The Sixth God (Arc 1: From The Pale Ashes) [BL]

Chapter 8

When the house came into view Shida saw Ina grappling with Gray, screaming as tears ran down his face.

"Let me go! Shida is out there! Let. Go!"

Shida stared at the scene, warmth flickering in his heart. Shida parted his blue numb lips and called out raspy, "Ina."

Ina froze, green eyes finding Shida quickly. Ina took one look and let out a wail, "Shida!"

Gray released him as he flung himself over, wrapping up Shida in a tight hug, glowing fiercely as warmth radiated into Shida's aching bones.

"Shida, Shida, Shida-" Ina keep repeating his name, trembling as tears soaked into Shida's shoulder.

The tight hug made Shida's arm throb but he didn't have the strength to tell Ina to let go. Instead, Shida sank into the hug.

Ina pulled away after a while. "Where did you go? They told me you left me- what happened to your arm?!" Ina shrieked.

Ina grabbed Shida's injury, trying to do the same trick he did with the Blue Grass. However, while the light let off a soothing and warm feeling, the rest of the power simply washed away like rain on a window.

"Shida..." Ina sobbed, still trying futilely to fix the wound. "What happened?"

Shida's eyes slid over to where Milly and Gray stood. Milly's eyes were piercing, a dark promise. It gripped Shida's heart so tightly with fear he could feel talons piercing the fleshy pulp.

Shida looked back at Ina as the boy continued to beg, "Please tell me. What happened? I'll protect you, I promise." Ina let out an uneasy chuckle. "Gray and Milly said you left me."

"It hurts. Milly hurt me. I don't like it here, Ina. They hit me and told me they would do the same for you. Let's go back. Back to the forest, just the two of us."

But those words don't come out.

Shida knows Ina would never let Shida be in danger. They would try to leave Gray and Milly but Gray and Milly were strong and they could easily overpower two children. Even if they managed to escape, Milly and Gray said they would die in the forest. If they went to town, the couple would find them. They were trapped until the snow stopped falling. They just had to wait. Soon.

Soon.

Shida looked again at Milly and Gray, shuddering in terror before he said hollowly, "I ran away. A tree branch cut me."

Ina's eyes widened at the admission. Slowly, he shook his head. "No."

Shida nodded.

Ina shook his head faster. "You're lying! I don't believe you. You would never leave without me."

Tears streamed down both of their faces, matching looks of agony in each other's eyes.

Ina took heaving deep breaths, struggling emotions warring in his eyes. Slowly, the madness in his eyes stagnated as he stated weakly, "But you came back."

Shida saw a thread of hope in those eyes and quickly latched on, "I did."

Ina nodded. "You came back." He repeated softly. "You came back for me."

Shida nodded. 

They both clutched at each other frantically.

"Let's get inside, Ina. Before you freeze." Milly called out, a look of worry on her face.

Ina tightly grabbed Shida's hand before they began to walk closer to the house. 

As they drew near, Shida's stomach dropped lower and lower.