Forest of Kings

by Jack Knight

  “I don’t know, she stayed by your bed the entire time you were asleep,” Laira shrugged. Xion could tell she was not saying exactly what she wanted to, but he had no idea what she was actually asking.

  “Nothing, I guess?” Xion answered, unsure of what to say.

  “Good.”

  With no warning at all, Laira leaned forward and pressed her lips against Xion’s. Her lips were warmer than the air around them, and her face was closer to his than anyone had ever been before. Xion’s eyes sprang open wide in surprise, and he saw that Laira’s were closed, like she was focusing intensely on what she was doing.

  Xion’s heart raced, and the fire inside him sprang to life, warming his entire body in an instant. Laira jumped and pulled back, like she had been shocked. She looked at him with concern.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. She had a slight smile, but Xion could hear in her voice that something was wrong.

  “Um… I… uh…” Xion stuttered. His mind had gone blank, he was mildly aware that the fire inside him died as soon as Laira stopped touching him, but his face stayed as hot as ever.

  Laira’s smile dipped and became sad, then she nodded and said, “I kinda figured.”

  “I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about,” Xion said quickly.

  Laira sighed. “It’s just…” she looked him in the eyes for several seconds, and then she started speaking very quickly, as if trying to get every word out all at once. “You saved me from those bandits, and then you just disappeared. I thought we had… I don’t know, something between us. But, you were gone, and I had to forget about you, because I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. Now, I know you actually went to go learn magic, which is amazing, by the way. And then, you showed up in Aromir, and I was so happy. I thought the gods had brought us back together, and that there really was something between us. But, I see the way Sapphire looks at you, and I think you look at her the same way. And… this wasn’t the same as it was with Ava…”

  Xion stared at Laira in surprise, his brain seemed to have stopped working, and his heart continued to beat so hard and fast that it shook his entire chest. Responding to most of what she had said seemed too difficult to even be attempted, so he latched on to the only thing that he could that was not about him.

  “You kissed Ava?” he asked.

  Laira’s face turned red immediately. She laughed lightly, “That’s what you took from all of that?”

  “Yes?” Xion said, knowing as he said it that it was not what Laira wanted to hear.

  Laira looked at Xion like he had just confirmed something for her. She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. They both sat in silence for a few moments, looking out into the trees of the forest.

  “Yes,” Laira said quietly after several minutes. “I kissed Ava.”

  “How was that?” Xion asked, not sure how he felt. She had kissed Ava before him? He had never thought about Laira like that before, but he felt slightly hurt by the fact that he was not her first choice. He tried to decide if that was all that bothered him, but he could not be sure either way.

  “It was nice. And, she didn’t just stare at me,” Laira teased.

  “Hey, I was surprised,” Xion defended himself.

  Laira nudged him again. “You should’ve seen it coming.”

  “I really don’t think I should have,” Xion insisted.

  Laira chuckled. “So, it doesn’t bother you that I kissed her?” she asked.

  Xion shook his head, and then realized Laira could not see him. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “So, when are you going to kiss Sapphire?”

  Xion’s entire body went stiff. “Um…” his mind went blank again.

  “Oh, come on,” Laira sat up and looked at him. “You know you want to, and she wants you to. I’m surprised you didn’t kiss her before your fight with the dragon guy.”

  Xion had no idea what to say. He briefly imagined himself kissing Sapphire, and his stomach immediately tied itself in knots and his heart hammered against his chest again. He pushed the image from his mind and tried to deflect the question.

  “Ava did,” he said quickly. After he said it, he considered that it may not have been the best thing to say in that moment. Laira’s face fell, and Xion knew he had made a mistake.

  “Ava kissed Sapphire?” she asked, she sounded more hurt than surprised.

  “I… You should probably talk to her about that, I didn’t mean to say it,” Xion explained quickly. He did not have any experience kissing anyone, but he figured upsetting them immediately afterwards was not the best thing to do.

  “I will,” she said with certainty.

  Xion felt his stomach drop. Ava was going to kill him. He did not know what was going on between her and Laira, exactly, but if Laira had not known about the kiss with Sapphire, he did not expect Ava to be happy when she found out that Xion had told her about it.

  “This sucks,” Laira groaned and she looked back out over the forest.

  Xion stayed silent. The entire interaction was so confusing he had no idea what to think or say. He decided not to say anything, so they sat together for a while in silence.

  Xion tried to figure out exactly how he was supposed to feel about Laira, but his thoughts kept shifting to Sapphire. Did she really look at him in a way that told Laira she liked him as more than a friend? Did he feel that way about her?

  Since Xion had found out about his destiny, the mysterious prophecy, and his strange, unknown lineage, everything had seemed so dire and important. He barely spared a thought for his personal life, because he was always too worried about how his decisions could impact the entire world.

  When Ava had kissed Sapphire before the battle at the dragon watchtower, Xion remembered briefly considering his romantic future. It had seemed so distant, so unlikely in the current moment, that he had not put much thought into it. He could not possibly have any real future until Draxis was defeated, so what was the point of thinking about it?

