by A. J. Macey
Delilah.
Purposely moving at the same relaxed pace, to not arouse suspicion, we headed back to the room where our stuff was. Torryn jumped into action, sealing the door from outsiders and silencing us to any prying eyes and ears that could be in the room.
“I think we have our answer,” he stated simply, looking to Xan with a hard gaze. Xan, my poor Xan, stood straight and nodded in agreement, but I could see the defeat in his eyes. The betrayal that his father could possibly be working with the council and with Delilah against us weighed heavily on him. “Let’s get ready to go, as soon as it’s dark, we’ll leave. I have a second lantern for us to use. Gorgeous, you brought yours, yes?”
“Yeah, I also brought the best practical stuff I could find. Had a feeling we’d probably be, uh, not sticking around,” I stuttered, opening my bag to pull out my jeans, showing them the inside of my pack as I did. Their faces were proud, though hints of sadness laced in the group as we realized this was officially it.
Us against the council.
As we got ready and waited for the right time to leave, I noticed a small white square sticking out from under the door. Getting up, I made my way over and knelt down. It didn’t look hexed, appearing to be nothing more than a note, but if I had learned anything from Delilah, it was not to be fooled by appearances.
“Can someone come see if this was hexed?” I questioned, pointing to the note. As soon as Xan saw what I was seeing, he came over, followed by Caspian and Kye. All three did their thing, scanning and investigating the piece of paper to determine if someone had hexed it through spells, potion, or any kind of rune.
“It’s clean,” Torryn explained, doing one final check on it as he pulled it out from under the door. “Though the only one who can read it, I believe, is Aris. It’s blank for me.”
My brows scrunched, gingerly taking the folded paper from his outstretched hand. Who is sending me messages here? The only person I knew was Brynn and the messenger, and I didn’t even know his name. Well, and the enforcer.
Danger is coming, use the portals. It’s the only safe place in Akasha -S
“What’s it say?” Cas asked, glancing over my shoulder. I relayed the message, wracking my brain for who ‘S’ could be.
“Sounds like a trap,” Kye stated simply. “I don’t trust it.” As soon as he started speaking, the note disintegrated. Flecks of ash slowly tumbled to the floor, fading away once they made contact with the stone floor. “Really don’t trust it,” he reiterated.
“Me either. We leave the capital. And based on how dark and still the streets are, I think we’ll be good to go,” Torryn explained, digging out the second Lantern of Shrouded Flame. “Xan, Kye, go with Aris. Cas, Drayce, you’re with me,” he directed. We lined up, shouldering our bags and grabbing our familiars. As soon as the guys had grabbed hold of Torryn and me, we lit the lanterns.
“Go back the main route?” I asked in a whisper, somehow unwilling to disturb the empty room.
“Yes, I’ll daze the guards as we go,” Torryn said, his voice reaching me even though I couldn’t see him.
We worked slowly, my heart pounding after Torryn put the hallway guard into a trance. Each turn of the hall, each moment spent within the council building felt like forever, fear coursing through me at every bump, noise, or person we passed. When I thought I couldn’t take anymore, we finally reached the front door, slipping through it and out into the cool fall air.
Hells bells and tarot tells, we made it.
November 21st
Thursday Early Morning
Aris
Everything ached. My upper body was sore from carrying the pack, and my neck and shoulders were on fire from the weight of Mr. Stripes hanging onto me. Each step made my feet throb, but thankfully, I had worn my outdoorsy boots, making navigating the terrain much easier than I anticipated. Puffs of air flared in front of me in the cool, impending winter air, my eyes half focusing on the rhythmic appearance and half on the ground, so I didn't trip.
None of us talked, either lost in thought or growing tired as we trekked into our fifth straight hour of walking. I don't think I've ever exercised this much in my entire life. If my ass doesn't look amazing by the end of this, I want my money back.
“Alright, I think we've gone far enough for right now,” Torryn finally said after another few minutes. “We still have about four hours until sunrise, so we should make camp for a while and rest. We can continue after the sun is up.”
