Chapter 243 – Normalcy

Chapter 243 – Normalcy

 

Cold sweat drenched his shirt, and his heart thumped furiously. Kai crouched on a hard wooden surface, ready to jolt into action. One hand was wrapped in warm sheets, the other tightly gripped his sword.

Where is the threat?

The whispers were silent, he wasn’t in danger.

Panic receded, slow like the tides. No wounds on his ankle either, just two sets of thin symmetrical scars that had long since healed. Squinting in the dark, he could faintly make out the outline of the guest room in his family house—in Sylspring.

He was safe.

Just another nightmare. Dammit.

Kai put away the sword and took out an enchanted light to ascertain the state of the bedroom. He had pushed the bed sideways and dented the headboard. Getting the furniture back into place was easy, but he couldn’t shape dead wood. Nature’s domain was about living things, or nurturing life from death in a cycle.

I’ll ask the carpenters in the market. Someone must have a way to fix it.

He scrubbed a hand through his hair. The last thing he needed was his family fussing over him with worry. They had just managed to rebuild a veil of normalcy with Kien’s birthday, and he wanted to keep it that way.

Why do you have to complicate things, foolish brain?

More by habit than foresight, he had already installed dampening talismans. The enchanted scraps of mana trees blocked sounds from leaving his room, while allowing him to hear what happened outside. No one else would be made aware of the racket tonight.

Kai took off his shirt and cast a Water spell to rinse off the sweat. After surviving the Sanctuary, his mind insisted on complicating his life with such nonsense. He had dared to hope it was over when he slept through the previous night. No such luck.

I just need a few more weeks…

“Mrooow.” Hobbes perched on his wardrobe, watching him with deep blue eyes. With a graceful leap, the cat landed on his bed and stretched his limbs.

“How long have you been watching, huh?” Kai scratched the furry troublemaker behind the ears. His restlessness must have flown through their bond and alerted him.

“Meew.” The lovable pest rubbed against his outstretched arm, sounding almost worried.

“I just had a bad dream. Next time I’ll close the connection before slee— ahi!” Kai jolted back, his arm now sported three thin red lines.

Hobbes watched him with a disgruntled look. “Mrooow.”

“Okay.” Kai raised his hands in exasperation. “The bond stays open.”

With a curt meow and a swish of his fluffy tail, the cat overlord disappeared in a silver blink.

I can’t tell if he loves me or wants me dead…

It was pitch-black outside as the moons were hidden behind a layer of clouds. Kai slumped on his bed to get a few more hours of sleep. But slow, regular breaths couldn’t rid him of the bloody fangs he saw when he closed his eyes. Looking for a distraction, his thoughts moved to his family, Kien’s future, his sister’s coming baby…

Spirits, I’m going to be an uncle…

Kai turned under the sheets, unable to sleep till the warm rays of dawn filtered through his window. On the floor above, a bed lightly creaked as someone got up.

Good enough.

He slipped out of his room and into the bathroom. The icy water erased his sleepiness, though it couldn’t erase the dark bags under his eyes.

I mean, they’re barely noticeable.

The problem with having a family gifted with superhuman Perception was that they tended to notice these details. Kai fought down an unruly curl with Water Magic to look less disheveled and headed into the kitchen.

I promised Mom we’d go out together today…

Moui was already at the stove, cooking some kind of reddish pancakes that smelled of fruits and burnt sugar. “Morning! Had trouble sleeping?” The hunter commented after taking a single glance over his shoulder.

Dammit.

“Hmm… I stayed up reading my old journals.”

When did I become such a shitty liar?

Moui’s tone remained jovial. “Really?”

“No.” He admitted. “I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep.”

“I see. Why don’t you take a seat?” Moui flipped the pancakes in the pan. “These are Kien’s favorites, I thought you might like them too.”

A dozen reddish pancakes with honey and berries were quickly served on a plate. Seeing the hunter’s hopeful gaze, Kai helped himself to breakfast and added an extra dose of enthusiasm. “Mhmm… These are great!”

“Thank you,” Moui smiled and took a seat across from him. “Though you’ve said that for everything you’ve eaten since you came back.”

Kai covered his chewing mouth to speak. “It’s not my fault if you’ve all become such great cooks.”

“I’ll take the compliment, even if I don’t know how deserved it is.” His demeanor turned more serious, lacing his finger above the table. “I know you went through a traumatic experience. It’s normal if you’re having trouble adapting to living in a safe place.”

“I’m—”

“You don’t need to tell me any details unless you want to.” Moui halted him. “Just be patient with yourself. It’ll take time to recover from two years in that place.”

Stolen novel; please report.

He pursed his lips. “But I’m ready to move on.”

“It’s not that simple.” Moui’s eyes lit with sympathy. “If you’re having nightmares, it could be your mind telling you’re not ready.”

Kai sank in his seat. He had successfully escaped the island, why couldn’t he forget about it and go on with his life?

A deep sigh escaped his lips. “It’s just strange being back in town. And people in the streets keep staring at me for some reason.”

They know I don’t belong here…

Moui burst out in a hearty laughter. “Sorry.” Despite his attempts to suppress it, his lips kept curving upwards. “Have you tried not looking at passersby as if they’re tonight’s dinner?”

“I’m not! My aura is perfectly contained.” Kai remembered a similar conversation with switched places. Maybe that was why his uncle found it that hilarious.

“It’s not about your presence,” the hunter looked for the right words. “It’s your demeanor.”

“What about it? Is there something wrong with my face?” His hand rose to his nose and cheekbones.

“You look at people as if you’re determining whether they’re predator or prey. It can be a bit intense and unsettling, especially for strangers.”

“I—” Kai silenced his instinct to deny it. He had spent two years hunting and being hunted by beasts, perhaps it wasn’t the wildest theory. “How do I fix it?”

“I’m not exactly the most approachable,” Moui muttered with a frown. “Everyone else in this house might be better to ask. Maybe try to look more relaxed?”

And how do I do that? Hmm… this is going to take a while.

*

“You sure you don’t want to come?” Ele leaned on the prow of the boat. A month after the announcement, the belly bump still wasn’t visible, though her hand often wandered there.

Sabe carried a waxed canvas bag on one shoulder and a coiled rope on the other. “We know the area quite well. It’s perfectly safe. I’ve got a skill to check if there are beasts nearby.”

Kai wished the man knew about Hallowed Intuition to see how funny he sounded. “I’m good. I promised Kien we’d build a magic shelter together.” While they hadn’t exactly set a date, today worked as well as any other.

“It’ll have to be another time then.” Sabe loaded the ship with a disappointed slouch. “You still owe me a rematch.”