by Kira Stüssy
“I don’t care about the legend, I don’t care that you are a Fire Knowledge, and I don’t care if everyone in the Kingdom thinks you’re the devil.”
“It’s actually all of Nostos who thinks I’m the devil.”
“Shut up,” he grinned slightly and I continued, “I know you are the biggest pain in the neck and quite possibly the most infuriating person I’ve ever met.”
“Well this is touching.”
“But despite all of that, you’re also a good person. I can see it. And according to Xavier and you’re mom, I’m some sort of Frankenstein thing the Council created. He seemed to think I was pretty evil. Just because someone believes you are one thing, doesn’t mean you actually are. You know who you are and I know who you are. Annoying? Check. Disrespectful? Check. Pure evil? I don’t think so.”
“How can you be so sure?” So much desperation tinged his voice.
I lifted his chin up. His perfectly chiseled face twisted in agony so deep and ingrained that I had no idea whether he could ever fully believe me. But beneath the pain and sorrow, I could detect a certain hope, striving to persevere amidst the darkness within. I determined to help him accept that hope if it was the last thing I did. His eyes began to flash a golden orange.
“I just know.” I whispered.
His face searched mine, and as if relinquishing his last bit of restraint, he cupped my face in his hands and kissed me hard. I melted into his strong embrace, forgetting about everything else in the world. Even after he drew his face away from mine, he refused to release his hold on me and I didn’t want him to. I nestled into his side, sure there was not a more wonderful place on earth. His abnormally high body heat was comforting, like a space heater on a cold day. I could happily have remained there forever, wrapped securely in Ash’s embrace. We sat there for an eternity, just resting in each other’s arms, my Knowledge shimmering against the opaqueness of his.
When he finally pulled away, he looked at me sternly, his dark eyes boring into mine, “It’s all your fault, you know.”
I raised my eyebrow quizzically and he swooped in to lightly kiss me on the cheek. Without responding, he promptly turned away to start walking back into town. I had to run to catch up with him, “What’s my fault, again?”
“It’s all your fault that I’m going to Hell.”
*
Later I sat on my bed, happily singing made up tunes to myself, twirling a curl with my finger mindlessly, a cheesy smile plastered on my face when a knock came at my door.
“Come in!”
Caspian’s head peeked through followed my Iris’s. The two of them stepped inside without making eye contact with me. Although Caspian and I had been spending a good deal of time together in the same room waiting for Kelsey and Danny to wake up, we barely spoke. I had hoped that after our little adventure to the human world things would be back to normal. That had been a stupid and rather optimistic assumption. The past few days without Ash, Iris, and Caspian had been the most lonely days I had experienced in my whole life.
The two of them stepped inside and softly closed the door behind them with a hardly audible click. I cleared my throat awkwardly as they rocked on their heels. Iris especially seemed to barely be able to contain herself.
Caspian started, “Look…”
But as soon as he began to speak, Iris sprang from her spot and yelped, “Mira, I’m so sorry!” And dashed to where I sat on the edge of my bed. Her small body collided with mine in a breathtaking tackle but I was overjoyed and didn’t care one bit. I squeezed her as tight as I could, my eyes burning and threatening to leak if I didn’t pull it together. When we released one another, she cuddled beside me, linking her arms through mine, as if she had the intention of never letting go. I think I would have been okay with that.
“I’m sorry too,” Caspian relented his rigid posture, walked over to the bed, and sat down on the other side of me. “I mean, you’ve been really stupid lately, but I also know I can’t stay mad at you for long.”
“I really am sorry. You had a right to be mad. But I checked your file today.”
“You what? Mira, that’s against the rules. You already got in trouble for it once, why would you do it again?”
“I needed to make it up to you.” I replied, “But everything in it says what we already know. Your last name was filed under Durrant too, but I have no clue why.”
“Weird.”
“Yeah. And get this: I saw the Elemental queen again.”
His aquamarine eyes widened, “And you aren’t in trouble for breaking into the Archives again?”
“I don’t think so. She was really cryptic. Seems to be her thing. And when I tried to ask her about the things that Xavier said…”
“Things Xavier said?”
I gulped, I had momentarily forgotten my promise to keep that information from my family until I knew more. I mentally chastised myself, “Just a bunch of random stuff…nothing of importance.”
He did not seem convinced, but he also didn’t push it, knowing me well enough to figure I did not want to talk about it, for which I was very grateful, “Well…thanks for doing that.”
I shrugged, “I owed you one. Thanks for coming to save me.”
One side of his mouth pulled up and in an unspoken conversation, I knew I had been forgiven. I slumped over to rest my head on his shoulder. The three of us sat there for a good deal of time, simply embracing one another, protecting each other from the strange world we now lived in. I don’t have any clue as to when we fell asleep, but when my door flung open with a loud BANG Nostos was blanketed with night.
We woke up, startled by the noise. I looked around my room frantically, lost in the just-woken-up-fog when my eyes landed on a tall, broad figure making his way towards us. I blinked once…twice…three times before my vision finally focused and I could see who now briskly strode toward us, a set look of determination on his face: Bram.
“What’re yah doin’ here?” I mumbled sleepily.
“You need to come with me.”
“Huh?”
I was wide awake now while Iris rubbed crust from her eyelids and Caspian stretched. Bram’s green eyes were fierce and he wore dark green pants with a matching tee: the Legion uniform.
“The Council has summoned you to the Courts.”
“Now? Why?”
“There has been an incident, The three prisoners escaped.”
Fear pierced my heart, “Xavier and Wiley?”
“And Vlad, the Shade who was with them. You must come now.”
“What do I have to do with it? Why am I being summoned?”
“They only gave me a short message,” he responded, and took a deep breath before saying, “They said that it was time.”
My heart sped up, I felt as if my dinner would come up, “Time for what, Bram?!”
He closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose before speaking softly but with conviction, “Time for you to know about Boni Conuigator.”