  As Xion sat and looked off of the small platform, he let himself wonder for a moment. Where would he live? He had grown up in a small village, and had not been treated kindly there, so maybe he should live in a city? Although, that had been before he was the Chosen One, maybe any city would welcome him like they had in Evergreen once Draxis was defeated. He could always just stay in Evergreen, but he doubted he would ever be able to eat meat again, and that was not something he wanted to endure long term.

  The more he thought, the more he realized that no matter where he imagined himself living, Sapphire was always there. Maybe Laira was right. He could not focus on the thought until Draxis was gone, but it gave him a warm feeling in his chest to even consider it for a few minutes.

  Laira stood up after a while, breaking Xion from his reverie. They had been sitting long enough that Xion had regained enough strength to walk on his own again, and the two of them slowly made their way back to where they had left the others.

  When they walked back into the room Sapphire looked up at them, and there was something in the look that made Xion feel distinctly uncomfortable. It was like she knew something had happened between them, and she was hurt by it. Xion knew there was no way she could possibly know, but he still felt the need to walk across the room and separate himself from Laira as quickly as possible.

  Warren and Xara looked like they were just waking up, again. They must have gone right back to sleep after Xion and Laira had left. Sapphire and Ava were sitting together on a bed each reading a book, with Ferion purring loudly behind Sapphire’s back.

  “We were just about to go get some breakfast,” Xara told Xion and Laira as they walked into the room.

  “Sounds great,” Xion replied casually. The sweet that Laira had given him was not sitting comfortably in his stomach. He was eager to get something more solid in his system.

  “Then, I’m going to go check on Vairiel,” Xara added.

  Xion looked up in surprise. “Why?” he asked, astounded.

&nb
sp; “After you almost cook someone alive,” Warren joked, “you have to see if they’re okay.”

  Xion was horrified. Vairiel was still injured after a week? He had not meant to hurt him that badly, he had just wanted to protect Sapphire and Xara. Whatever that fire was, it was clearly more dangerous than he had expected. But he also hadn’t expected to breathe fire in the first place.

  “I should go, too,” Xion insisted. At the very least, he had to apologize for what he had done.

  Xara looked unsure. She glanced over at Sapphire and Ava, but both of them avoided her gaze. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea,” Xara mused.

  “Why not?” Xion asked.

  “The embodiment of nature’s exquisite beauty,” Warren said reverently, “is not super happy about you burning the skin off of her fiance.”

  Xion was sure that he was exaggerating. “I’m going, the nymph isn’t going to scare me off.”

  “Are you sure you don’t just want to see her again?” Sapphire asked. There was something in her voice Xion had never heard from her before, almost like she was trying to hide that she was angry.

  Xion felt his face burn slightly when he remembered the naked woman, but he ignored it. “I didn’t mean to hurt Vairiel so badly,” Xion insisted. “I have to go. Besides, he’s one of the people that could become king of Qua’ke. And, he was sent to capture Ava. I have to talk to him.”

  Xara shrugged. “Alright, but I’m not hurting a nymph. If you get in a fight with her, you’re on your own.”

  Xion was not afraid of the nymph, at all. There had been a fight feet away from her and she had not acted in any way. He was sure that everything would be fine.

  Chapter 12: Revealed

  After they ate breakfast outside one of the shops, Ava, Sapphire, Warren, and Laira went straight to the library to try and figure out where the dragon’s tomb was. Ferion followed after Sapphire, and Xion briefly wondered where Aurum was. He could feel across the bond that she was content, but he had no idea if she was wandering around on her own, or if she was sleeping.

  Xara and Xion made their way down the trees to the forest floor, and Xara led the way back to the nymph’s pond. Xion was still unsure how he was supposed to feel about Xara. She had come back to help him, even after he upset her. She had to be a good person, but it still felt strange never knowing that he had a sister, and then finding out all at once. He decided to try and get to know her as a person, and not think about how they were related. He thought that was the most fair thing for Xara, and it made the whole situation easier for him as well.

  They made most of the walk in silence. Xion felt awkward, after their last encounter, he had no idea what to say to her. He could not tell how Xara felt, she was smiling and walking through the forest, looking up at the trees like everything she saw was incredible and nothing could possibly bother her. At least, until they made it to the nymph’s pond.

  They walked into the small clearing. The nymph was sitting in the water, this time, with Vairiel laying against her. Xion was thankful, because Vairiel covered most of the nymph’s naked body.

  He was also horrified to see Vairiel. He had been stripped of his armor and wore only traveler’s pants. Most of his arms, his chest, and half his face were covered in glistening, scabbed over burns. Most of his once long hair was gone, only a few patches of it remained, and they were all cut short at varying lengths. Xion assumed that the fire had done most of the damage, but some of his hair may have been cut away afterwards.

  The nymph looked up as they walked into view. At first, she looked calm, but when her eyes met Xion’s she scowled, and the pond that she was sitting in started to ripple as if an invisible fish were writhing around inside it.

  “What vicious mockery is this?” the nymph demanded, glaring at Xion with absolute hatred. “Have you come to try to end the life that you have already destroyed?” she accused.

