Page 38 of Wrath Of Suns And Shadows (The Osparia #2)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Ace

I immersed myself in my responsibilities, isolating myself.

I did what Atreya asked anytime she asked it of me, but other than that, I kept to myself.

After I finished my duties this morning, I came up to the practice area farther up in the mountains.

Luckily for me, no one was here because I had finished my chores before the sun rose.

I hadn’t been getting much sleep either.

I didn’t like the thoughts that awaited me when I closed my eyes, the demons that haunted my dreams. The memories of the horrors I had witnessed over the years of war and battle, with the most recent being the most prominent in my mind—Maeve.

I placed my feet in a fighting stance and thrust my wind toward the posts of earth that jutted out of the ground that the Earth Dryads had created for us to train.

I did an assortment of moves, fists, kicks, and wind shot powerfully from my blows, causing the post to crumble from the force.

My breaths left me in heavy pants as sweat glistened down my body.

I hadn’t bothered putting on my leathers, only wearing my pants gave me more movement.

Suddenly, a gust a wind hit me, not one of brute strength but from the wings of Cyran flying up from the ground below, before he landed in front of me.

“Come on, brother,” he signed, and it wasn’t a question.

I had been avoiding everyone, especially Luana since I’d left the beach three days ago. I had thrown myself into my duties. Cyran had tried to get me to open up and get me out of our living quarters, but I’d denied him anytime he had offered.

“Whatever it is, I’m not interested,” I signed before going back to sparring alone. When I glanced over at him, he was glaring at me, annoyed. “What?” I signed.

“Don’t make me get Lu,” he threatened.

“You wouldn’t dare,” I signed with a snarl.

He gave me a watch me look before he took off into the skies, and I grabbed his ankle before he could get over the cliffside.

“Alright, alright, I’ll go wherever you want me to go,” I signed as I released his ankle, and he flapped his wings awkwardly before getting upright and flying back over the cliffside to land next to me.

“Good,” he signed. “Now, go bathe and get ready. You look worse than you smell.” I lifted my arm with a whiff and grimaced. If I looked worse than that, I felt sorry for him being in my presence. “Wear something nice.”

“What for?”

“A party.”

“For what?”

“To live a little.”

I grabbed a towel from the training area and then plummeted down the mountainside and flew the short distance to the river before I discarded my pants, setting the towel on the shore, and dived into the water.

I bathed, running my hands through my long hair.

The sides that I normally kept shaved close to my scalp had grown out long enough to cover my extended, pointy ears.

I had probably started looking like a lion with the awkward haircut.

Maybe that was what Cyran had meant by my looks.

The thought made me chuckle to myself. I’d shave it back down once I got myself clean.

I hadn’t bathed; I had barely been eating.

Losing Maeve on top of the unknowns about Emelyn had me walking around lost. Doing my chores, working out, and maybe eating something before bed was all I could muster with the state of my mind, but I’d do my best to remember Maeve’s last request and what Atreya had talked to me about.

Live for me . . .

They wanted Emelyn alive . . . .

Knowing those two truths was the only thing keeping me together.

I finished scrubbing the day’s worth of sweat and grime from my body and hair before I got out of the river and grabbed the towel to dry off before wrapping it around myself for the walk back to camp.

I made it to my tent, and when I walked in, Cyran was sitting there, looking much like he had the first time we had met.

Oh, how it seemed so long ago since then.

He was dressed in his fine clothes, had propped his feet up on the table, and sat back with his relaxed wings as he read a book. He lowered it to look over at me.

“Better?” I signed, and he grinned.

“A little.” I rolled my eyes before making my way over to the bed to find some clothes sitting there. They were nicer, similar to the ones I’d worn the night we had celebrated Emelyn.

“Why are we dressing up?”

“Don’t ask questions, just do it. You’ll see,” he said before going back to his book.

I grabbed the other chair from the table and sat in front of a long mirror we had in the corner of the room.

I grabbed one of my daggers and began trimming up my hair on the sides.

Once I got it shaved down again, I got dressed quickly.

The tunic left the top of my chest exposed, but the pants fit nicely before I moved on to my shoes.

I did a few taut braids in my hair, blending them with my feathers, and then I was ready for whatever came after this.

