It had been two weeks since Leila's injury, and she wasn't improving. In fact, she seemed to be getting worse. Her wounds oozed with yellow goo, and the bruises that appeared around turned a deep green-blue. She had a high fever, could not get out of bed, and could barely stay awake for more than a few minutes.
Sasha had only allowed her to eat pure oranges and covered her with heated blankets. A fire was constantly burning in her room, and the herbs that had covered her skin were replaced with vinegar to keep down the fever.
It seemed to work, her fever had reduced, but she was still very ill. Her skin was pale and the sparks in her eyes were absent.
When Leila was awake, she rambled incoherently about the men in the woods which, naturally, had everyone at the inn give a tiny problem a huge shadow.
"You still with us?" Daerious leaned into the room.
Aurelie jumped. "Don't sneak up on me like that," she said, holding her hand over her heart.
"I did knock, twice, as a matter of fact," he said, puzzled. "You meditating or something? I thought only witches do that."
Aurelie smiled. "No, I'm not meditating," she said. "Did you want me for something?" Humour came naturally to Daerious, though right then the quip seemed unintended.
"I have orders to bring you downstairs." He straightened his pose, mimicking a guard.
"Orders?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Kirin is calling on you," he said, cocking his head uncomfortably. It looked like he was trying to find the answer to something in her expression. After a moment, he smiled.
She found the thought welcoming but didn't want to run out at the mention of his name. The last time she saw him, he was going back to the castle and that was a couple of days ago.
"I'm busy, Daerious. If Kirin wants me he can come up here and tell me what he needs." She pointed at the candles. "Dragon with raging fire here, practice is in progress."
"It was actually Sasha that wanted you. They're celebrating downstairs."
"What are they celebrating?" she asked. As far as she was concerned, they were still on the losing side. They had a dying tiger in the guest room, she didn't have any power, and there was no news from the castle. Maybe it was a 'no bad news is good news' kind of celebration. "And why did you not just mention Sasha?"
"I wanted to see whether you had the new girl syndrome." He laughed, his eyebrows jumping.
Aurelie exhaled, her lips vibrating. "You're an idiot." Her cheeks colored.
Sasha slipped into view behind Daerious, her hand resting on his shoulder. "Come on, you two, they are about to start," she said, winked, and hurried away.
"Start what?" she asked Daerious.
"They are putting on a show at the pond," he said, "Come on. If she comes back here again we will never hear the end of it. She goes mad over celebrations."
Purple, blue, and green levitating lights illuminated the field. A great feast was placed on a big round table. Something that looked like wine flowed down into a bowl like a fountain but from an invisible source.
The table was packed with every kind of pie, cake, and biscuits you could think of. There was chicken, stew, fresh bread, and things that she had never seen before, but was sure that you couldn't eat without turning yellow.
Orken was playing the banjo to a couple of wizards who were singing along to a song that seemed to be known by everyone but her.
Wizards and witches were sending bolts of multi-colored lights up to the skies.
And Kirin complained about me revealing everyone with my fire.
If half of Highfire didn't see or hear them, she would be surprised.
Daerious poked her stomach. "Unwind a little. You can be a dragon with raging fire again tomorrow, I promise," he said, and walked off toward Orken. Before long, Daerious was singing along, with a cup of wine in one hand, and a slice of pie in the other.
Even Kirin was there. Her stomach tangled and pushed a bubble of air into her throat. He was scooping up wine and talking to a young wizard who seemed to have had more than his fair share of the wine already. The wizard staggered forward, pushing into Kirin, and spilling his wine over his hand.
Kirin put down the glass and rubbed his hand on his trousers. The wizard hovered around him, trying to help. With a pat on the back from Kirin, the wizard disappeared into the crowd. Kirin filled up his now half-empty cup and then filled another.
Aurelie had watched him long enough to consider it becoming strange. The boulder, which she had sat on the first time she found this pond, was empty. It was tall enough for Aurelie to be able to see the entire celebration and to be present without taking part.
Orken was still singing, Daerious eating, and Sasha dancing around people and forcing them toward the feast. Unable to control herself, Aurelie was once again searching for Kirin.
He was closer now, much closer. Her heart fluttered. Was he coming to her? No. Aurelie's shoulders slumped. He stopped near, picture-perfect, Katherine, a girl she'd noticed before but never spoke to. Her brown hair was tied back with a string of pearls, and the dress she wore brought out her dark blue eyes like nothing else could. The fact that Aurelie could see the color, at night and from a distance, created a grouchy pang in her chest. Was she jealous? Katherine took the cup from Kirin, and traced her fingers up his wrist, muttering something in his ear. If she hadn't been jealous before . . .
