Journey onto the Storm (BOOK 2)

Chapter 45

ADARA

Sunbeams pierced the mist of morning to cast a hopeful glow over Sungrove and the surrounding hills and ridges. The fog from before dissipated with ease and left them alone to reveal the sprouting beauty underneath. Grass swayed with the wind coming off the distant sea, but she frowned at the two Storm Wardens in front of her. Time escaped her from when she first escaped Prunal with their help — their synchronised teamwork against any enemy, and she sucked in her cheeks at the new chill over her shoulders. Their journey took a toll on them, that much was plain. For her, she savoured in the wonder, the heart pounding adventure of Tara and Jisa's books. On one end of their small clearing, Fenrer rubbed the side of his head and kept his back to both of them.

At the creek, Yuven ruffled droplets through his feathers with a couple quick shakes of his head. Adara waited for his customary bite for movement, and for Fenrer to not argue and follow him meekly, without argument next to Yuven's abrasive personality. Yuven twisted on his knee to send one last whisk of water through his feathers, and opened his mouth.

Fenrer gave him a blank-faced side-eye, barely moving his head to look Yuven straight in the eye.

"Good morning," Adara interrupted the cooling of the world.

Both of them broke their ice-cold staredown to return to their morning rituals. "I need—" Yuven spoke up, but he went quiet when Fenrer held out a phial of the starlit liquid, choosing to stare upwards at dawn breaking through the natural entrance into Sungrove. Yuven scowled, and held out his fingers. White twine whisked through the world, and Fenrer's blank face dropped into annoyance when one of the wispy tangles pushed him in the brow as it grabbed the phial from his hands and brought it to Yuven, who took it from the air.

Adara readied her shawl as Fenrer kept himself facing the manor to rub his fingers into his temples. "I see," she said and clapped her hands against her hips. "Anyone want to talk about how their sleep went? I didn't have nightmares, thank you for asking. And thanks to a certain someone, I feel less like death when I get up earlier than I used to."

Icy silence.

Adara folded her arms as Yuven downed the medication and stuck out his tongue with a scrunch of his nose. Meanwhile, Fenrer adjusted his runic expanders with a click of the circuitry before taking out the Resonator off his belt to open it. Yuven waddled over as he pushed the phial into one of the leather straps on his armor. He slinked closer to Fenrer, then loomed over him. Fenrer blinked, then closed the Resonator with another quiet click.

"Any Derelicts?" she asked.

Fenrer looked at her. "No."

You're killing me. Adara stretched and joined them, placing herself in the gap to break their staredown. "So, what's next, Yuven? You've been the driver this whole time, I'm sure you have something in mind," she pushed as his feathers fluffed out.

"We're staying."

That... is not what I was expecting him to say. Adara raised an eyebrow when Fenrer took a swing from his water bladder. "I thought you wanted to get to Sivaport as fast as possible. It's looking to be a nice day, shouldn't we hurry in case there's another storm?"

"I have decided if we're to make this trip bearable for everyone, we have to rest a little longer."

What?

"Don't do that, Yuven," Fenrer murmured.

"Do what? I do not know what you are talking about," Yuven said as Fenrer got off his knees and brushed the side of his head. "You—" He snarled with a prod into Fenrer's chest with a bounce of his head. "—were hurt, Fenrer."