Page 20 of Fate

“Any luck with that?”

My hand stills as I blow out a sigh. “I met with Lunos and she gave me a damned riddle to solve. What is power? As if she can’t just tell me how to control my power.” I quickly down the wine, failing to cover my frustration. “She made a comment about you too that I’ve been wanting to talk to you about. Lunos said something about you not acting how she expected.”

Helia now follows suit and drains her own cup. “That is interesting to hear. I guess I might have more freedom than I thought.”

That’s not what I expected to hear. Did Lunos hold back certain thoughts when creating Helia? “And you’ll figure out her riddle. You’re her Conduit; you have to. And I’ll protect you until you do.” I swallow, and dive into her green pools, heat blossoming on my face.

Before either of us can say anything like addressing that wonderful kiss and more, Davra comes out with the second amphora, topping our cups off. She leaves the jug and slowly saunters away. Helia and I stare again, this time catching each other’s eye. We both laugh, mine lacking the nervousness I thought it would have.

“Should I be jealous?” Helia scoots closer to me and pouts coyly.

“Should I be?” The wine must be making me bold; I don’t usually flirt like this.

Helia’s eyes become lidded; the wine must be making her thirsty. We share a knowing smile, drinking deeply of our wine and company.

Another few cups run dry, and I find myself with my head leaning on Helia’s shoulder. She watches the crowd, humming contentedly, enjoying our closeness, our hands entwined.

Davra floats among the agora and the other patrons. Or is she spinning? No, that’s just my head. Ah, to be that free, that stunning. My sigh tickles Helia’s muscles and her head turns, inquiry easy to see, despite my state.

“Davra is beautiful. Confident enough to deal with the public. It’s more than that too; she’s free, just being herself. But that’s not what I mean…” I pause before Helia gives a slightly drunken nod for me to continue. “I wish I was that beautiful, that free.” Oh wow. I said it.

“Oh.” Confusion flits across Helia’s face. Then her green eyes widen. “Oh.”

A pause. A sip. A question.

“Do you wish you were her?”

A pause. A tear. An answer.

“Yes.” A whisper giving life to the secrets buried deep. “I want to embrace the time I have.”

“Thank you for sharing that with me Skion. You tell me what you need, okay?” Helia’s gentle, deep honeyed voice seeps into my core and I can’t help but smile. We sit there, basking in the glow of a new path.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I LOST TRACK of time. The warmth of the wine and the comfort leaning on Helia lulled me into bliss. I did it! I finally voiced what I’ve been feeling all this time, words giving form and shape to the inexorable truth of self. And I told someone! I snuggle deeper into Helia’s embrace, winning a noise of contentment from her.

A low, yet lilting humming rumbles in my ear, Helia’s chest reverberating with her music. It prickles at the edge of my mind. Why does it sound so familiar? Ah, the one from the forest. Helia idly traces her fingers along my arm, sparks of electricity igniting in their wake.

“Skion, Andra and Bellius will likely finish soon and, knowing Andra, I can guarantee that she will stomp on over here. Before they do, are you okay if I ask you a few questions?” I snuggle closer into Helia’s arm as she speaks, gaining the purchase I desperately need.

“Of course! Might be a liiittle too tipsy to give you good answers, but you brought me here so that’s on you beautiful. Sorry, I meant to say commander.”

Helia makes a sound halfway between a chuckle and a cough as my banter hits the mark, a private smile tugging the corners of my mouth. A ray of fun amongst the storm clouds of the future.

“I FUCKING KNEW IT!” The stony timbre of Andra’s anger washes over us as she tramples through the agora, Bellius in tow. Upset patrons curse in her wake.

“Oookay, new plan. We talk more later. Until then, or you tell me otherwise, I’ll treat you no different as before.” Helia’s words momentarily blunt the edge of my stupor as I nod. Regardless of how fixated I’ve been, the reality of what this all means hadn’t sunk in.

Helia hoists me to my feet with a broad smile as Andra fumes at her upon reaching us, all while casting unreadable glares in my direction. Bellius leans me against him as I begin to fade. My head is fuuuuzzy. Is Davra staring at us or am I imagining it? I can hear familiar laughter behind me, Helia managing the ball of fury that is Andra. I slip into an easy cadence with Bellius on my way home.

***

With only two stops for ridding myself of some wine on the way back to the camp, the haze begins to lift. I’m glad I was floating in and out of consciousness since Andra berated Helia most of the way back. Apparently, she’s not a fan of bringing wine into the camp; a point we all knew too well by the end of the trip.

All of the deliveries to the camp had taken place while we were gone. Several wagons full of supplies were being unloaded as we entered. Bellius had done a good job of securing enough food and other sundries to get us to the capital where the main host of the Spears is stationed. Andra had purchased several spear hafts, new arrows, linens, and the like for replacing our worn-out gear.

Andra purses her lips into a tight frown as she eyes the wagons, noticing the two from Killi's Amphorae unloading a large amount of wine skins. Helia eagerly trots off with Bellius to one of the wagons leaving me with a barely cooled Andra, desperately trying to avoid another lecture from her.