.ೃ࿐Burning Souls.ೃ࿐ [1]

15 - Meaningless Conversations

Meaningless Conversations

"How long has it been?"

A gentle breeze ruffled her dark hair and made her eyes close. She shivered from the cold but didn't move from her spot. She was sitting at the edge of a small cliff. Her hands were wrapped around her torso, trying to warm herself up. The cold was too great, even for her abilities.

The man standing behind her was wearing a deep frown. He was clutching a fur coat in his right hand while the other was trying desperately to keep his own coat tight around his body.

"a little more than two weeks..."

The woman nodded and remained silent. The man sighed and walked towards her. He wrapped the fur coat around her shoulders and sat next to her.

"We need to go back, Katya," he said, turning to look at her, "it's getting late, and cold".

Ekaterina nodded but didn't move. "I hate that place," she finally said, "it's always cold, and I can't keep bothering Baghra."

Nikolai sighed and rose to his feet. He took ahold of Ekaterina's hand and helped her get up. Together, they walked back to the cathedral in silence. By the time they got to safety, the sun was already down, and the moon shone brightly. When they arrived in front of Ekaterina's room, they both stopped and Nikolai asked, "Do you still plan on going to Reyvost?"

Ekaterina nodded. "I have to get out of here for some time," she whispered, making Nikolai nod. She opened the wooden door of her room and stepped inside. She murmured a small goodnight to Nikolai and went to close the door. However, before she was able to, Nikolai stuck his hand inside.

"Wait," he said, a little too loud making his voice echo in the lonely corridor. "I was thinking," he started, "Instead of going to Reyvost, maybe I could arrange a ship for you."

The woman frowned and opened the door wide.

"For Kerch," said Nikolai, "you don't have any obligations to stay... if you want to go back to your home, you should have the possibility to."

When he uttered his last words, silence engulfed the two. Nikolai was waiting for the woman to say anything. His hands were shaking as he stared at Ekaterina. She, on the other hand, was completely shocked by the proposition of the prince.

"We started this, together," she finally said with a small glare, "both of us, with Alina and Lukas... a-and your whole crew!" For a moment, she froze and looked at the ground. "And we're going to end it together," she finally said after a minute of silence, "Either all of us, or only the two of us. It was my choice to stay, and I will finish what we started."

Nikolai was still staring at her as she spoke. When she became silent, he nodded and couldn't keep the small smile from appearing on his face.

"And," she continued, "as much as I want to help... the moment I step foot in Ketterdam, I'm not ever leaving it again." With those words she shut the door, making Nikolai cringe at the loud noise that echoes through the silent and empty halls.

~

The days seemed to pass faster than before. Every evening, before sunset, Nikolai would find Ekaterina staring at the blazing sun from the small cliff. It soon became a routine for the Ravkan prince to bring the Inferni a coat before the sun would completely disappear and the icy night engulfed the mountain range.