Elemental Heir | ✔️

Chapter 14

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It was after dinner and night had finally fallen over the tree houses, like a vast blanket of darkness. Tomorrow morning, we would leave for the mysterious Aviary, which Dristan had told me very little about. I wasn't sure what to expect.

Neither he, nor myself, had mentioned our argument from earlier today. In fact, we'd hardly spoken much at all since then...

I'd spent the majority of the evening hours in silence, trying to muster up the courage to bring up the sensitive subject of my father.

I was lounging on one of the plush, brown arm chairs, while Dristan sat on the couch and polished his sword. The crackling and popping of the fireplace was the only sound.

I'd changed into a pair of silky smooth, black pajama bottoms, with a matching long sleeved shirt. I'd bathed again, and left my dark hair loose around my shoulders.

I studied Dristan through the silence. He was dressed in soft, grey sleep pants and a crisp, white shirt. Even through the loose fabric, I could easily see the way the muscles in his upper body rippled and shifted with each stroke of the cloth over his blade.

He had been angrily running his hands through his hair all evening, causing it to stick out in a mess of wild tufts atop his head. The stubble across his jaw, chin and upper lip was beginning to grow back.

After a good ten minutes of psyching myself up, I inhaled a lungful of air and readied myself. It was now or never...

"Dristan?"

His hand paused on the sword and he looked up at me with one raised brow. "Yes?"

I fidgeted with my hands in my lap. "I was wondering..." I started cautiously.

"Of course you were." He grumbled, going back to cleaning his weapon.

I secretly scowled at the side of his face. "I've been thinking... about something I need to do before we leave for the Aviary."

He continued polishing the blade, but lifted his gaze back to mine. His expression was wary.

"I thought... Maybe we could travel back to my village before we go. I need to see my father, make sure he's alright. And let him know that I'm okay, too..." I explained calmly. I was careful to withhold even the smallest hint of attitude in my tone. I could not afford to piss him off right now.

He stopped polishing and stared at me.
I waited, holding my breath.

"No."

He turned his head back toward his lap before he set his sword down. Then he picked up his armored shoulder pads and began to polish them, instead.

"No? That's it? Just... No?" I argued.

He nodded at his lap, not meeting my eyes. I ground my teeth, struggling to keep my emotions cool, calm and collected. If I allowed myself to get angry, he would be able to smell it.