Dawn of Arcane Destiny

Chapter Eighty-Seven

Drayce offered his arm to Lillia, thankfully she took it. Ella seemed less likely to take Caelum's proffered arm, but did so, keeping an almost awkward distance between them. Kaelyn and Cassian ran out ahead to play in the rosebush maze.

Drayce knew he needed to be more open with Lillia, but it seemed to be getting harder the more dire their situation became. Part of him had a strong desire to do this by himself and his way, but he knew that Caelum was right. There was no way that he was going to succeed doing it by himself. But then, what should they do? Every time he tried to think of a plan, all of his stresses seemed to crash down on him. He was to be coronated in a fortnight, (He had previously set the date with Valloma), Lillia was going to have their baby in about two months, oh and he had to figure out a way to stop an angry, vengeful god from destroying Kamasia and possibly the world. Oh Non, he did not feel cut out for the job. He had spent his entire life trying to stay as carefree as possible. And more or less he had. Until now.

"What are you thinking about?" Lillia asked. He looked down at her and realized she had been studying him.

"Nothing worth noting. What about you? You wanted to talk, I'm all ears." He replied.

She gave him a disapproving look, which baffled him. Was that look just frustration in general, or was it something he'd said? "What was that note you got that you were so keen on hiding?" She asked.

"Surely you've guessed." Drayce said.

"Does it matter if I guessed or not? Drayce, you can't just assume I've got everything figured out. That's only one of the ways we're disconnected. Tell me your problems, tell me your struggles. I'm here for you, and you should be there for me in the same way." She said.

Drayce knew she was right. He supported the idea in concept, but concept and reality were two very different things. He felt like there were so many ways he was constantly failing Lillia, and he didn't know what to change. Add that to the list of things to work on. He thought to himself.

He sighed. "Truth is, I received a note from Zathrian. He's feeling urgent about our timetable. He wants to meet soon. He feels that if we wait longer, we'll be too late, and I'm inclined to agree with him."

"But your leg, is it even healed yet?" Lillia said.

"No, but I can walk on it. Lillia, we both know that Kamasia is going to become a living hell after the coronation. The coronation might even be the Night of Destruction. If that's the case all we have is a fortnight."

"Let's postpone the coronation then." Lillia said.

"We can't. The criers have already announced the date." Drayce said. He took a deep breath. "But enough of this depressing talk. Let's enjoy this picnic, Non knows when we'll get this opportunity again."

Lillia nodded, squeezing his arm.

***

Caelum had been expecting the awkwardness, but he hadn't anticipated the silent treatment. Ella walked along side him at an awkward distance, considering that their arms were entwined. She hadn't said a word to him. Caelum's shoulder had started to ache from being tugged at such an angle. His weak attempts at conversation had fallen flat. This was what he had been afraid of happening. He shouldn't have taken the chance on Ella Rose. Now both of them were hurting and their relationship probably wouldn't mend in the near future, possibly not at all. Caelum felt the most guilt over Cassian. He didn't understand what was going on and was going to lose an important person in his life.