Because I Love You✔️

Chapter 90: Elation

"What about your mentor?" Gus growled, narrowing his eyes. "How did he react to you replacing the mark he gave Ella?! He didn't harm you, did he?"

Xaphile's expression fell a little, but he decided to tell the truth.

"He was pissed about that, but no, he didn't hurt me," he muttered. "Hell, he didn't even use that mind control ability to get answers out of me."

"So... nothing happened?"

"Well... he did leave me in the woods by myself to come observe all of you while I was training."

Ella stiffened.

"He was here?!" she hissed, eyes darting around. "Watching us?!"

"As far as I'm aware," Xaphile confirmed, then let out a sigh and finally sat down on a cushion. "If he does it again, I'll let you know using the bond we have. Just because he's teaching me properly doesn't mean I trust him. Plus, he's still one of the biggest assholes I've ever met."

"Be that as it may," Ella drawled looking at his wings with a subtle frown, "if you learned how to do so much in only one day, perhaps we won't have to wait a month at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you manage to learn enough to actually fly and use your magic the right way, even if its only a little bit of it, we could shave off a lot of time and leave after only a week!"

"You think?" Xaphile asked, feeling a bit surprised. "Do you really believe I'm capable of learning what we need that quickly?"

"I have faith in you," Ella admitted, giving him a curt look. "And among other things, I also believe you're a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for."

The compliment was a pleasant surprise.

"Where is this mentor of yours now?" Sinmir questioned. "Do you know?"

"He took to the sky and left after he finished teaching me," Xaphile explained, then leaned back. "I'm pretty sure he's gone."

Right around that moment, his stomach growled like a voracious animal, and everyone twitched. Amelia's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands, grinning brightly.

"I almost forgot! I promised to make you a hearty supper this morning!"

"You don't have to if you're tired," he noted, watching as she jumped up and started digging through their provisions. "I'm pretty beat myself, and on top of that, I'm going to be extremely sore tomorrow."

Ella's head snapped up.

"Sore? Why?"

He gave her a glance, raising an eyebrow as he did so.

"I was working a lot of unused muscles today," he told her. "Exercise makes me super stiff in the mornings."

"Well, since you've obviously worked so hard," Amelia giggled, tucking her curly hair up into a high ponytail, "would you like some tea to help relax you and warm you up?"

"Sure" he sighed, pushing his hair back before he glanced down at his bare chest; a frown descended over his features as he looked at himself. "I'm getting really tired of running around shirtless, though... I don't feel right without clothes on."

"That may be so," Vrael chuckled, eyeing his six-pack with a smirk, "but it's not like you have anything to be ashamed of. But don't worry, Sinmir and Gus are-"

"Planning on teaching you two whelps how to properly defend yourself," the prince happily interrupted, leaning forward with a broad grin. "I've already started teaching Vrael how to use a variety of weapons properly, but I've decided that I'm going to teach you, as well."