Chapter 72: Seventy-two.

I let out a sigh as I placed the last item, the sun hat into my bag before shutting it. Ayla stood beside me, doing the same with her own bag.

We were back in the storage room we had come to on the first day, and the wave of nostalgia that hit me was overwhelming. It had been around two weeks staying here, and now leaving so abruptly made me a little emotional.

"Got everything?" Maya's tense voice called from the door, and I turned to look at her before nodding numbly. She offered a small smile at this, and I moved towards her, Ayla following behind.

"I can't believe we're going back already," Ayla muttered sadly, her sapphire blue eyes twinkling with unshed tears, and Maya let out a huff.

"I can't believe we're to fight a Baken," she retorted, and I felt a shudder erupt down my spine at the mention of the chilling creature.

After Bomani had said those dreaded words, we had burst out with an array of questions, all of which Bomani ignored. He told us that all the details will be told when we head back home, so that's what we were doing, packing for the trip.

None of us deigned a response to Maya, walking down the stairs towards the courtyard where the boys were standing, talking to Bomani, bidding him goodbye. I let my gaze slip to the three to three beds, lined adjacent to each other, before turning away. We had thought we had longer here, and I had become so habituated to it.

"Girls," Bomani greeted with a small, orderly smile as we neared him, and I gave him a tight-lipped smile in response.

"We will make you proud, Ustaaz," Maya spoke first, with a determined expression, her hair away from her face in a scarlet braid.

He nodded in response, clasping his hands behind his back.

"I have no doubt about it," he added, to which she smiled slightly, and he placed a hand against her shoulder.

"Take care of your father," he said quietly, but I heard also and watched as she nodded, her lips pursed.

He turned his attention to me then, raising an eyebrow.

"One of my fastest learners," he commented airily, and I let out a genuine laugh, to which he moved in, placing a hand on the top of my head.

"Believe in yourself, Aeryn, you will do great things," he whispered in my ear, and I nodded, watching as he turned to Ayla, who had tears welling in her eyes.

"Oh, don't you cry again," he admonished jokingly, and Ayla let out a whimper before wrapping her arms around him and sobbing. He tensed slightly at this before placing a hand against her head fondly.

"I will come and see you soon. We will dine in the hall once again, I swear to it," he promised under his breath, as though he was consoling himself, but even then, something about the way he said it made me feel as though he didn't truly believe it.

"We need to leave now," Kael spoke suddenly, a hardened look on his face, and Ayla withdrew herself with a nod as Bomani stepped back.

"Take care of yourselves, students," he spoke his final words, his eyes scouring our faces before Kael nodded to Ayla. I placed my hand in hers and Maya's as she closed her eyes. The last thing I saw was Bomani's tense face; I could see that he was saying something, but his words were distorted, and then suddenly there was silence and darkness.

I took a deep breath as I gazed at the familiar courtyard door.

"Home," I muttered to myself, and Kael headed forward, opening the courtyard with a resounding creak.

I was taken aback by the courtyard that differed greatly from the one in Bomani's residence. While the one there was blank, making it easier to hold training, the one here supported a range of crops as well as a large fountain in the middle that spewed water. I closed my eyes as I listened to the nostalgic trickling of water. We walked through and towards the living quarters, heading toward Negus's office.

"Guys?" Arun's musical voice rang out, and I turned to see him lying on his stomach by the fountain side, a book in his hand. He raised himself slowly and unsurely first, but when his eyes processed the sight, he got up abruptly.

"Guys!" he exclaimed cheerily, running towards us like a baby gazelle, and I smiled at his face. There was a daisy tucked behind his golden, shoulder-length hair, and he wore a navy blue tank top that showed his willowy arms.

"Arun," Kael greeted with a small smile, clapping a hand against his back, making him wince before he turned to look at Ayla and me. We smiled at him as he moved to us and pulled us into his embrace.

"I missed you dearly, my aljuniyat!" he said softly into our hold, and I giggled at his words before moving back.

