Trial by Flame

Chapter 61

They set up a small camp at the rim of the canyon, not realizing how exhausted they were until the night's excitement came to an end. It wasn't quite daylight—perhaps the beginning of morning, at the earliest—and it was sure to mess up their already inconsistent sleep patterns. But nobody was energetic, and Trelisti, especially, was drained.

Avalon watched him try to play it off, unsure if he himself knew how exhausted he was. It seemed he was barely aware of the scars and bruises marring his face, and he tended to ignore the injuries inside until he could no longer hide them. Miraculously, Tellik's improved magic had him recovering in places it didn't touch before, but that came with a tiredness he couldn't conceal for long. They'd only gone off to collect water for a matter of minutes, and when they returned, he was dead to the world.

"Curious one, isn't he?" she asked, hardly realizing the words came aloud. She read the question on Tellik's face before she thought to continue. "He never takes care of himself. It's almost refreshing to see him rest for once."

Tellik's brows were the clearest answer, raising agreeingly before a nod. "I think he slept half the nights in Embrias, if I'm generous. Wasn't even a full length for most of them."

The words shouldn't have been surprising—in a way, they weren't. For how little she knew about him, it fit perfectly. She couldn't help but watch curiously, gaze drifting over his cut lip and sharp jaw, crawling up his sculpted cheekbones and snowy eyelids, all the way to his curled, pale-sand hair with a few streaks growing dark...

Avalon caught herself staring and looked away, heat rushing over her cheeks despite the cold of night. She knew they'd often joke, but jokes were just that, and it was wrong to think of more. Indecent, too, while he slept so vulnerably.

Yet she couldn't stop her eyes from drawing back, her mind from straying where it shouldn't go. He was dangerous. Secretive. Someone it'd be safer to keep her distance from.

But he was also very pretty.

"You've known him for longer than I," she said, giving in to see if Tellik could answer her questions. He wasn't asleep, watching the sky from against a rock. "Do you know why he's like that? Or what he did before...saving the world, I guess?"

"Besides what we saw?" Tellik asked with a hint of nihilism. "Boy's a mystery. I know a little about the guild he was in, since his partner was more open than him. But I don't think she knows everything."

"Partner?" Avalon asked. It was hard not to fixate on the word.

"Don't worry. It's not like that," he chuckled, muttering something about silly youth. "They grew up doing guild missions together. It's true that they've got a deep bond, but there's nothing romantic about it. I don't think Quinn's into that sort of thing, anyway."

The words were almost a relief, if not for exposing her. She only continued because some answers were better than none.

"Was Quinn the one we saw in the fire?" she asked, glancing back in the direction of the trial as though it would reappear. "The blue one."

"I wasn't really looking," Tellik replied, rubbing the side of his face. "But she's recognizable. Hair black as night, save for a white crown. Grey eyes and a similar demeanor to Trelisti, but she's actually nice."

Though the colors weren't clear in the flame, the pattern was confirmation—Avalon thought it was a trick of light at first, but it seemed she really did have a distinct ring around her head.

"Is that the same reason his hair's dark?" she said, pointing to the streaks growing black towards the top. "Something their guild does, maybe?"

Tellik shook his head.