CHAPTER 26
1941 Words
The night was quiet around the training grounds.
Kai sat on the edge of a wooden bench, elbows on his knees, legs clenched together in a tired way.
His hands were made into a fist on which he rested his jaw on.
Above him, the moon hung in the sky.
His second hand kept playing and swinging the round hook on the handle of his water flask.
He was supposed to be in bed hours ago, yet he couldn’t shut his eyes.
The wind kept whistling through the trees while making the leafs that weren’t deeply rooted with their trees fall out, but Kai hardly noticed.
His kept on sighing.
He stared at the ground asif finding something.
The water bottle felt heavy between his palm.
Someone had dropped a small pebble in the distance, and it clacked on a practice dummy.
Far off, an owl called softly, he looked up the sky; maybe to see the owl or not, he wasn’t sure, but it was blank.
His own head was blank.
He couldn’t quite place the feeling.
He heard them, but he felt far away, too lost in his own thoughts.
“You should be asleep,” Lucien said quietly as he came up behind Kai.
He didn’t startle Kai; he simply sat down a few inches away on the same bench.
Kai blinked up at Lucien.
He didn’t respond at first, just accepted the change of company in silence.
Lucien offered him a bottle of water.
Even though there was water in his bottle, Kai accepted it, but he didn’t drink right away.
He glanced at Lucien’s face.
A faint smile tugged at Lucien’s lips in an “it’s okay” format.
“You didn’t have to come out here,” Kai finally said, soft but not reproachful.
Lucien shrugged slightly. “You didn’t have to sit out here alone either,” he replied.
They were silent again, seated side by side on the bench.
Kai turned the bottled water in his hands, then took a long sip.
He still stared in the sky while gulping.
Lucien watched him quietly, not saying anything until Kai finished.
After a moment, Kai set the bottle down.
He said nothing.
Lucien stretched his hand and rested it on Kai’s shoulder gently.
Kai sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s stupid,” he said quietly.
Lucien waited without interrupting.
He looked up at the sky for a moment, letting Kai gather his thoughts. Then he said softly, “Talk to me”.
Kai let out another sigh.
“We got lucky, right? Things worked out. I mean… everything turned out fine.” His voice trailed off.
“But I just keep…” He didn’t finish the sentence.
Lucien nodded, encouraging him to go on.
When Kai hesitated, Lucien touched his shoulder again.
“You did what you thought was right, Kai. Nobody’s blaming you for trying to help,” he said gently.
Kai shook his head slowly. “It wasn’t enough,” he whispered.
He fixed his eyes on the stars in the sky.
“We’re a pack,” Lucien said quietly. “We’ll figure this out together.”
Kai swallowed hard.
Lucien stayed close, and Kai could feel the warmth of his friend beside him.
It was comforting, a reminder he wasn’t alone.
They sat for a long moment without speaking.
Finally, Kai said, “I’m just worried”, his voice low.
His gaze dropped to his hands in his lap, while cracking his knuckles.
Lucien gave a slow nod, waiting.
Kai let out yet, another sigh.
“Ever since the change, everyone looks at her differently, some of the elders are watching her, people are starting to whisper.” He hesitated, as if choosing his words. “And Dad… he left, Lu, he just left.”
Lucien slid an arm around Kai’s shoulder and squeezed. “He will come back. He always does,” he assured him.
Kai shook his head.
“I don’t know, Lu. What if he doesn’t? What if something’s happened to him?” He let out a short, abrupt breath as the fear showed in his eyes.
Lucien squeezed a little tighter. “He made the choice to go help the pack. That’s what he taught us to do, remember? And he wouldn’t leave his family unless he was sure they’d be okay. He’ll be back.”
Kai closed his eyes. He should feel relieved, hearing that, but instead he felt a tightness in his chest. “I keep thinking—”
“But you don’t have to think about it all on your own,” Lucien cut in gently.
“You have me, okay? I’m right here. And Thea will make sure Elise is safe because she wants Elise to forgive her so that she’d take the crown when Elise clears her name, yunno.”
Kai opened his eyes and turned to look at Lucien.
The concern in Lucien’s eyes was plain, and it was enough to pull a quiet smile from Kai.
But that heavy feeling in his chest was still there.
“True” he chuckled a bit while sighing after.
“Hey,” Lucien said softly, giving Kai’s shoulder a last reassuring squeeze.
“That’s what I’m here for.”
Kai took a steadying breath and pushed himself up. Standing felt a bit better. He stretched his arms slowly. “We should get some sleep,” he said finally.
Lucien stood, too, moving to walk with him.
“Need a hand getting back to your room?” he asked.
Kai managed a small smile and shook his head.
“No, I think I can make it, but…thanks.” He tightened his grip on the water bottle.
