She looked up at me, arching a brow. “Damn, never knew you were such a smart-ass.”
“Hey!” I snapped. “That hurt.”
She smiled wide.
“So, you made your choice?” her voice lowering, every trace of teasing gone. Nothing went past her sharp eyes, as she was clearly calling me out.
I stilled, while she turned her icy blue eyes and met my gaze. “Yeah… I did.”
Her eyes softened and a faint smile appeared. “As long as you are happy, I’m happy.”
I took a step towards her, opening my mouth—
“Ethalyn,” I heard a voice behind me and turned.
Michlael stood there, missing an arm, but as collected as I had ever seen him. “I wanted to thank you, personally—you and…” He stopped and his eyes darted to Malakai who stepped up beside me, glaring right back. “Malakai… you two saved me yesterday.”
“No need,” I shrugged easily.
“Well, a little needed,” Malakai interrupted, crossing his arms above his chest.
I glared at him, before turning back to Michlael. “We’re in thistogether, right? We need you as much as you need us in order to talk to the Ashen Corps.”
“Right… Like we have any choice now that we just lost so many mages,” Michlael said low, his eyes locked on Malakai as if they had a quiet feud. “What is a mage without his arm anyway?” He scoffed, looking away.
“Michlael—” I tried.
“I just hope you don’t have too high expectations of this… there’s nothing guaranteeing that they’ll even talk to us, let alone actually agree to anything. It’s not like you’re the first one to want to end this miserable war,” Michlael snapped, looking back at me. “Or do you think we just enjoy suffering and throwing our lives away so you can play the hero?”
I pressed my lips together, shaking my head.
Michlael clenched his teeth, irritation lingering in his expression. “Sacrifices have been made, most of them by us… I hope you’re ready to make yours when needed.”
My hands lit up, sparks glowing. “I intend to give it my all.”
Mey walked alongside a fellow water-wielder, who helped her practice her craft. I shot them a few glances and noticed her conjuring water out of thin air.
“Progress,” Nate said, noticing my stare.
“Well, at least she’s stopped drenching us,” Ashley chuckled. “Thought I’d get a cold any day now.”
“She looks happy,” I nodded with a smile.
“I’ve never seen her this energetic,” Nate lowered his voice, the vulnerability of the words spilling through his eyes.
“And it will only get better,” Ashley said, knocking her elbow into his side. He turned slightly, staring at her as if to bark something back. But he ended up losing his words, his eyes soft. “Yeah.”
“What?” Ashley arched a brow at him.
“Hey Ash,” he smiled, gaze turning forward. “Will you teach me how to make fireworks sometime?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it, averting her eyes from him as she turned silent.
“Why fireworks?” I asked curiously, my eyes darting back and forth between them.
“Because… they light up the night.” He said softly and I saw Ashley turning red.
A smile fought its way to my lips, he wanted to light up the night sky for her, because her eyesight wasn’t as good in the dark.
