Page 17 of The Last Syphon

At least they were all having a good time.

Sayduh, the designated beauty of Deadhaven, was making her way over to them. With long, thick, honey-coloured hair, blue eyes, fair skin, and a beautiful, curvy build, she was the one everyone wanted to be with. Sayduh could have her pick of anyone in the village, and yet, she only wanted Felix. Not that the big brute even noticed.

“Sayduh. Hi.” Inara greeted her.

“Hello,” she returned warmly. Her eyes moved to Felix, who was busy chomping down on the rat—none too gracefully, Inara might add—and her face reddened. “H-hi, Felix.”

“What’s going on, Sayduh?” he mumbled, mouth full.

“Come, sit. Join us.” Inara signalled for her to take the empty seat on Felix’s other side.

The woman smiled nervously and sat down, her white dress flaring out around her as she tucked her bare feet underneath her.

An awkward silence filled the air.

“How was your day?” Inara asked, engaging her in conversation in the hopes of making her feel more comfortable.

“It was okay. Nowhere near as exciting as the day you have had, though. It must have been quite an adventure, flying on the back of a dragon.”

Felix shuddered. “It was the worst! We’re not meant to be in the air. Our feet belong on the ground.” He pointed to the earth enthusiastically. “The ground.”

Inara thumped him on the back of the head. “She knows where the ground is, you idiot.” She offered Sayduh a friendly smile. “Ignore him. He can be such a wuss sometimes.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” she said, looking at him with hearts in her eyes. “I’m sure, in the face of danger, you are incredibly brave.”

Felix and Inara looked at each other. They burst out laughing at the same time. She felt a little bad about it because Sayduh’s face turned bright red with embarrassment.

“I’m s-sorry, Sayduh. We’re not laughing at you, I swear. We’re laughing at him because Felix is the farthest thing from brave.”

“Hey! I take offence to that. I wasn’t the one running away when that pack of coyotes was chasing us.”

Inara gave him a deadpan look. “Your leg was caught in a snare. You couldn’t run away.”

He winked at Sayduh. “Semantics.”

She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. Honestly, how can he not see how enamoured she is with him?

“Don’t laugh at his jokes too much,” Inara whispered to her. “He’ll start to think he’s funnier than he actually is.” She got to her feet, wiping the dust from her black pants. “I’m going to turn in. Got to be up early in the morn.”

So I can leave before everyone wakes up.

Especially Felix.

He couldn’t know her plans. Otherwise, he would want to go with her. Inara loved him far too much to put that on him. Not the kind of love you’re probably thinking of. It was more of a platonic kind of love. They’d tried it once, to see if there was perhaps something more between them, but they’d both agreed it didn’t feel right.

Felix narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He was well aware of the fact that she was not an early riser. She was more of a midday-to-late-eve riser. But before he could say what was on his mind, Sayduh spoke.

“Actually, Inara, I did need to discuss something with you.” She wrung her fingers together, nervousness vibrating from her. “The other villagers…Well…They⁠—”

“They want me to leave,” she guessed.

“No! No, no, no. Not you,” she rushed out. “The, uh…The dragon. They’re worried about the Crowned Family coming to the Borderlands to reclaim the beast. They want it gone.”

Inara couldn’t really blame them for that. No one wanted a visit from the Arelian Army—or worse, the Crowned Prince himself, rumoured to be the most dangerous man in all three kingdoms.

“I’ll handle it,” was all she said. She couldn’t give too many details, or she would run the risk of Felix trying to follow her.

She hated the idea of leaving him behind. Even worse, she hated the idea of leaving him without saying goodbye. But she had to. She trusted that he could take care of the village without her.