Arc One: Awakening

Chapter 22: Making Headway

Calloused palms outstretched, Azra influenced another fork of red magic into the writhing tempest. Crimson and ruby washed along the riled grey to lend comfort to the terrified souls inside. It's all right, he soothed, detaching the remaining life force from the ashes. You can rest now.

He lost track of time and the number of spirits he helped on their way, but eventually, the shrieks and cries subsided. What had greeted him as a frenzied mass tempered beneath his power, departing the realm of the living with whispered gratitude and a final, relieved breath.

Boot soles crunched at the excess grit and sand on the patio behind him. Her presence ghosted up his nape to tickle at his cheeks. The alluring, sweet aroma of deadly Osimer blooms that followed in her wake captivated his senses, and stabilising his magic, he stole a quick glimpse. Delicate lilac flecks in her eyes shifted as she observed him.

"I brought you some water and something to eat," Lilith said, carrying the covered plate and the filled bottle to the bench. "Professor Spark asked me to remind you not to overwork yourself."

Azra pondered whether Bartholomew had requested she relay that message or if it was a ploy to disguise her own concern. Regardless, he grunted in acknowledgement and attempted to return to his work, but her proximity flustered him, the staggering emotions emanating from her provoking his concentration.

"The storm isn't proving too difficult to fix," he told her, low and distant, hoping to quell her uncertainty.

"I didn't ask."

"No, but I can feel it." With a slight dip of his head, he inhaled deep and slow. "Or are you forgetting what my power permits me to see?"

Teeth gritted and fingers flexing, Lilith endeavoured to conceal her mounting agitation. "How could I forget," she replied levelly, a biting undertone lacing her voice, "when that same power caused so much harm?"

Azra's arms buckled under a rippling pang, but he managed to brace himself against the uncomfortable sensation. Within the depths of his wounded soul, he wanted to apologise, to mend the fractures between them and leave the war in the past. But the more he ruminated, the more he wondered whether it would be simpler if she held on to that animosity she harboured for him. Would it be fairer to let her get on with her life without him, never having to see his face and be haunted by the memories of the lives he plundered, the friendships and loved ones he callously ripped away? With him gone, she had the chance to start anew, free from the constant reminder of the heartache he had inflicted.

"Don't worry, I won't be staying long," he assured her, continuing to hush the storm. "I'm going back to Solgarde as soon as this is done."

"Rather presumptuous of you to think I'd worry," Lilith shot before she could withhold the remark. Once it was out, there was no stopping the rest. "No, you're perfectly capable of looking out for yourself. And only yourself. Altair keeps telling me you are remorseful, but you are just as cagey as ever. Or is that only with me?" Her chest rose and fell with her pounding breaths in a rhythmic dance of exertion as she expelled the discomfort from her body. "It doesn't matter. At least I know once you have served your purpose, you will be leaving."

Her words crashed into him like arrows, nesting in the devotion he housed for her and meshing into a spinous wreckage. Tainted and split, her own affection cracked even more. Little of the light remained.

That time is over, he reminded himself, imagining the faded imprint on her heart where her love had once flourished and bloomed year after year. His own flickered just as waning. Do not do this to yourself. Do not do this to her.

He bit the inside of his mouth until he almost tasted blood, fighting back the crushing desire to confess every shred of fondness he still nurtured for her. Footsteps fading, he allowed the solitude consume him.