"We all missed you too," I muttered out, to which Maya snorted.

"Speak for yourself," she grunted out, making Arun let out a whine before he frowned slightly.

"Not that I'm not glad, but why are you back?" he asked, and it was then that Negus shuffled in, his fond gaze on us.

"Because I called for them," he answered, and Maya rushed in then.

"Father," she said before pulling her arms around him, and I smiled at the sweet gesture.

Negus smiled also as she withdrew, before turning to look at us, and then Kael moved in, a smile on his face.

"Are you well?" he asked, to which Negus nodded and tapped a hand against his back fondly. It was Rhydian who moved in then, and Negus placed his other hand against his back, making Rhydian smile.

"I trust you've been behaving," he asked, to which Rhydian rolled his eyes playfully.

"Your trust is severely misplaced," he commented, to which Negus and Kael laughed.

The rest of us moved in then, and Abrax smiled widely.

"It is good to see you again, Negus," he said kindly, to which Negus nodded.

"As it is with seeing you," he replied, before placing a hand on Ayla's shoulder with a warm smile.

Kael moved forward, getting Negus's attention, and my smile diminished at the serious look on his face.

"What has happened, Negus?" he asked, his eyes searching his face for any sign of stress, yet Negus was the face of serenity. He nodded before looking to the blue sky with faded green eyes.

"A lot has happened since your departure," he mentioned vaguely, and Maya sighed deeply.

"What of the Baken? Has it truly attacked the Penta province?" she asked eagerly, and my eyebrows furrowed when Negus shook his head.

"Not yet, but it will," he answered vaguely yet again, and I looked to see that I was not the only one who was confused.

"What do you mean 'will'?" Kael asked, a frown on his face, and the crease between Negus's eyebrows deepened as he spoke.

"I received an unnamed letter two days ago. It stated that the fire Bakenanouke will massacre the people of the Penta province on the night of the thin moon, unless..." He stopped short, casting his eyes to our faces, and Rhydian stood up straighter at his words.

"Unless what?" he urged, and Negus looked back to the sky with a sigh.

"Unless Negus's group comes there by the eve of the thin moon," he finished, and Kael frowned, his fists clenched.

"What for? What are they planning?" he muttered, his eyes deep in thought, and Rhydian turned to look at him.

"The thin moon, the waning crescent happens tonight," he commented darkly, and I tensed at his words, as did everyone else.

Kael shook his head before looking to Negus.

"What must we do?" he asked, to which Negus closed his eyes, a small smile on his face.

"What do you think you should do?" he asked in return, and Kael faltered at this slightly before turning to look at us, a steely look in his eyes.

"I wish to go and fight whatever threatens my people, but I cannot speak for the others. They weren't recruited to merely be martyrs of the cause or for their lives to be thrown away. I leave the decision to them," he explained his view, and Negus smiled at his words. It was silent for a moment as he looked to us before Rhydian cut through the silence, putting his hand on Kael's shoulder.

"I'm with you," he said simply, making Kael smile, and Maya let out a small laugh.

"Why would I pass up a chance to kill scum?" she added, and Abrax placed a hand against his chest, a firm look on his face.

"My life is yours to command," he stated, to which Kael's smile widened.

I smiled in response, shrugging playfully.

"I don't have anywhere else to be," I noted, to which he looked to me, his eyes gleaming, and Ayla squealed, putting an arm around my shoulder.

"Of course I'm in!" she giggled out, and Kael nodded at this before turning to Arun. We all turned our gaze to him then, and he seemed to snap out of a daze as he looked to us in confusion.

"Huh? What?" he asked, and Kael laughed slightly before gesturing to the rest of us.

"Are you in? I want everybody to have a say," he said in a gentle, firm tone, and Arun's eyebrows furrowed at this, a sad look in his green eyes.

"What use am I anyway?" he pointed out, and Kael shook his head, sticking his hand out, which Arun looked at.

"You're family," he stated, as though there was no other reasoning needed to be given, and Arun smiled sweetly, placing his slender hand against Kael's.

