Chapter 32
The middle of nowhere
Ash
I took a deep breath inhaling a sweet vanilla smell. I cracked my eyes open, to see Sofya curled up against me. She must have gotten cold. She looked peaceful. I carefully untangled myself from her and got up, stretching my back.
Lucy, Nico, and Maxon were already up. I hope they didn't assume, just because Sofya had rolled into me we were going to be together, because we weren't. We didn't need to add anything to the list of dangerous things that were growing practically by the minute. Nico smiled at me as I approached, Lucy and Maxon were also grinning. Creeps. They were all sitting on the ground around the fire. I plopped down next to Nico.
"What?" I asked, scowling. Lucy piped up.
"We saw you all cuddled up with Sofya." She said. I rolled my eyes.
"No. Did you forget what I told you yesterday?" Lucy frowned, her warm eyes losing their twinkle of hope. She quickly forced a smile upon her face. It was almost believable but I knew better. As I had faked plenty before.
"Well anyway, we should probably head into the nearest town and clean up. Perhaps get some supplies. I mean no offense Ash, but you look like a terrorist." Lucy said, gesturing towards my blood-stained clothes.
"None was taken. I could use a nice shower and new clothes." I said. I could probably use a cleaning and a nice soft bed as well. That would be heaven. I nodded. "Sounds good."
"Oh also Enzo was here a couple of hours ago, he's going to meet us there," Nico said. I grimaced. I wasn't too fond of Enzo, he seemed suspicious. Like he was hiding something. I noticed Lucy's eyes drifting over to where Sofya had been sleeping. I looked over, Sofya had woken up and she headed over. She avoided my gaze.
"Hey Sofya, we were just talking about heading towards a town to get some supplies and clothes. Since you and Ash look like stepped out of hell but also to get some more information. Enzo will be meeting us there. He was here a few hours ago but we didn't want to wake you and Ash." Lucy said with a grin. Sofya bit her lip, brushing her hair behind her ear.
"Um, ok." She said quietly. Lucy stood up.
"Alright people, let's get this show on the road!" She said grabbing her pack and gathering up the neria. Stella scampered over to me. I patted her head.
I glanced at Sofya who was talking to Ezmia and getting her pack, then I remembered what I needed to ask her. I was still confused about how we had escaped. I mean no offense to Sofya, she was very powerful, but not that powerful. I walked over to her and stopped behind her, when she turned around her big violet eyes met mine and widened. She froze in place, staring at me.
"I didn't get a chance to tell you before but, Sofya, what happened back in the field? How did we escape? There were hundreds of them, all I remember was a bright white flash." I said, raising an eyebrow. She looked a little frightened and then her brow scrunched together as she tried to remember, then her eyes went wide with fear.
"Ash, I killed them all." She said quietly, her hands playing nervously with her hair. My eyes widened. She did what?
"You what? How?" I asked in bewilderment. Sofya inhaled a sharp breath.
"Well, I was so mad at, at what they did to you. I wanted them all dead, then the necklace you gave me burned. There was a huge blinding white light, and they all vanished. I vaporized them all, it was the necklace. I think it amplified my powers." She said looking down. After a second, she slowly brought her gaze back up. I nodded, remembering the blinding white light. I was still baffled by the necklace doing that. There was something she wasn't telling me.
"That's really dangerous Sof. I'm glad you killed them, but we don't want this to get out of hand. Once we reach the town I'm going to research the necklace and see what comes up. Be careful with that, we don't know exactly what it's capable of. It could potentially do a lot more damage." I said that the necklace was definitely dangerous, but it was powerful and we couldn't lose it.
Sofya nodded solemnly. I wanted to comfort her. It was the first time she had killed someone and it hadn't just been one person but hundreds. I remembered how awful I felt the first time I killed someone. I felt like a monster. I couldn't imagine how she felt. But I needed to stay away. A few seconds passed and we just stared at each other in silence. Then Sofya turned around and scurried over to Lucy.
After a few minutes, we headed into the woods. According to Maxon, there was a town about a day's walk from here. Maxon was up ahead with Nico, I was following a few feet back, and Sofya and Lucy brought up the end, with the neria hovering above them. Nico whispered something to Maxon before turning around to walk by me. He fell into my pace and turned to face me.
