Sulphur & Lightning Chapter 10: 009 - Onye Kwe Chi ya Ekwe

Read chapter 10 of Sulphur & Lightning by anaugustauthor on NovelPedia.

“You’re a coward,” she had said. The pair was standing outside the entrance of her castle as he bowed in farewell to the heiress. “Obviously.” “Aren’t Lycans meant to be brave?” “I don’t know… I cannot carry the expectations of a whole race on my shoulders; I just want to live.” “You’re also a liar.” At this, he turned and gave an inquiring look at the smartly dressed Goblin scion. “You don’t want to live. You’re content with scraping on the floor like some insect; that’s not life.” “Thank you for your instruction, young mistress.” He wasn’t going to argue the point. “Wait!” Her command maintained its absoluteness to him, and despite his eagerness to escape, he did as she said and faced her. Despite his acute vision, he found himself rubbing his eyes to make sure he was seeing rightly. She held a small, orange dumpling in her hand. It was a Goblin delicacy called okpa, and he had developed quite a weakness for it in his years away from home. “Share this meal with me,” she said, her eyes staring fixedly into his as she did, not allowing him his usual levity when pushed on certain matters. “And then what?” he asked, his brows furrowed and lips stretched out in one strict line. “What exactly will us sharing a meal do? It does not affect the reality of our lives—you're used to getting your way, young mistress, but the gods are even more used to getting theirs.” “Share it with me,” she insisted. He had almost needed to grab his hand to stop it from reaching out for it. His place in this world had literally been beaten into his hide since he was a child. Even desiring anything different was a transgression. In the present, he let his inner heart be known through a single sigh. Needless to say, he had not taken her up on her offer. As he stared at the damp ceiling above him, he wondered if this was enough. Was he telling the truth when he said he was okay with this type of life? Leave it to her to stir up these thoughts. This was one of the many reasons he had avoided her: he had decided to be content with his lot, though he found it difficult. Why did she have to mess it all up? The soft tread of well-clad feet stirred the young Lycan from his idling, and he turned to find that his father had arrived next to him. He stood up rapidly and performed the standard greeting without flaw but half-heartedly. Cardinal responded in a similarly stiff manner but put his hands on his shoulders as he observed him from head to toe. The warmth that poured through the young boy told him that this wasn’t just an avatar but the real deal this time. Although his father was certainly more than powerful enough to simulate such a thing if he were so inclined. His father. This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The term carried with it some almost desolate distance, as, despite the fact of their definite resemblance, the man before him was almost a stranger. This was the first time they had seen each other face-to-face in five years. “How was the journey home?” he asked tentatively. Glad for the chance to say something, Elijah went into almost excruciating detail about the mostly unremarkable trip while the man in front of him listened raptly like it was the most interesting narrative he had ever heard. Despite his efforts, though, recounting the boring trip could last only a few minutes, and he knew that his dad had already seen the fight earlier. Thus, they were cast into an awkward silence once more. It was through this oppressively awkward atmosphere that the sound of gentle laughter cut through, and all of a sudden, the giant lifted his son up and looked at him up and down. “I can’t believe you’ve grown so much,” he said with his grey eyes glowing with pure delight. “And I don’t just mean physically. You’re a verified fighting machine, and you did all that without a weapon. Amazing!” The switch from awkwardness to uncharacteristic warmness was quite too much for Elijah to handle, and he just stared daz