The Return to Irithara (Children of the Sun Book 2)

Mel stared in fear at the forest around and beneath him. Kaleth had taken him to the roof of the building so Mel could stretch his wings, but it only made him realize where he was right now.

“We’re in Carcer?” he asked Kaleth, who was standing next to him, looking at the Eternal with a concerned frown. After the last time Mel had been here, he never wanted to go to Carcer again. Yet here he was.

“I’m sorry, I would have told you. I didn’t think you’d recognize it,” Kaleth replied, looking even more worried now. Mel shook his head. While it was scary being here again, he knew…well, he hoped nothing would happen to him this time. Kaleth wouldn’t allow that, would he?

Mel sighed as Kaleth put a hand on one of the horns on the side of his head. He seemed much more uncertain of the action now, unlike back in the cell. Mel leaned into the touch, although he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Kaleth seemed to be more emotionally driven now, but Mel supposed that wasn’t enough to get over his discomfort when it came to showing affection.

Still, Mel would take what he could get. He wished he was strong enough to change forms, though. He really wanted to hug Kaleth.

“It’s…it’s okay,” Mel tried to assure Kaleth, although it didn’t really sound convincing. Kaleth gave him a doubtful look but didn’t say anything. “Um, but why are we here?”

“I’m here because Carcer is the largest source of Eternal energy in Enoria. You’re here because Relioth is an idiot.”

There it was again. The insubordination that Mel just couldn’t wrap his head around. If he spoke this way about Mereria, she’d make him regret it immediately. Yet Kaleth had just called Relioth an idiot, about half an hour after punching him, and it was all perfectly okay.

Nevertheless, Mel decided to ignore that and ask something else. “What does Eternal energy have to do with anything?” He knew Carcer was where most of the captured Umbra were being held so that their power could be turned into electricity, but that didn’t really explain why Kaleth was here.

Kaleth averted his gaze, choosing to stare at the concrete surface under their feet. “I’m sure you’ve noticed I’m stronger than I was when we saw each other last.”

Mel’s eyes widened. “You mean….”

“I’ve been absorbing Eternal energy, yes,” Kaleth finished for Mel. He didn’t sound very happy about it. Mel gawked at him. He supposed it was possible for Kaleth to absorb their energy—him being a Garen, and all. But this much? And permanently? Shouldn’t this kill him? Then again, Kaleth was far from the usual member of the Garen family.

“My power won’t grow on its own,” Kaleth continued. “I have to take it from others. Once I do, however, the maximum amount of the power I can wield increases permanently, no matter how much of it I use up.”

And Kaleth had been doing this for a whole month? Just how strong was he after so much time? There had to be some limitations, right? Mel certainly hoped so, but he didn’t believe it all that much. The word ‘aperios’ basically translated into ‘limitless’. What would it do to Kaleth if he kept this up? Would he become even more violent? Or was that just Relioth’s influence?

Feeling his heart start beating faster and faster as he thought about this, Mel decided he had to do something. Try to convince Kaleth the whole thing was a bad idea. He wasn’t sure how successful he would be, given that Kaleth was now on Relioth’s side, but Mel had to try.

“You shouldn’t do this,” he said, looking at Kaleth as imploringly as possible. “You don’t know what it will do to you.”

Kaleth frowned and set his jaw. And Mel automatically flinched away. He hated that he was reacting this way towards Kaleth, but he’d seen this look be directed at him a few times already, and what had followed had never been pleasant.

Kaleth didn’t reply just yet. Only let go of the horn and instead started scratching Mel behind one of his ears again. It did calm the Eternal a bit, but definitely not completely. At least he knew Kaleth wasn’t angry with him.

“I know what it will do. It will make me strong enough to kill Irif,” Kaleth replied, giving Mel a small smile. He seemed so sure it almost made Mel angry.

“What about side effects?”

Kaleth chuckled softly. “It’s nice of you to worry about me, but there is no need. There aren’t any side effects.”

“What about how you’ve been acting?”

Kaleth smile fell, and he removed his hand. “What do you mean?”

If Mel had eyebrows, they’d definitely be raised right now. “What do I…? You’re so much angrier and more violent than you used to be. It’s not right. You….” Mel lowered his head and looked away. “You shouldn’t be like this.”

There was a deathly silence for a moment, and Mel hated every second of it. He kept waiting for Kaleth to yell at him. But when Kaleth finally spoke, his voice was soft. So soft, in fact, that it would be hard to understand him if Mel hadn’t had better hearing.

“I’m the same I’ve always been. I’m just stronger,” he replied, making sure to say it in a way to show Mel this wasn’t up for discussion. “And even if what you’re saying were true, it would be a small price to pay to end this war.”

Mel frowned, feeling very confused. Why would Kaleth think killing Irif would end the war? That wouldn’t be enough for Relioth, would it?

