Dust to Dust | ✓

9 || Departure

Aiko's eyes widened as she jolted back to herself, grounded in the present by Zehra's icy grip. "How did you know I was the—?"

The huntress chuckled as she released Aiko's hand from her hold. "Did you think you were hiding it well? Your flame is so bright I can see it in your eyes."

Warmth pooled in Aiko's cheeks, her shoulders going stiff. She looked away. "It shouldn't be that easy to see," she mumbled.

"The Core doesn't truly want to hide its bonded," Zehra said plainly. She lifted the lid from the pot, letting loosely a cloud of steam and the scent of stewed venison. Taking a spoon to the soup, she lifted it to her lips for a taste. Satisfied, she took a bowl and ladle and began to serve the soup. She handed the bowl to Aiko, her gaze piercing as it met Aiko's once more. "Eat. After that, we should go."

"Go?" Aiko accepted the wooden bowl and crudely carved spoon from her. It was warm to the touch and her mouth watered at the scent of fresh herbs and spices. It wasn't the fancy cutlery, fine cuisine, and spacious, empty dining room she was used to, but it was more than enough when her stomach was trying to eat itself.

Zehra tilted her head as she filled a second bowl. "You want to find your friend, don't you?"

Aiko snapped upright, spine straight and shoulders back. "Yes. Yes, of course I do!"

"Then we'll leave after we eat."

"But... do you even know where we're going?" Aiko glanced down at her bowl. The soup was too thick and murky to see her reflection in, but she could almost swear she could pinpoint the hollow, pale face of the Reaper. With a sigh, her shoulders sagged and the glimmer of hope in her chest winked out. "They disappeared in the blink of an eye. I don't have a trace or anything left to track."

Zehra ate in silence, her gaze fixed on the crackling flame in front of them. Her brow furrowed in thought as something crossed her gaze. The spoon in her hand touched the rim of the bowl and she lowered it to her lap. "They live in and maintain the world between worlds—you know of it, yes?"

"Of course." Mae had shown her the plain of magic many times before. It was how she watched her people from afar, searching eagerly for a weak flame. She had shown it to Felix once too, hoping to convey what Cinere could not—her flame was too powerful, consuming her alive as the Core sank its talons deeper into her. It was a sacred place, created solely by magic and maintained by the Cores and the magical creatures like Mae. But... "We have no way to get there. And even if we do, the world between worlds is just as vast as the physical world. They could be anywhere."

"I know a way," Zehra began, taking another spoonful of her stew. "There's a place in the far north of Ienaeus called the Cliffs of Saal. It is said that the border is weakest there and it's possible to open a door to the world between worlds."

"Yes, but how?"

Zehra shifted her glare to Aiko, her lips pursed in a frown. "You should be eating while we talk. It's better while it's warm, trust me."

With a pout, Aiko took her spoon, scooped a chunk of venison from her stew, and shoved it in her mouth. Zehra waited until she had swallowed and taken a second bite before she nodded and turned back to the fire.

"You are the Bright Soul. You have a connection to the Core and the world between worlds through it. You can open the door."

"I can't." Aiko deflated, lowering her head. "The Ember Core was destroyed. That's why they took Felix."

"If you have no connection to it, why do you still possess the Bright Soul?"

Confusion squeezed Aiko's chest, nails digging into her palm as she clenched her fists. She recalled the burn mark on the tree she struck during her fit, how fire had coursed through her veins once again—if only for a flicker of a moment. The flame, Cinere's still-mocking voice echoing in her mind, the pull she felt being so far from Niveus... "If I did still have it," she murmured, "What good would that do?"