Magnus Chase - Rise Of Darkness

Chapter 14 - From Declaration Of Undying Love To Declaration Of Undying Loyalty

More long days and weeks went by on our hunk of junk fishing boat. The others made it their top priority to keep Saar and I away from each other to avoid a fight again. But the tension was still there, like a poison or disease there wasn't a cure for.

Alex had seen me in that fight, and I knew how the shapeshifter felt about me and her. Alex had been resting a lot more, spending more time in the personal bunk and away from us. I hated it, but it's what the einherji was comfortable with.

One day though was a particularly bad mental health day. I had taken the night shift and was alone on the raft of metal, starring up at the now starless night sky. But there was a green hue in the sky that made it just as good, matching well with the dark, cold sea.

I sat on the railing, watching the horizon. My feet dangling several feet above the ocean that was cut though by the boat. I wanted to say I enjoyed it, but my mind was to clogged to think much of it.

Everything over the quest seemed to be replaying in my mind. What I should have done, what I could have done better, how I should have acted. I thought about our close death moments on this journey, and how we just so happened to get lucky on each one. Luck that we made our way to Nifleheim. Luck that we found Hearth and got him out alive, Luck that we survived the cage fight with Cyrus. Would we get that lucky when we arrived on our next stop? Where was it even?

My sadness led me to the thought of Samirah, where ever she was. Like Alex, I also missed her. She was the one we went to for wise advice, to see a problem through a different view. And now that she needs us, we're letting her down.

"That's not the safest place to relax," said a voice to my left. Cyrus stood on the starboard deck, watching me. "you might get hurt."

"It's fine, it can hold me." I reassured half heartedly. The Berserker made their way over and sat on the rail next to me. "What's been going on?"

I sighed, not wanting to be a burden. "Just trying to figure this all out. I think we might be failing."

"How do you mean?" Cyrus' voice was also very polite and elegant, no slang, no attitude. It was refreshing in a sense.

"This whole thing has been about trying to rescue our friend Sam. But all I've done is send my friends into danger." I admitted. All Cyrus did was look down at me with glistening eyes.

"The foster home I run is demolished, my friend is missing and might be dead, I nearly lost my other friend, everyone's in pain, and I'm being no help with my dumb feud with Saar. Damn it!"

For the whole adventure, I have been shoving down all this. Hiding it away to deal with later so I could survive whatever mythological being was in front of me.

But now, that dam burst, my structure crumbling as tears blurred my vision. My body was shaking with quiet sobs as guilty pain inflamed inside my chest and eyes. I don't know how, but I ended up leaning my forehead against the albino's muscular arm.

A long length of time stretched out with just that. Silence between us and my cries filling the air. The moon was now in front of us, being reflected lazily by the midnight Pacific Ocean.

"I'm okay," a reassured the Skofnung, removing myself from leaning on them. We sat in awkward silence again, so I decided to start talking. 

"What are you still doing up? I thought you would be sleeping." I asked suddenly.

Cyrus seemed more taken back by my sudden curiosity more than the question. "I don't." They said simply.

"You don't what?"

"Sleep," they clarified. "I only sleep a few times a week. Three times at max."

"What?" I almost shrieked. I faced them with probably the most flabbergasted look ever. "That's medically impossible! That or you'd be dead!"