Chapter 139: Light On His Palms.
"Are we going to get there quickly?" Lior asks, swinging his legs from the edge of the bed as he watches Ezra move around the tent, gathering their things.
"Hm. I’m not sure. We might get there by morning," Ezra answers, folding the last of their belongings before placing them neatly into the bag.
He pauses for a second after that, taking a quiet breath he didn’t realize he needed.
Ezra and Lior were back in their tent, and everything felt oddly calm compared to everything that had happened just hours ago.
They were leaving soon, as soon as everything was settled outside, so they could reach Sunspire by daylight.
"That sounds tiring," Lior says with a small sigh, his shoulders slumping a little.
Ezra lets out a soft chuckle at that as he walks over, the tension in his chest easing just a bit.
He scoops Lior up from the bed and settles down with him, placing the child on his lap.
Lior immediately shifts closer, pressing himself against Ezra’s chest and wrapping his arms around him without hesitation.
’My clingy, adorable, little son.’
"Before we go, I have to talk to you, Lior," Ezra whispers, resting his chin on top of Lior’s head as he holds him a little tighter.
"Uh-huh," Lior hums softly, as if he already knows this is important.
"First... how are you?" Ezra asks quietly, his fingers moving gently through Lior’s hair. "I feel like you moved on too quickly from what happened earlier, little one."
Lior goes quiet for a moment, and Ezra feels the small shift in his body before he answers.
"Oh." Lior takes a small breath. "I... am sad. A little." His voice softens, not as light as before. "I still feel like... the bad men might take me again... but..."
He pauses, thinking. "I keep thinking about what Kakay said... I know Maman will always save me. I know Maman... I know you will always save me."
Ezra’s arms tighten around him just a bit.
"Yes," Ezra whispers, his voice warmer now, softer. "I will always save you. My brave boy. You’re such a brave and smart boy."
Lior giggles, the sound small but genuine. "I know. I’m very smart. I was very brave."
"You were," Ezra murmurs, though his expression shifts slightly after that.
There’s something else sitting in his chest, something he hasn’t fully let go of yet. "Do you still think I’m a monster?"
Lior doesn’t hesitate this time.
He immediately shakes his head, his grip tightening on Ezra’s clothes. "No! You... you saved me, Maman. You’re not a monster. You were just my Maman."
Ezra’s chest tightens, but not in a painful way this time.
Something softer.
Something that almost makes it hard to breathe for a completely different reason.
’He doesn’t see me that way anymore...’
For a moment, Ezra thinks about Kaelis. About what he said earlier. About how Lior looks at him now.
He still hates him.
But...
’...that helped.’
"I love you, little one," Ezra whispers, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of Lior’s head.
"I love you lots and lots, Maman," Lior whispers back, his voice muffled slightly against Ezra’s chest.
Ezra lets the moment stay.
He lets himself feel it.
The warmth. The relief.
The quiet kind of happiness that he almost lost earlier.
He lets it linger longer than he usually would, as if holding onto it just a bit tighter might make everything else easier.
But eventually, reality settles back in.
After a few minutes, Ezra takes a slow breath.
There was still something he needed to ask.
"Lior," Ezra says softly, shifting just enough so Lior can look up at him.
"Yes, Maman?"
Ezra hesitates, just for a second.
’How do I even ask this...?’
"Ricardo mentioned something before he died..." Ezra begins carefully. "He said the real reason why the... shadows... the bad men ran away was because you used..."
He pauses again, choosing his words more carefully this time. "...light from your hands."
Lior blinks.
Ezra watches him closely now.
"Y-Yes... I was waiting to tell you... my..." Ezra hears Lior say in a small whisper as he pulls away from the hug.
Lior lifts his hands, showing them to Ezra like it was something important, something he had been holding in.
"My hands had light on them! And the bad shadow man who tried to take me got smoke!"
Ezra’s eyes immediately drop to Lior’s hands, his attention sharpening despite how calm he tries to look.
"It burnt them?" he asks, his voice quieter now.
"Uh huh!" Lior nods quickly, like he was proud he managed to do something, even if he didn’t fully understand it.
Ezra’s expression tightens just a little.
