Beyond the Flame by Parris Sheets

Author:Parris Sheets
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: teen and young adult, fantasy, epic fantasy, ya fantasy
Publisher: Evolved Publishing LLC
Published: 2022-05-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Piper’s stomach growled. Her throat rubbed together with each swallow, choked her as if she’d gulped down a lump full of sand. The good thing about traveling without humans meant they had no need for rest stops. Piper and her divine companions hadn’t eaten, drunk, or slept for two days. Sure, she felt the drain accumulating in her muscles, but her body proved more resilient than any human. The gods, though, would outlast her half-blood lineage. Where she could likely go without sustenance for a week at most, they could probably double that in their human forms if needed. Which is why she hated to be the one to pause their trek.

“I need time.” Piper dropped her pack and settled on a drier patch of grass in the marshland.

Russé stopped without a word, set his things down, and began rummaging through his pack. Issira responded similarly—silent—yet she remained standing, an anxious eye on the horizon. The annoyed grunt came from Obell, as Piper had expected. The Red Soul paced back and forth as Russé handed Piper a scrap of bread.

“Why not be useful, dear brother,” Issira directed to Obell. “The girl must be cold.”

“She is no girl,” he snapped back.

“And you are no man.” Piper tore into the stale bread, her stomach growling loud as an earthquake, but she took her time to eat. Though she may be a demigod, some human annoyances plagued her body, such as reintroducing food too fast in such a hungered state. The bread went down with a struggle, catching on her dry throat. Her eyes teared up as the crust cut its way deeper.

It was true, though. Her body looked young. Not exactly as young as Kole. Perhaps a handful of years older. Late teens, early twenties. But she had been alive far longer than that. The older she got, the longer it took to see any changes in her body or face. It came from the Soul’s blood in her veins. Though what it meant for her in the long run, she’d only know as she experienced it. No other demigod existed.

A heavy wind built. Thick clouds darkened the sky, sounding off rolls of thunder. The soft plops of rain surrounded Piper, yet no water pricked her skin. Without looking up from her bread, she knew Issira was at work.

The small storm chilled her. Her body shivered. Though the cold held no actual threat to her, the dropping temperature still annoyed her. Piper tried her best to shrug it off like she had her growing hunger and thirst. To her surprise, as she chewed, the air around her warmed. Obell had stopped his pacing and stood a couple meters away, though he refused to look at her, as if warming her up had been more a happenstance than an intentional decision. Piper let herself smile before sinking her teeth in the dry bread.

“Russé, your waterskin.” Issira held out an expectant hand. Once Russé passed it over, Issira circled a finger toward the downpour.

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