"Nova?" she was asked.
She looked down at her hand and the foreign blood on it. For a brief moment she froze, while fragments of the memories from that day flickered through her mind.
The massive shadow. Her burning wound. The destruction and her cherished friend whose cracked voice called her name as he tried to shake her awake.
"Nova?" she was asked again, this time in a higher tone.
She blinked several times and replied:
"Hm? What?"
"I asked if you can heal him," Rinniz repeated.
Her amber eyes studied Nova.
Nova drew a quiet breath through her mouth and answered:
"O-of course."
She turned toward Ayaz, who sat several arm lengths away from the campfire. Both his hands were wrapped around his blood-smeared calf. His features were twisted in pain. The moment he noticed Nova looking at him, he flinched and paled.
"No, are you insane? You need to stay away, it is far too dangerous!" he shouted.
"Darling, your leg is terribly injured. You cannot keep walking like that. It was already hard enough getting you here without touching you. How are we supposed to get you back at all?" Rinniz said softly. She leaned slightly toward him, upon which Ayaz slid farther away and shook his head frantically.
Nova exchanged a glance with Rinniz before fixing her eyes again on Ayaz's injured leg. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.
"We will have to manage somehow… I have had to treat myself often enough. If it cannot be helped, then leave me behind," he rasped and pulled down the trouser leg he had rolled up, his trembling hands hiding the golden glowing spots.
Nova and Rinniz protested at the same time:
"No!"
I will never leave anyone behind again, flashed through Nova's mind, her lips pressed tightly together.
"You can relax, I do not have to—" Nova began to explain.
But Ayaz cut her off and emphasized his point by slicing his arm through the air:
"Several years ago I saw healing magic once. That is why I know you have to touch the other person to heal them…"
Ayaz's voice failed him. He looked down at the ground and clenched his fists.
"I cannot do that to Nova," he continued, addressing Rinniz, "You know what happens when…"
Again he fell silent.
How much I wished I could free him from it so he could live a normal life, Nova thought. Yet even something as rare as her healing magic was powerless against his condition.
Nova lifted her chin slightly, put on a faint smile and assured him:
"That is normally the case, yes. But my healing magic has a completely different origin. Contact is not necessary for me to heal you."
"What…? But how…?" he asked, a crease forming between his brows.
Rinniz stretched her hands out in front of her and moved them up and down. Then she said:
"See? Please listen to Nova and let her help you. You must be in terrible pain."
Her eyes shimmered in the light of the fire.
Nova nodded in agreement and waited for Ayaz's answer. He let out a quiet groan as he bent his leg and finally gave in:
"Let us try it."
After straightening her back, Nova knelt down. Ayaz immediately raised a warning finger and insisted:
"You stay right where you are. Just to be safe."
"Promise," Nova replied.
While Ayaz sat opposite her, tense and rigid, Nova closed her eyelids and exhaled slowly.
It has been a while. I hope my magic obeys me.
The cold mountain air brushed against her skin. Only the distant howl of the wind, which whipped the snow around outside, reached her ears.
Snowstorms were nothing unusual in this region. Nova liked the sound. It slowed her pulse and eased her tired muscles.
Warmth spread through her. Tiny impulses, causing a soft tingling, ran through her veins. A part of her own warmth flowed from her body.
Her two traveling companions audibly held their breath, a sign that it had worked.
She opened her eyes.
Their makeshift shelter was now bathed in a different light. The warm glow of the fire beside her faded in comparison to the thousands of small greenish white points dancing through the air. They left faint, softly sizzling trails behind them. The delicate flickering reminded her of the night sky full of stars. A sight that never failed to bring a smile to Nova's face.
Rinniz's mouth hung slightly open while Ayaz instinctively pulled his legs closer to himself, even though the movement made him flinch in pain.
"This is really beautiful, Nova, but how is this supposed to help Ayaz?" Rinniz asked and reached toward one of the lights. When her claw touched it, it burst into many tiny sparks before fading completely.
Nova explained calmly:
"As I said before, my healing magic is very special."
With a hand gesture Rinniz signaled her to continue.
When Nova looked at Ayaz, his shoulders tensed. He was trembling visibly.
"It is all right. Nothing will happen. Touch one of the lights whenever you are ready. The healing will only work if you accept it," Nova coaxed him gently. She slid back a little to signal that she would not come any closer.
He already had it hard enough. The deep, golden glowing grooves that marked his face and parts of his body reminded her of it every single time. The glow was especially pronounced on his hands and feet. Nova had seen him often enough without gloves or shoes. There, his natural sand-colored complexion had been completely pushed aside.
Ayaz hesitated. Both Nova and Rinniz waited in silence. Rinniz watched the dancing lights with a brightened expression.
"You are absolutely sure…?" Ayaz croaked. He reached out a cautious hand but did not dare to actually touch the light.
Nova nodded and met his gaze firmly.
His Adam's apple rose and fell as he swallowed visibly. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away as he touched one of the sparkling lights.
