Chapter 13 A Place To Stay

Chapter 13 A Place To Stay
Valerius stayed on the ground for a moment, feeling defeated and disappointed in himself for not being able to protect the most precious person to him.

But deep within the darkness, Lyra was beginning to feel frustrated by her lack of strength to protect herself and stop the chaos.

“I’ve had enough with all this!!! This is my body, mind and soul, so I get to say who and what gets to evolve in me!!” She yells at the top of her voice in frustration.

Suddenly, she pushes herself up from the ground, her head upward as she yells at the top of her lungs, then the darkness begins to suck into her body, through her open mouth, eyes, ears and nose.

During this, she suddenly appears before Valerius, the darkness still being sucked into her as it tried to escape, but Lyra's force was stronger.

After a while, it gets sucked in completely as Lyra's eyes glowed pitch black, her hair growing longer and getting ombré darker. She stood there, now able to bend the darkness at her own will, finally owning it as her power.

She was now immensely powerful but still a bit weak as she had yet to unlock her full potential.

Without thinking, Valerius rushed towards her and pulled her into his arms.

“Lyra! Oh my goodness, I thought I lost you forever,” he said with great relief as he held her tightly like he feared she might disappear again.

She slowly opens her eyes as she weakly places her palm over his face, “Such will never happen…not again”, she says softly.

He smiled down at her, then placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “I knew you could do it,” he whispered, and this made her feel warm inside.

They both stayed that way for a second before moving to a corner to fully rest, then continuing the journey at some other time.

—

After what felt like forever, they finally found the tunnel's hidden exit and got out. As soon as they stepped out, they were hit with a gush of fresh air. Lyra took a sharp breath, as if she had been suffocating for a very long time and was finally able to breathe.

“I can’t believe we finally did it,” Lyra says as she steps further away from the door. She twirled around with a large smile on her face, enjoying the feeling of fresh breath, while Valerius smiled and watched her silently.

He was glad she finally felt at peace, but deep inside, he was still on alert. Even though they had escaped their own city into a whole different one, that didn’t mean they couldn’t be found, which meant he had no time to relent.

Lyra took a slow breath again, then looked ahead, and in the distance she could see a small settlement with low houses with narrow paths, and thin lines of smoke rising gently from a few rooftops, showing that people were there and living, and that simple sight made something in her chest loosen.

“There are people,” she said softly.

Valerius followed her gaze and gave a small nod.

“Yes,” he replied.

They slowly began to walk towards it. As they got closer, the sound of several calm footsteps and objects shot through their ears, but this time, they felt at ease rather than when they were still there.

Lyra slowed in her tracks as they reached the edge of the settlement, and a few people noticed them, their eyes moving over the two of them with curiosity but not fear, which made Lyra hesitate.

“They’re looking at us,” she said quietly.

“They’re just noticing,” Valerius replied.

Lyra nodded, though her shoulders stayed slightly tense, when a man standing near a cart raised his hand in greeting.

“Morning,” he said.

Lyra blinked, a little surprised, and then she nodded back.

“Morning,” she answered awkwardly

Valerius gave a small nod as well, looking away quickly. They stepped further in, and the path opened into a wider space where a few stalls were set up, and people moved calmly between them, talking and exchanging things, and Lyra looked around slowly, taking in every detail like she didn’t want to miss it.

“It’s… peaceful,” she said.

“For now,” Valerius replied.

Lyra glanced at him.

“For now, it's enough,” she said.

They walked past a small food stall, and the smell of warm food wafted to their noses, making Lyra pause without thinking. The woman behind the stall looked at her and smiled gently.

“You look tired,” the woman said.

Lyra hesitated, then nodded shortly

“We’ve been walking,” she replied.

“Then sit,” the woman said, pointing to a bench nearby.

Lyra looked at Valerius, and he gave a small nod.

“Okay,” she said.

They sat down, and for a moment, Lyra did not know what to do, because sitting still felt strange after everything, but then a plate was placed in front of her, and she looked up in surprise.

“Eat,” the woman said.

“Thank you,” Lyra said softly.

Another plate was set in front of Valerius, and he looked at it briefly before nodding.

“Thank you,” he said.

They began to eat slowly, and the warmth of the food made Lyra relax a little more, and for the first time in a long while, she did not feel like she had to rush.

“This is good,” she said quietly.

Valerius glanced at her.

“It is,” he agreed.

A child ran past them, laughing as another followed, and Lyra turned to watch them, her expression softening as she saw how free they moved.

“They’re not afraid,” she said.

“No,” Valerius replied with a grin.

