SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 64- The Wind Carries On

 It's nearly dark as I watch the sun over the temple's roof. The shadow being cast over the meadow grows darker with every minute, and soon the world will be completely at peace for the night. The crickets have already begun making their presence known, and the sound of their chirping paired with the light breeze feels so calming to me as I lay in the grass. Today has been a lot; too much to be completely honest. I'm feeling generally okay now, but the thoughts about Lucius still give me chills, and I'm afraid I might slip into another meltdown.

On top of that, with everything that happened to Kai, I'm feeling really overwhelmed. He and my mother have been talking privately for hours, and I'm praying that things are going well. I know they have a lot to talk about.

"I thought I might find you out here." I'm suddenly startled by my father's voice.

"My god, you want to announce yourself sooner?" I gasp as I sit up.

"Sorry," he chuckles as he carefully sits down beside me "Where's Magnus? I thought he was here with you?"

"I sent him home for the night." I state as I tug at the grass "He needs to see his mom, and frankly, he needs a little normalcy after all the bullshit today." I sigh.

"Ha," he laughs "Unfortunately, this is what happens when you're around us for too long."

"Maybe, but I've personally never seen it this bad." I sigh, glancing up at the stars as they start to show themselves.

"Count yourself lucky, kiddo." he states as he gently squeezes my knee "You never had to experience the revolution way back when, or the fight with Justin after the gap years. Having abilities that separate us from 'normalcy' can be cool, but having to use them to fight for your life makes you question whether it's all worth it." he explains solemnly, staring out into space.

"Daddy," I sigh, looking at him worriedly "I may not have been there when it happened, but I personally know what he was capable of. On top of that, the things I had to do to protect myself in that bunker," I suddenly stop and try not to remember. I've done enough of that today.

"I know," he says as he pulls me in close "You don't have to explain. What matters is that you're here now, and we are going to do everything in our power to make sure nothing like that happens ever again."

"I know you mean well, but considering that the Ancient Ones are still out there, we're going to run into them again." I state worriedly "And since we have not only Ember but now Kai too, they're definitely going to try to come after us sooner rather than later."

"That may be, but unlike when we were just trying to find Sterling, this time we know who we're up against," he explains confidently.

"That doesn't exactly mean we're prepared." I say, discouraged "Aunt Roxie, Scarlett, and Pheonix were no match for Ember, and if it wasn't for Nixi and some quick thinking, we would have all gone up in flames."

"I can't say that you're wrong, that was an unfortunate match-up." he sighs "At least we shouldn't have to worry about her for now. Aurora is still working on a way to get her out of her head, but everything that could potentially work is risky."

"It's going to come down to going in and fighting her, isn't it?" I ask nervously.

"We're trying to avoid it but, I'm not optimistic that there's a better way." He sighs and rubs his forehead, seeming stressed.

"...can you win?" I ask, starting to shake at the thought.

"We would be going up against someone with hundreds of years more experience than us, not to mention, she may have better cognitive control of the world in her mind than we do. If that's the case, it could be a trap," he explains, looking down at the ground.

"Well, that's comforting," I say sarcastically, laying back in the grass "Out of all this crap, at least there's been one bright side," Suddenly, he looks at me, puzzled.

"Hm?" he seems confused.

"She got reunited with Kai today." I smile faintly. He looks at me, seeming hopeful, yet conflicted.

"I suppose your right," he states as he glances back at the temple. "I just hope that it doesn't backfire in the long run." he sighs.

"What are you talking about?" I ask worriedly.

"I know you seem to trust him, and I know he's her son, but he's still a part of his father too. The thought worries me, and the last thing I want is to see you or Veronika get hurt because of him again," he explains solemnly.

"He's not Gael," I say offendedly as I sit up "and despite being raised by lunatics, he's actually a good person," I explain irritatedly.

"I understand, but still, you barely know him yet," he states.

"Believe it or not, I spent a lot of time talking to him in the stronghold, and the more I spoke to him, the more he seemed to realize how corrupt his 'family' was and how much he needed to get the hell out of there." I explain defensively "Not only that, but toward the end, he tried to protect me from Lucius knowing it might get him into trouble. He wouldn't have done that if he didn't genuinely care."

"...he did?" he suddenly seems surprised.

"Yes," I state "and they weren't the kind of people to just give a slap on the wrist for getting in the way, Lucius easily would have hurt him in some way. Their attitudes were all intense."

"I didn't realize that," he sighs "Regardless, you can't blame me for being protective after everything. I hope you can at least understand why."

"I do," I smile, leaning on his shoulder "Just promise me you won't take it out on my brother," I ask. I think calling him my brother threw him off because his heart seemed to jump for a moment, but it quickly passed. I don't think he had even considered the fact that we're half-siblings.

"I won't, I promise."

Part 2: The Ancient Ones

End