“Oh, thank the Goddesses,” I huffed, collapsing onto a nearby rock. Even after I was sitting, my legs continued to tremble from the intense use. “I think I was about to turn to Jell-O.”
“Turn into what?” Caspian asked, his brow quirking up as he pulled out a snack from his bag.
“Is this another one of those human things?” Drayce tacked on, leaning over and kissing my temple as he sat down.
“Yeah, it's some kind of dessert. It's known to jiggle and be really wobbly. At least that’s what I read. Never seen it in real life, though.”
“Wonder if it would be any good.” Drayce hummed at the end of his statement, his head tilting.
“Not to be a buzzkill, but we're not sure how long we're going to be on the run, and with winter just around the corner, how do we anticipate sleeping or camping without tents or sleeping sacks?” Xan asked, looking around us. Kye groaned and ran a hand down his face.
“I know Aris and I prepared for winter with more practical clothing choices, but I didn't even think of that,” he grumbled.
“Does that mean we all have to cuddle to preserve our body heat?” I asked, flashing everyone a smirk.
“That sounds pretty damn good to me,” Drayce added, winking at Cas and me.
“As fine and dandy as that sounds,” Tor started, cutting off my response. Glancing over, I saw him yanking open his duffel and dig around. “I have that covered.”
“Uh, how?” Kye's question was littered with skepticism, eyeing the tattered material of Torryn's beige pack.
Torryn’s eyes lit up in amusement, and he did a flourish with his fingers before whispering dramatically, “Magic!” I snorted, recognizing the humor for what it was, a way to keep up morale.
“Really?” Caspian deadpanned.
Tor didn't respond, too busy rustling through the pack until finally pulling a couple bundles of tightly wound material I couldn't identify. We all watched with rapt attention as he untied the strings and set them around in a circle, a large gap between each one. After a muttered incantation, the material unfolded with a flash of light, rising until they popped into a triangle.
“Wow!” I exclaimed, gasping when I realized what they were—three tents, each with two sleeping sacks inside.
“Caspian, Drayce, Xan, go grab some firewood. Kye, if you could help me ward the area,” Torryn continued to direct everyone, all the familiars huddling around me as they started to move. I gave them lots of attention, knowing if we were stressed, they could feel it too. Extra snuggles never hurt!
“You don't have to be so bossy,” Caspian muttered under his breath as he started to walk away. Torryn refused to respond, but I saw the tiny frown that curled his lips and the tension that appeared in his body. I sighed, knowing it was only a matter of time before they would need to work on whatever it was that seemed to be between them, but right now wasn't the time.
“What about me?” I piped in, shifting on my makeshift seat to look at Torryn as he walked the perimeter of the camp.
“Sit there and be adorable,” Kye answered with an air kiss. After sticking my tongue out at him, I crossed my arms and waited for an actual task. “You're cute when you pout, Sweets.”
“If you could, I have food for all the familiars in my bag. I'm sure they're hungry and thirsty,” Tor directed, his tone softer than it had been with the guys. Nodding, I hopped up and made my way to his bag.
“Holy crap, it's so much bigger on the inside,” I exclaimed, staring at the darkness inside of his bag. “You spell
it or something?”
“Yes, the food should be pretty close to the top on the left.”
Following his instructions, I found the bags and bins of food, alongside a stacked set of bowls. I pulled it all out, setting the bowls and food in a grouping on the forest floor and filling them. When I opened my mouth to ask about water, I realized I didn't need to find a stream or bottle. Pointing at the empty water dishes, I focused on my power, feeling the magic lightly building as I focused on my task. It was a slow trickle at first before turning to a large wave. Thankfully though, I was able to stop the stream of power fast enough that the bowls only sloshed a small bit.
“There you go, babies,” I cooed, patting all of them as they started to eat and drink. As I finished, Kye and Tor stepped back to the middle of the camp. “All secured and stuff?”
“The best it's going to get,” Kye said, flopping onto the ground with a sigh. “Takes a lot to set runic stones and barriers, and after spending the majority of the night walking, I only have so much juice left to put into the circle.”
