The Flames That Bind Us (Daughter of Fire #1)

✔Chapter Thirty Seven: The Honouring Day

His grave was so small, with vines of flowers I'd never seen before enwrapped around the tombstone.

I guessed it was Redmond that made them since they looked like they wouldn't have grown in such a short period. They were beautiful, and when I grazed my fingers against the petals, their color would fade to a different shade each time.

But I didn't have it in me to stop and admire the beauty only a Slifer was able to conjure.

It had taken Gabriel nearly all of his willpower to convince me to go out of my room. He had given up on trying to make me attend the celebration, and when I finally decided I would go and visit Luxus, he wasn't here to witness the change.

In fact, half of the palace was empty in last-minute preparations for The Honouring Day. Neither Lis nor Gabriel came to visit me this morning, having been whisked away to the town's square for the parade.

I had planned on saying my goodbyes to them and everyone else today, but seeing they were all occupied with the festival, leaving the palace halls empty with not so much as a whisper, I had decided to slip by unnoticed.

It was possibly cowardly of me to purposely avoid bidding farewell to the people I've grown attached to, but I can scold myself and drown in self-isolation later. The truth was I didn't even know how to say goodbye, not when it might pull me to stay longer.

For now, I banished these thoughts away and knelt on the freshly cut grass as I swiped the white lace veil on my face and pinned it to the side.

The words 'Luxus Voltaire' were carved on the stone, and I traced each letter with my fingers. My eyes were dry, so I couldn't shed a tear for the life of me. But that hollowness in my chest deepened further the longer I stared at the earth he was surely under.

It seemed as the days went by, Luxus' absence resided more in my heart even when I found myself sometimes searching for a shadow of a cat on the walls or trying to desperately hear a small tapping of feet on the ground.

But each time I didn't find any of these, I would curl into the bed with an unbearable heaviness. So that's why when I woke up this morning, I decided to finally leave.

"I wish we had made it out, Lux," I spoke to the grave, realizing my voice was null. "I wish you had the chance to see the world."

Of course, there was no response to my words, but I kept going, "I think I'll go to The Kaleidoscope Sea King Calix talked about. Or perhaps to Ellesmere. I don't know. I haven't exactly decided yet."

It was pointless to speak of my unresolved plans to someone who would never answer, but it helped clear my head.

I knew I wanted to avoid the major cities and travel as far away as possible from Imarnia. Last night, I had briefly skipped over the pages of the book I had borrowed from the library to see where else was interesting to go.

There were mountains near the borders of Trinivan, where only snow stretched for miles and miles. Though, I did read that ice serpents hoarded the place. And it would be difficult to get past them without using magic.

That's the other thing; I wanted to go to a place where I could only use as little of my magic as possible.

It still angered me to see them, so bright and powerful and perfect. But with each flicker, I only wished it never was given to me.

The sound of thudding footsteps snapped me from my resentful thoughts, and I was quickly back on my feet when Lucius came creeping behind me, his back hunched and surprisingly sober. Without a word, I made to walk past him, but his chest blocked my face as his hand went to grab my arm.