Redemption - Fourth Wing

44. Matter of time

Aifos' Pov
At first, I thought about Xaden's eyes, and my scar bysecting my eyebrow.
Only a second later did I realise that my eyes and Xaden's couldn't be more unalike, and that as such she must've recalled her late husband.
My biological father, nothing but a ghost with the features of his twenty-four years old son.
I pulled her hands off my face in a much gentler way than how I should've, and my eyes dropped on the ground, "Sorry."
Chex snarled above me, -_You have nothing to apologise for. Nothing._-
"It was only a contract. No love bound me and my previous life together."
"Not even Xaden's?"
Her silence was my answer, and I backed off a step, "My mother left me behind, too. I guess that's where my Riorson bloodline lies."
Chex snapped his teeth at her, and silently I watched her turning around and starting walking back to the villa, her eyes always trained to the ground.
I found myself inhaling deep breaths, and kicked off my boots and sank my feet in the cold water. Chex laid in the shore, the waves brushing his wingtips, and I closed my eyes and rolled my neck; the Dance of the Crane was slow and purposeful, and soon enough it became muscle memory, and my mind slowed down to the arch of my back and the stretch of my arms.
Xaden's voice cut the air between us, "Come sparring with me."
My eyes flew open and immediately snatched on Xaden, then on the balcony facing off the beach, and blood drained on my face at the possibility of him having accidentally overheard Talia's whisper.
I should've come clean sooner.
The muscles of his biceps rippled under his short-sleeved undershirt, and Chex narrowed his eyes at him in warning.
He was the first to move, and only reflexes had me blocking out his fist. Water splashed around my ankles when I ducked at his swipe and spun around. I threw myself back at his round-kick, and tried to counterattack with a fist at his ribs, but he clasped my arm and turned quickly; with a sharp pull and a hip rotation, he flipped me over his shoulder and slammed me on my back. The water was cold, and I gasped for air, and Xaden pressed his elbow against my throat, "I heard everything."
I grabbed his arm and trapped his leg with my own before rolling us over. I immediately hastened on my feet, and Xaden's eyes never left mine.
"I'm sorry," I said, "I know I should've-"
His fist rammed on my ribs and my voice broke; he aimed for a jab, but I raised my forearm and answered with a hook of my own. He side-stepped it, then grabbed my arm and twisted. Then, he stepped across my body and with a sweep of his leg I was thrown on my back again.
"For how long have you known?" He hissed, his knee pressing uncomfortably on my chest.
"Since I came back to Vaeta."
"And you kept it a secret for all these months?"
He increased his weight, and I started wheezing, "You had... So many other... problems..."
Chex growled at Xaden, who didn't budge an inch. Strands of his slightly long hair caught in his eyelashes as he peered down at me, and I briefly thought that he was beautiful and that I was blessed already should I have inherited half of his features.
Nevertheless, I would appreciate it if he eased the pressure on my chest: breathing was growing difficult at each second, and my heart thumped in my temples.
His eyes were narrowed, "How did you know?"
"Eragon gave me... A letter..."
"Where is it?"
"In- inside pocket."
I gulped a breath when he lifted himself off me and stretched out his arm, "Give it to me."
I did, and as I handed it to him I remembered that I'd surrounded it with so many protective shields I doubted that an arrow could pierce it.
If he wanted to, we could have it burned.
I hobbled up, and Chex leaped on his feet and marched straight to me. He nudged my cheek and angled his tail towards a stiff Xaden who was giving us his back, his wet shirt clinging to his tight muscles.
I grew awfully self-conscious of my breathing the more he kept reading, and his shoulders heaved with laboured breaths of his own.
When he spoke, his voice was cold, "When would you have given it to me?"
"I don't know. Perhaps when all of it would've become less of a burden."
He said nothing, so I went on, "I know I should've told you sooner, and I'm sorry if I hesitated for so long. But nothing will change: Bodhi will be your rightful heir, and I will keep fighting by your side, and remain your friend."
Xaden didn't answer, and instead stripped himself bare; his muscles shifted and rippled, and my eyes fell on the navy blue relic majestically splayed itself on his whole back. The sun caught a silver gleam, and I squinted at it until I could glimpse tiny silver littering the expanse of his relic.