Just like with Rinniz, it burst into tiny fragments. But instead of fading, they traveled along his arm and made their way down into his injured leg. The light enveloped the wound completely.
Ayaz drew in a sharp breath through his teeth, as if afraid it might hurt. But Nova had used this healing on herself many times. She knew very well that it dispelled any pain and replaced it with a pleasant, tingling sensation.
Ayaz's pain-twisted face relaxed instantly. His shoulders sank and even his posture grew looser.
There was a soft cracking as the bones in his leg shifted and the twisted limb was set right again, as if by magic.
Rinniz had leaned forward eagerly and now settled back down, placing one relieved hand over her heart.
Ayaz's open wound closed within moments, as though someone had turned back time. Not even a scar or the tiniest scratch remained.
The sparks lifted away from Ayaz's leg and drifted through the room before fading with a quiet crackle.
Nova moved closer to the fire and rubbed her upper arms. Her pulse had quickened noticeably, but it had been worth it.
Ayaz rotated his ankle slowly. He blinked rapidly and stood up. Without hesitation he put weight on the leg that had so recently been broken, now restored to what it had been before. Only a few traces of blood remained.
With a wide grin he turned to Nova:
"Incredible! Thank you so much, Nova!"
Rinniz, who was sitting cross-legged, rested an elbow on her knee and propped her head on it.
With her eyebrows raised, she sighed:
"We have been traveling with Nova for two years, and yet we know nothing about her."
Nova glanced down for a moment, but then Rinniz nudged her and added with a smile:
"You really live up to your title."
For a brief moment Nova's breath caught. At the same time a fleeting heat flared in her cheeks.
Before she could respond, Rinniz grabbed a light, dry piece of wood she had not yet fed to the fire and tossed it at the back of Ayaz's head with little force.
Ayaz flinched when it hit him. He rubbed the spot and glared at his beloved with his mouth pulled downward.
With his lower lip pushed forward he grumbled:
"What was that for?"
"For your carelessness, of course. Next time listen to us when we tell you not to go so close to the edge," she scolded, placing her hands on her hips.
Ayaz threw Nova a pleading look, but she only lifted her hands and smiled at him while shaking her head.
Sorry, she tried to tell him without words, but you brought this on yourself.
His eyebrows immediately dropped, which told her the message had come across clearly.
Ayaz took a few steps back until he was almost against the stone wall and sat down on the hard, frosty ground with his back to Nova and Rinniz.
Nova could not see his face anymore, but she knew him well enough to recognize that he was sulking.
She sighed inwardly and glanced sideways at Rinniz. After all, this was something between the two of them.
With effort Nova suppressed a smirk. They really were quite sweet together.
Rinniz's eyes narrowed, which made Nova quickly look away and rub her neck.
"You are lucky that all you did was break your leg when you hit the ground. With a bit of bad luck you could have broken your neck," Rinniz scolded her sweetheart at last.
But he did not react and snorted to himself.
With a sigh, but in a soft voice, she added:
"I just worry, that is all."
Although Nova did not take part in the conversation, she found herself smiling again.
Ayaz glanced over his shoulder and beamed.
Out of the corner of her eye Nova noticed Rinniz quickly turning her face away. The purple skin on her cheeks darkened a little.
"Do not grin like that. Or I will throw more wood at you and your thick skull," Rinniz laughed.
Ayaz returned to the fire and sat down. Humming quietly, he pulled a thick woolen sock over his foot, then slipped into his shoe.
Nova stood up, staggered for a heartbeat because her legs had fallen asleep, and walked a few steps to shake off the tingling. Meanwhile she folded her arms and nestled into the soft fur of her jacket. She clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering too loudly.
When she turned around to walk back the way she had just come, someone held a knitted scarf up in front of her face.
She blinked past the scarf. Rinniz smiled at her warmly and said:
"You are freezing. Take it already. I do not need it."
Nova moved her hand toward the scarf but stopped just short of touching it.
Rinniz's eyebrows lifted. She tilted her chin slightly downward and looked up at Nova through her long lashes.
Nova accepted the scarf gratefully and wrapped it around her neck.
Rinniz sat back down in her spot.
Nova, however, glanced toward the cave entrance. They had been truly lucky that they had found it before the storm grew too severe.
In this icy wasteland, a sudden snowstorm could quickly become deadly.
How long had they been wandering through this frozen desert again? Two weeks? Considering the supplies in their packs, they would have to turn back soon.
Nova stared at her feet. Her fingers clenched into the thick fabric of her jacket.
In a muted voice she heard Rinniz speak:
"I am so sorry. It does not look like we are going to find him this time."
"It is all right. Maybe next time," Nova replied, sat down beside Rinniz, and forced a smile.
But in truth she felt a sharp pain in her heart.
Nearly ten days later Nova and her companions reached the city of Uzhak, the northwesternmost city of the country that had not yet fallen victim to the ice.