I couldn't stop my lower lip from tucking between my teeth, a thread of ice weaving its way through my veins.
“We're safe, though, Gorgeous, I promise,” Torryn reassured when he saw me glance worriedly at the edge of the camp. “We'll know well in advance if anyone outside of us approaches.”
“Alright,” I murmured, mustering up a brave smile and sitting down next to Kye. Silence fell over us as we waited for the other three to return, content to listen to the wind blow through the trees and the birds, animals, and other wildlife. It was such a change from the usual noise of Aether Academy. It felt peaceful here, just us and nature.
It wasn't long before I heard Caspian and Drayce's laughter as Xan was talking. All three carried a decently sized armful of sticks, branches, and leaves.
“So, what’s the plan exactly?” Kye asked as they returned.
“Uh,” I murmured, unable to come up with any ideas. None of the others seemed to have any clue either, as each of us glanced around the group.
“What's closest?” Xan asked. “Does anyone know where we are?”
“I do,” Kye explained. “That's why I was asking about where we were going. If we need somewhere to go for a bit, to get ourselves and a plan situated, other than in the middle of the forest, my parents’ home is about a day's cart ride from here. So probably a day and a half, two days walk.”
“My poor feet already hurt,” I whined playfully.
“We could restock supplies, figure out where we're going. Actually, have a place to sleep that isn't on the ground,” Kye listed off. It didn't take long for all of us to agree. Torryn was the last, but after he thought it over, he agreed.
“So, why don't we just use our magic to keep a fire going? I mean, Xan and Aris are both fire elementals,” Caspian asked when there was a lull in the conversation, finally dropping his pile of wood onto the ground.
“Kye's already exhausted most of his abilities for the day after doing the perimeter,” Tor explained, getting the fire pit going with Drayce. “We can easily start it with our power, but there's no reason to keep using it when we have wood all around us. It's better and safer to conserve what we're able to do.”
“You've really thought about this, haven't you?” Cas's exasperation was blatant in his tone and the way his arms crossed tightly over his chest.
“Yes.”
“Any particular reason?” Drayce took over, but unlike Cas, his question was full of curiosity as they stepped away from the tepee of wood for Xan to light.
“I've been preparing for something like this for a long time.”
“How long?” I asked, confused how he would know something like this could have come up. He didn't respond right away, thanking Kye when he passed out a few bags of snacks to everyone before turning to me.
“Since we found out what you were. I had a hunch the council would come eventually, regardless of how careful we were.”
“And you didn't think to tell any of us?” Cas ground out. Reaching over, I squeezed his thigh and gave him a soft smile, hoping to convey that we really shouldn't be fighting. Based on his sigh and him uncrossing his arms, I succeeded. For now, at least.
“I didn't want to worry any of you, especially Aris. She was trying to adjust to a new school—hellsticks, a new territory—on top of new powers and the five of us. Excuse me for trying to think about someone other than myself,” Torryn snapped.
“Okay,” I drew out the word, closing the bag I was eating from. I could tell everyone was tired and on edge, and the changing dynamic was making them crabby—time for some space. “I think it's time for us to get some sleep. Come on, Tor.” Caspian grumbled under his breath, glaring at the fire. As Tor moved into one of the tents, I went over to his younger brother and sank into his lap.
“Hey,” I whispered, dipping my head down, so I could look at him. “I'm just going to talk to him for a bit, see if I can get him to calm down enough to get some sleep. Please try not to be upset; it's already a really tense situation. If you want, I can come by for a bit after I calm him down, and we can cuddle a bit?” I offered.
“Yeah, Cupcake, I'd like that. Okay, go cheer up grumpy gills.” Kissing me softly, Cas patted my butt as I got up. I couldn't stop the chuckle that bubbled out at his teasing as I made my way into the tent where Tor had gone. My mouth went dry, my eyes trailing over a bare, toned back. In the brief moment before he pulled on a long sleeve shirt, I got a chance to notice more details. Usually, we were so crunched for time, we didn’t get moments like this to just appreciate each other. The small scar on his shoulder blade to the muscles bulging as he shifted, made me want to run my hands over his pale skin and truly appreciate him. A soft whimper filled the space, my lip subconsciously poking out now that he took away my ability to check him out fully.
