The Lores of Lyra - Shattered Star [Book II]

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Vega was hiding something from him. Joshua could feel it. There had been an uncomfortable silence between them ever since Eric had ventured behind the waterfall. Only the sounds of the water hitting its own surface roared between them.

“You’re not going to talk to me, are you?” he finally asked. She tore her eyes from the water over to meet his.

“Why do you say that?” she asked, averting her eyes back to the water.

Joshua’s heart fell a little; she can’t even look at me anymore. Where were the trust and the days where we told each other everything? He looked down at his feet. It was so pathetic that she made him feel this worthless; he couldn’t even begin to fathom the fact that she might always have been lost to the sky.

It wasn’t exactly a fair fight either, him versus the world. He could feel his hopes crushing one by one.

“You’re hiding something!” He could feel himself panic now.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered.

He stared at her with wide eyes and an open mouth. Unbelievable, she was lying to me. He shut his mouth shut and crossed his arms. With stone-faced resolution, he looked towards the waterfall, waiting for Eric to come out again.

When the other guy finally broke through the curtain, hugging the large rock close, Joshua was ready to take it from him. Sweat dripped down his mate’s forehead, and when Joshua took the stone, he could see relief flood through Eric.

“Solem, that... was... horrible,” he panted. Joshua just nodded as a response; he knew the feeling.

“I’m just going to head back,” he said as he watched Vega guide Eric to sit down.

“I need a minute, man,” Eric apologized.

“That’s okay. I’ll just walk ahead,” he replied and started walking back to the tree. He had to be careful when crossing. Choosing to straddle the trunk, pushing the stone in front of him, he slowly made his way over, being cautious not to drop the stone.

He was on automatic, his mind shut off for any thoughts related to Vega. They were on a mission, which was all that mattered.

When he jumped down on the other side, he glanced back, seeing Eric and Vega start their tour from the other side. Snorting, he turned and made his way back to the camp. The rock was heavy, and it ached in his muscles with every step he took, but he enjoyed it.

He felt the exhaustion slowly creep up on him, and he embraced it. He didn’t want to think, he didn’t want to dwell on things that never were and would never be.

Pressing himself further, he started to walk faster. He didn’t bother to step aside from branches that crossed his path. He ignored the whips across his face, rushing past them; his only thought was to get away.

Joshua broke through from the forest and stopped dead in his tracks. The majestic Star Lion were looking at him, with deep brown eyes. It tilted its head to the side, the long mane almost reaching the ground and surveyed him.

Annoyance seared through him. He didn’t ask for this.

“You’ve come to complicate things further, haven’t you?” he asked when the immediate shock had simmered down. The Star Lion didn’t move. Joshua rolled his eyes and went over to dump the stone near the other.

He sat down opposite the animal, resting his arms on his knees. The wise brown eyes didn’t stop looking at him.

“What?” he asked annoyed. Solem, I’m losing my mind. Look at me, talking to a mythical animal.