AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We eat so well, we have to lie near the waterfall for hours before we decide it’s time to head back to the cabin.
Chapter
Thirteen
KAI
The meat Kaito cooks fills me to the brim. My stomach distends with how full I am, and I’m forced to lie back against the soft moss and grass and watch the sky as it settles. Part of me wants to lie here forever, and I imagine closing my eyes and falling asleep and simply never waking up again. The flowers would twist around my bones like an intricate piece of art. The moss would carpet my resting place and cushion me for eternity. I would be a permanent part of this place that feels like something more than just a waterfall.
With Weyland and Kaito beside me, it feels like something more.
Perhaps it’s the magic of this place that soaks into my veins and begs for more. Perhaps it’s the two monsters who watch me with rapt attention, offering nothing but protection and kindness so as not to startle me. Either way, this feels like heaven far more than anything else has in my life.
There is only one other memory that comes close—Cora and me when we were younger. Father had been gone for a few days to tend to some issues in the fields and he had to sleep out there. It left us and our mother alone and for the first time,it had been peaceful. Cora and I had woken up to find Mother had cooked for us. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a few eggs and some toast that had gone dry, but it wasn’t about the food. It was about the way it felt as the three of us sat around the table in companionable silence before Cora made some joke about the bread being perfect for soaking up stomach acid. We all laughed, and it was brighter in the home for a matter of hours before Father returned. But that moment, that peace, had felt like heaven. Now, this space in time feels the same, only without the fear and anticipation of Father interrupting it.
Now, I fear something else.
Kaito and Weyland both say they are here to protect me, that they won’t push, but can I really force them to walk on eggshells around me for the rest of their lives? Is it worth it to them to watch as I struggle and break over and over again? And at what point will it be too much? Will they look at me with all my cracks and see the darkness leaking out?
I’m afraid of what they may see, of what they may witness in my worst moments. Mostly, I’m afraid they will witness it and no longer see me as beautiful and leave. They say they aren’t going anywhere, but I still fear it. My mind repeats over and over again that I’m not worth their attention or care. What if those intrusive thoughts are right? What if I’m not worthy of anything?
As the hazy sun begins to sink in the sky, Kaito stands and says it’s time to head back to the cabin. At night, the Dead Lands come alive in ways that still frighten me, and I chastise myself for forgetting that we aren’t as safe as I felt. Being out here in the open, even with my protectors, should put me on guard, but I had forgotten because of Weyland and Kaito and because I enjoy their company.
Weyland offers me his hand, his claws carefully tipped down, and I take it without hesitation. Something flashes in his eyes, as if he’s proud of me, and I walk a little straighter as they lead meback through the trees. This time, I don’t let go, not even when we reach the cabin. This time, when I settle in for the night, my eyes trail over to my monsters, my protectors, and I slip quickly into sleep.
As I sleep, though, I swear I hear Weyland singing softly. It’s a lullaby that eases something else inside me and makes this feel like home.
The nightmares never come that night.
Chapter
Fourteen
KAI
There is peace in my soul as we go about our days, falling into a familiar routine. They hunt while I prepare the fire and herbs to go with the meat. We clean at the river where Weyland carefully picks out the knots in my hair for me while Kaito dives deep and offers me treasures. We talk until the moon is high in the sky, and when the sun shines, they show me this world of theirs. I begin to relax and understand their reasons for wanting to live, even when everything seemed bleak. After all, they were trapped here with no way out and they found hope, so maybe I can too.
It’s a small, fragile flame burning in my soul, and every day I spend with these men makes the flames grow brighter, as if they are huddled around it, fanning it.
Today is no different. After a breakfast of nuts and berries I gathered for myself and meat for them, we head off into the forest. Only this time, I am not as scared. I look around as we walk, appreciating the beauty and splendor this once dead but now thriving land has to offer.
It is almost as if it heals as I do, but that’s silly. My soul is not tied to this land, but I cannot help but look at it withunderstanding. I, too, was cast in shadows, and I still fight to free myself of them.
We pass our waterfall, which we visit often, and I find myself grinning at Weyland. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see soon enough,” he starts, but then his eyes go wide and he raises his nose in the air. “Kaito!” he roars just as he pushes me behind him.
Kaito is at my side in an instant, protecting me as furry beasts burst from the underbrush, their claws dripping with liquid that seems to burn the ground. Small tendrils of steam hiss where it falls, leaving the smallest of craters behind in a pattern that almost feels artistic.
Weyland roars at the beasts, diving into their masses with teeth and claws as I huddle into Kaito, wishing I had brought my weapon with me. Cursing, Kaito turns to me, pushing my back to a tree. “Stay here. Do not move.” He moves in front of me, kicking those that get too close.
I huddle into the rough bark, tugging at my dress as if that will somehow help. I’m watching the fight, terrified for my monsters, when something in the fog calls to me. I turn my face toward it in confusion and curiosity despite the battle taking place before me.
It echoes like a song of death, though I don’t know how I know that.
So much pain and longing resonate in that song, I stagger to my knees and my chest tightens.
Before I can even consider taking a step in its direction, a creature bursts into the clearing, stomping on the furry beasts with huge, cloven hooves. It’s as tall as some of the trees and as black as midnight, its luminous skin sporting a sheen riddled with blues and purples. Its eyes are a blazing red, both terrifying and intriguing. It looks like a horrifying version of the horses that used to till the fields. Bones show through its skin, and uponits head is a bone shaped into a sharp horn. The creature uses that horn to spear two beasts through their rib cages and then tosses them away with a bellow. Those red eyes turn to us, focus on my monsters, and then on me.
