothing items.

    Kalian split the halved logs and dropped them onto his growing pile. He didn't grab another log right away. Instead, he took the water canteen he'd set aside and swallowed a few long draughts. "What I wouldn't give to be swimming right now," Bellamy sighed. He set a pistol down and grabbed another one. "I wish spring would last a little longer."

    "Do you not like summer?" Delilah asked, cocking her head. Her golden hair was pulled back in a tight braid. She draped it over one shoulder and toyed with the end of it, waiting for Bellamy to respond.

    "I don't mind summer. I just don't like heat," Bellamy replied.

    "Likewise," Kalian remarked. "I'd take spring over summer any day."

    It was warm enough today that his wings held a faint ache, in addition to the lingering soreness from his injury. Usually, he didn't have to worry about heat affecting his wings. They regulated their own temperatures, staying warm when it was cold, and cool when it was warm, but since he'd been injured, it was possible that ability had been temporarily disrupted. He'd have to wait until he was fully healed to find out if that really was the reason.

    Until then... Kalian allowed his magic to stir up a chilled breeze. The ice blue swirls in his wings flashed beneath his glamour. Kalian glanced at his palms. He smiled, but clenched them into fists to avoid Delilah and Bellamy from noticing the blue glow in his flesh.

    "We should go to the beach," Delilah suggested. "Malachi said there are a lot of secluded areas on the coast outside of Selcouth. Perfect places to go swimming."

    Kalian and Bellamy exchanged wary glances. Kalian had told his friend what Samson said about Malachi's relentless pursuit of Delilah. Bellamy said he was aware of Malachi's interest, but hadn't known how deep it ran.

    "Did he invite you to go down there with him?" Kalian asked, grabbing another log.

    Delilah returned her attention to her sewing. "He did. I didn't go."

    "Good," Bellamy said. "Malachi's an untrustworthy bastard. I'd sooner want you to swim with a Syreni than with him." Kalian shuddered at the thought of the creature Bellamy had mentioned.

    Syreni were a type of merfolk who dwelled in the frozen waters of the Caeles Sea. They had long eel-like tails instead of legs. Their faces were flat, as they had no noses. Instead, they had gills on the sides of their neck. Their eyes were abnormally large and completely black. They had long arms and spindly webbed hands, with sharp talons tipping their fingers instead of nails. Their entire bodies bore a grayish blue pallor and were covered in scales, and most had silky blue hair.

    Kalian had never seen a Syreni in person, only illustrations. They were creatures of morbid beauty. Terrifying and ethereal at the same time. They possessed the ability to breathe air into the lungs of drowning men, and they could steal air the same way they gave it. They fed on the flesh of their victims and claimed favors from those they saved. Kalian prayed he would never have to meet one of those creatures face to face.

    He pushed his thoughts aside, realizing that Delilah had begun to speak again. "...than you give him credit for. He's just doing what he has to in order to survive and make the world better, same as the rest of us."

    Bellamy watched Delilah, and Kalian chose to remain silent. It wasn't hard to piece together what they'd been discussing. At last, Bellamy shook his head and went back to cleaning pistols. "You're entitled to your opinion and I'm entitled to mine."