"They're one-hundred and seven," he said, "Should've been one-hundred and eight."
It took me a couple of seconds to understand its meaning, and when I did, my fingertips brushed the scars.
"Perhaps," I whispered, "Or perhaps not."
Xaden turned, and his shoulders lowered, and his eyes flickered on mine, "She's right. You do have his eyes. I'm a fucking fool for having caught up to it just now."
My smile was bittersweet, "You couldn't have possibly guessed it. None would've, hadn't it been for the letter."
It was crumpled under Xaden's hand, and when he gave it to me I whispered a soft, "Brisingr" and we watched the paper curling and blackening to ashes.
Then, I briefly looked at the beach, and said, "I need a flat stone."
"What the fuck for?"
"You'll see. Chex, don't stand still and help us."
-Uhm, alright.-
He walked in deeper waters and dipped his snout in, while Xaden and I remained near the shore. Ronny's wings overshadowed the sun, -What are you looking for?-
-A flat stone, for a fairth. Xaden read the letter.-
-It was only a matter of time, kid.-
-I know. Shouldn't have waited for so long.-
-His legacy isn't built by blood. You're still his friend.-
-I know.-
Chex sneezed, then glared up at him, -Why don't you come down here and help us?-
-Every stone looks the same to me.-
-No, it doesn't!-
Ronny just huffed and spiralled lazily down to the beach, and Xaden, now waist deep, showed off a rock, "Is this okay?"
Water sloshed around my chest when I made my way to him and studied the stone, "Yes, it'll do."
As we made our way back, Chex started chomping down on fish, and Ronny sighed that he'd make even Nirwhals skitter away from him if he moved that ungracefully.
Xaden and I sat next to each other on the shoreline, and I swept my palm on the smooth surface of the stone and closed my eyes. My song's touch was gentle, and Xaden kept his mind open, -Yes?-
-Can you show me memories of y- I mean, of father?-
So he did, and I found myself peering up at a large man with broad shoulders and a gentle smile and elegant eyes; I couldn't exactly make out his voice, or see his smile lines, but there was warmth, and melancholy, and I started softly chanting the spell.
I held on to that memory as much as I could, and when I opened my eyes, the lines were blurred, but the colours were soft, and his eyes now were the clearest, and similar to mine.
I put it on Xaden's tights, "Here, take it. It's yours."
He blinked at it, and with shaky fingers followed the smooth surface of the stone, "What did you do?"
"It's nothing, really. It's a fairth, some sort of a spell-bound painting which reproduces your surroundings or your memories or anything, really. Sorry if I couldn't draw him more clearly, but details come from knowledge, and your memories and the letter are all I know him with."
I started fidgeting at the stretch of silence, and was thinking about silently scuffling to my dragons, when he turned his body towards me and flung his arms around me. He fisted the back of my leathers and tugged me to his chest, and I remained still. Only after a couple of seconds I placed my hands on his back and gave him a couple of awkward pats.
He tightened his hold on me and his voice cracked, "Thanks."
"You're welcome. Glad you liked it."
We parted, and he clung on to his fairth as his eyes got lost in the horizon. I looked at Chex making his way back ashore, his mouth full of wriggling fish, and I giggled at him.
-Want one?-
-No, but thanks.-
-If you're sure... Ronny?-
-Keep those slimy sea snakes away from me.-
-It's fish, not an anguilla!-
-Same thing.-
"My mother wants me to attend dinner," murmured Xaden, "Violet says I should go."
"What do you want to do?"
"I don't know. She's my mother, but she left me behind at my birthday."
"Well, my own left me, too. Didn't look back once. Like I said, must be my half Riorson bloodline's doing."
His laugh was barked and short and he shoved me, "Fucking smartass."
I rolled my eyes at him, but then every lightness slipped past his eyes and he inhaled slowly, "I think I'll attend. I won't leave Violet surrounded by snakes."
"I'm sure she's perfectly capable to make it on her own."
"Still. Mother has already whispered sweet venom in her ears, I'll make sure she won't dare do it again." He pointed a finger at me, "And you'll come with me."
"You sure? I'm a bastard, and not even related to her in any way."
"But you're my half sibling, and you have magic. You will come with me."
I only sighed, "Fine. I will."
"Good."