“Thank you for this morning,I needed it,”I call out to her, yet, I haven’t heard from her since our bonding back at the pit.
She prances besides me, her flames dimming out as she begins to lay by the tall, white-oak tree in the center of the Pyre. I allow my back to beat against the tree, letting myself slide down, exhausted and drained.
I let out a deep exhale, running my fingers through my hair. My chin lifts, and I glance towards her as she rests her head down, never catching a single blade of grass on fire.
“I really thought you’d burn everything.”My lips tug into a teasing grin, noticing her eyes flicker towards me—as if she heard me—before closing them.
“Where’s lover boy?” Kaine hands me a piece of bread, taking an enormous bite out of his.
I side-eye him, shooting a death glare his way as he chuckles with a mouth full of bread.
“I’m teasing.” He lifts his hands as he sits next to me. “I’m surprised your horse isn’t burning this whole place down.”
“I said the same thing.” I glance towards her, twisting the bread in my hands. “It’s quite interesting that the God of Fire never wrote a book for us to understand her.”
“Maybe he only wanted you to understand her.” He leans back against the tree, taking his dark-brown hair behind his pointed ears and letting the sun beat against his skin.
Theon casually walks over, squatting down before lying on his back to rest his head against Kaine’s legs. He closes his eyes, resting his hands behind his head and smiling brightly “Flying in the sky will never get old.”
“Yeah, thank the Gods I didn’t bond with a horse that could fly,” I scuff, taking a bite of my bread before wiping away the crumbs that fall against my suit.
Theon lifts just a tad off the ground, glancing over his shoulder towards me. “Ren… are you scared of heights?”
My brows raise. “My only fear.”
“That’s cute.” He lowers back down, adjusting his body.
“Says the man afraid of little spiders,” I tease, leaning forward to throw a piece of bread against his head, making him jump as his hands flail widely.
“I hate you for that.” His body squirms, and he scratches his head. “There is no spider on me, right, Kaine?”
Kaine scuffs without daring to open his eyes. “There are no spiders, Theon.”
I let out a deep laugh, holding my chest as I enjoy the sight of Theon getting squirmish.
But as I let my watery eyes open, something in the distance catches my eye. A paper, flying with the wind, folded into a paper airplane. My eyes squint, noticing the window of Koen’s room is open and a candle is lit, resting against the window’s ledge.
It soars delicately towards us, swaying sideways as it catches in the breeze.
My eyes lock onto it, watching its every move before it lands right onto my lap. I sit upright, letting my knees fold, and gently take the paper in my hands.
Kaine lunges forward, attempting to snatch it away, his brows arching upward, and I know exactly what he is thinking.
“What if that letter is for me?” Kaine’s eyes glance between the note and towards the window high up on the third floor of the ice wing.
My lips twist into a smirk. “Very funny, Kaine.”
Meanwhile, Theon rolls over, letting out an enormous yawn as if he didn’t sleep at all before he props his head up with one hand, his elbow nestling comfortably in the green grass. Both of them fix their gazes on me, their lips pulling into infuriating smirks that I feel an overwhelming urge to wipe right off their faces.
My finger points deliberately towards the two of them. “I hate the both of you. You two should have died in the pit.”
“Just remember you would have died without the two of us,” Theon teases.
“I would have survived, don’t flatter yourself.”
Kaine’s tongue glides along his bottom lip, scuffing as he glances towards Theon. “Lover boy is writing her letters now?”
“So romantic,” Theon teases, and I beam the most violent, death stare towards the two of them.
