Flames of the River

Chapter 9

Not once in her life could Mora recall  experiencing such overwhelming feelings of determination. She stepped out of the hut, their host disappearing into a soft hum in the background, and into the warm night air. Luna followed behind, with Kai Rivers slowly making his way towards the door as if he owned the place.

There was hope. A solution that didn't involve an inevitable collapse to everything she knew and held dear. A solution that wasn't going to prove futile once the Rivers did as they had always done, backstabbed them and came for everything of theirs.

"What are we going to tell our parents?" She turned around, crossing her arms over her chest, buzzing with hope.

Kai stopped suddenly in his tracks. He stared Mora down, eyes squinted as if he'd forgotten she was even there. The buzzing around her dimmed as she remembered just who she was speaking to. There was hope yes, but it was still tied to Kai River.

"We?" He arched an eyebrow, chuckling. "We shall part our ways here. Reason no longer exists for us to remain in any form of contact. I fail to understand why we're even conversing right now."

"Did you not hear Thabitha?" Mora rolled her eyes. "She said we have to go on this search together."

Mora said 'together' like it was a terminal disease she was afraid of catching. Kai's arched brow reached for his forehead at her tone and held back a smile. That fear, it was lying beneath all her hatred and nauseating regality, but it was there nonetheless.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." He folded his own arms. Mora's eyes fell to his arms. Would it kill him to decide whether or not he wanted to fold back his shirt? He looked so ridiculous it made her sigh with relief that she wouldn't be stuck with him for the rest of her life. Kai smiled. "I see you're just as relieved at this so why-"

"No, we still have to go." Mora quickly cut in. "Listen, saving Eranis comes first. If I have to tolerate you for a few days until we find this witch, I will."

The buzzing returned at the mention of the witch. The solution to their problems. A witch, one with magic so powerful Thabitha said that her granddaughter doubled down with a feeling so intense it knocked the wind out of her the first time she felt it being used. A descendant of one of the witches who had cast the spell that gave Mora the powers running through her veins. Someone to fix what had been broken a decade before.

Kai was growing tired of the aimless conversation. He decided he didn't owe it to any Eranisian, much less a Mollo, to entertain it. He walked forward and she took a surprised step back before planting her feet firmly in the ground. He would've laughed if he weren't so anxious about returning home.

"Where are you going?" Mora whipped her head around as he walked past her.

He stopped and turned to face her. A cheeky smile preceded his words. "What? Are you already missing me? Better to get used to my absence again, seeing as you won't be becoming my wife after all."

"Will you stop with the marriage talk." Mora shuddered. Not a day would go by when she wouldn't give her thanks to the skies for not giving her the wretched fate of being a part of that family. "But that is part of what I am talking about. We have to tell our parents to break off the engagement-"

"Funny, isn't it?" Kai seemed to be looking at both at Mora and through her. "How we never had much of a say over who we would spend the rest of our lives with." 

"Well I was always going to have a say to a certain extent but special cir-" Mora caught herself about to ramble. She cleared her throat, straightened up and got back on track. "We need to tell them quickly that there's no need for the marriage and it was all a ruse."