Chapter 15
952 Words
15
Our plan was madness, but it was our only shot. Whether it would work or not… That was an entirely different matter that we couldn’t afford to dwell on. We had to believe this would work.
“Let’s organise.” Flavia unfolded the list she made. “There are three parts to this. We need to make a functional bond for the guiding, Ylva needs to go into the Veil, and she needs to bring Astrid with her.”
“I can work with Ylva on getting her ready for the Veil,” Ryoko volunteered. She shot me a look that I couldn’t decipher, but I decided to interpret it as supportive. She didn’t seem as reluctant to spend time with me as before and I hoped I wasn’t just imagining it.
I gave her an appreciative nod. “If we’re doing that, Flavia should concentrate on making the link. She’s done it before.”
“Yes, when we had lots of materials to choose from…” She gestured around her. “This is a different situation.”
“Consider it a challenge,” I half-joked, trying to lighten the mood.
“I don’t know anything about making bonds,” Sim said. “Especially not bonds for Wind Children, so I’ll just be Flavia’s helper.”
I nodded. “Okay, so we all have something to do. Let’s get to it.”
The other three nodded and while Sim and Flavia rushed to the storage room for supplies, I pulled Ryoko apart.
“Are you sure you’re okay working this closely with me?” I asked, wanting to make sure that the tension between us wasn’t going to interfere with our mission.
A smile curled around her lips. “You’re so bad at reading people.”
“What? Why?”
She grabbed my hand and gave me a gentle squeeze. “I’m not mad at you anymore.”
“Really?” I looked at her, surprise bubbling up in my gut. “When did that happen?”
“Somewhere in the first night,” she replied cryptically. Before I could formulate another question, she pulled me along. “No time. You need to go to the Veil.”
I let her drag me around, relishing in the warmth of her touch. If she was no longer upset with me… maybe all wasn’t lost.
With a renewed hope, I followed her to the left bedroom, hoping to achieve the impossible. Release my inner wings.
“Hey, how do Dragons go to the Veil?” I asked, sitting down on my bed.
Ryoko frowned. “Through tendrils of smoke. We do lots of breathing exercises and let the Veil swallow us. A little bit like how Shadow animals do it.”
“That’s interesting… I don’t think we have tendrils.”
She chuckled. “I don’t think so either.”
“I’ve tried finding my inner wings, but I’ve only once succeeded and the way it happened… I don’t want a repeat of that.”
“Why?”
“When I was in the Forest of Illusions, with the man who kidnapped the dusk wolves. He… He tried to hurt Hyde.” My blood boiled just from thinking about him harming my puppy. If he followed through with his threats, I would’ve killed him.
“Eek.” Ryoko sat down next to me and placed a hand on mine. “We’re clearly not doing that. Are there other ways to get your wings?”
“Yes, according to my teacher, we need to meditate on it. We have a mantra.”
“Oh?”
“Accept the void. Channel the darkness and unleash the wind. At least, that’s what I’ve been repeating. It hasn’t really worked though.”
She pulled a face.
“What?”
“It doesn’t really make sense,” she said, a giggle escaping. “Oops. That wasn’t very appropriate.”
My heart fluttered from the sound, even if it only resembled laughter. All the doom and gloom was quickly seeping into my bones and erasing my memories of joy, but with her… Maybe things weren’t so bad.
“It wasn’t,” I admitted, a smile of my own curling around my lips. “But I liked it.”
“Good… Good.” As she spoke, she realised she was still touching my knee and she quickly pulled her hand back. Her eyes shifted up at me, probably to check whether I’d noticed.
I had.
“Listen, Ylva…”
Ah, sentences like that never led to anything good.
I braced myself for the rejection, knowing that she’d let me down gently and it would still sting.
Ryoko gathered her breath, the tension crackling in the air. “I think there’s something between us, but…”
“And you’re really not mad at me?”
“No, I’m not.”
Relief washed over me, nursing the hope back to life. “Oh good.”
“It’s just… You don’t seem too sure about all of this.” She fiddled with her shirt, picking at the little threads so she didn’t have to look at me. “Dragons mate for life, you know?”
My chest tightened from the sadness in her voice, but at the same time, a little spark of excitement flowered in the pit of my stomach.
“I didn’t know,” I admitted, bringing my head up to look at her. “Do they ever mate with non-Dragons?”
“Sometimes. But only if both are sure, if you know what I mean.”
I nodded. “I do know.”
She looked at me, seemingly expectant, but I wasn’t exactly sure what else she wanted me to say.
The loaded silence hung between us until she broke it with a sigh.
“Oh, Ylva.” She stood up, breaking all contact between us. She ran a hand over her face, the disappointment dulling her eyes. “Sometimes you’re so clueless.”
“What? What did I say?” I followed her into the room, but she didn’t seem like she wanted me close. “Ryoko?”
“Let’s just get you your wings. Astrid is running out of time.” She turned her back to me, the tension thickening.
Whatever was going on, I clearly messed something up, even if I wasn’t exactly sure what. While I wanted to explore what was between us and figure out my attraction towards her, this was not the right time. We needed to get out of here and when I managed that, then I could find out what I was doing wrong. Relationships were just so complicated.
- Writer
