The Light in the Dark ✓

Chapter 21.2 The Blame Game

The Lord Sun had almost finished his journey through the sky when they got back to the camp, leaving the forest filled with dusk and shadows. But after they visited the Shadow Realm, those shadows seemed familiar and friendly, lacking the malice of their counterparts in the other realm. When they sat around the campfire together, the air was filled with tense silence. No one seemed to be in a hurry to face the harsh reality.

Finally, it was Myrica again who broke the silence. 'I know you are all grieving, but we need to discuss our next move.'

'What's the point?' Jayden blurted, his face contorted with barely contained anger. 'It's not like we can do anything now.'

'That is not true,' Myr replied. Her voice was calm and collected, but her golden eyes were alert. 'Our goal in venturing to the Shadow Realm was to retrieve Sam, so we get more intel on Shadow Magic, and in this regard, we succeeded.'

'You call this success?!' Jayden growled, jumping on his feet. 'Marcus just died, and you dare to call that success?!'

'The loss of Marcus is a tragedy, but we cannot allow ourselves to fall into despair. We do not have a luxury of time, and he would not want us to waste it on meaningless squabbles.'

'That's rubbish! You have no right to tell me what he would do or say! He's dead, and this whole stupid crusade has died with him.'

'Only if we let it,' Myrica said quietly, looking at the angry young man with pity.

Jayden scoffed, his hands clenched in fists. 'This whole thing was a farce. We should have never gone to the Shadow Realm in the first place. We put all our hopes on the shoulders of a novice.' He pointed an accusatory finger at Iris, who flinched under his hateful gaze. 'And how did that end?'

'Jayden, stop it. It's hardly fair to blame Iris,' Kara said with a frown.

'Well, then you are also to blame for this disaster. If not for your wild tale of the lost husband, we would never even think of going there!'

Kara growled and jumped on her feet too. 'It was not a wild tale. He is sitting right here, in front of you!'

'Oh, and what a great asset he is! Just look at him! He's half-starved, and the Shadow Magic will corrupt him in no time. How does exchanging Marcus for him was fair?!'

Kara growled and reached for her sword, fury blazing in her blue eyes.

'Kara,' Myr said, a command strong as steel in her voice. The other woman scoffed but took her hand off the sword's hilt. The huntress was still sitting, but her back was straight, and her chin raised when she was looking at Jayden. She was usually a quiet companion, dependable and efficient, but now she had an aura of authority. 'Jayden, we all know that Marcus was like a father to you, and you have every right to mourn his loss. But I will not allow you to cast empty accusations towards our friends. What happened there was something none of us could predict, and it couldn't be helped. But most importantly, it was Marcus' choice to sacrifice his life. Do not dare to sully his memory by insinuating that the others forced his hand.'

Jayden scoffed and opened his mouth to reply but then closed it again and just shook his head. 'Just look around, Myr. Without Marcus, we are just a bunch of ragged outcasts. This thing we are trying to pull off? It was improbable while he was still with us. Now it's simply impossible. I'm done here. I'm done with trying to be the hero and save the world. It's not worth saving anyway.' He turned on his heel and walked away, disappearing into the forest.

Iris brought up her knees close to her chest and hugged them, hiding her face. The tears stung her eyes again. All Jayden said was true. She never dared to voice it, but she knew it too. Marcus would be still here if she didn't take them to Shadow Realm. If only she never used this power. Maybe it was forgotten for a reason. Perhaps the price of using it was too high. And now Marcus paid it instead of her, leaving them all for good.