Page 11 of A World of Ruins

I turn as Aelle strides over to us. Her brows slant as she looks at Cutler like a mother would at a misbehaving child.

‘You and I both know you would not be acting this confident around her if Darius were here,’ she says, side-glancing at me with a smirk, and I cannot thank her more for it. Ever since she and Leira stayed with the shifters back in Emberwell, Aelle has become like a mother to them all.

Cutler sighs, dropping his head in resignation. ‘Yes, you are right.’ He pouts before his eyes flit up at me with sheer embarrassment and waves his drink. ‘I guess I will see you around, Nara.’ He joins a group of other shifters by the table, and I blow out a huff as Aelle chuckles.

‘Thank you,’ I say as she wraps her arm around me and squeezes me into a quick hug. ‘I was so close to punching him in the balls.’

‘What balls? He has none!’ She throws her head back, roaring with laughter as her copper hair shakes with the trembling of her body. Soon, I begin chuckling too. ‘No, but on a serious note . . .’ She wipes her eyes, clearing her throat. ‘How are you?’

And here come the questions . . .

‘Starving.’ I smile.

Her brow jumps. ‘That is always your answer. Do you think I don’t know when you are lying by now? I could tell even if I weren’t tuned in to your emotions.’

Despite how right she is, it’s not hard to decipher my true feelings. Sighing down at her, I link arms with her and walk down the middle of the hall. ‘I guess, if you must know, each day I am hoping I will wake up from this nightmare.’

She stops, turning me with her. ‘Dearest.’ She fixes the collar of my maroon shirt which is tucked into my dark leather trousers. ‘Who says this has to be a nightmare?’

‘Well, it is not exactly a joyous time.’

‘It neither has to be joyous.’

I can only stare at her, wondering what form of consolation she is trying to give me this time. I have had enough from everyone else but all it has left me with is a hollowed chest.

‘You love that man, do you not?’

Her question fills my heart with something so overwhelming that I can only nod before my voice breaks on the word ‘Deeply.’

Aelle’s eyes crinkle as she smiles before noticing the golden coin around my neck. She presses her palm against it and looks up at me almost maternally, much like Leira does. ‘Thenthatshould be enough to keep you from thinking this is all a nightmare.’

The soothing note of her voice has me drawing backwards, my gaze watery as I clutch on to my necklace. ‘Have you seen Gus?’ I clear my throat and avoid looking at her.

She sighs, and a beat of a second passes by before she acquiesces to my need to change subjects. ‘He was in here not long ago, playing some music on the piano at the far end of the hall.’

I frown. ‘Piano? Since when does Gus play?’

‘Since he was a child, apparently. You should have seen him back at the den; he kept us entertained most nights. According to others, it was the first time he had played in a while.

I lose focus for a moment, and my mind seems to spin as I think of something thathasto be just a coincidence.

‘Margie, have you seen Gus?’ Aelle asks a passerby.

Margie purses her lips. ‘Last I saw of him, he went into the kitchen with your wife and that bubbly niece of hers.’

My gaze snaps back to her, brows furrowed. ‘Freya?’ She had told me this morning she would be visiting the Aerian children at the campsites in the nearby villages until nightfall.

Aelle hums a ‘yes’, though she focuses more on what is behind Margie. ‘Ayru!’ she shouts, startling me. ‘You better not be eating that tapestry!’

I glance towards an Ardenti dragon who looks up with bewildered eyes and a piece of hand-sewn phoenix tapestry still inside his mouth.

‘Apologies, Nara.’ Aelle touches my arm as she starts walking. ‘I need to ensure Ayru doesn’t destroy what the Aerians humbly gave us.’

I nod, bidding her goodbye as I dart through the shifters and head towards the end of an empty hallway where the kitchen door is ajar. I press my hand against it, hearing voices as I peek through and spot Leira and Gus standing behind oak countertops. Freya is on the opposite side, sitting on a wooden stool with her face buried in her hands.

‘How long do you plan on hiding this from her?’ Leira hisses, her head shaking as she stares at Gus.

‘She is going through enough, Leira. She does not need another thing to bring her down.’

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