Page 8 of A World of Ruins

He points his index finger at me, clicking his tongue as he blows me a kiss. He knows how much of a nuisance he can be, yet he has never cared. It’s a quality I admire and also want to strangle him for.

‘Must you always chat nonsense?’ I huff, and Illias looks at me with an apologetic grimace on Rydan’s behalf.

‘Well, I suppose that’s all the training for today.’ Gus walks over, his attention on me. ‘I don’t want you to overwork yourself.’

‘Overwork myself? Nonsense. Why don’t Rydan and I spar for a bit?’

Rydan gasps dramatically. He almost sounds as if he is choking. ‘Ambrose, why would you risk losing against me?’

I roll my eyes, unbuckling my belt. As if on cue to the noise, the two dragon whelps playing around on the fields come over and nudge their snouts against my calves. I stumble forward and glance over my shoulder at them.

Mischievous little creatures.

Zuru and Naryx are their names. Zuru is a female Merati with an onyx coating and horns that are beginning to grow, while Naryx is a male who embodies all the colours of an Ardenti dragon. Red, orange, and even hints of blue flicker in the sunlight. They are siblings, though still too young to do much, but the way their slit eyes gaze at me and always want to be nearby has my heart spilling out to them.

There is something about the idea that these little creatures were once inside a shell. Gus loved informing me of how he assisted in so many dragon births. Shifters, dragons . . . the whole lot.

I turn, smiling down at them both, and they purr before Tibith steps between us, fluttering his leaf-like hairs at them.

‘I hope you are not taking Miss Nara away from me!’ he yells, and immediately jumps back when Naryx hisses at him and spits out a small fireball onto the ground.

Amusement makes my brows rise as I look at Tibith. He has his arms wrapped around my calf. ‘What did I say about being nice to them?’

He whimpers up at me. ‘But they ate the bread Miss Freya gave me yesterday, Miss Nara!’

I click my tongue, shaking my head with mirth, when Gus says from my side, ‘And they will eat you next if you try and rile them up.’

I fire him a look of stern disapproval as Tibith buries his face into my leg, and a rumble of laughter leaves Gus’s throat. For a weakening moment, it reminds me of Darius – his playful side. Throughout this time, I have considered Gus a guardian, and I understand why Darius thought so highly of him. Still, there were times I would picture Darius whenever Gus spoke to me, and it never made it easier.

‘We’ll talk later, Nara.’ As the wind weaves through Gus’s shoulder-length hair, he pats my shoulder. ‘Hira wanted me to enforce some barriers between shifters and the off-bound areas,’ he says with a gentle smile, reminding me of the ongoing feud between the Rocs and Phoenixes. Only recently have I found out that a Roc is what a phoenix once used to be before turning against the sun, thus becoming dark and horrific in its phoenix form. Their history was never in any book I’ve read, but after spending time here, I’m fortunate to know that Phoenix warriorsare always loyal to their kingdom, protecting their civilians from the manipulations of a Roc.

‘You should come by and visit the rest of us,’ Gus says. ‘They’ve been asking for you.’

I nod, not giving him a definite answer. I know he means visiting the shifters down at their quarters. Hira made sure to provide them with a homely place near the Aerian palace, but I’m unsure if I can handle questions about how the rescue mission is coming along.

Gus flashes into his dragon form, taking off as I clock Link running towards Illias. Illias picks him up, spinning him around before they share an intimate kiss. They are in their personal love bubble as I smile at them. On the other hand, I see Iker rolling his eyes at the scene before my gaze travels over to Rydan, whose eyes aren’t on us. They’re on Lorcan as he talks to a few other training Aerians far out in the fields. My eyes narrow, suspicion twisting my insides, urging me to approach Rydan. I glance at Tibith’s tight grip on me and tell him to wait here. He doesn’t look convinced, but after I reassure him that Zuru and Naryx won’t eat him, he lets go, and I head towards Rydan.

‘All right, spill,’ I say, and he jerks around, blinking in surprise.

‘Spill what? My undying love for you? Because I already did that, Ambrose, and I have to say I’m a little offended—’

‘Why have you been avoiding Lorcan?’

He balks, shock almost making him stutter. ‘I haven’t.’

I wish I could hear his heartbeat like shifters can, but luckily, I don’t need to when his lying skills are worse than most. ‘I understand I was preoccupied with . . . well, what I am now, but it doesn’t mean I haven’t noticed, Rydan. For one, all you’ve done is spend your time near me, and while I have somewhat come to appreciate your blabbering, I know there’s something on your mind.’

Haven’t we all got something on our mind these days? Nothing is as it was a year ago.

Rydan rips his focus away from me, and dark clouds herd over us as if ready for a storm. He is thinking, trying to grasp my words, and losing. His chest deflates with a heavy sigh when those deep brown eyes bounce back to me. ‘I took it hard when I heard he had died at the Venator trials, and then when I found out he was still alive, it was worse. Everyone else quickly adjusted to it, but I didn’t know what to say. I still don’t. Link is the only person who has been beside me for it all.’

Empathy punctures my heart. The first few days after the Venator trials, Rydan was different. I noticed. In fact, I was one of the few that did, and yet I did nothing. I let the selfishness of my own grief triumph over others’.

‘Do you like him?’ I say, breaking the sudden silence.

His scoff is full of disagreement. ‘I like many people, Nara—’ He stops, seeing the intensity of my stare, and cracks. ‘All right, fine! Solaris, it’s not as if this is the first time you have suggested such a thing,’ he mutters, and while Ihaveteased him about it in the past, I never realised how strong his feelings really were. ‘It’s nothing, though. He prefers women with anger issues and thinks I am a pest, so I should probably keep my distance.’

I scowl at him before lowering my head as disbelief reigns over me. ‘Solaris, it’s odd how similar we are about certain things.’

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