"I'll always be in for family."

I walked through the halls, gazing at the familiar corridors that I had walked through for the last four months and had missed for the last two weeks.

The sun was headed towards the dunes, and soon, night would hit and we would be facing the character that had taken over my nightmares, the creature that I was too scared to face.

No, things are different now!

I shook away the fear and paranoia. Things were, indeed, different from before when I had encountered the Baken. I could sense the difference as I looked down at my slender but toned form. From the time in Bomani's residence, between the tournaments and key finding, I had become habituated to fighting. I was more versed with the telltales of combat and defense. I just needed to be more confident. It was like Bomani had said, believe in yourself.

I heard the clanging of metal from the training hall and walked in, leaning on the door with a smile as Kael's tense form stood surveying a sword.

"How long has it been since we trained here?" I called out, my voice echoing across the large training hall.

Kael turned at my voice, smiling slightly as he saw me.

"Too long. I fear you've gotten rusty in the absence of my teaching," he teased, despite the tense circumstances, and I let out a laugh before nearing him.

He watched intently as I picked up a longsword and turned to face him with a smirk.

"Let's find out," I challenged, to which he raised an eyebrow. Nevertheless, he moved to face me properly, his sword in hand, and I took this as the green light. Moving in hurriedly, I raised the sword, which clashed with his as we met in the middle.

He held his with one hand, a smirk on his face, and I yelped as he flicked my forehead with his unoccupied hand.

"You have to be faster than that," he murmured, his golden gaze melting away my annoyance, and I scowled before pushing back and going in with an undercut motion.

He blocked it, but raised an eyebrow.

"Impressive," he commented, and I smiled at the praise before frowning at the memory creeping into my head.

"Back at the jungle..." I began, looking to his expression for any sign of acknowledgment, but instead his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah?" he asked, urging me to continue, and I sighed, moving back and circling him with my sword held high. He followed my actions, waiting for me to talk.

"You were angry that I used my powers, and you told me that I was the prophecy and your job was just to protect me," I relented the information to him meekly, and I watched as he stopped moving abruptly, running a hand through his hair with a sigh.

"You know I didn't mean that," he muttered, and I nodded in understanding as he looked up to me, his voice gentle as he spoke.

"I can't think straight when I'm angry, and you angered me a lot, Aeryn. I don't know what you and Rhydian do, but it works," he said with a smile, and I giggled at his words before nodding.

"I understand that, but I want you to know that I don't think of you just as that. You're one of my closest friends," I admitted feebly and awkwardly, expecting him to laugh. Instead, his smile deepened, his eyes warming me up.

"You know, I think of you to be more than just a prophecy, Aeryn," he told me, and I nodded because I believed him. He frowned then, and I watched as he dropped the arm that was holding his sword to his side.

"I just didn't want you to get hurt, not there with the Ammit and not now with the Baken," he explained, and I nodded, knowing that I felt the same about him getting hurt.

I looked down at the chilling mention of the creature before shaking my head.

"You know, I've seen it," I commented, and I saw from my peripheral that Kael's gaze snapped to my direction. He moved closer abruptly, his hand holding tight to his sword.

"What? When?" he asked in concern, and I pursed my lips as I thought of the memory.

"Back in Centaurae province before I killed the commander. He was talking to the creature at this point, and I was hiding behind a bush," I explained, and Kael looked to the distance as he thought carefully.

"I wonder why it's asking for us," he muttered more to himself, and I nodded, also feeling suspicious of its intentions. What did it want from us?

Kael shook his head at this before sighing.

"I need to go sharpen my sword. You should get some rest before we leave," he instructed, and I wanted to protest, but I knew he wouldn't relent, so I just nodded at his words before retreating to the hall.

I could tell that the thought of the night was making him tense, yet there was nothing I could do to ease the stress, as I was just as clueless as he was to their intentions.

All we could do now was wait.

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A/N:Let me know all your thoughts in the comments! Like, subscribe and add to your library so you never miss an update!

See you in the next one!