Heart of Fire

Chapter Twenty One

"I'm cutting the trip short. Pack up your things, everyone." Kenton announces.

I pull away from Brooks, looking at Kenton as he stands up from where he was once sitting. He stops his movements as he locks eyes with me, awkwardly shifting on his feet.

"We can't leave, we still have another day out here." I say, walking over to him.

He takes a breath, looking as though he's trying to think of the right thing to say. "Nothing beneficial has come out of this trip. We can't go ten minutes without someone getting into an argument. We can continue our training at the castle for the next two weeks."

"What is the difference in training at the castle? I can assure you arguments will still happen in a different setting." I argue.

He looks me up and down with a blank expression, staying silent for a moment. The sun will set in before we get back to the castle, even if we leave within the hour. Making us leave tonight will do us no good.

"We're leaving, Adira. Pack your things." With that, he walks away, disappearing into his tent without another word.

I look around at the trio, not believing Kenton's abrupt behavior.

"I'll go get Hudson." Fyn announces, following the path where Hudson left.

I run my hands through my hair, trying to stay calm. I can't decide if I should be angry, upset, or guilty, or if I should even be feeling anything at all. I brought this onto myself. Not only have I jeopardized my entire friendship, I've also made the entire group feel uncomfortable by publicizing my feelings towards Hudson.

Amelia walks over to me with a sad smile splayed upon her face. "I think we need a girls night when we get back to the castle."

A half sigh, half laugh escapes from my mouth. Amelia somehow always knows what to say at the right times, a skill I wish I endured. She nods towards our tents, which are set up beside one another, "Come on, let's get our things packed up."

Reluctantly, I nod my head, walking over to my tent to retrieve my belongings.

***

I've been in my tent for the past hour, though it only took me about ten minutes to pack up the small amount of things I brought with me. Deciding I wasn't ready to face anyone quite yet, I found a small journal I'd brought with me. I don't know why I brought it, or why I even had it in the first place, but I suppose it wasn't such a bad thing. I've been non-stop writing in it ever since I finished packing, mainly about my feelings on the events that have taken place in the past months. It's relieving in a way, writing down my emotions rather than outbursting them whenever the events get brought up. I've never been a writer of any sort, but I admit I find comfort in writing these things only for myself, away from any outsider's eyes.

Brooks opens the flap of my tent, peeking his head in as I snap the journal shut. "Hi, are you packed? Fyn and Hudson just got back, so uh we're ready to head back to the castle if you're ready."

"Yes, I just have to take down my tent." I reply, grabbing my small back beside me. "Care to help me?"

He nods, grabbing my hands to help me off the ground.

It doesn't take long to take down my tent and pack it up, especially with Brooks' help. We join the rest of the group, who have been waiting for us with their bags already on their backs. We have about two hours until sunset, though the trip back to the castle will take us twice as long, leaving us with two whole hours of traveling in the dark. Coming from experience, traveling in the dark is not a pleasant experience. The beasts and wildlife that come out at dark in Narva are not something I want to encounter.

"Alright, let's go." Kenton says as Brooks and I walk up to the group.

We start walking away from our site, the only sounds coming from us being our footsteps on the forest floor. If I thought the tension was bad at the beginning of the trip, it was nothing compared to now. Hudson doesn't even breathe in my direction, keeping his head hung low as he walks quietly.

As I expected, after about two hours of walking we were left in complete darkness. I quickly ignited my flames, holding out my palms for a source of light. This unfortunately caused me to be the leader of the group so we would be able to see where we were going, however this only led me to become more on edge than I was before. I've been listening and looking out for any lurking beasts that might attack, but thankfully I've heard nothing. Kenton stands close beside me, seeing as though I don't know my way back to the castle to be line leading the group alone. In any other situation, I might find his presence strangely comforting, but when I feel Hudson's eyes boring into the back of my head, it kind of takes away the feeling.

Having enough of the awkward silence, I turn to Kenton who looks straight ahead. I clear my throat, making him turn his head to look at me. I keep my voice quiet enough so the rest of the group doesn't hear, "I'm sorry for causing us to leave early. I really didn't-"

"Adi!" Hudson shouts.

I whirl around as I hear heavy running coming towards me. A large bear-like creature bares its teeth as it runs towards me. I barely have time to think about running away from it when Kenton grabs me, holding me close to him as the rest of the group sprints off to take cover.

"What are you-"

"Sh, don't say anything." Kenton cuts me off, speaking quietly in my ear. "I'm in it's mind right now and as long as you're touching me, it won't see us."

I look over at the creature who has stopped running and looks around in confusion. I bury my head to Kenton's chest, not wanting to look at the hideous beast any longer. He holds me tighter, one of his arms wrapped around my waist, his other hand pressed to the back of my head. We stay like this for a while, my arms pressed in between our bodies, giving me no room to move.

I finally hear the beast's heavy footsteps walk away, eventually fading out of my hearing completely. Kenton releases his hold on me, looking me up and down as if to check for any signs of injury. The group emerges from their hiding spots, which mainly consisted of large trees.

"Is everyone alright?" Kenton asks the group. They all nod, wiping the dirt from their clothing. "We need to move quickly, we still have about an hour before we reach the castle grounds."

Luckily, there were no more encounters with violent creatures and we made it back to the castle with no harm. I went straight to my room, not bothering to say anything to the group. I was more embarrassed than anything, other than the overwhelming guilt I felt towards Hudson. I knew I had to get my best friend back, but how do I do that when I've broken his heart? His love for me is strong, I know that, but I hope more than anything that he can see past that even if it is just to save our friendship.