"I'm cold," I said while hugging myself and shivering slightly.
"We're almost on the mountain, we need to find a cave to take shelter," Rowan replied without turning around.
We had been walking for several hours in the darkness of the night; even though winter had already ended, it was still very cold.
Serin woke up a couple of times, but immediately fell asleep again. Using her pulsar to the limit didn't just exhaust her body—it nearly killed her.
I offered to carry her several times so Rowan could rest, but the stubborn idiot insisted that I stay rested in case we ran into something we had to fight.
While I was lost in my thoughts, I heard a faint sound in the distance, which made me 'snap back'.
"Did you hear that?" I asked as I stopped and drew my sword.
Rowan crouched and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, "No, what do you hear?"
I sharpened my hearing as much as possible, but to my disappointment, I heard nothing. Just as I was about to return my sword to its place, I heard it again.
Krregrgr
"It's coming from here, come on!" I said as I started running.
"Wait, where are you going?!" I barely heard Rowan behind me.
I followed the sound without thinking, pushing branches aside and running without stopping.
I burst out of the forest and stopped dead when I saw a small clearing; the little snow that remained was disturbed, marked by tracks and dark stains, and in the center there was some kind of bird. It looked like a hawk with black and red feathers, its wings half-spread, one of them dragging uselessly on the ground, its feathers stained with blood.
In front of it, two wolves circled it with slow, calculated movements, tense, their eyes gleaming in the darkness.
It was night, but everything was still visible thanks to the full moon illuminating the forest. It was only for a second, but my gaze met the bird's, and I felt a strong pressure throughout my body as a series of chills ran down my spine.
I released a small surge of pulsar through my system. "Hey!" I shouted as I finished drawing my sword. The wolf turned its head, but it was too late; the blade struck its side and forced it back with a sharp whine, staining the snow with dark blood.
The second didn't hesitate and lunged at me. I lowered my body on instinct, feeling its claws graze my shoulder, rolled over the snow, and sprang back to my feet just as the first one recovered. Now both of them were looking at me.
"Great…" I muttered, tightening my grip.
One advanced slightly while the other began circling me, coordinated.
The first attacked head-on, and this time I was ready; I deflected its bite with the flat of my sword and turned my body with the motion, delivering a horizontal slash straight to its neck. It didn't manage to dodge it and fell lifeless to the ground.
The second let out a low growl, but instead of retreating, it lunged with more force. I blocked too late, and its claws struck my arm, pushing me back several steps.
It attacked again without giving me time, but this time I was the one who moved forward. I took several steps, entering its range before it could react, and thrust my sword forward; the blade sank in, and the wolf let out a choked gasp before collapsing like the other.
I lowered my sword slowly as blood dripped from the tip, and then I remembered the bird. I turned my head; it was still there, motionless, watching me, without having tried to flee, its eyes fixed on me.
I dropped my sword into the snow and my body began to move on its own; I approached slowly until I stood in front of it and crouched down, carefully extending my hand toward its head. As soon as I touched it, the hawk closed its eyes and a faint aura began to envelop its body.
I immediately felt the pulsar within me being drained rapidly, as if something were absorbing it directly, and at the same time its wounds began to heal at an impossible speed, the blood disappearing beneath its feathers as life slowly returned to its body.
"Luke!" Rowan shouted a few meters behind me.
The moment I heard his voice, something inside my mind snapped, as if invisible chains that had been lodged there had suddenly broken.
I threw myself backward and fell onto the ground, landing on my backside. "W-what… the hell," I began breathing heavily, everything that had just happened hitting me all at once—the exhaustion, the pain, the fear.
Rowan quickly moved to my side and pointed his sword at the bird.
When I looked at it again, my eyes widened in shock. "I-it's a w-wyvern… it's the same as the one that… killed Myriam," once again I felt terror and anguish flood my mind.
The possible wyvern only watched us while slightly tilting its head. This went on for a few seconds until it spread its wings.
Kree
It made a small sound, as if it were… thanking us, and then it took flight and left quickly, at a speed that seemed impossible for a simple bird.
My brother crouched down and grabbed me by the shoulders. "Are you okay? What happened?"
I took a deep breath and calmed down. "I… don't know. It was like it was controlling me, but I could still think freely. It was more like it restricted my thoughts to its will."
"Did you say… it was a wyvern?" he asked again.
I hesitated for a moment. "Its fur looked very similar to the one that almost killed Serin and me back in the village," I took one final breath, "Let's get out of here quickly."
Rowan studied me for a moment, then finally nodded. "Alright, grab one of those wolves and follow me, I left Serin up ahead."
A few minutes later, we were walking side by side again, searching for shelter.
I noticed he kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye, until I finally got fed up and asked, "Do you want to tell me something?"
He was slightly surprised, though it was almost imperceptible. "Nothing, just… well done back there against the wolves. You handled them in an instant, I didn't even get the chance to help."
"The wyvern was controlling me… I could never have done something like that on my own," I replied.
"You said it only controlled you partially, besides… Daren is still alive thanks to you," he countered.
"That's not tr—" just as I was about to respond, I saw something ahead of us. "Look, that seems like a cave."
Rowan looked in the direction I was pointing. "Good, let's go in, I'm exhausted."