Savia's Heart [Sequel to Bastian's Song] [HIATUS]

[ 22 ]

[ Savia ]

Her hands wrapped around the ceramic mug and the heat of the tea inside warmed her cold fingers. Despite the alluring aroma of the tea, Savia did not drink from her cup. Instead, she stared down an old friend.

Eryn stared right back, uncowed and defiantly happy. Everything about the captain radiated confidence and Savia knew that whatever she might say, Eryn would be hard to sway from her path.

Savia sighed.

Auron looked between the two of them, curiosity written all over his face. He bit his lip, though, and Savia once more offered her silent appreciation for such a steadfast companion. Auron never put his own wants above Savia's.

She broke the silence with an endearment, in the hopes it would aid her. "Dear one, I appreciate what you've done for me. I can't imagine what you had to go through to find that compass, but—"

"It was a sea monster, Savia." Eryn interrupted her smoothly. "With the biggest teeth I've ever seen. Had the compass right in its mouth." Her voice was a chirrup of brightness in the dark house. "I almost got swallowed." She laughed, the sound full of reckless happiness.

Savia closed her eyes. A sea monster. And Eryn just...dove into its mouth. Had she even hesitated? Savia shook her head in answer to her own question. Of course not. Eryn was not the kind of person who would think before she acted.

"You did what?" Auron's enraged voice broke Savia's thoughts and she turned to look at him. There he was, bare to all the world, doing exactly what he did best. Auron's face was a mask of responsible anger, but his hand trembled around his own cup of tea.

Eryn met his quiet question with a smile. "I fought a giant sea monster to get that compass." She set her empty cup on the floor in front of her and lifted her arms wide. "It had tentacles thiiiis wide. I think it probably could have eaten my ship if it wanted to. Maybe it did, and that's why it approached us in the first place." She shrugged. "But we stabbed it and I guess it decided we were too much trouble so it just slithered off back into the ocean."

Auron made a pained noise in the back of his throat. "Why would you go into the mouth of a beast?"

"To get the compass. Of course, I didn't know it was the compass at first. I just saw the glow of a very shiny object and reacted, as I often do. It was really lucky for me that it did turn out to be exactly what I was looking for."

Savia stifled a laugh.

"You're touched in the head," Auron said. "Absolutely and completely insane."

"Awww, thank you!"

Savia couldn't stifle the laugh anymore. Watching the two interact was better than any puppetry. Auron gave her a pleading look.

"Eryn, you didn't have to do that for me." Savia struggled to regain the serious mood she'd been in earlier. "And I'm grateful that you did, but that compass is invaluable. You could sell it and live richly for the rest of your life."

Eryn's smile faded and she stood from her chair. Her feet were as wide apart as her shoulders and she put one hand on her waist. "If you think I'm going to sell this compass to anyone other than you, you're deluding yourself Savia. I didn't drag my ass and my crew halfway around the world to find it because I thought you might like it. I did it because you don't want anything more than to find the one who took your heart in the first place and I promised I'd help you do that."

Auron's gaze sharpened on Savia, and she felt his questions in the air. The little bit that she'd told him had only whetted his curiosity, but he'd been too polite to pry any more. Or maybe it was consideration for her that had stayed his tongue.

Savia sighed once more. "How did I become cursed with such devoted friends?"

Eryn's smile returned, wide and pleased. "You mean blessed, my friend. Blessed is she who saves little girls from their own mistakes!"

Savia reached up and rubbed at her temple. "I still have the scar from that, you know."

"You're welcome for making you look more intimidating and giving you stories to tell." Eryn lifted a hand to her blonde curls and tossed her locks behind her. "Now, pack up. Night passes quick in summer, and I need to get you safely under deck before the dawn rises. Wouldn't want your loitering to be the thing that finally ends you, do we?"

Auron stood up. "I'll pack. How long do you think we'll be gone for?" He was already moving toward the kitchen, though he stopped long enough to pick up Eryn's empty cup from the floor. Savia wondered if he gave any thought to cleaning or if it came naturally to him.

"Oh, I have no idea." Eryn replied instantly. "The compass only gives a rough direction for the heart, not an estimate of how long it will take to get there. But you'll want sea appropriate clothing. If you don't have any heavy cloths here, we can get you more at the next harbor. Wherever that is."

Auron tsked at her. "How can you be a captain? Not even knowing how long something will take. Your poor crew."

"Hey now! I can't control magical artifacts any more than you can. And my crew loves me, for the record. Especially Sven." She turned to follow the dark-haired man as he washed the dishes and then set about gathering appropriate clothes.

Savia watched them as they moved, arguing every step of the way. She lifted the hot cup to her lips and sipped, tasting the sweet water with just a hint of bitter on the back of the tongue.

Somehow, she felt that their journey would be the same as the tea. Sweet, but bitter in the end. After all, how could it end any other way? Verdiana might be at the final destination, and if she was, then Savia was going to die.

At least then she would die at the hands of the only woman she had ever loved. 

Thank you for reading! I really like it when Auron and Eryn are in the same spot. So rude to each other. :)