Rain fell.

The sun shined dully in the early morning sky; its weak rays barely able to penetrate the grey clouds.

The sensation of raindrops hitting his skin was new to Emil. If he was in any other mood, he would’ve enjoyed the new feeling.

His throat was raw, his body slumped against his father’s. He felt very tired. He had screamed and cried through the entire night, begging for his mother to come to him.

She did not.

Emil was not stupid. He may have been young, but he was able to figure out what his mother had done.

He had watched her body disintegrate into that blinding light that had also consumed those wolves. It had created the shockwave that blasted him and his father a few meters into the air and crashing to the ground.

It hurt. There were cuts and bruises littering his delicate skin. But it did not hurt as much as knowing that his mother was in the center of the explosion.

His father told him that she was gone. That he needed to be quiet or else other scary things would come out and haunt them. He told him that mommy would want him to be quiet. They were safe. It was okay. Mommy loved him. She did it because she loved him.

But if she loved him so much, then why did she do it?

He sniffled, burying his head deeper into the crook of his father’s neck. “Papa.”

Felix stroked his son’s head, having no words. He was sure that if he spoke, the fragile barrier that he had put up would come crashing down. He barely had enough strength to talk Felix down from his tantrum. All he could do was stay silent, hoping that Emil’s trembling body didn’t cause him to shatter, either.

Like a clockwork, he trudged on.

He did not know where they were going exactly. All he knew that it was the opposite direction of the sun.

But if he stopped, if he took even a moment to think about it, all he would be able to think of was the lack of a presence besides him.

Felix tilted his head up, forcing himself to ignore the pain and exhaustion that he was experiencing. After all, during the explosion, he had protected Emil with his body and took the brunt of the force. The back of his shirt was missing, revealing the burnt flesh on his back. His once pristine skin had been charred red and black. Unless it was treated with magic, the scar that it left behind would be absolutely horrendous.

That, and the countless other injuries marking him, it was obvious that the only thing that kept him standing still was determination. If it had been anyone else, they would’ve collapsed from fatigue long ago.

But Felix kept going on for the sole reason that he couldn’t do anything else. Until…

An arrow whizzed by his face, piercing the trunk of the tree in front of Felix. Emil let out a cry of surprise, clinging tightly to his father. The man finally stopped, whipping around in fear. His head was pumping wildly in his chest. Could they not have even just a single moment of peace? That was all that he wanted, really.

After all of this, were they were going to be murdered in the woods by some hunters?

“Halt!” a domineering voice ordered.

Felix almost rolled his eyes. He had stopped the moment they had shot an arrow at him!

Seeing that Felix had no intention of running, four figures emerged from the woods. The group consisted of three males and one woman. All of them were wearing the same lightweight leather gear with an emblem of a fist clenching a vine covered in thorns sewn onto the left shoulder.

Felix almost let out a cry of joy. This was the symbol of the Damgaard’s, the house of nobility he was trying to find! A Duke! Instead, they were the ones that came upon him first. Had the Gods finally listened to his prayers?

All he had to do was talk himself out of this situation.

“Hello!” Felix greeted brightly, smiling wide from ear to ear. “I am Felix Lund and this is my son, Emil.”

The hunters from the Damgaard family glanced at each other. After a second of silence, the eldest member of the group stepped forward. This said, Felix estimated that the man was still a few years younger than he. Just one look at him and it was easy to tell that he was different from the others that he was with. They all had lofty, arrogant expressions on their face, while he did not.

“Do you know whose land you are trespassing upon?” he questioned.

“My deepest apologizes.” Felix weakly dropped to his knees, wanting to press his head against the ground, but the child in his arms prevented him from doing so. “We are…” he searched for an apt word, “wanderers.”

The young man didn’t respond, so Felix took this to mean that he should continue.

“Our village was, er, attacked by wild beasts. My son and I barely managed to escape with our lives. If you could help us in any way, that would mean the world!”

“William,” the girl spoke with petulance. “Let’s not bother with these scum. There’s no point in us dealing with them.” She pinched her nose. “And they smell like death.”

Felix’s face didn’t show the humiliation and irritation that he felt at her words. He had basically insinuated that their village had been slaughtered, and she was complaining that they smelled bad? What was he supposed to do about that? He was lucky to be alive right now! And at what cost? He twisted his mouth into a pandering smile and spoke, “I apologize, I apologize.”

“Celina, be quiet.” William said this, but honestly, these two did reek of something serious. If he hadn’t noticed the small child clinging to Felix, that arrow he shot would’ve been embedded in the man’s skull. But seeing Emil, he only felt pity for the two. Where was the boy’s mother? It was obvious from the vacant expression in the boy’s eyes what had happened to her.

Felix stared at William expectantly.

He coughed lightly. “Follow us. I know someone who will decide what to do with you.”

“Thank you, thank you so much!” he bounced back up, resisting the urge to charge forward and pat William on the shoulder in gratitude. He knew that if he ever dared to touch a caster, even if they had no status, his hand would be severed from his body. Felix spoke into Emil’s ear, “Did you hear that? These kind people are going to help us.”

Emil peaked his head out from his father’s neck, blinking his large eyes at the four people that stood in front of them. He turned back to Felix and whispered, “Are you sure? They don’t seem trustworthy.”

A vein in William’s head bulged. The child’s voice hadn’t been quiet at all when he insulted them. This little… no, he had to be patient. “Come with us.” He nodded his head and turned back around. His friends all wore faces full of disdain and disapproval, but none of them would speak out against his decision.

Felix kissed Emil’s head multiple times, no longer bothering to hide the satisfied smile on his face.

Could Clara see this? Did she know that maybe, just maybe, her sacrifice hadn’t been in complete vain?