Chapter 60

We spent the days in Akka preparing for marching North. By now, all the armies of the South had gathered, and everywhere were soldiers and officers bustling to get ready. A cacophony of orders and weapons being sharpened filled the air everywhere you went, and with every day, the fear in my chest rose. We were going to war, and I didn’t know who would come back.

On the last night before leaving for Tarnis, I shivered in Selene’s arms, too fretful to sleep. Once we were at Tarnis, we would separate, and Selene would take her place as the head of her people, leading the troops of Lantis against the enemy. What if she didn’t…

I shivered in the darkness.

“Rina, it will be okay…”

“I.. I don’t want to lose you..”, I whispered.

She pulled me closer.

“I want to stay with you too…”

I tried to push back the tears, but they rolled down my cheeks. I had never dared to let someone this close. It wasn’t fair… I'd finally found someone that I wanted to share my life with, and now… I buried my face in her neck. But I couldn’t regret meeting her, no matter how much it would hurt if she… It wasn’t fair.. I wanted more than just a fair chance… I wanted to…

“Selene…”, I whispered. “Tell me what we will do when this is over…”

She combed my hair with her fingers.

“When this is over, we will find a house overlooking the sea, far away from the capital. We will wake up every morning and walk down to the beach to watch the sunrise on the horizon. It is so beautiful when everything is quiet and the air is fresh, and the new sun rises from the sea.”

I rested my head on her chest as she kept playing with my hair.

“Our friends will come to visit us from time to time, and we will spend long nights sitting around the fire, sharing stories and watching the falling stars”

“Maybe Aki could live with us…” I whispered softly.

“She would love it…”, she said softly and kissed my hair.