You Came Back

Chapter Fourteen: To Go Back | Part 2

Seerla’s entire body sagged. Her chin fell to her chest, her hands squishing into the mud to brace her. Thirtyx would have found it incredibly touching if his emotions weren’t exhausted and numb. At long last, she looked up, her tear-streaked scales glinting in the dim moonlight. “But you’re not okay. They tried to kill you!”

“Yeah, well… they didn’t succeed.”

“That doesn’t—” She hissed and shook her head. “Wait until the headmistress hears about this—the school board hears about this! Pfah, when Rhea and Benn get back, it’ll go to Grimmary faster than information can logically travel, and—”

“It won’t do any good.”

“Of course it will! There has to be someone who—”

“Seerla.” He put his mud-streaked hand over hers, too exhausted to heed the reasons why he shouldn’t. The contact seemed to shake her from her spiral. They stared at each other for a long moment, and while Seerla’s chest continued to heave with anger, she was silent.

While Thirtyx could have gazed into her eyes for several bars, contact with another person was slowly rebooting his emotions, including his self-consciousness. He turned his head toward the river. “You… came back for me.”

“Of course I came back for you.” Her words were more weary than angry. “I’d have leapt out of the boat after you if Nephrie hadn’t trapped me. She sat on me the whole way there, then she wouldn’t let me out of her sight for a couple of bars. I had to pretend I’d forgotten all about you so she’d let up, and I could sneak away.”

Seerla shifted from her knees into a sitting position, hugging her legs to her chest. “I feel like such an idiot. She clearly charmed me when she asked me to invite you. I never thought she’d be cruel enough to do that. And I never thought I’d be dumb enough to let her.”

“I’m sorry she betrayed you like that. I can only imagine if Rhea or Benn did something like that to me.”

Seerla snorted. “You’re sorry about what she did to me? She helped organize a plot to kill you!”

Thirtyx propped himself up on his elbows. While he knew his appearance should be the least of his worries, he found himself thankful Seerla had leveled the playing field by arriving in less than pristine condition herself. “Okay, but I wasn’t her roommate for 10 years. I barely even know her. What she did to me wasn’t personal. What she did to you was…” 

He shook his head with a sigh as the anger resurfaced. “Still, I’ve been in Service Club for years with Farish and Armatrus. I’ve done group projects with Ambrosia, Emmonie—even Wyex. After the whole auction thing, they were treating me like a person, and I had a glimmer of hope that maybe I could be somebody. Then, Grimm was attacked, and those years of building their trust were just… gone.”

He knew Seerla was staring at him, but he refused to meet her eyes, unable to stomach her pity. So, he gazed toward the river again as he muttered, “That’s why I don’t think I can go back.”

“Back where?”

“To Wydewood, Seerla.” He hoped his tone sounded more like conviction than the desperation it was. “Rhea and Benn can’t guard me every second. And Azirenne is already blackmailing Grimmary, so I can’t call in any more royal favors. I’ll be dead in a week. Or, I can let them think I died in that river and go reinvent myself somewhere else.” He set his jaw and raised his eyes to the sky. “Maybe I could give myself a name worth two damns.”

“What’s wrong with your name?” Seerla snapped.

“You know what’s wrong with my—”

“Thirteen was a number of power in ancient draconic culture. An emblem of luck. The crux of their engineering and mathematical efforts. Spring is a time of building and fortification, and both Maghe and Olion are signs of incredible strength in their respective zodiacs. All of that is reflected in what you call yourself. The name Thirtyx Venmagalion should inspire awe and promise and twice-damned fear in anyone who hears it. And it isn’t your fault that the dumb kids here are too uncultured to know it!”