Aurelie forced herself to look away. If the earth below Katherine exploded in molten fire, everyone would know who had caused it. She bit her lip, and turned to the water, attempting to chase her sudden hatred for Katherine away. It was as if all the gods had decided to bless her with the best features. Aurelie tried to think of a single flaw, found none, and just convinced herself that Katherine must have been quite stupid. No one can have everything, after all.
"Mind if I join you?" Kirin asked.
She hopped in surprise and scooted over. Her heart skipped every second beat. She was scared that it would soon start vibrating through the bolder.
"Not at all," she said. He climbed onto the bolder and scooted closer to her.
"Here," he said, passing her a glass of wine.
The lights were brighter, the pond clearer, and the trees greener. A bright smile spread across her lips.
"Oh, it was for me?" she said, turning a brighter red than her fire. Why don't you just come out and tell him that you were hunting him the whole evening?
"I don't know. Do you see anyone else?" he asked. Kirin's foot slipped off the bolder, and he whipped out his hands, trying to regain his balance. "Don't let me have more." He balanced his head in his palm, rocking.
He could have whatever he wanted as long as it was not around Katherine. Aurelie searched the field for her and found her twirling around Daerious.
"There used to be a little cabin right there." He pointed toward a big tree near the pond. "I used to sit here imagining myself living there one day when everything was over."
"What happened to it?" she asked.
He smiled without his eyes. That was the first thing she noticed because, over the last couple of days at the inn, she found herself doing the very same thing. It was hard to find something to be cheery about when her aunt and uncle had one foot in the grave.
"I tore it down."
Aurelie winced. "Why?" she asked, taking a sip of the wine. Never had she tasted anything so delicious. Now she knew exactly why Sasha liked these celebrations so much. Who wouldn't?
"We didn't want people lurking around here. If someone settled in there I'd have trouble getting in and out. I'm terrible at holding my breath underwater."
She laughed. "Makes sense, I guess."
Sasha's laugh sounded from afar, Kirin smiled. "She really likes these too much. I remember once we celebrated me traveling through a portal. I'm a shadow walker, for crying out loud, it's what I do. But, you got here safely, and it's your tenth time, she said."
Aurelie swung her feet, tapping the boulder. "It keeps people's spirits up," she said, "How do you know her, was it from her days in the castle?"
Kirin nodded. "Kind of, I remembered her, but not well. She came up to me in this little village outside Redayrah. Back then, they had a servant in the castle feeding them information, she told them where I was, and Sasha came to find me. She told me what they were doing. The woman has no fear, she just said it. 'We are going to murder the King, Kirin, will you help us?'" He snorted. "Can you believe that? My father is basically brothers with the King, and she just walks up to me and asks if I want to kill him. I was so shocked by how upfront she was that without thinking the first word that came out of my mouth was, yes. No questions just, yes."
"I've never been to Redayrah, isn't it all mud?" she asked. For Aurelie the world was made up of the places she had been, hearing that any other place existed and that others were there, always somehow shocked her.
He lay back on the boulder and placed his hands behind his back. "My mother was born there. It was around her birthday, it used to be a terrible time for me. I'd go there to feel closer to her, I guess. It's not all mud. The weather there is just right. The houses are tiny things with vines growing all over them, and the gardens all natural â no magic. The soil is perfect for anything. The center of the town is open, with a giant tree with white flowers, right in the middle. It is also apparently some kind of firefly magnet, I was there in the evening, and it looked as if tiny sparks of fire were trying to ignite the tree."
"Sounds amazing," Aurelie said.
"It was, I've not been back since, but I want to go. Next time, you're coming with me. That will be my cabin near the pond. When this is over, we're going," he said, and it sounded like he meant it.
"You must be drunk," she said, though, she sincerely hoped he wasn't.
"I'm not even a little drunk." He smirked.
He laughed for longer than expected, though that was more the wine than her friendly nudge. "This is nice. I like seeing you happy. I don't think I've seen you relax since I laid eyes on you."
Aurelie lay down beside him. Their hands were so close, that heat of his warmed her hand. "I think you're right."
He turned onto his side, his head wagging. "It's almost as if you're okay to look at now."
Aurelie rocked forward, laughing. "Oh, please." She snorted. Aurelie liked drunken Kirin, and sober Kirin, even angry Kirin was tolerable. "I'm more than okay to look at and you know it. Bet you like it so much that you want to kiss it," she blurted, without giving it a second thought. "
Kirin hesitated to speak, and then lay flat again. "That would be a smart bet."
A force shocked her from within. Her mind swirled with delight. The night saved her dignity. Her face was hot, and her spirit radiated with more joy than her fire could ever bring.
He didn't kiss her but remained stuck on that boulder with her for the rest of the evening. They talked all through the night, about Redayrah, the sun, the keeper, and anything else that could keep them together for an extra minute. One by one people disappeared off to bed until it was only them and the sun that, much too quickly, decided to bring the morning.