"How you doing Ash, really, are you ok?" He said with a frown on his face. I shook my head, this was my problem, not theirs. I'd eventually deal with it but now was not the time. I couldn't stop thinking about her, it wasn't fair. The one thing I had ever wanted in my pathetic life, was something I couldn't have. I mean we could try to be together, but that came with a price, not the one I was willing to pay. I would never risk her life. I just had to accept it, this was my reality to face. I turned to Nico.
"As well as I can be, I'll be fine," I said, trying to believe my words. Nico's frown deepened.
"You know I really think that you should rethink your decision. I know you, Ash. I've known you for almost all of your life. I can tell when you are hurting, this isn't good for you. I know you think it's for the best and all that bullshit, but dude you have to see that she is hurting just as bad. You are stronger together, haven't you noticed that? Ash, I think you love her. Just as she loves you. Just think about it, ok?" He said.
I gritted my teeth, I was really hoping he was wrong, Sofya couldn't love me, could she? I didn't love her. Or I didn't think I did. I didn't know what to do, there were so many complications, I just wanted to disappear.
"I'll think about it," I mumbled to Nico. Nico's face lit up, back to his usual goofy grin. Suddenly, I heard a shriek from the back. I whipped around, sword raised, but Lucy and Sofya were just laughing.
"We're fine," Sofya shouted. I turned back around, rolling my eyes.
A few hours later we finally reached the town, a bit down the street Sofya took off in the direction of a hotel. We sprinted after her, my teeth gritted. Was she trying to get herself killed? When we dashed inside we saw her speaking to the lady at the desk. Once she was done she turned around, waving her hand that was holding a white card in her hand. I walked up to her, scowling.
"You do not run off by yourself. Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? We can't trust anyone. Alek's spies could be anywhere." I said, pissed off. Sofya gulped and I felt a little guilty. I was being harsh, but she could not just run off like that.
"How about right in front of me." She muttered, turning her head down from my hardened gaze. I winced, she didn't trust me. Although I couldn't blame her, I wouldn't trust me either if I was in her position. I placed two fingers under her chin, bringing her eyes back to mine. Even so, she still needed to be careful. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to her.
"I can't lose you too, Sof," I said softly. Her violet eyes glazed over. She nodded, stepping out of my grasp and heading over to Nico. I sighed, then went over to Lucy and Maxon. They both turned to me simultaneously. I raise an eyebrow. "What?" Why did they keep doing this? Lucy put her hands on her hips.
"We have been talking and we are pretty sure that Sofya loves you, Ash. Not just cares about you, but loves you, and we think you should rethink your decision. They say that love is blind. But don't be blind Ash." Lucy stated. I narrowed my eyes, they thought this too? Great. I glanced over at Sofya. She caught my gaze and was frowning. I quickly looked away. Lucy rolled her eyes. "You two are completely ridiculous. Sofya is my best friend, and you are one of my friends as well. I want to see you both happy. A wise man once told me, "What's the point of living an unhappy life, take risks, make mistakes and enjoy it, because it's the only one you got. I abide by that." She said, a harsh glint in her eyes.
"I'll think about it," I said, mulling over her words. She was right, but I didn't want Sofya in danger. Also, how could she love someone she couldn't trust. Sofya bounded over to us, grinning madly.
"Let's go to the room because I don't know about you guys but I'm ready to clean up." A grin spread across my face, most definitely. I felt disgusting. Weeks of grime and dirt-covered dry skin were not enjoyable.
Sofya dashed off and we all followed her. Once we reached the room everyone piled into the room. "We obviously need new clothes." Sofya declared. Lucy nodded.
"Nico and I will go get clothes. Maxon, I need you to go see if Enzo is here yet. Sofya you stay here. Ash, you guard her so she doesn't do anything stupid." Sofya glowered at Lucy, clearly not happy. Either with practically being called an idiot or with being alone with me. I was guessing both. "We'll be back as soon as possible," Lucy said grabbing Nico's hand and hauling him out of the room. Before he left Nico winked at Sofya, traitors, they were obviously trying to push us together. I cleared my throat, my eyes flickering over to Sofya.
"I'm going to get extra pillows and blankets. I'll be back in a sec."
"Wait, Ash?" Sofya said. I turned back around, my chest tightening. I squashed the hope back down.
"Yeah?"
"Could you get some scissors?" She asked. My brows dipped down. Scissors? What could she want with those?
"Sure," I said, walking out the door.
I went down to the lobby, and got some extra blankets, toiletries, scissors, and pillows, then headed back up. One of those items clearly didn't belong with the others.
