181 The Fault in Our Stars (1/2)
”We've never really hung out by the lakeside, have we?” I asked.
Idunn had been nice enough to be in her new moon phase tonight, which meant the stars above were out in full and brighter than usual. It might have been because the Fayne was devoid of smog and light pollution, but the canvas of its starry night sky was always pretty to look at.
”Nope,” Luca answered. ”Never really found a reason to.”
He was sitting on the lounge chair to the right of me. His back reclined in a relaxed manner which to me was very unlike him. Luca tended to be uptight and tense.
”We do now,” Aura said.
She was sitting by the edge of the wooden deck with her feet dangling over the water below us.
”It's beautiful here,” she said.
”Peace,” I added.
”Quiet,” Luca added.
”And above all,” Aura smiled at us over her shoulder.
”No Qwipps,” the three of us said in unison.
It was a harsh thing to say but Qwipps had a talent for souring up the atmosphere with his sour-graping. The dude was always thinking about the worst-case scenario. Otherwise, he was a fairly respectable squad leader I could rely on most of the time.
The three of us sat there in silence, each lost to our own thoughts, and it wasn't until Aura's feet splashed against the water that I stirred from my musings.
”Didn't think I'd make one-thousand-man commander so soon,” I said out loud, voicing the unease I'd been feeling since my meeting with Darah.
”You and me both,” Luca commented.
He turned his head to look at me.
”But… congrats, Dean,” he said, in a voice that almost sounded grateful.
Well, his tone was understandable considering what rising up the ranks meant for us. It was a fact Aura was excited enough to voice out loud.
”We're one step closer to our goal,” she said thoughtfully.
”What ranks come after one-thousand-man commander, anyway?” Luca asked.
”Two-thousand-man commander, then three-thousand-man commander, then four-thousand-man commander, then five-thousand-man commander, and then general,” I enumerated using the five fingers on my right hand.
”After general is great general which places you among the top military officials in any fairy clan,” Aura pointed out.
”But not in the Trickster Pavilion,” Luca guessed.
”No,” Aura agreed. ”Not in the Trickster Pavilion.”
”Marshal…” I reached a hand to the sky and pretended to catch a star in my fist. ”It's the title given to one of the four military pillars of the clan.”
”Like Darah,” Luca whispered the name of our boss in what almost sounded like reverence. ”The Marshal of the East…”
Luca turned his head toward me again as his eyes searched my face for clues.
”Is that the goal?” he asked. ”To become Darah's successor?”
”General Thors,” Aura agreed. ”The first visere in the Pavilion's history to make general… he's definitely a top candidate for my aunt's seat if she ever decides to retire.”
Aura faced away from us, and as I stared at her back, I could almost feel the weight of the burden she carried over her shoulders. Much was expected of the princess because no one really thought Auranos would live to a ripe old age.
It was one reason why he allowed her to fight alongside us. Auranos was a practical guy who in his youth had his fair share of battles. His sister and his heir would be no less.
I got up from my seat and walked over to the edge of the deck.
”Scoot over,” I told Aura.
She shuffled to the left so I could sit beside her and dip my toes into the crystal clear water of the lake below me.
”Damn… that's cold,” I said as the chill rose from my toes up to the rest of my legs.
”Don't be a wimp, Dean,” Aura said playfully.
We sat there for another two or three minutes in relative silence while our shoulders brushed against each other. It was nice. Of course, Luca had to ruin it by asking another question.