Page 47 of Grounded (Convergence #1)

“He does love you. You know that.” Liria glanced back inside and saw his mother coming their way. “And your mother is here, remember? She's helping us move in.” Liria motioned Lady Elanianvia outside with a wave behind Thax's back. “Here she is. Look, destru.”

Thax stared forward, not even at the sea. Just forward. Even the word destru didn't affect him anymore.

“My son.” Lady Elanianvia stroked Thax's hair back from his forehead. “It's lovely here, isn't it? I hope the two of you will be very happy.”

“Mother,” Thax murmured.

Her eyes went wide, and she dropped into a crouch beside him, her wings spreading out behind her. “Yes, Thaxvarien, I'm here. I love you, my sweet boy. I'm so grateful you're all right.”

Like a machine, Thax turned his head and looked—not at her, but at her wings. “I am not all right.”

She flinched, her wings pulling in against her back. “Oh, Thaxvarien, you are. You're sad right now, and I'm so sorry. But you are all right. You are safe, and you are loved. Don't forget that.”

“I love you too.”

Liria swallowed roughly and met Lady Elanianvia's stare over Thax's head. The words had come automatically, just as mechanical as his movements. It was as if he'd escaped the underground only to become a Nethren on the surface—poisoning everything around him.

“Mother?” he whispered.

“Yes, my boy?”

“Please go away.”

Lady Elanianvia's face crumpled, her eyes filling with tears.

“Oh, Thax,” Liria whispered. “She's—”

“She's hurting me,” he said. “I can't stand to look at her. Make her leave, Liri.”

Liri, not destra. He hadn't called her that since they had left the fortress.

With a sob, his mother fled into the house.

“Fuck, Thax!” Liria hissed. “You are not the only one who lost those wings! Your pain is ours!”

Suddenly, he spun to roar at her, “You know nothing of pain!”

Liria stumbled to her feet, as shocked and hurt as his mother was, and ran into the house. Had she wanted him to speak? Now, she longed for his silence. At least the silence wasn't bloodthirsty. Liria rushed inside, and Elanianvia caught her as soon as she entered the house.

With her wings and arms folding around Liria, Elanianvia whispered, “That's not him, Liria.

That's not our Thaxvarien. He's still buried .

He's down there, under all that stone and metal.” She leaned back.

“I'm so sorry, but you have to do this alone. You need to bring him back to us again. You returned his body, but his soul is still wandering the core, sinking deeper and deeper. Bring him home, Daughter.”

Sobbing, Liria said, “I don't know how.” She knew it was just a moment of weakness. She didn't mean what she said. Truly, she had faith that Thax would recover. But right then, sadness overwhelmed her and took control. She was just as lost as Thax.

“You do know, Liria. In here.” Elanianvia laid her hand over Liria's heart. “That's where his heart is now. With you. Use his heart to pull his soul back into his body.”

Liria made a frustrated sound. “Really? You're giving me a riddle? A fucking proverb or something? What the fuck was that? Poetry?”

Lady Elanianvia laughed softly and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“You know what it means. You're his destra. Only you know.” She hugged Liria again and then took her through the doorway on the right and into the kitchen.

“But you need to look after yourself too. This will be a long and difficult process. You will cry and suffer with Thaxvarien. You will buckle under the strain. Do not forget that you are here as well. You are just as important as your destru.”

She sat Liria down at the kitchen table and then took the kettle off the hearthcog stove, the flame beneath it flaring green before settling back into the polished stone surface. Green was the perfect temperature for tea.

As Elanianvia poured the amber liquid into two cups, she said, “Keep yourself strong for this battle. Fortify your body and mind.” She put the kettle back, and a green glow immediately flared beneath it, through the stone.

Elanianvia sat down and set a cup before Liria before claiming the other.

“You cannot bring him back if you're too weak to make the journey yourself.”

Liria snorted. “Do all Aethari talk like that?”

“Only the wise ones.” She winked.

Liria chuckled. “Thank you, Lady Elanianvia. For all of this.” She looked around and then down at her tea. “And for this.”

“Don't thank me. We are indebted to you. Thank you for caring for Thaxvarien and accepting our help.” She sighed. “I feel so useless.”

“I do too.”

“You are with him. That's all you need to do.

Just be here for him in our stead. Keep telling him that he's loved. Keep showing him.” She stroked Liria's hair in much the same way as she had Thax's.

“I must leave you now. I've done all I can here, and he doesn't want me around.

But vid me if you need anything. And please contact me even if you don't. Just to tell me how he is.”

“Of course.”

“Goodbye, Daughter. May the Source of Magic look after you both.”