“Oh look, it’s Ace,” Cyran teased.

“Alright, come on, it wasn’t that bad.” He gave me a wide-eyed look.

“Fine, it was pretty bad.” He chuckled before shutting the book and leaving it on the table.

He nodded his head toward the door, motioning for us to leave as he led me to wherever we were going.

We walked in silence, and then I noticed all the string lights lazily hanging from the trees, casting a warm glow over the setup of tables and chairs.

It looked like a smaller version of the party the rebellion had planned for Emelyn, but this one was for Maeve.

Losing her weighed on the rebellion, but they had wanted to celebrate her anyway.

I thought it was nice, but another part of me wanted to run and train, hide away knowing I couldn’t get to her fast enough . . . .

Live . . .

Her last wish echoed through my mind, and I took a deep breath and followed Cyran down to where the soft music was playing.

Fae, dryads, Sky Elves, orcs and all creatures of all shapes and sizes danced slowly around the dance floor.

Atreya stood on the sidelines with Shay and Baron.

Baron had his arms wrapped around Shay’s small, swollen stomach.

It brought a smile to my face, seeing their happiness radiate off them.

The music changed to something less romantic and more upbeat.

People gathered on the dance floor in a line, preparing for the change of pace.

Hinky burst through the sidelines and grabbed me by the shoulder.

“Come on, my boy!” he shouted as he dragged me onto the dance floor and pulled me in line.

“I don’t know this dance,” I signed, glancing at everyone else, hoping to get an idea of what to do.

“Have fun and follow me,” he said, looping his large, pale-green, muscled arm around mine.

I fumbled around at first until I finally got it down.

By the end, everyone on the line was circling each other and laughing.

The sight of the brightened faces of those in the rebellion that had been so weighed down by loss and defeat warmed something in me for the first time in a long while.

The song ended, and I followed Hink off the dance floor.

He was wearing a sleeveless top that fit his colossal figure and nicer pants.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. “Where’s Helena?”

“She’s back at home with our new babe. We thought it would be safer for her to hang back for a bit. I came to help where I can. Did I tell ya we had a girl?” Hinky’s smile widened.

“Wouldn’t that be your first daughter?” I asked.

“Yeah, she’s already my little princess. She looks just like her mother.” Pride beamed from him. I clasped him on the shoulder.

“Congratulations,” I signed, returning the smile as he pulled me into a one-armed hug.

“I heard about Emelyn. I’m so sorry, son. I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I know you two were inseparable. But I know we will get her back. She’s too stubborn to die on you,” he comforted, and a light chuckle escaped me.

“I’m glad you're back. The past week has been rough, to say the least. Your joy is contagious,” I signed, and his face softened.

“Yeah, I heard about Maeve too. She was a lovely young woman, taken far too soon, but I know from the time that I knew her, she would have loved this.” He gestured to the party that surrounded us.

The gathering that celebrated her and what she wanted for all of us.

I glanced around, looking for Sedrin, but I couldn’t find him anywhere.

“Have you seen Sedrin since your return?” I asked.

“No, I haven’t, though I’m sure I’ll find him eventually,” Hink replied.

“I think I’m going to find him now,” I said. “Enjoy the night, Hink.”

“With pleasure.” He walked over to where they were serving drinks as I shifted on my feet and made one lap around the party, confirming that Sedrin wasn’t here at all.

I began walking back up the path I’d taken to get down here and ran back into Cyran.

“Where are you heading off to?” I asked, and he shrugged.

“I have somewhere to be, but I’ll see you later,” he signed before taking off into the trees.

I didn’t have time to argue as I began walking toward Sedrin’s tent.

I knew I was probably the last person he wanted to see, but I refused to leave him alone.

I knew he was mad at me, but I wouldn’t let him suffer alone.

He was still my comrade, my brother, my friend . . .

I tapped on the flap of his tent, waited a few minutes, and there was no response, but I knew he was in there.

I lifted the flap and walked in to find him sitting at a wooden desk, staring at the second empty bed where Maeve had slept.

It looked like he had touched none of her things since we’d returned from the islands.

A glass almost empty sat on the cleared off table in front of him, and he ran his finger across the rim of the glass.