“You okay over there, Gorgeous?” Tor asked, apparently finding my pout funny as he smiled over at me. “Don't worry, there's a whole lifetime where you can see me without a shirt, but it's too cold to sleep without one.”
“Good, because I don't know if I'll ever get tired of seeing it,” I murmured, practically skipping over to him. “Want to cuddle for a bit before I go say goodnight to the other guys? I'll come back after.”
“I'd love that.” Shedding my coat and boots, I crawled into the sleeping sack Torryn unzipped and held open for me. We didn't talk as I had initially thought, too happy to curl into each other and finally just be us—two witches who cared about each other, without the stipulations and judgment of others. Sighing, I snuggled in, inhaling Tor’s scent and soaking in his warmth. His fingertips absently smoothed over my arm to rest on my hip as we looked into each other’s eyes. This wasn’t hurried or needy… it was just us.
I could get used to this.
November 22nd
Friday Afternoon
Xanthius
Cracked Cauldrons, I’m not made for this outdoorsy life. My feet were aching, and it felt like things were crawling all over me. I’d sell my favorite paints for a hotel room, good food, and hot water.
We had set out early to make it as far as we could in daylight, but it felt like the woods looked the same no matter how far we walked. None of us talked, clearly lost in our heads, which was fine by me. I was still struggling after seeing that side of the council. Surely, Dad knew nothing about someone working with Delilah… but they worked so closely together, I didn’t see that as a possibility. I refused to believe the worst of my parents quite yet. Sure, my dad was a snob and scarily dedicated to the council, but he had morals.
“You doing alright?” Aris’ sweet voice interrupted my worrying. I gave her my best attempt at a smile, but from her frown, I could tell it looked as forced as it felt.
“No? I don’t know. I just feel like my dad wouldn’t do that, but we heard it for ourselves. How do I dispute that?”
“Well, we don’t know it’s the entire council,” she reasoned, wrapping her hand in mine. “It could
just be one or two they were talking about.”
“Something just feels off about the whole thing,” I huffed, throwing my free hand up in exasperation. “I get that we’re powerful together, but why come after us so soon? And how does it tie back to whoever watched us at Aether?”
“Maybe the council has spies?” she reasoned, her eyebrows scrunching up adorably as she contemplated everything.
“Well, for now, we have bigger problems,” I pointed out, shuddering as I brushed a spiderweb off of the path ahead of us. She giggled at my panic when I couldn't shake it off but took my hand as soon as we continued on.
“Right now, my concern is you, Picasso. I know it had to hurt to hear that, and it likely went against everything you’ve known. Processing things like that can be tough,” she explained, looking up at me with eyes full of love and concern. At that moment, I realized Aris was the first person in my life who saw and cared about me, not for my position or my potential, but as a person. I blinked back a wave of emotion as I looked over at my perfect witch. She was unique in so many ways, but her open acceptance and genuine kindness were at the top of the list.
“I love you, Aris,” I blurted out, not as eloquent as I’d hoped for, but I wanted her to know how I felt. Her answering smile was blinding as she squealed and squeezed me in a hug.
“I love you too!” She pulled away and let out a happy sigh. “Sometimes, I worry, I’ll be too much for you, eventually. That I’ll bring a little too much chaos, and you’ll realize I’m not worth it.”
“Never. You are absolutely worth it. You’re the best person I know, and you make all of us better, just by being yourself. This is just a bump in the road, but we still have the rest of our lives to figure things out. It won’t always be chaos, but it will always be amazing,” I promised, pulling her in for a kiss.
“Are you two getting all sappy up here?” Kye teased as he walked up next to us, flinging his arm over Aris’ shoulder, not even caring that my arm was already around her waist. We’d come a long way since we first started the bond, that was for sure.