The next morning, the three of them are growing restless. It's been one night in the cave and they're already itching to stretch their legs and get some exercise, but they cannot go outside. They cannot give away their hiding place to the Ankathians.
They're all still very sore from their most recent battle. Kaj is healing the quickest since his injuries were the least significant, but they're still slowing him down. Phoenix has to move slowly because the gash in his side is finally starting to heal and it's still fairly painful for him. Valkyrie is also just beginning to heal. Her shoulder is getting better, but she still struggles to lift her sword. She also still limps, but that's getting better fairly quickly. It hurts, but it's bearable.
They decide to explore the cave. The boys follow Valkyrie since she knows the cave better than them. Phoenix takes Valkyrie's hand and doesn't let go. Kaj notices but doesn't say anything, having to suppress a smile for his friends. He always knew that they were meant to be together, but it's bittersweet for him since the pain of losing Eira is still fresh.
He misses her like crazy. He loves her so much that it often stole his breath and made is heart pound every time he saw her. The way she smiled or laughed or when she sparred with him and they would help each other up every time someone won. He can still see it in his mind and he smiles slightly. Even though she's gone, he has the memories. He'll still be able to remember her the way he wants to, with her smile on her face and the sound of her laugh in his mind. Besides, at least she won't have to fight anymore. He knows how much she hated that, but she did it because she knew that she had to. She wanted to protect her friends and those that she loved, which she did.
His heart pangs as he turns the corner and sees Phoenix sneaking a kiss to Valkyrie. She laughs and pushes his shoulder gently, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. Phoenix chuckles at her and pulls her into his chest and hugs her tightly. She rests her cheek against him in the same way that Eira did to Kaj. His small gasp must have been audible because they both turn and Valkyrie's eyes widen.
"I'm so sorry, Kaj-" she starts, but he interrupts.
He gives them a crooked, weak attempt at a smile. "There's nothing to be sorry for. I'm happy that you guys are finally together."
They pull apart anyway and continue walking, thought their hands are still together. As they follow the underground river, they learn that there are extensive tunnels.
"I had no idea that any of this was here," Valkyrie murmurs, looking around in shock. It splits off into several different direction, small torches hanging on the wall. They light as the walk by, with either Valkyrie or Phoenix lighting them. The light reflects off the water and casts blue light onto the ceiling, where the blue dances with the gentle warmth of the orange from the flames.
They decide to split off into different tunnels. There are six branches leading into different passages, and since Kaj can't light the torches, Phoenix goes with Kaj and Valkyrie is on her own.
"Be careful," Phoenix whispers to her, kissing her forehead gently. Kaj looks away, feeling his heart crack.
"I always am," she replies, the corner of one side of her mouth turning up into a cocky smirk.
Phoenix rolls his eyes. "We both know that's not true, but okay." She laughs. "Be back here in an hour, okay? We'll meet up before we search the next tunnels."
She nods before heading down the tunnel, ducking as she steps into the narrow opening. Phoenix turns to Kaj and smiles. "You ready?"
He smiles slightly. "Always."
* * *
The two boys have been walking for a while now, but the walkway created by the river shows no signs of ending anytime soon. The soothing sound of moving water is the only thing between them except for their breathing, until Phoenix breaks the silence. "How are you doing?"
"Fine," is Kaj's reply. "How are you?"
"I'm good. My side is still killing me, but it's better than it was."
The silence that follows is awkward, neither of them knowing quite what to say to the other. They walk in the quiet for another few minutes, and then Kaj says something. "So you and Valkyrie, huh?"
Phoenix's laugh echoes off the walls. "Yeah, finally."
"I'm happy for you guys. It took you two long enough."
"Thanks, man. How are you doing? With Eira, I mean."
He sighs. "It's really hard, but I know she would want me to live. She would still want me to be happy and move on someday."
"She would," Phoenix agrees. "I hope someday that Valkyrie and I have the same kind of relationship as you two did."
