A Court of Love and Family

Chapter 17

The fire had died down to just a glowing bed of embers. Gina and Noel were asleep and Nyx held the watch. This was the fifth day after they left the camp. The fifth day after he had left Evalyn in the house. It didn't feel right in the beginning but he told himself that Azriel would keep an eye on her. And he prayed that Luna didn't find out. He had a feeling that she would not hold back if she, even for a moment, believed that Nyx had abandoned his promises to keep Evalyn safe.

He placed another log on the fire, hoping it would spark some flames. They had reached the eastern parts of the territory the day before, but found nothing of interest. They had passed over the mountain ledge he had found Luna on, but nothing there indicated a underground tunnel complex. The same with the mountain here. No traces of Gwyn or Darkbringers. Nothing... Nyx had no idea how long they could stay out there. Sure they could survive for months on end, but he was longing to get back. Something was telling him to get back to Windhaven as fast as he could. That same voice was the one who told him to keep an eye on the healers building.

He moved and tried to find a comfortable position with his back towards the fire. The forest was dark, quiet. Almost too quiet. Nyx held his hand on the hilt of his sword, waiting... No animal or creature came, not even a flap from a bird's wings broke the silence...

Wake up... He sent the message to Gina and Noel, who both moved to grab their weapons.

"What is happening?" Gina asked, Moving up to Nyx's side.

"I don't know... but something feels off..." He scanned the forest. "It is too still... Too quiet..."

"I feel it too..." Noel whispered. "I can fly up and take a look from above..."

"No... Stay here..." Gina took a step forward. "I don't think we should split up..." Nyx agreed. The stillness of the forest was wrong. He tried to find anything, a mind, a living creature who was asleep, but nothing...

"Nothing is there..." Not even a crawling worm in the ground, not a sleeping bird... Nothing... Nyx took a step forward. "Nothing at all..." He said as Gina pulled him back.

"It is too quiet..." Then whatever spell that was placed over the forest broke. A flock of birds took off, creating an almost deafening sound in the silence. "And now it is not..." Nyx turned to Gina and nodded in response.

"We need to walk through the forest in the morning... Something must have been here to make it so quiet..." Noel said "I can't go back to sleep after this, so I can take the rest of the night..."

"It is okay Noel. I won't be able to sleep either..." Nyx said back, and Gina responded.

"Same here..."

"So... us three, around the fire... It almost sounds like a normal night..." Noel started to talk as he made himself comfortable around the fire.

"It is a normal night..." Gina said back. "If you exclude the creepy silence, the missing person, and the threat of Darkbringers that Nyx' parents didn't tell us."

"That is true." Noel shrugged. "But still... When was the last time we sat like this?"

"The Blood Rite." Nyx said back. "But we skipped the fire..."

"So... Does anyone have anything to talk about?" Noel asked.

"It is stupid to talk..." Gina murmured back. "Keep your voice down."

"My loving mother sent me another letter... They want me home..." Noel whispered. "Apparently they have five females of interest and are waiting for me to select one..."

"Disgusting..." Gina spat out. "All clipped too?"

"I don't know..." Noel sighed. "All I know is that they want me home before the Summer Solstice... And she might have mentioned something about breeding so we could 'create more Carynthians in the family'"