167 Never a Dull Momen (2/2)

To which I answered, Shut up, brain! There are far more important things to worry about than getting a girlfriend, idiot!

Unsurprisingly, my brain had the perfect counter that just made my cheeks feel hotter. Luca seems to be juggling life and death situations and girl issues just fine.

\”Shut it,\” I finally said aloud.

\”I'm sorry?\” Aura asked unsurely.

\”Um, not you,\” I said quickly. \”Just quieting the voices in my head…\”

Aura tapped my hand with the fingers of her hand, and that lingering touch threatened to boil my cheeks past their usual redness.

\”Are you feeling guilty again?\” she asked with a concerned tone.

I shook my head. \”I always feel guilty but all the deaths don't give me waking nightmares anymore…\” I glanced over at Luca who was just finished with first aid. \”There's a lot at stake… I don't have time to second guess myself.\”

Aura nodded approvingly. \”But you can talk to me if things get too difficult for you… you know that, right?\”

I offered her a wan smile which she returned, and I swear to God, I'd never seen anything more beautiful. All thought of pretty redheads vanished from my mind in that instant.

\”Oh, right,\” she reached into her pocket and pulled out the intel scroll she kept there. \”Got this from Nike… she's out of breath so I asked her to jot it down… Do you want the good news or the bad news first?\”

\”There's good news?\” I asked wryly.

\”Bad one first, then,\” Aura said with an eye-roll. \”It looks like Verania managed to conquer the oasis to the east of here.\”

I self-palmed myself. \”Dammit… she stole another one from us.\”

\”Yes, but I understand General Red Bull is giving us full credit for this oasis victory… which means it'll be recorded that you defeated a highly regarded fairy knight of the Sunspire Dominion,\” Aura laughed.

The thought of Dawn and her long red locks made my face go red again. Dammit, Dean.

Luckily, Aura hadn't noticed as she continued to give me the news, the so-called good one.

\”We've received a message from the council regarding the Starfall clan,\” she explained.

My ears pricked up.

\”Chris Pint has agreed to the conditions of the alliance proposed by Chancellor Orryn.,\” Aura revealed.

\”He must have really liked the scent your brother sent him… Eau de perfume of the Patriarch,\” I chuckled.

Aura rolled her eyes at me but there was a smirk on her lips too. \”A formal meeting for finalizing the alliance will be held in Shärleden in three weeks' time.\”

\”That means… no war until the alliance has been formalized,\” I reasoned. \”Garm must hate that.\”

\”Indeed he does. In fact, he's already complained to the council about the timing, Aura chuckled. \”Oh, and there's more.\”

\”Chris Pint wants us there at the meeting, maybe as guards or something like that,\” I guessed.

Aura nodded again. She eyed me with a curious look. \”I sometimes forget that I sought you out because of how your mind works.\”

\”You're making me sound like a weirdo,\” I joked.

\”That's because you are a weirdo,\” she teased as she got up and then offered me her hand. \”Come on. General Red Bull wants to see us.\”

As I reached out for her hand, I wondered if these little moments between us could last forever.