-Lay’s POV-

I shrugged.

She didn’t answer my question. I just surmised that she was confused and that she didn’t actually have the answer at the moment. I wasn’t expecting her to accept it either. After seeing how close she had gotten to Lu Han back when we were still in Hailesia, I never entertained the idea of a possibility that our amity would spring forth more as far as our friendship goes though I have made my intentions clear to her from the beginning. It must be that while I was away, Lu Han had been able to manage to give her the comfort she needed. Now, I do not see the fruits of my labor. Though I have given her my time since he left, she didn’t seem to want to accept anything I had to offer.

Instead of answering my question, she merely turned away and pointed at the kirins by the edge of the forest, eagerly telling me to go and see them. She was very childlike that way and I couldn’t help but just smile at her utter innocence about the world. The first time I’ve found her, she was lost, wandering around the badlands until she finally got to the edge of the forest where she had admired the beauty of the creatures I held in reverence. I remembered being angry and though that, I was able to stumble upon her. I’ve found her and I knew how thankful she was about it, but I do not see her ever falling in love with me no matter how hopelessly devoted I was to her. I’d give her my heart in a silver platter, but all hopes were gone the moment she met Lu Han. What did he have that I didn’t?

I smiled, letting her drag me all the way back into the manor when I saw Lu Han above us, agony in his eyes. He saw it and I wasn’t sorry for it. I have gone through the pain of seeing them together. Back then, I thought he was making me pay for the way I have acted when I’ve learned about his feelings for her. I practically monopolized her time, never allowing him near, but then, I felt the pain I must’ve caused him when I saw them very intimate with each other just before we left for Aria. The pain must’ve been doubled for him as he had come to fully realize his emotions for her. I could tell by the way his aura changes whenever she was around, but now, all I could feel from him was resentment.

As Jinhae led me out to the front courtyard of the manor, she was looking away, walking ahead of me, her grip tightening on my wrist. I wondered if she saw Lu Han. Her lips against mine said it all. She wasn’t at ease and her demeanor suddenly changed just when I felt her tense up before she told me to come with her to the meadow. If she didn’t see him, there was also the possibility that she felt his presence. After all, we were all connected to each other, but what she felt was exceptional compared to all of us. It was way stronger. Maybe it was what brought her sudden urge to leave the premises. I didn’t know how she felt about him at the moment, but his demeanor reflected hers except that his was more intense.

Though they weren’t saying, they had the same ability and I knew they talked through their minds. They had this kind of understanding from the beginning that none of us could ever have with her. They could quietly communicate and I could tell it by the way they would simultaneously smile at each other during meals or how they complete each other’s statements. It was something I envied. Had I been born as the heir to telepathy, could she have had a closer bond with me? That was one thing to ponder about.

I willed her to stop from walking and she turned around to look at me. I stopped her because the whole place was filled with tension, coming from the above stairs and her, meeting at a certain point and it was utterly overwhelming.

“Yes?” she asked, facing me.

I eyed her seriously. “Lu Han’s is back.”

“Really?” She sounded nonchalant. “Let’s just go check out the kirins. I haven’t seen so many of them since my first time coming here.” She took me by the hand and tugged at it.

I followed her in silence. My thoughts have just been confirmed. We got to the shallows in record time as she had been walking quite briskly, but when we got there, she didn’t even look at the kirins. Instead, she began picking up stones and tossed them into the water, making them bounce twice or thrice against the surface before they would sink down to the sea floor. As she was hurling her fifth pebble to the water, the shadow of a Nephylus cast itself right where we were standing, flying past and disappearing into the distance. Lu Han was on it, leaving.

Jinhae watched as the dragon became smaller and smaller. She hissed under her breath and angrily dropped all the stones on her feet. Her cloth shoes which were a sunny shade of yellow became a darker shade as the rushing waves soaked them. She began to walk through the length of the beach, leaving me there, I ran after her when she began removing her shoes, tossing them far off ahead. She then bent her knees and sat down, leaning her forehead against her knees as she hugged her legs to her.

“Jinhae…” I said, touching her by the shoulder.

“Coward,” she hissed, shaking her head.

I crouched down to her level, trying to look at her, but she covered her face all the more. “Please talk to me. What’s bothering you?”

She looked up after a while then smiled bitterly. “I’m sorry, Lay. I’m just so angry at the moment.”

I frowned. “Why? Is it because of him?”

She nodded.

“Do you miss him?”

She stood up and kicked the water as if it was of any use. She was quiet as she stared into the horizon then her sharp voice sliced into the burdensome air. “Why did he even come back if he wasn’t planning to stay?” she demanded. “That makes no sense. Damn it, he should’ve just stayed in Elatus until the end of the year. He couldn’t just saunter in then decide to leave just like that. Does he even know how that feels?” A dark miasma surrounded her as she spoke, not even stopping for breath.

“He probably has his reasons –”

I scoffed. “Yeah and I could only think of one.”

I felt bad that she thought of Lu Han that way. Though he was an opponent I had for her heart, he was still my friend and he will always be. I just felt the urge to come to his defense despite myself. “He saw…er…I think he saw what we just –”

“So what?” she snapped, cutting my statement short. “It doesn’t matter if he saw it or not.” Again, Jinhae began walking away towards the edge of the thicket, muttering something unintelligible as she picked up her shoes on the way. She tied the laces together then slung them on her shoulder, cursing when she suddenly stepped on something that hurt her sole. She raised her foot and I saw a dark crimson liquid oozing from a clean cut right in the middle of her sole. She looked at it, grimaced a bit, but continued to walk shortly after that.

I found myself catching up to her rather swift strides again. How can someone with a wounded feet walk that fast? “Jinhae,” I called again, but she didn’t stop walking until she found a small kirin, eating grass just a few yards away.

She stopped walking when she was just a few paces from it, slowly making her way towards it, making sure it wouldn’t run. When she was near enough, she reached over to touch its head. The kirin flinched, but it didn’t make any move to leave. Instead, it continued chewing on the grass. I heard laughter of amazement come from Jinhae as she touched the creature on the back. She then looked at me.

“It let me hold it,” she said eagerly, giggling.

I smiled at the blameless picture she had painted as I leaned on the tree. “They feel it when your intentions are good or bad. It’s why they are so elusive.”

She smiled gently. “Just like you.” She chuckled a bit then began the animal’s forehead. “You know what?”

“Yes.”

“I haven’t thanked you enough for saving me that day.”

I frowned. “Saving you? When?”

“The first time I got to Elyxo, I was so lost. I didn