16. Elowen

16

ELOWEN

I can't take my eyes off Aldric as he demonstrates a new fighting technique. His muscles ripple under his skin, and I find myself mesmerized by the graceful power of his movements. When he catches me staring, I quickly avert my gaze, feeling heat rise to my cheeks.

"You okay there, Red?" He smirks, using the nickname he's taken to calling me.

I nod, trying to regain my composure. "Just... admiring your form."

He raises an eyebrow. "My form, huh?"

I roll my eyes, but can't help the small smile that tugs at my lips. "You know what I mean."

As we continue training, I notice Aldric's eyes lingering on me more often. There's a softness there that I haven't seen before, and it makes my heart skip a beat.

It's been two weeks since that sparring session, and we haven't talked about it. We've trained hard together, though, and somehow…we've actually become friends. Friends that talk to each other, which has been nice.

And somehow, it's only stoked the fire building between us.

During a water break, I gather the courage to ask him something that's been on my mind. "Aldric, what was it like growing up as a vrakken?" I couldn't imagine what it must have been like to be stuck beneath the ground for so long.

He pauses, his expression turning thoughtful. "It wasn't easy. Our society values strength above all else. And, of course, it was painful to be stuck in the tunnels for so long when I was meant to fly." His wings twitch in response. "My father..." He trails off, his jaw clenching.

I reach out, placing a hand on his arm. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Aldric shakes his head. "No, it's okay. My father was a respected warrior. He pushed me hard, sometimes too hard. But it made me who I am today."

I notice the way his shoulders tense as he speaks. Without thinking, I step closer, my fingers tracing the intricate tattoo on his arm. "It must have been tough."

He nods, his silver eyes meeting mine. "It was. But it taught me the importance of duty, of protecting those who can't protect themselves."

"Is that why you're so dedicated to this fight against the dark elves?"

Aldric's expression darkens. "Partly. But it's more than that. I've seen what they're capable of, the destruction they leave in their wake. I can't let that happen to anyone else."

I feel a surge of admiration for him. "I understand. That's why I'm here too."

He looks at me, really looks at me, and I see a flicker of something in his eyes. Respect? Affection? I'm not sure, but it makes my breath catch.

"You're stronger than I gave you credit for, Red," he says softly.

I smile, feeling a warmth spread through my chest. "So are you, even for a vrakken," I tease.

After our training, I head to get something to eat. I grab my plate and head to a quiet corner of the dining area, expecting another solitary meal. To my surprise, Aldric appears, settling down across from me with his own food.

Scouts have taken to bringing small animals so the vrakken that don't have time to hunt can still eat. Maybe the sight of the fresh carcass should gross me out…but I'm faced with much worse.

"Mind if I join you, Red?" he asks, already making himself comfortable.

I raise an eyebrow. "Do I have a choice?"

He grins, a rare sight that makes my heart skip. "Not really."

As I eat, I can't help but notice how different he seems outside of training. His shoulders are relaxed, and there's an almost playful glint in his eyes.

"So," I start, "do all vrakken have such poor etiquette, or is that just you?"

Aldric pauses, pulling back from his meal and looking offended. "I'll have you know this is how civilized vrakken eat."

I snort. "Civilized? You've got blood dripping off your chin."

He wipes it away, smirking. "At least I don't eat like a bird. How do you expect to keep up with me in training if you don't fuel up properly?"

"Some of us prefer quality over quantity," I retort.

"Quality?" He eyes my plate skeptically. "That mush barely qualifies as food."

I stick my tongue out at him. "It's nutritious."

"It's sad, is what it is," he counters. But then he seems to pause. "It doesn't…bother you, does it?" His eyes dart down to the drained animal in his hands.

With a smile, I shake my head. "No, it doesn't."

"Good." He lowers his mouth. "Wasn't going to stop anyway."

I snort. "Ass."

We fall into a comfortable silence, and I find myself studying him. His hair is growing back, no longer the stark reminder of what he lost in battle. I wonder if he still feels the sting of that moment.

"What?" he asks, catching me staring.

I shrug. "Just thinking about how much less intimidating you look when you're draped over a tiny chair." My eyes drop to his massive frame, his wings taking up the chairs on either side, and the wood that is clearly struggling beneath his weight. It's comical.

He narrows his eyes. "I'm always intimidating."

"Sure you are, big guy," I tease, reaching over to wipe a smudge from the corner of his mouth.

The moment my fingers touch his skin, a spark seems to pass between us. We both freeze, our eyes locked. For a second, I think he might lean in, but then he clears his throat and pulls back.

"We should get to work," he says, his voice gruff. "Those weapons aren't going to polish themselves."

I nod, trying to ignore the flutter in my stomach. "Race you there?"

A competitive gleam enters his eyes. "You're on, Red."

As we settle into the rhythmic task of polishing weapons, I can't help but glance at Aldric. His brow is furrowed in concentration, those silver eyes focused intently on his work.

"So," I start, breaking the silence, "tell me about the war that drove your people underground. I've heard bits and pieces, but never the full story."

Aldric's hands pause for a moment before resuming their work. "It's not exactly a bedtime story, Red."

I roll my eyes. "Good thing it's not bedtime then, isn't it?"

He snorts, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "Fair enough. Well, I'm sure you've heard of the First." He looks up at me as I nod. "Akeldama, our god, Made her, found her on her home planet. She was the first vrakken. And he gave her a year to make more before he brought her here."

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. I had not heard that she was from another planet. Though the concept shouldn't be that shocking. I was currently in wildspont, a pocket that hid us within our own planet.

"But when we first arrived on Protheka, it became apparent that it was not all we had expected. We thought we'd found paradise, a place where we could thrive. But then we met the dark elves."

"Let me guess, they weren't exactly rolling out the welcome mat?"

"More like rolling out the guillotine," Aldric says dryly. "They saw us as invaders, a threat to their dominance. The war that followed was... brutal."

I nod, encouraging him to continue.

"We fought hard, but in the end, we were outnumbered." His words came out through clenched teeth. It seemed hard for him to stomach the loss. "We could have kept going. No doubt we would have found a way to cut down those gray-skinned bastards, if only because we are immortal and they are not. But then we discovered the wildsponts. They were our salvation and our prison."

"Sounds cozy," I quip, trying to lighten the mood.

Aldric chuckles, but there's a bitterness to it. "Oh yeah, nothing says 'home sweet home' like damp caves and eternal darkness." He sighed heavily. "But the vrakken, even as a warrior people, are apathetic. They did not want to fight when we had found a place to thrive — or so we thought."

"At least you didn't have to worry about sunburn," I offer.

He actually laughs at that, a deep, rich sound that makes my heart skip. "True. But trust me, Red, after a few centuries, you start to miss the feel of wind on your face."

I can't imagine being trapped underground for so long. "It must have been hard, giving up the sky."

Aldric's wings twitch, as if remembering the freedom they once had ripped away. "It was. But it was that or an endless war. The dark elves... they're relentless. They won't stop until they've wiped us out." He shrugged. "The feeling is mutual there."

"Well," I say, meeting his gaze, "they'll have to go through me first."

Something flashes in Aldric's eyes – surprise, maybe even admiration. "You know, Red, you might just make a decent vrakken yet."

I grin, tossing a polishing cloth at his head. "Watch it. I just might take that as a compliment."