"You know you sound like a girl, right?"
Phoenix shrugs. "She makes me happy, man, and I can't help but talk about it. It took so long for me to finally realize that she felt the same way as I did, and right in the middle of a war. Talk about bad timing."
"Better late than never," he replies.
"That's true. I'm even more scared of losing her now though, you know? I don't want anything to happen to her." Kaj is silent, not knowing how to respond. He already knows the feeling that Phoenix is talking about. It takes Phoenix a moment to realize what he said, and he regrets it as soon as he does. "Kaj, I'm so sorry. That was so insensitive."
"It's okay, don't worry about it."
They lapse back into an awkward silence, until Kaj is reminded of something he was wanting to ask Phoenix. "Are you having night terrors?"
Phoenix sighs loudly as he nods. "Yep. Almost every night."
"What are they about?"
"Mostly the same thing: losing the war, losing you or Val, or not being able to save any of our people. I can see it so clearly in my head that it seems so real until I wake up. It's horrible."
"Do you think that we'll lose the war?"
Phoenix shrugs. "I honestly don't know. There's only three of us against an entire army. Granted, none of them know how to fight and we do, but still. We can't fight forever and we can't lose anyone else. We're probably barely staying afloat right now as it is. It's a miracle that Valkyrie has multiple powers, or we probably would have been screwed from the start."
"Speaking of Valkyrie, do you dream of losing her? Of her dying?" Kaj blurts the questions out before he knows what he's doing, desperate for someone to understand how he's feeling about losing Eira.
He nods solemnly. "Almost every night. They're the worst ones. She always ends up dying in them. Every single one. There are so many ways that she does and I never realize until it's too late, and it terrifies me."
"How are you not going crazy? I dream about losing Eira every night and I can never get the images out of my head. I feel like I'm losing my mind."
"I am going crazy, or at least sometimes I feel like it. She's always there to pull me out of it though, and she just stays there with me until I'm convinced that she's real and she's not going to die any second."
"Does she have nightmares?"
"If she does, she's much better at hiding them than me. I honestly don't know. She's never talked about it. Usually though, whenever she has something on her mind, she just can't sleep."
Kaj sighs. "I'm not sure which is worse."
While they were talking, they didn't notice that the torches had stopped lighting. They were now in almost complete darkness.
"Where are the torches?"
"There aren't anymore. I'm trying to find some, but there aren't any."
"This must be as far as Valkyrie's father got before he didn't come back here." Phoenix agrees and they turn around to head back. Valkyrie is waiting for them, her feet in the cool water as she sits on the edge of the rock.
Phoenix sits beside her and Kaj sits next to him. "Mine was a dead-end," she tells them. "Ran into a rock wall at the end. I think the tunnel must have collapsed on itself a while ago."
"Ours didn't end, but there were no more torches to light. We came back after that."
She yawns. "I know that it's silly, but that made me tired. I'm ready to fall asleep again, and it's probably only midday."
"You're still injured," Phoenix reminds her. "You're probably tired because you're healing."
"Well, so are you two, so let's go back and get some rest."
They begin walking back, and the boys notice that Valkyrie's limp is back. Her leg must be killing her, having been walking around for over an hour on an uneven surface only a day and a half after injuring it.
Phoenix steps behind her and scoops her into his arms. She wraps her arms around his neck with a yelp and a gentle, playful slap to his chest. "I can walk, you know."
"I know."
"So put me down!"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want to."
"But Nix, you might hurt your side."
"Then don't move. It doesn't hurt."
"But it might!"
"Well, your leg already does, so you shouldn't be walking on it."
"I can handle it. Please put me down."
"No."
"Nix!"
"Val!"
"Are you making fun of me?"
"What makes you think that?"
Kaj can't help but laugh at his two friends. Phoenix's words replay in his head, how he wants to have a love like his and Eira's someday. Kaj smiles as he realizes that they already do, and they just don't know it yet.