Izoven: Song of Fire ✓

Chapter 35

The blazing sun was entirely too much to bear. It'd been nearly an hour of dragging themselves up this damn road. Emery's feet were blistered and sore. She hated this. 

A blue van zoomed past them, making Emery even madder at their situation. She stopped, kicked her bike's stand down, and angrily smacked away the sweaty hair that'd stuck on her face. 

"This is dumb, let's just rent a fucking car already," she nagged. She tied her hair back into a messy bun, only to have half the strands fall out of it from being too short. 

Lila, who was just a few feet ahead, stopped and sighed. "I told you, we can't rent a car. It's better to have something that can't be tracked down."

"What if it's months? Are you really willing to take an hour-long bike ride every week for six measly bags of groceries? Because I'm not!" She waved at the basket of her bike, where three bags were full to the brim of drinking water and canned goods. 

"We're almost to the house anyway, come on." The blonde resumed pushing the bike up the hill, then took a left toward a small dirt road. 

'House' . . . Sure . . .

They walked past a few overgrown bushes, and tall grass, until a small cabin came into view. A one-room cottage with barely a bathroom and half a kitchen. 

There was a mattress and a sofa. After an intense game of rock-paper-scissors, it was decided that Emery would keep the couch. The strain in Emery's lower back, a result of a loose spring under the mattresses less than comfy cushions, was driving her crazy. 

It's safe to say she wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

"I'm just saying . . ." she continued.

"And never stop saying. . . ."

"Poppy called to say she visited Bellenau a few days ago. Theo hasn't been anywhere near the town, nor the army you keep saying he'll bring. It's been nearly two weeks already. He's not going to invade."

"Or maybe he's hiding out until we come back."

"Or maybe he's looking for us, to join us, and has no idea where we went."

Lila sighed and grabbed the bags from her basket as well as Emery's. "Let's give it one more week, then we'll call Mave and Mel. We'll consider going back then."

Yes! A win! She knew if she'd break eventually. Emery jumped in joy and ran to open the door for her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet. It's just a maybe," Lila tried to put a dander on her mood, but she wasn't having it. 

She waited until Lila walked in and then leaned on the weak, wooden railing the shack had on its porch. The wood groaned under the pressure of her palms, so she eased away a bit. A small jay flew by, landing merely a foot away from Emery. It seemed to study her for a second before taking flight once more, disappearing through the thick branches of oak trees. 

Her mouth stretched into a grin and she closed her eyes. The wind caressed her hot cheeks and dried her hair. She took a big, breath to fill her lungs with the woodsy air. Before this moment, the humidity and lack of noise made Emery restless, but now that there was a possibility of leaving, she let herself enjoy it.

"Finally," a baritone voice said. It startled Emery, making her gasp and put more weight on the frail wood than she should've. It splintered under her and made her slip forward. Emery pinched her eyes tighter as dust and chips of moldy wood flew about her. Two hands caught her by the waist and settled her down gently. She felt her bun fall loose, the hairs fell in front of her face. The hands moved to gently stroke the hairs away from her face.