Because I Love You✔️

Chapter 111: Talk of Departure

Chapter One Hundred and Eleven: Talk of Departure

When Xaphile walked to the shoreline, he was surprised to find both his aunt and his uncle waiting for him. Zelphira greeted him with a smile; Vordt merely folded his arms and waited until he'd stopped in front of the two of them. He immediately noticed that her eyes were red, as if she'd been crying heavily, and a spark of worry seared through him.

"Hi," he greeted, staring at the two of them with his ears flicking to and fro. "Wasn't expecting to see you today."

"Much has happened," she said softly, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him. "My sweet nephew... how I've longed to hold you like this. For many years, I've wanted to share embraces with you and your little brother, to cherish you as my own beautiful kin."

He blinked in surprise, but her hug was soft and warm.

He relaxed and slowly returned the hug, letting loose a sigh as a strange amount of tension left his body. Her hand rubbed his sides, since his wings made wrapping him up completely a bit difficult, before pulling away with the enchanting smile he'd slowly grown familiar with.

And it was then, for the first time, that it actually clicked with him.

This woman, the enchanting creature who'd stolen his breath away when he'd first laid eyes on her only a few weeks ago, was among the only members of his family that he had left. This woman, who was supposedly thousands of years old, was his aunt.

His father's elder sister.

The Queen of the Sky, Eastern ruler of Aerika.

And she loved him.

"Today, you and I are going to be having a serious talk," Vordt growled. "Zelphira has business to attend to here. While she takes care of what she needs to, you and I are going to chat."

Xaphile looked from between Vordt and Zelphira.

"What sort of business does she have?"

"It's personal. Now, go. Fly across the lake and wait for me."

Vordt's response was spoken so lowly that he knew better than to press for answers. Letting out a sigh, he nodded and smiled at Zelphira one last time before taking to the air. The flight across the lake was just as strained as the few previous times. He was relieved when he landed again.

For the next few minutes, he waited in the shade of the enormous trees until Vordt came sailing across the boiling water and landed before him. When their eyes connected, Xaphile frowned since something seemed off with his uncle's expression, but he said nothing about it.

"Sit," Vordt commanded, pointing at the base of the tree. "We must speak."

He nodded and wordlessly did as he was told, watching as the man aggravatedly paced back and forth.

"So. What now?"

"Now, we must talk," Vordt grumbled, coming to a halt and taking a deep breath. "We must make plans to depart the evening after tomorrow. Your training with magic will continue once we are on our way, and whenever it is possible, you will perform your muscle exercises."

Xaphile stared at him blankly, feeling intensely surprised.

"I was under the impression that we'd be staying a bit longer," he said slowly. "What changed?"

Vordt's jaw tightened, and he seemed to fight with himself internally for a moment.

Then his shoulders sagged and he sighed.