The Daughter of Wind and Ash

Chapter 13

(16th of October)

I was currently walking on the damp grass and through the forest we had somehow managed to leave behind some five-six days ago with Avien by my side. We were currently searching for the Wolf Queen Luna in the forest of Floremence as Chris had said that she kept moving from forest to forest, and her current camp was here.

It had been around almost five days since we had left Chris's place behind to search for Luna which in itself was a hard task. The forest was so thick that we kept getting lost. It felt like it was always night due to the thick canopy above us. Life had not been easy at all. We kept running into demons of all sorts. Most of them usually looked really nasty but some of them were really clever and shape shifted into family members. No matter how many times I told myself they were just demons in disguise, it did not make it any easier for me to watch Avien slash at them with his silver sword and cut them into pieces.

I had also managed to kill some myself, but not in the heroic way you would expect. Once, this huge ugly demon had appeared and infiltrated our campsite and I was disgusted by his appearance which could make anyone look away in a second. His face was distorted in the worst ways possible and he had giant pimples all over his body, also in some spots which I would not like to mention. He ran towards me and I was so scared that I dodged and he fell into the campfire and only his ashes remained. I suspected that my powers had increased the heat and flame of the fire for him to die immediately.

And another time, a black she-demon attacked us while we were on our way to try going to the heart of the forest as most nature spirits prefer to reside there. She had black coarse-looking skin with spikes all around. Her wings grew up to 4 feet and caused a tornado when they flapped. Her talons were so long that she could slash at us from a great distance. She was certainly bald with boils on her face and fangs covered with blood, indicating she had just had a meal. She was balancing herself on the edge of a cliff while we tried to run but she kept using her wings and talons to keep us put. I was getting frustrated and as if responding to my anger, a strong gust of wind caught her off guard and threw her off balance. While falling, she had damaged her wings and so she died a painful death.

I was beyond traumatized at this point. My anxiety levels were skyrocketing. I was always jumpy and I kept getting nightmares. Too many demons had attacked just on this detour to resume on our quest than it had since I had left from Merihill. I was getting homesick and desperately wanted to return. I did not expect the forests of Floremence to be this dangerous. But I couldn't leave. I had to free Rowan and Cass. After that, I don't know what I will do. To add to our existing list of problems, wolves also kept attacking us more and more often each day. This of course meant that we were getting close to the Court of Lycanthropes.

Avien and I had grown quite close. We would help each other out a lot, trade stories, and even switch guard duty when the other was too tired to continue. I had found out a lot about him that I had not known before. We shared one or two intimate secrets. It was as if we were adapting to each other. Avien had begun to smile more often, though escaping from his glares was impossible.

He had supported me when I had a meltdown during this whole detour. I could still smell the scent of his perfume and the intoxicating fragrance coming from his hair as he hugged me to try consoling me. I was mesmerised with his grey eyes which now seemed much more beautiful than before. I calmed down and buried my head in his chest as he kept his hold on me tight while I fell asleep on him. He must have picked me up and taken me inside a tent at some point considering I woke up inside my tent the next day. I kept blushing randomly, thinking about that experience. I felt different than the Lauren I used to be. I had begun to fall for Avien.

When I realised that, I found myself getting lost in his eyes was more often. But a sad thought kept nagging at the back of my mind. Avien was to be married to Lady Eiola after possibly returning from this quest. There was no hope for us to ever be a thing. And I refused to be anyone's mistress, even if it made me upset. I didn't expect him to reciprocate my feelings but I continued being my usual cheery self.