The Burden of Destiny | Sequel to The Aura Within

29 | War of Hearts

Levi knocked on the door that belonged to the room his father had been occupying since their arrival to the estate. A few seconds went by until Soleil opened the door. She greeted him with her bright smile before letting him in. He mumbled a thank you as he walked in. His eyes went straight to his father, who was sitting upon his bed without his shirt on. Soleil must've been changing the bandages before he got here.

Thorin looked up to see who had paid him a visit. He couldn't help but smile upon seeing his son coming in.

"Well, look who it is?" Thorin laughed as Levi took a seat next to his father. "'Bout time you paid your old man a visit, my boy."

"Sorry about that, Pops," Levi said with an apologetic smile. "Things are pretty tense out there. I needed a break from all of it."

Soleil hummed in agreement. She had resumed wrapping a fresh roll of gauze around Thorin's waist. The older man groaned when Soleil fastened it, causing her to immediately stop.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"Nah, I'm just very sore," he told her. "Maybe if I can get in some exercise--"

"Absolutely not, Sir Thorin," Soleil chastised. "I drained all of my mana in order to keep you alive, therefore I shall not release you until I am certain this wound of yours is completely healed. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am..." Thorin looked over at Levi, who looked very concerned for his wellbeing. "Don't give me that look, son. You know it'll take a whole lot than a piece of sharp metal to kill me."

"Pops, you jumped in front of a lethal attack to save Mister Nicholas. You could have died!" Levi sighed deeply as he ran a hand down his face. "I feel like part of this is my fault. It was my idea for us to stay in Kanto after all..."

Thorin's lighthearted smile faded upon seeing how miserable Levi looked. His long auburn hair was disheveled and unkempt, which was a rarity for him. The hollows of his cheeks were more prominent than usual and his eyes were drooped, most likely from his lack of sleep. Quite frankly, Thorin wasn't expecting to be the worried one here. Now he knew why his son avoided visiting him.

Soleil noticed the way Thorin was looking at Levi. Her expression turned somber, knowing well what was draining the life out of him. As soon as she finished up securing the gauze on Thorin's body, Soleil excused herself. Before she left the room, she gave Thorin his daily reminder to drink his dose of elixir. The door closed behind her, leaving only him and his son in the depressing ambiance.

"We're all in the same boat, son," said Thorin, but Levi still seemed unconvinced. "You ain't lookin' like yourself these days. Talk to me, Levi. What's going on?"

"It's Hope, Pops," he admitted. "I... Ugh, I don't even know where to begin. All I know is that I'm going crazy the longer I go without seeing her."

"Is that so?" Thorin hummed. "You know, maybe there's a reason the lass doesn't want anyone to see her. People like her aren't okay with being looked at like they're fragile. Showing her pity is the wrong thing to do, so maybe that's why she'd rather be alone."

"I hate that I can't comfort the one I love. I just want to be there for her." Levi frowned. "Is that so wrong?"

A ghostly smile appeared on Thorin's lips. He never imagined the day would come when Levi would finally open his heart up to another woman. Alma's betrayal had broken him down until it completely changed him. He began pursuing women for pleasure and discarding them the next day as soon as he got what he wanted. Alma was to blame for his bad habit, and at one point, Thorin had worried that Levi would do the same to Hope.