Chapter 40: Jealousy

Over the next day and a half, Adriana did her best to do two things: relax and let the lingering pains of her wounds heal, and avoid Lucas and Eva as much as she could. She wasn’t proud of the desire to be away from them both. Even though the Duskbreaker was big enough to be able to get up and move around, it wasn’t that big.

Lucas noticed something was up after he and Eva had come back up, looking slightly disheveled. He’d asked her how she healed. Adriana answered in as few words as possible and kept her gaze out on the horizon. It didn’t take him long to leave her be and check in on the rest of the team.

After that first awkward encounter, things smoothed out and the trip became enjoyable. The team split into three groups for most of the trip. Cora and Davos seemed glued to each other, and they often sat together and watched the rest of the ship. Occasionally their laughs were loud enough to demand attention, but outside of meals, they kept to themselves.

Lucas checked in on them all, but spent a lot of time either talking to the captain, or on his own. Even in times of peace and waiting, being the leader weighed on him. It was almost enough to make Adriana want to talk to him, but not quite.

Most of her time was spent with her new friends, Tobias and Iris. They were the younger members of the team, younger even than her, but they were the only ones who wanted to have some fun. On the second day of their three day trip, they had to pass through an island chain, where monsters roamed along the shores and cliffs. It was the perfect time to play.

“Ten haemar says I can hit the red one in the tree,” said Tobias. He had one foot on the ship’s railing, and his Spirit Bow in his hands. A few off duty sailors watched nearby, with weapons at the ready.

The red one in question was a massive snake coiled around a palm tree fifty feet tall. It had a dozen legs along its body, and a gaping mouth with wicked looking fangs. There was always the chance that it could swim and assault the boat, if they didn’t keep it away. It was an important task that just so happened to relieve boredom.

“No way,” Adriana replied. “That’s an easy shot for a bow. I don’t feel like losing money I don’t have.”

“She’s right,” said Iris with a giggle. “You’re just trying to fleece her!”

Tobias shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, you got me. What about you? Think you could hit it from here?”

The monster was high up, and a decent bit away. Adriana narrowed her eyes, focusing on the creature, the distance, and the movement of the ship. Her Mystery of Precision showed her the way. She gathered up a handful of Smoldersap and aimed high. A quick burst of Inner Fire lent her the strength to let it fly.

The burning glob arced high in the air, where it hung for a second. Then down it went, splattering the snake’s wide, V shaped head. The monster thrashed violently and fell out of the tree.

“Right on the nose!” Iris crowed. She laughed and clapped with delight. The sailors hollered their joy and approval.

Tobias nodded, impressed. “I guess I owe you ten haemar when we get there. Oh, oh! It’s coming for us!” He pulled back the string, and a long, blueish-white arrow appeared. The archer loosed it, and it struck the skittering reptile in the back with a flash. It stopped in place and twitched.

Adriana didn’t wait. She threw more Smoldersap, and more, until the creature's long, serpentine back was littered with little fires. Tobias kept up the pressure as well, though none of their attacks were enough to put it down.

“My turn,” Iris announced. She held up her hands and molded an invisible figure. Adriana stopped her assault to watch. So far, Iris hadn’t really done much to show what she could do. Having a soft, cheerful teenage girl seemed like a detriment in dangerous situations.

A shimmer of light settled on the sand next to the monster. A nearly exact double appeared a handful of yards away. The illusory snake hissed and rose up fifteen feet tall on six of its legs. The original stopped in its tracks and faced this new, odd intruder. Iris wiggled her fingers and the copy turned and fled the opposite direction. The original hissed in pain and fear and followed after it.

“That’s really impressive,” said Adriana. She watched the creatures disappear and the trees shake with its passing. “But can you defend yourself if someone comes at you?”

Iris smiled, winked, and then disappeared from view.

“Huh,” said Adriana. “So you just distract people and stay out of view? That’s pretty dangerous.”

Tobias chuckled. “She may look sweet and innocent, but she lives for danger and excitement, just like us all. Personally, I always worry she’s going to peek on us in the bath.”

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She reappeared behind the archer and shoved him to the deck. “I would never do that!”

Adriana laughed and helped him up. “I believe you. I remember how much you were blushing the other day. It’s like you’ve never seen naked people before.”

One of the nearby sailors let out a lascivious cackle. Iris turned red and squirmed from the attention.

Just a month ago, none of this seemed possible. Traveling with Synto and Mykos had been stressful, and a reminder that the world was out to get you and nothing was safe. Here with the Children of Stephanos, it would be so easy to drop her guard and dare to hope that things could be better, and there were people who wanted to help out. Other than Davos, who did it to their detriment.

Or maybe not. She thought back to the village they’d stopped at. The villagers of Juthida had been suspicious and insular at first. To her, anyway. Davos went out of his way to do good things, and they practically worshiped them for slaying the Hydra. After so many years of fighting for crumbs, Adriana had power, friends, and a direction in life.

