Calathus

Chapter 25 - Touch of Light, Touch of Dark

Author's Note: Thank you all for your patience and kind words. Much appreciated. Hope you enjoy this chapter. <3

Drawing: Reth and Deneck by Annany. SO CUTE!

25.

Touch of Light, Touch of Dark

From the way it cut through the horizon like jagged pieces of ice breaking through a river's surface, Reth knew it was far off from where he was. He had noticed the blue glimmer about an hour ago, tiny sapphire crystals that glistened through the gaps in the canopy like miniature suns. As Reth jumped through branches and dashed through stalks of grass, the shimmer would catch his eye, and each time it did, he felt a touch of divinity wash over him.

"I know it's pretty, but I'm sure you're going to smash into one of these trees if you keep staring at it," Deneck said.

Reth saw his friend grin at him as they were both suspended in a midair jump. "I doubt I'm that inattentive," he said as they both landed.

Deneck's smirk widened before he dashed ahead, sword bouncing off his hip and wind cutting through his tunic and pants. Reth gave a quiet smile knowing he was also wearing similar clothes. Similar, non–Rhokin clothes.

Reth continued running. It wasn't an exhausting task, but it was excruciating in another way. Each hour that passed distressed him. His ser's life and physical body was at stake, and the chance to save them both decreased with each tree the appeared in his vision, with each peek over the horizon that proved the edge of the island was still a ways off.

Reth's stomach tightened.

It was all a gambit. Even if they did find the edge, if it provided them no way to descend, then all their efforts would have been in vain. The uncertainty didn't sit well with him. Circumstances that were out of his hands, especially this one that involved his ser, frustrated him in ways he didn't think was possible. This was the first time Reth had ever felt so helpless.

No.

He pushed his doubts out of his mind and increased his speed, enough that he caught up to Kota. The Nayichi glanced at him over her shoulder but said nothing. She was in her human form, a form that released enough of her magickal essence so her movements could be sensed throughout the dense vegetation to prevent any of them from losing their way. Or so Deneck said, but they all knew the true reason: to prevent Kota from escaping.

Though Reth was certain he could kill her at any given moment, he had to admit her speed was impressive. She didn't rustle the foliage around her and her light steps didn't disturb even the thinnest fuzz of moss covering the jutting tree roots. Reth noticed the wooden fingers had become abundant, prominent now on the uneven terrain. The stalks wove across the land and grew through earthy coves, creating cages that reminded Reth of the prison Kota had encased him in not too long ago.

A small ball of anger pushed against his chest at the memory. Separated from his ser so that he could see her but do nothing to help her had panicked him to a state he had never felt before. Even now, the thought of the bloody hole through Sianna's neck twisted his insides in ways no battle injury ever had and probably never will.

Her neck was too lovely to be decimated like that. Reth enjoyed the sight of her stray hairs brushing against it during windy days or the way her sweat would slide down her throat to her collar bone and—

Reth's foot slipped. He fell backwards, nests of twigs and rocks digging into his back. A leafy awning thick with vines and strange rainbow flowers outlined his vision. There was an opening in the middle that framed the azure sky crystals as a celestial flower.