The Forgotten Light

65. Kaelen

The closer it was to midnight, the more Harlyn's mood infected him. With the last minutes left, they waited at the agreed place by the river between the larger trees for the portal to appear. Everyone from Florence and Colin, Temron and Carter showed up.

Ritael suddenly stopped next to him, keeping her hands in her pockets. "Can I have a word with you?" she asked quietly, avoiding his gaze.

He may have been deaf, but he could clearly hear the girl forcing the words out of herself. She didn't want to talk to him, but apparently what she had to say to him was more important than keeping distance between them.

She led them to the side, far enough so that no one could hear them despite the silence around the canyon.

"Fairlight is not stupid and she can recognize death when she sees it. She rightly thinks I'm dead, so she'll be surprised when she sees me. I want to explain everything to her myself, I don't need this Invicta or you to help me. Therefore, please don't tell her anything about me."

"I swear she will know the truth from you. I got too tired of telling everything to you, I don't know if I feel like repeating it."

Ritael rolled her eyes and looked toward her friends from Florence, as if she already wanted to go back to them, but she still had something to tell him.

"Are you sure you have enough strength to undertake this? This is Invicta we are dealing with, we don't know what to expect from him. Yes, he seemed different and incredibly authentic, but what if he was just messing with us?"

If there was even a shadow of a chance that the Invicta was telling the truth, they could rescue their missing friend.

But if he lied, Kaelen would be the one to pay dearly for trusting the Being.

"Great timing for you to doubt your own decision," he sighed, adjusting his shotgun strap on his shoulder. "I feel great. I may even be in the mood to kick some ass if necessary."

"Why did this decision belong to me?" she asked thoughtfully, perhaps not even realizing she was saying it out loud.

He has also thought about it a lot, until he finally remembered exactly what he had felt in that moment in the cave, when no one knew what to do with the Invicta.

"Maybe you didn't feel it, but everyone next to you did." He waited patiently for her to look at him with those angry emerald eyes. "You are a commander, like your mother, and everyone, even people, feel it and want to obey you."

She didn't answer him, but he could see that she accepted his words. She looked away from him, staring at the place where, according to the Invicta Being's promise, the portal was to appear.

"I have a feeling this will work, Ritael."

She nodded. "Be nice to her, okay? She's been through a lot," she said and walked away, rubbing her shoulders.

"I'll be as charming as only I can be."