“No, that’s not how—no, Relioth wants to destroy the entire Empire. I told you that,” Mel protested, shaking his head.

“And how do you know that? Mereria told you?”

Mel hesitated.

“She lies even more than Relioth, just to get what she wants from you. To manipulate you,” Kaleth told him, and all Mel could do was gape in shock. No, what Kaleth was saying wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. Relioth was the one who lied and manipulated. Maybe Mereria didn’t tell them everything, but she didn’t manipulate them. Did she?

“All Relioth wants to do is kill Irif, and then he’ll leave.”

How could it be this simple? It couldn’t be this simple, otherwise Mel would have changed sides a long time ago. Relioth wanted to kill all Iritharians, that was how it worked.

“What do you mean? Leave to where?” Mel asked shakily, desperately trying to push away the existential dread that came with questioning his entire life.

“He’s going to look for what’s left of his people,” Kaleth explained. “He didn’t tell me much about that. I don’t think he likes talking about it. But he has a spaceship.”

Mel could only stare at him. What was he supposed to say to that? He hadn’t even thought traveling to another planet was possible. Thinking about it now, though, it sounded amazing. Still, Mel had no idea how Relioth was hoping to find his people in space. Weren’t the Eternals his people? Wasn’t Mel one of his people?

“On a more personal note,” Kaleth said suddenly, changing the subject. Mel wondered why he didn’t want to talk about this. But maybe Kaleth himself didn’t know that much about Relioth’s interstellar plans. “Are you familiar with the concept of a soul bond?”

Mel just shook his head.

“I see. I wasn’t either,” Kaleth said, sounding a little uncomfortable. “To put it simply, it’s a bond between two Eternal psyches. Relioth, uh, informed me that the two of us seemed to have…created one of these bonds.”

“Okay…” Mel said, unsure what to think. “So, what does that mean?”

“We’re interconnected. Basically, our telepathic abilities are much more potent when it comes to communication between us. It, uh, has certain negative effects as well, though.”

Mel’s ears drooped a little. Being able to talk to Kaleth over long distances sounded great, but of course there was a catch.

“Like what?”

Kaleth sighed. “If we stay out of contact for a longer amount of time…well, I’m sure you’ve felt lonely or sad for no apparent reason over the month we haven’t seen each other.”

Mel couldn’t really say that he had felt like that. Well, he had felt sad and lonely, but he knew very well why. Then again, he had felt lighter since he’d been reunited with Kaleth, more so than he’d been expecting. Was that bond the reason behind that?

“Can…can it be broken?” Mel asked, but he immediately regretted it after seeing how disappointed it made Kaleth.

“No,” Kaleth replied, his shoulders sagging. “I’m sorry.”

The guilty tone made Mel’s heart hurt. Kaleth was probably thinking Mel didn’t want this, but that wasn’t at all what Mel had meant. He had just wanted to know as much as he could about this bond, not because he wanted to break it.

“No, no, don’t be sorry,” Mel said quickly, trying to fix this. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s okay, Mel, really. I understand. I just wish I could fix this.”

The Eternal frowned, suddenly feeling a little annoyed. Even though like this Kaleth scared him a bit, Mel just couldn’t let that go without saying something. “Why do you always assume other people don’t want to have anything to do with you?”

Kaleth seemed taken aback by the question, but he managed to mask his surprise very quickly.

“I don’t—”

“Yes, you do,” Mel interrupted him, taking a step closer to Kaleth. “I saw what you’re like the moment I met you, remember?”

Kaleth mouth formed a thin line, but he didn’t really look angry. Mostly just tired. “If I wanted to be psychoanalyzed, I’d just go see my therapist.”

“Maybe you should,” Mel said, nodding his head approvingly. “That might help.”

Kaleth’s gaze softened, and he gave Mel a slightly sad but fond smile. “I was only joking, Mel.”

Oh. Well, it would still be a good idea. Kaleth clearly didn’t express his feelings enough. And now, for some reason, he was blocking Mel from looking into his head. Not that Mel would do that without permission, but it was hard not to notice when every time he looked at Kaleth, Mel could feel an invisible barrier shielding his mind.

Relioth must have taught him that, Mel thought, suddenly feeling a bit bitter. He frowned when he realized that. He barely ever felt that way.

“Despite the way you got here,” Kaleth suddenly said, smiling at Mel softly, “I’m…glad you’re here.”

It seemed like it had been really difficult for Kaleth to say this, but that only made Mel happier. He swung his tail around and put his head on Kaleth’s shoulder, hugging him with his wings. It wasn’t the same, though—not as good.

“I wish I had hands,” Mel mumbled, and Kaleth laughed. That sound alone made Mel’s heart flip. Mel shut his eyes in content as he felt Kaleth’s arms envelop his neck.

Maybe being here, even though he would most likely be forced to help Relioth, wouldn’t be so bad. Mel just wished he could make sure Rayni, and everyone else for that matter, was okay.