’So they really know that he has golden blood.’
"Did you tell anyone else about it?" Ezra asks, his tone careful, almost too careful.
Lior shakes his head right away. "I remember you told me if anything new happens to me... I will only tell you."
Ezra stills for a moment, then lets out a soft breath he didn’t realize he was holding.
’So that’s why he lied earlier.’
A small smile forms on his face as he looks down at Lior, something warmer settling in his chest again.
"You really are my clever little boy," he murmurs. "That’s good. You can’t tell anyone about it, okay? Not even Kaelis."
"Okay, Maman," Lior says without hesitation.
"Do you promise?" Ezra lifts his pinkie slightly.
Lior immediately hooks his own pinkie around Ezra’s, his face lighting up just a bit despite everything that happened earlier. "Pinkie promise!"
Ezra lets out a chuckle, but it doesn’t fully reach his chest.
"Good," he whispers.
"But Maman..." Lior tilts his head, his expression shifting again into curiosity. "What was that light?"
Ezra pauses.
Just for a second.
’How do I explain this...?’
"Oh, uh..." Ezra glances around instinctively, even though they are alone inside the tent.
His voice lowers. "I’ll tell you once we’re home, okay? We can’t risk anyone overhearing. This is just like your eyes. If anyone finds out, they might try to take you."
"They already tried," Lior mumbles, his voice quieter now, more aware than before. Then he nods. "But okay! I understand."
Silence settles between them after that.
Lior looks like he’s thinking, his small brows slightly furrowed as if trying to piece things together in his own way.
Ezra, on the other hand, is already spiraling through possibilities.
’How am I going to explain this to him...?’
His hand continues to rest against Lior’s back, almost grounding himself.
’It’s not just the Sunlight Rays...’
Lior had used it instinctively. No training. No guidance.
And that wasn’t even the only thing.
’He’s been dreaming things before they happen...’
Ezra exhales slowly.
Helios had mentioned it before. As children, they struggled to control their abilities, which came out strongest when emotions were unstable.
Fear.
Panic.
Desperation.
Anger.
’He activated it because he was scared.’
Ezra’s grip on Lior tightens just a bit.
’If it happens again...’
He doesn’t even finish the thought.
’I won’t be able to hide it forever.’
That truth sits heavy in his chest.
Because it wasn’t just about hiding it from the world.
It was about hiding it from the wrong people.
’And from them.’
From the cultists.
From anyone who might see Lior as something other than a child.
’And what was that about...?’
Ezra’s thoughts shift, recalling what Lior said earlier.
’They scolded Ricardo...’
That part still didn’t make sense.
Why would they care about what Ricardo did to him?
"Are we going back with Kakay?"
Ezra blinks, pulled out of his thoughts as he looks down at Lior, who was now staring at him again.
"Yes, we are," Ezra answers, though his brows furrow slightly. "Why?"
"Kakay’s a lot funny," Lior says, his tone light again, like the earlier fear had been pushed aside for now. "Are we going to ride in the big moving horse thingy with him?"
"You mean a carriage?"
"That’s what I said."
Ezra lets out a small chuckle, shaking his head lightly. "Yes, we are."
It wasn’t ideal.
They didn’t have the luxury to use multiple resources, not with everything that just happened, so they would have to share one carriage.
The horses would be limited too. Butterfly, Kaelis’ horse, and two others to keep the pace steady through the night.
One footman.
Not much else.
’We’re a little too exposed, but...’
Ezra’s gaze drifts slightly, his thoughts already moving ahead of him, weighing what little options they had and what each one could cost.
He knew this wasn’t ideal, not with how everything had unfolded, not with what they now knew about Lior.
But there wasn’t much choice.
And right now, the only thing that mattered was getting Lior somewhere safer.
’Somewhere I can think, and it would just be me and—’
"Knock, knock. Captain, you in there?"
Ezra stilled.
The voice broke through his thoughts cleanly, pulling him back to the present in an instant.
"Huh?" Lior looks up at him, confused, but Ezra was already looking at the tent’s closed flaps, his expression shifting slightly as he recognized the voice.
"Prince Aurien?"