After they finished eating, the woman returned with water and placed it down.

“You’re not from here,” she said.

Lyra shook her head before responding

“No.”

“Passing through?” the woman asked.

“For now,” Lyra answered shortly.

The woman studied them for a moment, then nodded.

“You can stay here for a while,” she said, “we have space.”

This made Lyra blink in surprise. She never thought people could be this nice to them.

“Really?” she asked.

“Yes,” the woman said with a soft expression

Lyra looked at Valerius, and he gave a small nod.

“Thank you,” Lyra said.

By afternoon, they were led to a small room with two simple beds and a window.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Lyra stood still for a moment, taking it in, then she sat on one of the beds and let out a slow breath.

“I didn’t think we’d make it,” she admitted.

Valerius leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, as his expression grew a bit serious.

“Neither did I,” he said with a sigh, just thinking about everything that had happened made my stomach turn uncomfortably

She then looked up at him, “But we did.” She whispers with a bright smile, and he nods, giving her a small smile that warms her heart.

The night was calm as quickly as Lyra lay on the bed staring up at the fine ceiling, her mind still settling. After a while, she turned her head slightly and then spoke, “Valerius,” she called softly.

“Yes?” he replied shortly after

“Do you think we can stay here?” she asked meekly as she looked at him.

And for a moment, he thought about it, and the idea didn’t sound too bad to him.

“For a while,” he finally responds

This made Lyra's smile grow bigger as she nodded at him

“I’d like that,” she said

“So would I,” he replied, moving towards her to hold her.

The next morning rolled by softly, and they were both up and ready to start their new beginning. They stepped outside again, and the town was already alive with people moving and talking, and this time Lyra did not hesitate as much when she walked through it.

A man waved at them again.

“You settling in?” he asked.

“A little,” Lyra replied.

“That’s good,” he said with a short nod before continuing his work

Valerius glanced at her as he tucked a strand of her new hair behind her ears, “You’re getting used to this.”

“I think I am,” she answered with a smile.

Then they walked toward the edge of the settlement, where the road stretched out ahead, and Lyra stopped there, looking at it.

“We could stay,” she suddenly says.

Valerius stood beside her, pulling her to his arms, “We could,” he replied calmly

Then pushes herself off him a bit and looks at him, “Or we could leave,” she added.

And he nodded, “That too.”

They both went silent for a second, letting their words hang in the air between them.

Out of the blue, Lyra chose to break the silence, “What do you want?” she asked.

Valerius thought for a moment, then said softly, wrapping his tail protectively around her, “I want you safe,” he whispered.

And Lyra smiled slightly, leaning into his hold.

They stood there quietly for a moment, and Lyra felt something settle inside her, that she was finally herself.

Then something caught her eye as her expression changed slightly, “Valerius,” she called

He turned his head down at her, “Yes?”

She then pointed slightly ahead, “There,” she said.

Valerius followed her gaze, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Someone stood at a distance on the road, not moving, just watching them.

This made Lyra frown a bit, “Do you see that?” she asked.

“I do,” he said.

The figure did not come closer, but neither did it leave. Lyra's chest tightened just a little as a thought came to her mind.

“Do you think they’ve been watching us?” she asked quietly

Valerius kept his eyes on the figure.

“Yes,” he said, his jaw clenching as he was now filled with alertness.

And she swallowed.

“Why?” she asked.

Valerius did not answer right away. Instead, he stepped slightly in front of her.

“I don’t know,” he said with a deep frown as he began to calculate his moves. He wasn’t ready to lose her again.

Finally, the figure moved as he took slow steps towards them. Lyra felt her heartbeat pick up again, not from fear alone but from the feeling that something new was about to begin.

“Should we go back?” she asked quietly, ready to make a run for it.

But Valerius shook his head, “No.”

The figure stopped a few steps away from them, and for a moment, none of them spoke. Then the stranger looked directly at Lyra and smiled.

“I’ve been looking for you,” he said.

Lyra’s breath caught as she pushed herself to speak, “For me?” she asked.

The stranger nodded once.

“Yes,” he said.

Valerius stepped forward slightly.

“Why?” he asked fiercely with a slight frown.

Suddenly, the stranger’s smile faded just a little. “Because,” he said slowly, “you’re not as hidden as you think.” he finished.

Lyra’s heart drops immediately. “What does that mean?” she asks.

The stranger looked at her carefully before speaking, “It means,” he started, “you didn’t escape alone.” He finishes in a whisper.

Lyra froze, and for a moment, the quiet town did not feel so quiet anymore.

“What followed us?” she asked softly.