  “He’s still alive,” Xion reasoned. He was not entirely sure how the nymph could be so angry at him. She had seen what had happened, she knew that he was acting in self defense and that Vairiel was the one to blame for everything. He may have gone a little far, but it had not been on purpose.

  “We just came to check on him,” Xara said soothingly. “Xion promises not to hurt anyone.”

  Xion nodded. “Unless he attacks me, again,” he qualified.

  Vairiel slowly pushed himself up to a slightly more upright sitting position. Xion was surprised, he had assumed Vairiel was unconscious, due to the extent of his injuries and his eyes had appeared closed. He realized after Vairiel sat up that his eyes were almost completely swollen shut, but he was still very aware.

  “What have you done with my sword?” Vairiel demanded, his voice hoarse and strained.

  Xion could not help but laugh. As soon as he did, the water in the pond started thrashing, and Xion imagined the ocean would probably look similar in the middle of a storm.

  He stopped quickly and forced his face into a blank expression. “I have no idea what happened to the sword,” Xion answered honestly. He knew that he and Vairiel were very different people, but Xion could not imagine thinking about a weapon when he was so damaged, he had to be in a tremendous amount of pain.

  “Actually,” Xara interjected, “I took that. I mean, you tried to kill us with it, I didn’t want you to have it.”

  “You had no right to take what belongs to me!” Vairiel was clearly trying to yell, but his voice was barely any louder than it had been before, and as soon as he finished, he started wheezing for breath.

  “You had no right to attack us!” Xara shouted back. “And, we just came to see if you were doing any better, no need to be so mean.”

  Before the two of them could continue their argument, Xion interrupted. “Actually, I came for another reason.”

  Vairiel contorted his face. It was hard to see through the disfigurement, but Xion would guess he was not trying to put on a happy expression. Since Vairiel was still struggling for breath, Xion decided to take the opportunity to speak.

  “We know that you’re part of The Hand of Dreskar, and that you’re working with Draxis. That means you know where the dragon’s tomb is. I need you to tell me, so I can stop Draxis,” Xion explained quickly.

  It took a moment before Vairiel could speak again, and Xion waited with mounting anxiety. He doubted Vairiel would be eager to help, but it was Xion’s best chance.

  “I would rather,” Vairiel said, his voice even more hoarse than before, “every one of your disgusting humans died a slow and agonizing death. And, once the demons are finished with them, I hope they come for the disgraceful halfborns.”

  “You’re not a very nice person,” Xara mused, she put her hands on her hips and glared at Vairiel. “I was really hoping you would be a good guy.”

  “Look at what he did to me!” Vairiel croaked, the strain made him start coughing, and Xion felt no sympathy.

  “It wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t attacked us for no reason,” Xion insisted, his temper mounting. “You would not make a very good king.”

  Instantly, a stream of water shot out of the pond and slammed into Xion’s face with such force he was tossed to the ground.

  “You do not disrespect my Love that way!” the nymph shrieked.

  “Okay, time to go,” Xara laughed.

  She knelt down and grabbed Xion’s arm. Xion stood just in time to dodge another stream of water from the pond. He and Xara raced into the forest, outside of the line of fire, or water in this case.

  Once a few yards into the trees, they slowed to a walk and Xara laughed.

  “You don’t have the best people skills,” she noted.

  Xion took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He was angry at Vairiel and was soaking wet from the attack by the nymph. He did not want to take out his frustrations on Xara.

  “Neither do you,” he replied.

  “Nope,” she said brightly. “But, whatever. Evil volcano slug checked on, let’s go study with the
others.”

  They made their way back through the forest and up the trees to the city, and Xara led him to the library to join the others. The entire time, Xion marveled at how Xara could take everything in stride. He wondered what it must be like to be happy all the time. Xion knew that he had a tendency to let everything impact him more than he should, and he did not like to do anything that he was not interested in. Xara had no complaint about the nymph or Vairiel, and she had been miserable at the idea of reading in the library, but she skipped into the building as if she could not think of anything else she would rather be doing.

  Xion sighed as they entered the building. There were books everywhere, towering from floor to ceiling, covering bookshelves and tables, and intimidating Xion to his core. While he had learned to read, he could not do it very quickly and it did not take long before it made his eyes hurt. He was not looking forward to the prospect of reading for hours on end.

  They spent most of the next few days in the library, scouring through hundreds of books trying to find any information about the dragon’s tomb and its location. They would go and see Kronos every morning, but he was not helpful at all. Xion realized that Kronos was never going to be worth the trip, but he knew that Draxis was planning something inside the forest, so it was not a complete waste. Xion was going to stop him this time, he had to. His failure at the watchtower still haunted him.

  After a week of flipping through thousands of pages, Xion had the sinking feeling that they weren’t going to find the answers they needed this way. This method had worked in Aur’in, the library there was full of educational tomes on every subject imaginable, but these journals just didn’t have the right kind of information.

  Finally, someone else voiced the same concern.

  “Okay, we need to try something else,” Warren gave up, pushing away the book he had been reading for several days.

  “We can’t give up,” Sapphire insisted. “It’s our only hope.”

  “Not exactly,” Xara argued. “We do know someone who might know where the tomb is,” she said cryptically.