When I opened the door Sofya was standing right in front of it with her mouth wide open, Maxon was nowhere in sight.
"You ok?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow. She blinked.
"Huh? Oh, um yeah." She said a deep red blush filling her cheeks, A slight grin pulled at my lips, she had been staring at me. I handed her the scissors.
"Go take a shower, you need it," I said walking by her, sniffing, then plugging my nose, jokingly. She slugged me, in the arm. "What was that for." I whined. She grinned.
"For saying I stink."
"I didn't say that, I said you needed a shower." She shrugged.
"It was implied, good enough." She said, marching towards the shower. She took one last glance back, frowned when she saw me laughing, and then slammed the door.
I laid out on the floor, not wanting to get the beds dirty. I was probably getting the floor dirty, for how filthy I was. I found a book that was left on one of the shelves and started reading it.
About an hour or so later Sofya came out of the bathroom, letting the hot steam pour into the room. My gaze drifted upward, she was only wearing a towel, since Lucy and Nico weren't back with clothes yet. I struggled to rip my gaze from her body and look at her face. Red was spilled over her cheeks. She had cut her hair, it was just above her shoulders. It looked cute. I guess that's what the scissors had been for.
"You can shower now." She said, crawling onto the bed on the left. I nodded, stood up, and slipped into the bathroom, shutting the door in the process. I took my clothes off and gazed at my reflection, there were huge bags under my eyes but what caught my attention was the swirling Celtic markings around my shoulders and part of my chest.
What the hell? What were these? I remembered something about them coming when you were eighteen, so it probably wasn't a big deal. I'd look more into it tomorrow when we went information hunting. Wait, that means my birthday has passed. Well, it didn't really feel any different being eighteen, an adult by human terms. I turned the shower on and stepped in, welcoming the blazing heat against my back.
After I regularly scrubbed all the dirt and blood off. I finally stepped out, feeling refreshed. I rewrapped the bandage over the mark with Sofya's name. She didn't need to know about that, no one did. I dried off a bit, wrapped a towel around my waist, and stepped out of the bathroom. I went over to the other bed, but before I lounged out I glanced at Sofya. She was staring at me, her eyes sparkling, and her gaze a bit below my face, she brought her eyes slightly higher, to my shoulders, looking at the marks with awe.
"What are those?" She asked. I shrugged.
"I don't know. I try to find something about it tomorrow, but my guess is that it has to do with turning eighteen. I saw a picture of my great grandfather and he had the same marks. When I asked my dad, he didn't specify but he said I would get them at eighteen. I'm assuming it has to do with being seraphim." Sofya nodded, still staring at the marks in awe. Suddenly the door flew open. Lucy and Nico, came bounding in, with a bunch of bags in their arms.
"We got clothes!" Lucy exclaimed, all giddy, seriously? It was clothes. Lucy started hurling clothes at me and Sofya. Boxers, pajama pants, and a whole bunch of leather clothing hit me in the face. Sofya scampered away to the bathroom.
"Bye guy's we got our own room, where Maxon already has probably passed out. So have fun." Lucy said then left, slamming the door on her way out. I frowned, seriously, they had totally planned this. I got dressed quickly in some cotton pajama pants then laid back out on the bed. When Sofya came out she was in a lacy black nightgown. I couldn't help but stare, she had no idea how beautiful she was. Sofya scowled at me.
"What are you staring at?" She demanded. I raised my eyebrows.
"Nothing." Sofya crawled into her bed, snuggling into the covers and within minutes she was fast asleep. I shut the lights off, the room turning pitch black, I pulled the covers over me and tried to relax.
I woke up to Sofya screaming her head off. I leaped off the bed, and brought her into her lap, she was gasping for breath, tears were falling down her cheeks, and she was shuddering. I wondered what she saw. She was clearly frightened. It was just a dream, it was just a dream. She repeated over and over in her head. This time it probably was just a dream, what did she see to make her this scared? Sofya was a tough girl, she didn't scare easily. She killed Leviathan for goodness sake.
"Sh, it's ok, I'm here," I murmured against her head. She turned and faced me, pressing her face into my chest, her breath evening out, and her shuddering was almost gone. Her arms encircled me, clinging as if her life depended on it. I slowly lowered us till we were lying down, with Sofya curled into a tight ball against my chest and my arms around her back holding her close.
"Thank you." She whispered, her breath warm against my ear. I sighed, my chest tightening. She had nothing to thank me for. I'd give up anything for her, anything.