Together they walked back toward the cabins.
As they passed the quiet training fields, Kai spoke quietly, “Thanks for listening, Lucien.”
Lucien glanced at him with a reassuring look. “Anytime, Kai. You know that.”
Kai looked ahead at the dirt path under his feet and then said quietly, “I mean it. I don’t know what I’d do without you and Elise here.”
Lucien gave him a small, firm nod.
“We’ll always be here. Just try to rest easy tonight, okay?”
Kai reached out and squeezed Lucien’s hand briefly. “Yeah. Okay.”
Lucien wanted to say more, but Kai had grown quiet again, tired.
So Lucien aligned his pace with him.
The two walked the rest of the way in silence.
When they reached Kai’s cabin, Kai stopped. He turned to Lucien and offered a genuine, tired smile. “Good night, Lu.”
Lucien smiled back. “Night, Kai, Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Kai nodded and slipped inside.
Lucien watched him go in, then headed to his own hut under the moonlit sky.
Kai felt his chest loosen a little as he closed his door.
The quiet night and his friend’s company had helped him more than he realized.
He poured the last bit of water down his throat, then climbed into bed. He fell asleep with the memory of Lucien’s quiet presence beside him.
Later that morning, Aunt Thea stood by the stove in her kitchen, pouring hot water into two cups.
The mint leaves filled the space with a sharp, fresh scent.
She wasn’t in the mood for guests, but she had already said yes.
The front door creaked open, Elder Kion walked in, his expression unreadable.
“You’re late,” Thea said flatly, not looking up as she placed the cups on the table.
“I had council matters,” Kion replied, his tone sharp as he pulled out a chair and sat down. “This won’t take long.”
Thea sat across from him, wiping her hands on her apron.
“I’m guessing this is about Elise”.
Kion didn’t bother to soften his expression.
“Of course it is. What else would it be about?”
There was silence for a few seconds.
Thea’s fingers circled the tip of her teacup, but she didn’t drink.
Elder Kion finally leaned forward.
“She changed,” he said, bluntly.
“Out there during training. I saw it.”
Thea shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “She’s stronger, maybe. The girl’s been through a lot.”
“She’s more than stronger,” he snapped.
“Something happened during that attack. You saw it too, didn’t you?”
“Well even if you weren’t there, I’m sure your minion friends must have told you about it. I know you gossip a lot”. He said with a stern face.
Thea glanced away, rolling her eyes. “I don’t know what it means”.
It was true, she didn’t even know what was happening to the good for nothing girl, but she needed to act like she cared, at least, it’ll benefit her since Elise was now rumored to be powerful.
She at least owed her that power after taking care of the ungrateful girl all her youth.
“But you’ve seen signs. Powers she shouldn’t have.” Kion’s eyes narrowed.
“This could be dangerous.”
Thea crossed her arms. “Dangerous to who? To the people who’ve hated her since she was a child?”
“Or to you because she might actually be more than you expected?”
Kion let out a cold laugh.
“Don’t twist this into something it’s not. You and I both know you’ve hated Elise since she was a child, don’t even try to act like you care”.
“The girl was maltreated and cast aside, now she’s unpredictable, that’s not a good mix”.
“I mean… who knows who she’ll try to take revenge on first?… must be you though” Elder Kion said, almost laughing.
“She’s not unstable, she’s just been pushed around her whole life and I was only there to help her”.
The words left Thea’s mouth too quickly, even she looked surprised by them.
Kion smirked. “Funny. Coming from you.”
Thea’s face hardened. “You came here for something. Say it.”
“I want to know what you’ve seen, every detail, every little change. I need to know if she’s a threat.”
“And if I say no?”
“Then I’ll assume you’re hiding something.”
They stared at each other, neither backing down.
Thea’s voice dropped. “You’re scared of her because she’s not weak anymore.”
Kion stood up, his chair scraping against the floor. “I’m not scared. I’m prepared.”
He leaned over the table just slightly.
“And if you were smart, you’d stop pretending to care and start thinking about how this will end.”
Thea stood as well.
“She’s too close to Kai… that’s a problem,” Kion said, stepping toward the door. “He’s distracted. The others see it too.”
Thea didn’t respond.
She watched him leave, the door closing shut behind him.
Her tea had gone cold.
She sat back down and wrapped her hands around the cup anyway, eyes distant.
She didn’t care about Elise — not truly.
But she knew power when she saw it.
And whatever Elise had become, it was something worth staying close to.
The council was watching.
The pack was whispering.
And Thea, like always, was looking for where she could land safely if things blew up.
One thing was certain; Elise was changing.
And everyone, even the ones pretending to protect her, were just waiting to see what she’d become.
- Writer
