ushernet Chapter 86 Starting over
Chapter 86 Starting over
"Hey! Here take a bite of this. Tastes pretty damn good." Ethan tossed a fruit that looked like an apple but was completely purple inside.
Lia stole a glance at Ethan as he casually leaned against the tree, chewing on his fruit without a care in the world. He had this reckless confidence, this way of acting like nothing could truly break him. Even when he was half-dead, bleeding, or barely standing, he never let himself falter.
She admired that.
Maybe more than she should.
She quickly looked down, her fingers tightening around the half-eaten fruit in her hands. Ethan didn't notice her staring. He never did. Not that she wanted him to. Right? She took another bite, but the sweet taste had nothing on the strange fluttering in her chest.
"Something wrong?" Ethan's voice cut through the quiet.
Lia tensed. "Huh? N-no. Why?"
Ethan raised an eyebrow at her stammer, his sharp eyes flickering with amusement. "You're acting weird."
"I—! I am not." Too quick. Too defensive.
Ethan's smirk widened. "Uh-huh. Sure."
The beast nest whose location he had on hand was practically in the other side of Nessleson's territory. Going there again would mean crossing the area and potentially risking everything he had worked so hard to accomplish.
As it was getting dark outside, Ethan stood up to return back to the inn. He wanted to take the good night's rest before they started the long trip tomorrow to who knows where.
Lia followed suit, dusting off her skirt as she walked beside him. The dimly lit streets of the run-down town stretched ahead of them. The two of them walked in silence and by the time they reached the inn, the air had turned colder, and the streets had emptied out.
Their room was nothing special—small, dusty, and just barely clean enough to be tolerable. Ethan dropped onto the bed immediately, stretching with a groan. "Tomorrow, we need to figure out where we're going next," he said, eyes closed.
I'll follow you," Lia said quietly. "No matter what you decide."
Ethan paused, his gaze flickering toward her. Then he smirked. "Yeah, yeah. I'd be lost without you."
Lia looked away, her cheeks warming. She knew he did not mean it but her heart still fluttered anyway. She sat down on the other side of the small, creaky bed, pulling her knees to her chest.
Ethan was already half-asleep, his breathing slowing. Lia watched him for a moment, her fingers gripping the fabric of her skirt. She wanted to tell him. To say, "You don't have to carry everything alone." To reach out and touch his hand, just once.
But she didn't.
Instead, she sighed softly, pulling the thin blanket over herself. Tomorrow, they'd be back on the road. More danger, more battles, more running. She quietly prayed to her gods for everything to go well, even if that meant only he survived.