"What's gonna happen when he comes for you, Mistral?" I asked.
The harpy stilled. There was a second where I felt like I'd gone too far. Maybe I'd find out Mistralwasthe smiting type, after all.
But he didn't smite me. Instead he let out a frustrated sigh. "Stupid mortals always trying to save everyone and acting invincible and..." The rest of it trailed off into incoherent muttering. "Okay. Fine. Since you're so riled up about this, I'll help you."
I blinked. "Wait, you will?"
"Yes. Unfortunately." Mistral glared at us. "Both of you come here. Flying is faster than swimming."
Exchanging a glance, Kamari and I approached Mistral. He leapt up and hovered in the air. "Grab hold of my legs. I can carry both of you to the coast."
"Wow. Thanks, Mistral," I said.
Kamari suspiciously took hold of Mistral's scaled leg. "You're not going to drop us, are you?"
"I find the lack of faith you both have in me astounding," Mistral replied, deadpan. "For your own peace of mind, I control air and its related magic, so even if you did decide to let go for whatever reason, I wouldn't let you face plant on the water. Does that make you feel better?" he asked sardonically.
"Yes, actually," Kamari said.
Mistral rolled his eyes and waited for us to grab hold, then lifted into the sky. I yelped as the air rushed around us. The sensation of being so high off the ground was strange and foreign. I honestly would've preferred swimming, but Mistral was right about the flight taking less time, and right now we had no time to waste.
As the coast loomed closer, the lack of storm clouds almost seemed ominous in an ironic way. The sky was a crystal clear shade of blue even though a malicious spirit was in our midst. If Mistral hadn't informed us of his presence, it would've seemed like nothing was wrong.
But it was. I sensed it now. That uncomfortable, skin-crawling feeling. This must've been what Kamari felt earlier. It wasn't just anxiety but a premonition.
"There," Kamari said, his voice tight and grave.
Outside the haven, a figure stood alone on the pale sand. My body tensed. Even from this high in the air, I felt a dark aura emanating from it.
Is that Animus?
Mistral slowly descended from behind. Animus was facing the haven, his back to us. Mistral touched down as silently as possible on the rock ledge, letting both of us down.
"That's him," Mistral whispered. His voice was tense, like a taut string. I could tell he seriously did not want to be here, but I appreciated that he was willing to get so close to a spirit he was terrified of for our sake's.
Now I saw that Animus wasn't entirely alone. Ahead of him was a line of people--omegas from the haven. My heart leapt into my throat. What were they doing?
But I didn't have time to think about that because Animus said in a rich, loud voice, "Is that you, my dear Mistral?"
19
Kamari
The voice frozeme on the spot, chilling my body. The weight of it reminded me at once that this was not just a regular person we were dealing with. It was the spirit who had drained Nautilus to the point of exhaustion.
Animus slowly turned around. He resembled a man, but not quite, almost in a mocking way. A black silk cloak hung lazily off his frame, cutting off around his knees. He was so pale that his skin was nearly translucent. His long hair, pitch black on top of his head, also turned a bizarre colorless shade as it reached the tips. There was a pair of matte black spiralling horns jutting out from his skull, and where human nails should have been were long dark claws, on both his hands and his bare feet.
This... this is the spirit who hurt Nautilus.
My hands curled into fists. Despite the fear Animus instilled in me, I was still furious at everything he'd done. If I did nothing, he would wreak havoc again. I had to be brave.
Meanwhile, Mistral seemed to be doing the same thing. He was trembling as Animus called out to him but he took a step forward and said in his best I'm-pretending-nothing-is-wrong voice, "Yep. That's me." He gave a vague half-wave. "Hi, Animus."
Animus smiled. It wasn't an evil smile, no bared teeth or horrible smirk. Just an inexplicably normal smile.
"I've missed you," Animus said. "Why don't you come here and give me a hug?"
"I'm good, thanks," Mistral replied. "I flew all the way here and my arms are pretty sore, y'know?"
