“Feeling any better?” Alexis looked at him over his shoulder and had no other choice but to calm down. Aaran was like that, like an empty well that received nothing and gave nothing in return. Getting angry at him was as useless as shouting insults at a desert. “I heard Humans feel better when they say out loud what they’re really feeling,” he went on and Alexis took a deep breath, absently scratching his tattooed face.

“Another myth, I guess,” he grumbled and Aaran sighed.

“You know, a few days ago, before I sent Hale looking for you, I had an unexpected visit. This peculiar guest came to me just to tell me that, although he knew that there was no hope for me, the world was about to change. That there’s a Soul, somewhere, that will change the Law forever. Can you imagine?”

“And?”

“I obviously didn’t believe a single word he said, although I had no real reason to doubt him either. It’s just that I can’t indulge in luxuries like having faith, much less hope.”

“Why tell me this now?”

“Because, since I’ve found you again, I started to believe in him. And because maybe you can have the hope that I can’t,” Aaran replied and Alexis averted his gaze.

“Nonsense. The Lex Regis is eternal and immutable.”

“Nothing is eternal. Gaea herself isn’t eternal. Why should the Law that rules over her be? Who knows? Maybe this change is actually Gaea’s answer to the imbalance she’s suffering. Maybe she’s not as passive as we thought.”

“Why are you telling me this, Aaran?!” Alexis demanded, anger bubbling inside him again, but Aaran remained calm and unaffected by his change of mood.

“Why do you fear change so much?”

“I don’t want to change! Much less because of a Human! I’ve already accepted my destiny a long time ago!” he stubbornly countered and Aaran sighed heavily.

“Fine. I won’t insist anymore. If this is what you want, who am I to interfere? Let her go, then. Because if that’s what you want she seems willing to fulfill your wish,” he declared, looking up as if he could see through the ceiling and across the layers of stone and cement that separated them from the floor above, and only then Alexis noticed that her heartbeat had become faster and was much farther away.

Without a second thought he practically ran back to his room, urgently looking for her until he realized that, just as he had already guessed, the room was empty. The bed was still unmade. The tray that he’d brought for her still on the floor. Her scent still filled the air. But she was no longer there.

“She’s leaving, Alex. And you’re the one who told her to go …” Aaran told him from his back and Alexis clenched his fists hard, trembling with the effort of controlling his emotions. Fury burned inside of him. A desire to scream and break everything around him. And, at the same time, a deep pain seemed to pierce right through him, stealing his strength and will to act.

“Let her leave, then … It’s better like this, for the both of us,” he simply whispered, and Aaran shook his head leaving him alone.

* If you want to know more about this book or simply access earlier updates, please visit the official site at http://carpersanti.net/gaea/

Also, please consider supporting the author so she can go on putting her madness out there for anyone to read: https://www.patreon.com/carpersanti 💜