Find Your Fire - The Angulus Chronicles #1

Chapter Sixteen

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A LOREM POV

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I had unpacked my bags almost an hour ago, the two sets of clothing neatly hanging on hangers in the big closet on the left side of my given chamber.

I had checked the room thrice on possible booty traps or flee routes, but I was still feeling restless. I had to blow off steam or all that boiling Angulus energy would explode in a moment we wouldn't want it.

Miuh had given us five full hours of free time, enough for me to check the city and freshen up before we had to be ready for dinner.

Miuh was-... different. Different than any king or queen I've ever met before. He seemed to care for his people, but his casual behavior could also be to keep people from looking twice his way.

Well, we had to stay a little longer to find that out. To the outside world it'd look like we followed the king around and let him show us the wonders of his kingdom, but we actually were looking for clues of his real intentions.

A war was coming. And every kingdom was readying himself to fight and to win.

Oahn had been secretly eavesdropping on the teachers in the Teacht Aniar to find more clues, but I didn't want to discuss it with Catalina just yet. I had no idea how far the looming war actually was and she had enough going on already. This world, all the attention from the royal leaders, her new found strength. But she still managed to smile everyday, even though all the weight of the events was probably crushing her.

I opened my balcony doors and stood outside, watching my view on the rose gardens below. Catalina had given me that smile today after the dragon had slammed me into the lake. A smile filled with happiness. It always made me feel like a better person when she looked at me like I was the funniest being in this world. She had no idea how that person was actually her.

I left the balcony and strutted to the door, ready to go out for a run. My muscles were eager to work hard after the long sit reaching Water and I hadn't had a good fight in a while.

I entered the dark hallway, enlightened by nothing more than a candle every now and then. This part was surprisingly dark for a place so white and warm, the shadows of the torches dancing on the wall as I passed through.

Voices from around the corner reached me.

"Oh, well, we're just passing through."

I turned the corner into a big, light hall and Oahn stood leaning against one of the walls, four court ladies gathering around him. A redhead slung her arm over his chest in a claiming gesture and Oahn looked back at her, slightly irritated and not in the mood.

I snorted and the sound bounced off the walls. Oahns head cocked up.

"Lor! There you are. I'm sorry ladies, but I gotta go. We-..." Oahn draped his arm over me and clapped me on the shoulder. "Have important things to do."

The girls turned their doe-eyes on me and one even had the balls to push her prominent breasts higher up. I dipped my head in acknowledgement. "Ladies." The girls curtsied in response before they giggled and kissed Oahn on the cheek. They darted away in a cloud of perfume.

"What?" Oahn threw his hands up in surrender at my lifted eyebrow. "I'm just not in the mood."

"Since when are you not in the mood for sex?" We slowly continued my pace towards the exit of the castle.

"I don't know." He dragged a hand through his dark hair. "I just feel a little restless since we came here. And not the Angulus kind of restless, because I know you're going out for a run, but something else. As if something is crawling under my skin, waiting to attack." He rolled the sleeves of his shirt up and put his hands in the pocket of his jeans.

"You sound worried." It wasn't really like Oahn to be worried that fast.

"I told you, I don't know. Never mind." We entered the gardens outside and Oahn tagged along for a run as well. "So, did you get a letter back from the Fire Kingdom?" I dropped my gaze to the ground and nodded silently. "And? Did they find anything about her?"

"No." My voice sounded hoarse and low. I swallowed the sudden ball in my throat. Four years and her parents still hadn't find her. I kept hope, but with every no I received, a small part of my heart crumbled in pieces.

Oahn touched my shoulder and forced me in a stop. "Hey. It's been four years. Maybe it's time to go on. She wouldn't want to keep you from living, Lor. You know she wouldn't." Two ladies passed us and waved giggly. Oahn winked at them and I just nodded, not interested in more. "And I can see you caring for Catalina. Quit all that brooding about your past and focus on C being here." He watched me intensely. "The way you are around her, I haven't seen you this happy in a long time. She's good for you."

"I know." I whispered. "But I can't drag her into my life. I have nothing to offer her. No home, no family, no fun and easy life. She needs somebody that can keep her happy." And that wasn't me.

"You would be surprised by how happy you make her." His tone turned slightly more serious than it already was. "How is she doing with all this shit going on? Is she dealing with it the right way?"

Two guards looked suspiciously our way when we hadn't moved in two minutes so I slowly followed the path leading up to the fountain, Oahn beside me.

"She's not dealing with it at all, just like always. She puts it away in a little side pocket, thinking we don't notice, and no longer thinks of it. She might seem okay right now, but those heavy emotions will get too much eventually and she'll break. The question is not if but when."

We walked in comfortable silence with the sound of chattering birds all around us for a minute before Oahn answered. "When that moment comes, you are the only one who can mend her back together."

A string of red hair blew in my face as we reached an open field. "I know."