All she had to do was follow, behave, and submit to their rules.

“Hey, you okay?” Tobias asked. “You got all quiet for a minute there.”

“Yeah,” she said, snapping back to reality. “I think I’m going to lay down for a bit.”

“Again?” he teased. “Little Adriana needs her nap.”

She bared her teeth in a feral grin. “What else is there to do when I’ve had enough of you?”

“We could go annoy Lucas,” Iris suggested. “He’s had it too easy the past couple of days.”

Well, that made the decision for her. Adriana shook her head and said, “You go ahead. I’m going to be lazy for a little longer before your Hierophant judges me.”

The two Children of Stephanos exchanged a worried look. Adriana patted Iris on the shoulder, then left them behind. It was late in the day, and the edges of the sky lent a burnt orange tint to the world. Sleeping now was ill-advised, but being around other people was intolerable.

To her great relief, her quarters were empty. Davos must’ve been elsewhere, and for a second she missed him horribly. Talking to him would’ve been better than lying down, but she couldn’t bring herself to go find him and rip him away from Cora. They seemed too happy. Adriana couldn’t spoil that just because she felt weird about things.

The thin padding was soft enough to get comfortable. She was out in a matter of minutes.

Adriana dreamt of being inside the mountain again, weak and limping her way to the fading light of a God. The pain was far away, like it had been at the time. Dying had been less painful than she thought, but then she found Hessius, in worse shape than her. At the time, things had been so numb. Now, it ached deep inside her soul.

“Promise me,” he said. “Promise me you’ll go to my temple, and tell them of my fate. Tell them to fight on, and to aid you. We’ll need all the Children of Stephanos working together now.”

Adriana woke with tears trailing down her cheeks. She wiped them away and got up. Davos was in his bunk, already asleep. For a second, she desperately wanted to wake him up. Instead, she took a deep breath and got up. She went back to open skies and a fresh breeze.

Night fell sometime during her sleep, and the waning moon winked down at her. The night shift was hard at work, scrubbing the deck and keeping watch as their oarsman powered them on inexorably towards Hessiopolis and the Sun Temple. A breeze she recognized was supposed to be chilly instead refreshed her. Just another one of the Sun God’s gifts to her.

She went up to the bow of the ship and looked into the horizon. The stars lit their way and guided them, and under their glow, a few islands faded off into the distance. It was hard to believe how peaceful the ocean could be one day, and how wild and angry the next. Their trip had been so smooth. A part of her worried about the inevitable problem, but maybe this time would be different.

Bright, reddish orange light caught her attention. Across the sky it blazed, coming directly at the ship. Adriana readied herself, but a few seconds later revealed it was only Eva, flying as hard and fast as she could. She went over the ship, leaving a fiery wake behind her. Adriana sighed with relief; she’d come close to the sails.

A few seconds later the flying woman came around and landed in front of her. Eva wore the same disdainful sneer she often wore when Adriana was around. “What’re you doing up so late?”

It figured that she wouldn’t be able to avoid the blond bitch the entire trip. But with her dream still fresh in mind, Adriana decided to do something different. She decided to behave. Mostly. “I could ask the same of you. Shouldn’t you be getting comfy with Lucas?”

Eva scoffed and looked away. “What, are you jealous?”

Adriana took a breath and changed tactics. “What’s it like, flying?” she blurted out.

That hadn’t been what Eva expected. She blinked in surprise, and then looked out into the clear night sky. “It’s the most freeing feeling in the world,” she said, all of her hostility gone, replaced with a softness that Adriana had never heard. “I am one of the luckiest people in the world. The ability to fly is fairly rare.”

“I agree. You’re very lucky.” She fell silent, unsure of what else to say.

Eva favored her with an awkward look from out of the corner of her eyes. “Some would consider you lucky as well, inheriting the True Divinity from Hessius.”

Adriana snickered and said, “What, are you jealous?”

The blond smirked at her. “I’m as jealous of you as you are of me, I think. Well, maybe not as jealous. After all, I have a guaranteed place on the team, favor from the Hierophant, and Lucas knows he can trust me and rely on me. Honestly, when I think about it, I’m doing so much better than you.”

“Huh,” said Adriana. “I have a question about flying.”

“Yes?” Eva cocked her head to the side.

“Can you fly while wet?” She somehow managed to keep a straight face.

“Well, of course. Why would --”

Adriana burned her Inner Fire and grabbed Eva around the waist. She flung her overboard, right into the sea. The resulting splash was immensely satisfying. Without looking to see if she was okay, Adriana turned and walked away.

A second later, Eva burst out of the water and screamed, “Get back here, you bitch! I’m going to…”

Maybe it wasn’t wise to antagonize her teammates, but Adriana couldn’t be bothered to care. With curses and threats thrown her way, she went down to the galley for a snack. Tomorrow they’d arrive, and her fate would be decided. That was a worry for later.