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Kira
By the time we made it back out of the bunker, the sun had set on Zalas.
The alleyway where the entrance to the bunker was, thankfully, was deserted as we stepped back out onto the cobblestones. A breeze blew my hair away from my face, and I was thankful for the break in the stifling heat. Calliope had told me a couple of days ago that it was coming near to the end of Autumn, or the rainy season, and I had been overjoyed. The ridiculous heat of Fire had still not grown to be comfortable for me yet.
Clouds had begun to work their way over the skies, and, selfishly, I hoped the rain would wait long enough for the wedding to be over and done with before it decided to grace us with its presence.
I tucked my hands under my armpits as I waited for Tarian and Cyrus to make their way out of the bunker and slide the cover back into place. The pair had barely spoken to each other since Cyrus had told us about the history we had not known about, and I wondered if Tarian was as perplexed as I was about why it had been left out of our history lessons as children. It felt like something we should have been taught, so why were we not?
Tarian grinned at me as he stood up straight, leaving Cyrus to slide the heavy cover back onto the bunker entrance with a grunt. I watched him as he dusted his hands off on his trousers, standing up tall and stomping a boot onto the cover, making sure it was shut tight. His hair had fallen forward into his eyes, and the silver light of the moon bounced off the black, making it look like a raven’s feathers.
Lifting his head, he caught my eyes instantly, a grin coming over his features as he shot a wink in my direction. I turned my head away, smiling, and moved to Tarian’s side. From where I stood, I could not see the carriage we had arrived in earlier, and my stomach sat heavily.
“Where is Ralph?” I asked Cyrus, flexing my fingers where they were under my armpits, trying to dismiss the feeling of pins and needles in them. The golden glow that had shown in the bunker had not returned, but the feeling of burning in my chest remained, and grew stronger. I swallowed uncomfortably, rolling my shoulders to try and distract myself from it.
Cyrus came up by my side, his arm finding its way around my shoulder and pulling me into his side. Warmth worked its way up my side, shielding me from the suddenly bitter wind.
“He said he would meet us in the city center,” Cyrus smiled down at me, his cheeks-tinged pink with cold. He turned his attention to Tarian, frowning a little, “Do you want to join us?”
Tarian shrugged, nodding his head as he came to join us at my other side. The combined height of the two men next to me tucked me into a small, wind-proof space, and I could not help the smile on my face at the feeling.
“Yes, if you don’t mind. Hollis and I rode here, but I suspect the horses have been taken back to the castle by now.” Tarian grinned sheepishly, making Cyrus and I both laugh.
The three of us made our way down the alleyway, listening to the songs, and cheers, and shouted arguments from the surrounding taverns. The voices of drunkards inside of them carried out into the street, and as we passed a particularly loud tavern, we looked in the window.
A group of people were gathered around a table, at which two men were standing chest to chest. One of them was swaying where he stood, but he had his finger pressed firmly into the chest of the other man as he roared in his face. The other man, a younger man, was not reacting. Hewas grinning at the old man, almost as though he was waiting for him to be finished with his shouting before he took his turn.
I put my hand on Cyrus’s chest, stopping him in his tracks and making him look down at me, frowning, but when I pointed through the tavern window, he laughed.
“Should we stop them?” I asked, unsure why I was trying to keep my voice quiet, considering no one in the tavern knew we were there, let alone could hear us. Cyrus shook his head, grinning.
“No, Sweetheart, they’ll work it out between themselves.” He chuckled, wrapping his arm around my shoulder again and squeezing me tightly to his side.
The wind picked up, whipping my hair in front of my face as we walked, and Cyrus’s grip on my shoulders grew stronger, his head coming down slightly to try and combat the wind as we walked.
Tarian was silent at our side, but he was frowning as he walked, his eyes roaming the alleyways and spaces between the buildings as we passed them. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his trousers, but his shoulders were raised defensively.
A black cat slunk out from the dark between two taverns, and yowled at us when it spotted us.
“Tarian, are you okay?” I asked, turning my head to look up at him. He nodded, but his frown stayed placed firmly on his features.
“I’m fine,” He answered, his eyes still scanning our surroundings, “I am worried about you being out here without proper protection, though.” He gestured to his sword-less belt as though to drive the point home.
I opened my mouth to reply to him, but Cyrus spoke before I got the chance.
“Don’t be,” He said nonchalantly, a smile on his face, “Zalas has the lowest crime rate out of all of the cities in Fire.”
As he spoke, the tavern door a few feet ahead of us swung open, releasing the racket from inside into the silent night with us. A figure stumbled out of the door, landing on his knees to a crowd of cheering. Tarian threw his arm out across me at the same time Cyrus pulled me backwards and tighter into his side. I frowned, peering through the dark into the limited light given by the open tavern door, and my stomach sunk at the sight in front of us.
Maeteo coughed onto the ground, spitting out a mouthful of, what looked like, blood, and struggled to his feet. The barkeep of the tavern was still shouting at him as the door swung closed, the crowd inside still cheering as Maeteo yelled back a slurred curse, stumbling slightly when he finally stood to his full height.
I gasped, starting to move towards him, but Cyrus held me tight, and Tarian shook his head slowly. The uncomfortable warmth in my chest grew even more, and I swallowed around the rapidly rising acid in my throat. Idid not think I was getting sick, but the way I started sweating out of nowhere made me wonder.
“Leave him for a minute,” He whispered, his eyes trained on his best friend. I stopped myself, letting Cyrus pull me back into his side, his fingers curling around the fabric of my shirt.
Maeteo turned away from us, tripping over his feet as he started to walk the opposite way down the alley. He was still grumbling to himself, and Tarian nodded at us, urging us to start following him slowly.
We stayed behind him until he reached the end of the alley, stopping where the dark met the lit streetlamps of the city center and tipping his head back to look at them. He swayed where he stood, using his hand on the wall at his side to keep him steady. I looked at Tarian, who had pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and was chewing on it. A small trail of blood started to leak out onto his chin.
