Obsidian (2022)

14. Breath of relief

Chapter 14

Breath of relief

"It's universal to have fear, hate it, and accept it. But it's human to take the fear and make it part of ourselves like it's something we can't change, but can overcome."

"He has a fever, but he'll recover." Agate covered Kieran back with the blankets. Night had already befallen and all the houses cracked the fireplace to keep warm.

There was only silence in the night fog, and in the village, everyone was either mourning or shaking in fear under the covers. It was a day that would haunt them and cause nightmares for the rest of their lives on the island. Trauma was inescapable.

"What about his wounds?" Darya asked Agate.

"All patched up." Agate gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Thank you." Darya murmured letting out a sigh of relief.

They closed the door to the room and walked into the kitchen where Jade helped Rin clean and wrap all his wounds. Silent tension filled the room as Darya entered.

"Go sit." She instructed Agate.

"Where is Amethyst?" Darya asked her before she sat down.

"He went to reassure the families no monsters would come and get them tonight. There were too many deaths today. The people are scared." Agate said, cracking her fingers in her lap. "Way too many people died."

"I see." Darya sighed and reached for a chair making everyone jolt.

"Listen." Darya sat down, and for a second her knees gave out, weak from the overwhelming emotions. However, she didn't let it show on her face. "I have to talk to you about what you saw today." She said. "You now know I have powers."

Their gazes were frightened and confused, but also held a bit of trust she wouldn't hurt them. With this bit of encouragement, Darya kept going.

"It was mine and Kieran's judgment not to use my powers in front of you, so we decided I should learn how to use the daggers. Today it was an emergency so I had to take this risk and just let you see what I'm capable of" She looked at Rin. "Royal, if you plan to do experiments on me, just say the word right now so I can kill you."

Rin shook his head. "No. I'm...In awe. I don't know what to say. Of course, I wouldn't go against you. It would be insane to do so."

"So this is what you and Kieran were hiding." Jade rubbed her temples trying to make sense of things.

"Why didn't you use it earlier? We could have saved so many lives." Agate asked. There was no anger in her tone, just desperation.

"No, we couldn't have," Darya answered. "My power is too complex and too vast to be controlled. Whatever it touched it destroys. Using it on the creatures that held onto the people tightly would have cost them a head, a leg, a kidney. I couldn't guarantee their safety."

"And Kieran?" Rin asked.

"It was a leap of faith." Darya cleared her throat. "I took a risk. I didn't know what was going to happen when I jumped in the water."

No one said anything for a while.

"Are you scared of me?" Darya asked.

"Yes!" They all said in unison.

Darya smiled. "Good. Finally, I can prove I'm not baggage. It's good to get that out."

"Well, you were way past baggage as soon as you figured out my father's work," Rin said.