Bastion of Sun

CHAPTER THREE

Pure Light

Rising above the gates was a city of pure light.

Ayva could hardly believe it.

She was here, at last. And yet...

A light touch on her arm made her twist in her saddle. Hannah's brown eyes were watching her. "Ayva... are you all right?"

Ayva hadn't realized she'd stopped. She looked down. Her hands were gripping the reins and trembling. Crowds swarmed about them, raising dust, noise and excitement. A steady trail of rolling carts headed towards the glossy golden gates that were wide open, revealing a city of brilliant light.

Zane pressed his dark brown stallion closer to her side, moving out of the way of a large, rumbling cart filled with shiny fruits—red and yellow, glinting in the sunlight. "You know, Ayva, we don't need you here."

Hannah sat behind Zane on their mount. They were sharing a steed. They'd left the other cormac and bay charger behind for Gray and Darius to catch up with, once Gray was feeling better.

"What I mean is," he amended, coughing into his gloved hand, "if you want to go back and be with Gray and Darius, I understand. We'd understand."

Hannah nodded. "It's not too late, Ayva. If you want to be with them, I wouldn't blame you. Besides," she said, and slapped Zane's shoulder again, this time affectionately, "we can do this on our own, can't we?"

Zane grunted. It could have been an affirmation.

"See?" Hannah grinned. In their journey, Hannah had called Ayva "pretty" and herself "plain" more than once. Ayva didn't know about that, and was inclined to think herself quite plain and Hannah far too critical of her own looks. But she did know that when Hannah smiled, the girl was absolutely radiant. "You can trust us," Hannah said, still smiling.

Ayva had trouble not smiling herself.

Zane she trusted, though she wasn't sure why. She'd known him for a month now, and in that short time, he already felt like a brother—an older, protective, quiet, brooding and fiery brother. Darius and Gray were different. Not brothers—of course. The comparison was strange to make in the first place as she'd never had a brother, but Zane was what she imagined it would feel like. No, Darius and Gray felt like... there wasn't really a word for it. Friends was accurate, but too soft. Soul mates was way too much in the wrong way. So was lov—

She shook her head, focusing back on Zane.

She trusted him. Perhaps because Gray trusted him, but not entirely. He had an air about him. He was powerful. His gaze alone unnerved others. Even now, as Zane surveyed the crowds, two Covian merchants felt his gaze and they flicked their mounts, encouraging them to move faster. Sweating in the sun, bearing the symbol of flesh—a stitched emblem of a heart—on their leather jerkins, the merchants quickened their pace.

On top of that, Zane was built like a brawler. Heavily muscled, with wild blond hair, a wide jaw, thick neck and faint scars that ran down his cheeks complemented his powerful appearance. Even his sharp nose was reminiscent of an axe blade. He might have been shorter, but he was sturdier than any of her father's bouncers. His control over fire, too, seemed every bit as strong as Gray's wind, and far stronger than her sun power or Darius' leaf power, and with more creative conjurations.

It bugged Ayva that she couldn't do more with her power thus far, but she wasn't in a terrible rush. Though she was eager to understand it, she was also afraid of it. For now, it felt like she was searching the boundaries of a great lake within her, testing its depths and seeing what lived beneath the surface, before diving into its mysterious waters.