Dark Hunger

Elize couldn't go back to the cave, her entire body trembling. There was so much anger and frustration and shock in her eyes, that tears rolled out. Her beautiful husband, who only wanted to protect her, had left her to fight the man who was the greatest danger to her… alone. Sluggishly, she walked inside the tent where she sat down and a whimper came out of her mouth. She felt alone, lonely. She watched in the blank space in front of her, her shoulders limp. She hugged herself. "You should have taken me with you, Caleb," she said. 

He had been finding Edyrm from a long time and never did he once tell her. She chided him mentally for always sacrificing himself for others. Today he had gone for his people and for her. And he had gone only with Auril because he didn't want to trouble anyone else. He didn't want to trouble his brother either. Her throat choked to the point that it ached. Was she so unworthy that she couldn't help him? And suddenly Elize let out a sob. It became uncontrollable. She was sure that the lead that he had come across today was the most important one. She had seen how those demons behaved. She had seen how they were killed. They were vicious creatures. Who knew how many were there against him? They said that Caleb had defeated Edyrm in Galahar, but didn't they know that at that time he was helped by others too?

Elize stayed in her tent for the whole day and didn't go out. Her helplessness to go to him changed from worry to annoyance to trepidation. She wanted to confront him the moment he came. She wanted to scold him and scold him badly. She wanted to love him when he was back. She had to tell him to stop sacrificing himself for others and just be selfish at times. The day passed and her eyes stopped forming tears. She had briefly gone to sleep, but nightmares woke her up. It was evening and she began pacing the tent. She would rub her hands and then look at the flap of the tent. Any noise on the outside would make her feel that he has come. She would lift the flap only to see that it was either a soldier or a servant. By the time night had fallen, Elize came out of the tent and she started circling the periphery of the settlement. 

Minutes turned to an hour and then an hour turned to hours. Caleb and Auril hadn't come back. She became too nervous. The servants and the soldiers looked at their queen and murmured in low voices about the absence of their king and Auril, but no one asked her anything. It was as if they were suspecting her of their disappearance. She couldn't meet their eyes and only walked around restlessly. It was almost midnight, but the two still hadn't come. In order to keep herself occupied, Elize started using her magic to create a portal. It was very tough. She would focus on her magic and then use it to create a hole in the air that would act as a pass between two locations, but that was nearly impossible. She would create a small arc of lights which would disappear in the wind. After a lot of failed attempts, she gave up. Eventually she came back to the tent, tired and exhausted mentally as well as physically. She felt so trapped in this place. She didn't even have the enough skills to pierce through the barrier that Caleb had made. Elize didn't even change her clothes and she curdled up in her small bed. Soon sleep took over. 

She opened her eyes with a jerk when she heard a loud crash on the outside. In one swift motion, she tossed her blanket away and rushed out only to see that a cook had broken a plate and was now shouting at a servant. She looked up at the skies and could see dark silhouettes of trees against the last rays of the descending moon. Caleb hadn't returned. Her worries increased as a thousand scenarios came to her mind. Was he still alive? She wondered if she should walk back to the cave or stay here. However, she decided to take a bath in the cave. What if he came and found her in such a terrible mess? So, Elize walked to the cave, took a swim in the pool and then wore a light dress. When she came out, the first rays of the sun had just begun to light up the sky. Quickly, she went to her tent and then stayed there, waiting for Caleb to come anytime. 

Two days passed but Caleb hadn't returned. Elize was now on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She wanted to go to him. She must have called him through their mental bond, but there was only silence. Panic seized her heart. In her anxiety, she practiced her magic, practiced creating a portal. She was desperate to create a portal and go to the Northern Mountains. She wanted to go and search him frantically. Her worries increased manifold and by the third day, she felt she would die without her mate. And for the first time she realized how he had felt without her when she denied him for so many months. Her heart squeezed a little and then cracked a little. 

It was on the fourth day she decided that it was more than enough. She had to find him. She frantically started creating portals, using whatever energy she had. Over the four days, the soldiers used to bring her animal blood that she drank in bits. It was difficult to gulp it down, but she did that to survive. She had used all her energy for practicing her magic skills and sword fighting. She had become pale and gaunt. 

That evening when she had tried her hundredth unsuccessful attempt to create the portal, the leader of the unit came to her and said, "Would you like to work with me to create the portal?" He was watching her from four days and while at first they were scared that she might attack them to drink blood, she didn't even look at them. He brought her animal blood so that she was fed, but he saw that she didn't relish it at all. And now he pitied her. Moreover, he was concerned about his king's absence. 

Elize frowned. "Is that possible?" 

"I don't know," he replied. "But we can try." 

"How is that?" she asked. 

"When you send that magic in the air, I will also send mine," he said. 

Elize knew that all Ixoviyans were not as powerful as before but they still had a little bit of magic left in them. 

"We can sync our magic and try to create a portal. Is that okay?" he asked. 

"Yes!" she said, almost excitedly, hopefully. 

He came to stand right beside her. Elize closed her eyes and gathered a thread of magic from the spool in her stomach. She churned it out and let it flow in her arms.. When it reached her finger tips, she flung her hands forward.