Chapter 24
Middle of an Ocean
Ash
The next morning we continued on our way to the ley line, we still had a long way to go. I was up at the front talking with Nico, Sofya and Lucy were a bit behind, with Maxon bringing up the end. Nico turned to me.
"Ash, what has been going on with you and Sofya? We have all noticed." He asked, suspicion coating his voice.
"What are you talking about? There is nothing going on." I deadpanned. I did not want to talk about this. I didn't need to talk about what could never be.
"Really Ash, how long have I known you? I can see you're upset, why? Come on dude, I'm your best friend." Nico said, rolling his eyes. I sighed, I should tell him, maybe then he'll stop bothering me. Nico started up again. "You like her don't you? I have never seen you act like this towards a girl in all the years I have known you. Ash, it's ok to like someone you know, especially since you're supposed to be with her anyway since you're the guardian, I-" I interrupted him before he could go further.
"I'm not the guardian." I hissed. Nico blinked and looked me dead in the eye.
"What?" Here we go. "I'm not the guardian, my brother is, so I can't be with her, it's against the law. I would be killed, it's happened before, and of course I like her. I don't want to be apart from her. I can barely stand not being next to her. I like her so much that the only thing I'm doing right now is pushing her away. She deserves better than me." I shouted, all my thoughts rambling out in a jumble of words. Nico's expression softened.
"Ah, I see the problem here, You actually like her don't you?" I sighed.
"Yes, I do," I said, finally emitting it to myself. I've been trying to hold it back but I couldn't, not anymore. I was falling for her and that was the last thing I should be doing.
"Does she feel the same way?" Nico asked.
"I don't know." I said, I didn't, I had been avoiding her, but after what she said earlier. . .
"Dude you have to tell her." I glared at him.
"Why? So I can torcher her more. I can't be with her, it's illegal, and my damn brother gets her from all people!" I said trying to keep my voice down. Nico stopped and turned to face me.
"If I were you, I'd be with her anyway. I mean how are they going to find out, and dude you are really powerful. I doubt even Alek could take you on, and that's saying something. No one is going to know. You need to let her know. You know you need to tell her. Ash, I know you are beating yourself up on the inside and I know you are trying to convince yourself you don't deserve her. But you do. I'm not just saying that as your best friend but as Sofya's friend. Also we, the rest of us, can't stand the tension and drama between you two, it's very infuriating. Just for your knowledge." I shook my head and agreed with him just for the sake of stopping the argument but that didn't mean I was going to do what he said. Nope
"Ok."
After about two hours we surfaced and trudged onto the shore. Sofya and I took down our shields.
"Where are we?" Lucy asked looking around. Tall trees in a dense, dark forest stood in front of us creating dark looming shadows, various plants and shrubs were also scattered about. Brushing his hair out of his eyes, Maxon answered her question.
"We are in South America, Chile, I think. About four days away from the ley line. We are going to have to go over the Andes mountains, it's quicker than going around the tip through the ocean. After we cross the mountains we have to go back in the ocean and it's approximately a two-day walk to the line." Lucy nodded, wrapping her arm around Maxon.
"Thanks for the information pal," She said. Maxon blushed and shrugged her arms off before going over near Nico. I bit my lip, holding back a laugh.
"Could we stop and rest here for a while?" Lucy asked, yawning. I looked over at Sofya, who looked irritated. She probably didn't want to stop. I glanced over everyone, Lucy looked like she was about to pass out on the spot. Maxon and Nico had huge bags under their eyes, especially Maxon. He normally looked tired but as of now, he looked half dead. Sofya was trying her best not to look exhausted but I could see dark circles under her eyes as well.
"Yes, we should stop and get some rest," I said. Sofya shot me a glare, her eyes narrowing. I could see her hand clenched at her sides. I sighed and walked over to her. "Don't you see how tired everyone is?" I whispered to her, gently putting my hand on the small of her back. She took a glance at them.
"Ok." She said relenting. "We should go scout the area up ahead to make sure there is no danger."
"We will but first you need to rest," I said. I was going to drag her if I had to, she needed sleep. Her eyebrows furrowed.
"No I don't, I am not tired at all." She said trying to hide a yawn back, faking a cough.
"You just yawned." I pointed out, my eyebrows raised.
"Fine." She huffed, then went and laid down next to Lucy on the leaf bed Lucy had carefully made. I watched and made sure she actually went to sleep, waiting till her breathing evened out.
Then I gathered some wood from the outskirts of the woods and made a small fire, it was getting chilly and I noticed Sofya and Lucy were shivering. I found the only blanket we had, the one I had packed, and placed it over the girls. Was I the only one who remembered to bring needed necessities? I mean I had seen that Lucy brought nail polish for goodness sake.
I guess I needed to see that neither Sofya nor Lucy, perhaps even Maxon had ever been in a situation like this. Traveling on the run, always in constant danger. This was the sort of thing Nico and I were used to after being involved with the most dangerous beings in history for a multitude of years. We were prepared for something like this but it was new for the others.
After I sat down on a large rock, facing the ocean, it looked so calm and peaceful. The exact opposite of my life right now. Stella jumped into my lap, nuzzling my face. "Hey, girl," I said quietly, rubbing her neck. If this didn't go as planned the rest of my life would probably lay in ruins, or actually, Alek would probably kill me and my brother.
Although, that would be too easy of an escape. He would probably torcher me till I died, considering I have been gone for months. Way longer than what I had agreed to with Alek, but I hadn't planned on this whole mess either, with the legend. I could never condemn Sofya to the pain I have endured for the past eleven years. I had to believe that something good would come out of this.
Sofya deserved a happy future with no worries, even if that didn't include me. If we didn't kill Alek I would make it a priority to get her somewhere safe and far away from him, and me. Once Alek knew who she was he would never give up searching for her. Alek's greatest ambition was power and with Sofya and me by his side, no one would be able to stop him from destroying everything.