The Sun's Awakening

Chapter Nine

The eclipsed sun cast a soft glow over the land, its amber haze barely penetrating the dense forest, making it difficult to navigate the obscure paths. Ele sat behind Roman on the horse with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. A clear sign of discontent. She kept her gaze fixed on the shadows dancing between the trees– Skittering across the moss-covered ground.

Forest nymphs. 

Running. Hiding. 

She imagined many creatures across the lands were waking up to the dawn of night and fearing for their lives. Those chaotic voices in her head had been awfully quiet the past few hours. Almost as if the darkness comforted them.

Roman guided the horse onward in silence. He noted the shadows in the trees. Noted the way Eledorah would not touch him. His senses picked up even more as they went deeper into the woods. The forest was alive with the symphony of nocturnal creatures— the haunting calls of shifters, the rustle of nymphs in the underbrush, and the occasional eerie cry of some unknown being.

The horses' hooves were muffled by the thick layer of fallen leaves that carpeted the forest floor, helping to hide their presence. When one cry sounded off to their left, Eledorah broke her rule of no contact and clung to Roman's cloak. Her fingers wandered down to graze the cool metal hilt of the sword strapped to his side and she readied for an attack. 

"That was a frog croaking, Ele. No need to stab the little beast."

"You should have asked me before making deals with dark mages, Roman," she finally spoke, her voice tinged with frustration.

His head tilted upwards, loving the game of hide and seek the sun seemed to be playing through the tangled branches. All she saw as she craned her neck to get a glimpse of what caught his attention... Was him. 

Those features of his side profile, accentuated by the burnished glow, bore the weight of unspoken burdens. The curls she'd grown to adore, gone unkempt from his time away from society, were now shaping the curve of his neck. She reached up to entangle her fingers in them to see if they were as soft as she remembered but he turned his head to the side just in time for her to snap her hand back. 

"If I asked you beforehand, would you have let me make the trade? Your voice in exchange for all the light in the world? Asking you first was not a risk I could take. I know exactly what you would have said–"

She interjected, "That you're crazy to even think of looking in the general direction of a mage?" 

"Mm, exactly what you sounded like in my mind." He grumbled before setting his eyes back on the path before them. 

"Why did you do it?" Eledorah's anger was palpable, but he could sense a shift in her emotions. Now her voice was softer, curious.

Roman spoke without the veil his words hid behind for too long, "Because I care about you. I couldn't stand the thought of you enduring this pain when I had a chance to end it. Now you can be free to speak your mind without holding back or waiting for my cousin to intepret for you. I want you to act rashly, speak venemously, and hold back nothing. You deserve it for all you have endured."

As if guided by an invisible thread, she leaned in, resting her forehead against the strong muscles of his back. The horse, sensing the quiet shift between its riders, became still. A moment suspended in time, where words weren't necessary and the connection between them spoke those hindered whispers.

She sighed, a mixture of frustration and something else. "Roman, this isn't the time for... whatever this is between us. We have to find an end to the war and try to fix," She gestured towards the sun overcast by a black sheen. "That."