Athan released an exasperated cry, feeling frustrated at himself and the whole situation with Rhya that occupied his every thought.
He resumed his previous task, looking rather sullen, reading through the scroll he had in his hand in search of the mysterious word.
" You don't recall where you heard that word?" Ian asked to confirm that nothing had changed since he mentioned it last.
Athan shook his head and picked up scroll after scroll as quickly as possible while Ian did the same.
After searching through the scrolls for the longest time, the library door creaked open, and Rhya appeared in the library.
Ian turned to look at the door and saw Rhya, who had a broad smile plastered on her face " Iris sent me to let you both know that the food is ready!" she beamed while walking to where they were.
" Why are you so happy?" Ian questioned in a serious tone while looking at the scroll.
" We are one step closer to being home!" she beamed again, not letting Ian's sour mood get to her.
" She won't open the gate, as it is unsafe," Ian deadpanned while looking up from the scroll to see Rhya's mood change at his words.
" I know," Rhya acknowledged while clicking her tongue " We will have to wait a little longer!" she whined while peeking at the scrolls.
" What are you looking for?" she curiously asked while looking over Athan's shoulder, making Ian chuckle when he saw the tortured look on his face.
" Mirin? Does that word mean anything to you?" Ian questioned while picking up another scroll.
" Mirin is the name of a sword, "Rhya shed some light on the word's meaning, wondering why they were asking about it.
" What kind of sword?" he questioned, wanting to know more about it.
" The dangerous kind," Rhya exclaimed, looking at Athan, who fell deep in thought, but his face lit up as if he had found the answer.
Athan moved from his spot and ran to push the ladder to a different place in the library and quickly appeared with a handful of scrolls, halting his footsteps next to Rhya and Ian.
" This is what...." he exclaimed while raising a handful of scrolls in the air "....you are looking for," Athan beamed, closing the distance between him and Rhya and giving her a smacking kiss.
" You're beautiful and smart,' Athan complimented her while Rhya just blinked owlishly, a little taken aback at Athan's way of showing affection.
Athan went back to the table, unfolding the scrolls one by one " A-ha!" he shouted, victorious when he found what he was looking for.
" No wonder the witch hunted you to extinction," Ian muttered to himself while calmly walking to where Athan was and pinching the scroll out of his hands.
" It says the sword is the bringer of death," Ian exclaimed while looking up at Athan with his eyebrows raised " All swords bring death!" he huffed, a little annoyed that the scroll had just stated the obvious.
Athan nodded " Keep reading," he encouraged with a silly smile while he was looking at Ian, who glared at him.
Ian resumed reading; the more he read, his frown deepened, and when he finished reading, he slumped in the chair, rubbing his temples with his fingers and looking rather distressed.
" And you leave things like that just lying around for anyone to take," he scolded while looking at Athan and Rhya, who suddenly turned small and looked at the ground.
" Just don't touch the sword unless you have to, and you'll be fine," Athan stated while he looked at Ian with pleading eyes.
" You know, I can't do that. When the time comes, I will have to touch it again," Ian countered while his eyes bore into Athan's.
Athan gave him a sheepish smile " Stay away from it for now," he pleaded while placing his hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.
" Now, you don't need to touch it. I'll go and take it out of your chamber after we all have had some food and place it somewhere safe." he continued seeing that Ian calmed down and stopped glaring at him.
" Fine," Ian huffed while running his hand through his hair, frustrated that such dangerous weapons were left for anyone to take and use.
' Now, let's go and eat," Athan suggested in a calm voice while gently pushing Ian to stand up.
Ian nodded and stood up, walking out of the library, followed by Athan and Rhya, who kept quiet, seeing that Ian was deep in thought.
Now he was more dangerous than ever, considering the sword he was wielding.
Walking through the corridors, Ian kept quiet while he thought of the sword and the damage it could do to their enemies but, at the same time, the price he would have to pay to wield the sword. Weighing whether he should take the risk to keep Iris and the unborn child safe.
Reaching the dining room, Athan walked in front and opened the door for them to enter while the smell of warm and freshly cooked food wafted out of the room as soon as the door swung open.
Iris's eyes settled on Ian, who didn't look in a better mood than before. She could only hope that it wasn't anything terrible and it was just the events that happened in the garden that had yet to fade away from his mind.
Iris stood up and met Ian halfway " Everything alright?" she asked in a soft voice while she took his hand in hers, giving him a quick peck on the lips.
Ian mustered a smile " No! It's bad, Iris," he truthfully muttered, not minding one bit who was hearing.
Iris frowned " Come, let's sit down. Will talk while we eat." She softly encouraged him while pulling him to sit next to her at the table.
Iris sat down next to him " What did you find?" she curiously asked while grabbing a spoonful of food and shoving it into Ian's face, making everyone at the table frown, but they all quickly looked at their food when Ian glared at them.
Ian took the spoon in his mouth, humming at the taste of cooked food " This delicious," he beamed while he pridefully looked at Iris, knowing that she had done most of the work.
" I'm glad you like it!" she beamed while leaning in and kissing Ian's cheek.
" It's the sword. Every time I touch it, I'm a step closer to becoming the angel of death," he explained while taking the spoon from Iris and feeding it to her, making the others at the table frown again but turn to look at their plate before Ian could see them.
" Oh." I thought that Naast had destroyed the sword," Iris stated while looking around the table and realised that the person she had entrusted with the task wasn't at the table.
" Well, It's in our chamber, so I guess that didn't happen," Ian huffed while shoving another spoonful of food into Iris's mouth.
The others kept quiet, a little taken aback at the events unfolding in front of their eyes, choosing to let it happen and not comment on the matter.
" Athan will take it later out of our chamber and place it somewhere safe," he continued while Iris frowned while he took another spoonful of food and gave it to Iris.