The weather had become unbearably harsh as the wind howled outside the cave. Everyone had returned except my father. Maybe he was on scout duty or something. They had come back from hunting and we had two deers roasting over the fire. Guess we were having meat for dinner.
"How does it feel when your eyes and body glow?" Trinity asked over the fire as she threw a piece of meat to a jeering Indigo.
"I get a rush of power and I feel untouchable," I answered absentmindedly with my eyes fixed on a charred stick glowing in the fire.
"Can you see with it?" Harry questioned with concern written all over his face.
"Yeah, but I cannot discern between foe and friend when my eyes and body begin to glow. I can only feel the rage and the need to kill."
That put a stop to the questions real quick for they all stared at me with big eyes, but I didn't care. I had recovered my strength so I sat with my back on the wall watching the wood in the fire crackle, it was beautiful - watching things burn. The sticks in the fire burned brightly before having a permanent ash colour.
"You could have saved her," Olly spat out angrily. I guess he was still mad at me for Queens death.
"There was nothing I could do..."
"Nothing!?" He exploded with rage in his eyes. "I saw you out there Xerxes. You wiped out more than a hundred demons on your own and you did not need help. What is one dragon when compared to the demons which you faced? I loved her..."
"I loved her too!" I burst out, banging my hand against the wall while making everyone gasp at my action. Their eyes were all on me, there was no use hiding it.
"I loved her so much that it hurt to live! I gave her everything I had and I promised to be with her till the end! I promised to protect her no matter the threat, even if it were to cost me my life I said I would be there. You think if I had these powers when that dragon attacked I would have let her die? I would literally protect her with everything I had in me," my eyes were getting cloudy with tears rolling down my cheek. It was a waste to clean them, it would only trigger it.
"We were betrothed to each other, we were supposed to get married, but because you were there she did not love me the way she was supposed to. I see you as a rival not as a team mate. You stole my wife from me Xerxes, and I would never forgive you for that," he declared icily. We had a staring match before he got up and wobbled over to the edge of the cave drinking from a leather-skin container.
"Oi, come back," a drunk Indigo called out.
"What is it sweetie," a concerned Trina asked as she walked over to her, rubbing her hands over her back.
"He took me ale," she grunted. "Me ale!"
"It's alright sweetie. I'll get you another one," the tired warrior reassured her, resting on the wall of the cave.
When he was gone, I closed my eyes to stop my emotions from getting the better of me. My lower lip was bleeding from my teeth which had dug into it earlier to prevent any further outburst. My chest hurt, but I did not know if it was from the injuries I had sustained or from my heart hurting, maybe it was from both.
"Oi Xerc, if it makes ya feel bet-ter I'm ere for ya. I'll always be ere for ya," the drunk magician said out loud with a hiccup and a carefree smile.
"Thanks Indigo, I appreciate it," I answered with a smile.
"Aight, letz eattttttttt!" She screamed, taking out a stake and chewing on it with the rest of the group laughing at her and chiding her for her infantile behaviour.
This moment was one that brought tears to my eyes. This would not last forever, for death followed me everywhere I went. It was only a matter of time before one of them died and I was back to my grieving stage. I stared into the fire watching the woods burn as rage boiled in me. Tomorrow was going to be another day and I had to gather my strength for the challenges which laid ahead. Looking at Petra who was sound asleep, I took out a blanket and covered her with it.
"I may have failed in my other attempts to protect those around me, but I promise to keep you safe, no matter what."
***
He sat at the bottom of the mountain watching the snow fall onto his hands. They would melt and evaporate before they even got the chance to touch his palms. We were the only ones awake as the rest of the group were fast asleep. Olly had dozed off by the entrance of the cave as the remaining wine flowed out of the container making a little puddle beside him. I looked over the horizon to see nothing but white layouts all around. I guess this was why it was called white mountains. Leaning against the walls, I started my journey down to where he sat.
"You should be asleep," his deep voice rumbled, halting me in my tracks. How did he know it was me when he had not turned around to see who it was?
"I couldn't..."
"You should try harder..."
"Why are you like this?" I burst out impatiently.
He turned around to look at me with a grin on his face, "Like what?"
"You know what I'm talking about," I said, plodding over to a rock close to him.
"Go back inside kid. We move at dawn," he said before turning back to his lame hobby.
Contemplating on my next move, I decided to throw all logic out of the window and follow my emotions.
"What did mum ever see in you?"
"Xerxes, not now," he warned, but I wasn't done.
"You're just a bitter old man who does things without putting others first."
"That's enough kid," he grunted angrily.
"Even in the cherry field, mum still said that I should give you a chance, but you always found a way to fuck things up!"
"You know nothing about me!" He erupted as his eyes glowed red. "You know nothing of the pain I had to endure all these years."
"Then why act like you don't care...!"
"Because caring is for the weak," his eyes stopped glowing. "And once you start to care about things that are important to you, you lose them."
With that he stood up and levitated towards the entrance of the cave.
"Like I said, we leave by dawn," he finalized, before walking into the cave.
I stayed under the snow watching the lifeless desert before me. It was getting chilly and I had to go back inside. Maybe he was right. After all, I had lost everything that I deeply cared for - my friends, my family - everything. My wounds were healing up quickly, the powers I had were not that bad. Standing up, I started my ascent to the cave. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and I needed to get some sleep.