Nova's back was slightly bent forward as she walked, and Rinniz and Ayaz also seemed almost crushed under the weight of their backpacks.
Ah, this is that entrance… Nova thought as she came to an abrupt halt. Her throat tightened as she looked up.
Nova had completely forgotten that she was standing here. That statue. Carved from pale stone and worn by wind and weather. Yet it had stood firm and unwavering for two hundred and seventy-four years. Just like on the very first day.
The outlines were very familiar to Nova. Even if it was only a statue, her heart beat faster for a moment.
The loving, round face had been captured well by the sculptor, in her opinion. It was a likeness of Marceline, known as 'the Great'. Her friend. Her companion. But now she was gone. Just like all the others.
And every time she saw her, Nova fell into a deep, endless pit from which she could not climb out for a long time.
Despite wearing a winter coat and even though the climate was mild compared to the ice desert, a cold shiver ran down her spine.
Behind her she heard Ayaz murmur:
"We really should have taken the other city gate. The one without the statue. Every time she makes that face. It breaks my heart."
Nova sighed and scolded herself inwardly for causing them pain.
"I did not think of it," Rinniz replied through clenched teeth, "It must be hard for her. Being forced to keep living for nearly three hundred years while her friends and family…"
Rinniz fell silent abruptly. Nova's expression tightened slightly.
Ayaz responded to her, but his words dissolved into the background noise.
Nova's fingers brushed over the cold surface of the pedestal.
I miss her so much.
Just as she was about to join Ayaz and Rinniz, an unfamiliar voice asked her:
"An impressive memorial, is it not?"
Nova flinched and looked around for the voice. Beside her stood an older man. Had he been there the entire time? She had not noticed anyone at the statue earlier.
He had his hands clasped behind his back and was gazing up at the statue. There was a gleam in his eyes.
"She gave her life to save many others. Without her the world would look very different," he said with a nod.
"Yes…" Nova replied, shifting her gaze back to the statue. She stood beside the stranger for quite a while without exchanging another word.
Later at the inn Nova, Ayaz and Rinniz sat together for dinner. The place was bustling with activity. The scent of fresh food and alcohol hung in the air. The people around them were engaged in lively conversations. The many overlapping voices crashed into Nova and caused a painful throb in her ear. She took a deep breath and focused only on the people at her table.
Rinniz said something funny, which made Ayaz laugh. Nova had not been listening, but she forced herself to lift the corners of her mouth for a moment. Although her stomach was growling, she only prodded at her stew.
Eventually Ayaz set his spoon aside and addressed Nova hesitantly:
"Not finding him hit you hard again, did it? And to make matters worse the statue brought back old memories, did it not?"
A small crease formed between Nova's brows and her fingers tightened around the spoon in her hand.
Rinniz joined in with a warm undertone:
"You know, we are aware that you have been through a lot and would rather forget the past, but you cannot run from everything forever. Maybe…"
She paused for a moment and stared at her food as if she had to sort her thoughts first.
Then she continued:
"I know, I know. We have been pestering you about this for a long time. I just think it might do you good if you confided in someone. If you do not want to talk to us about it, you do not have to."
"But if you ever do, we are here for you," Ayaz added, leaning forward as he looked Nova in the eyes.
Nova bit her lip.
Damn…
Rinniz had said exactly what Nova absolutely did not want to hear. Of course she was right and Nova knew it. Still, she did not want to burden anyone with it. And besides, she was not sure if she was strong enough to face what she had been through. Almost three hundred years had passed and she still could not handle her emotions. How old did she have to get? It was disgusting.
She set down her spoon, leaned back in her chair and sighed. Then she looked at the guests talking at the other tables.
Nova's eyelids grew heavier and heavier once the sun had set. She could no longer follow Rinniz and Ayaz's conversation because she kept nodding off.
She got up, said goodnight to her friends and trudged to her room. Then she let herself fall onto the soft bed, which felt as soft as a cloud after all those nights in the wilderness. She exhaled slowly and stretched out her arms and legs. But the sound of the wind that had rocked her to sleep day after day was missing. In her room it was quiet. Too quiet.
For hours she tossed and turned in her bed. Whenever her eyes drifted shut, old memories flashed before her. Familiar faces that made her heart stumble. Voices she had not heard in centuries. And then all the suffering. Blood, destruction, pain, death. But there had also been happy times, when they had laughed. When they had simply been able to be who they were. When they had been allowed to live in peace.
Nova sighed again.
She decided to take a walk. Maybe that would help her finally fall asleep. When she slept, she usually did not dream. That was exactly what she needed right now.
So she wandered through the city without aim, admired the architecture that had changed over the past decades, breathed in the fresh summer air and enjoyed the fact that hardly anyone was out on the streets.
An hour later she found herself standing before the same statue again.
How… did I end up here?
She brushed the copper-red strands out of her face and looked up at Marceline. Her hands curled into fists.
What would she think of her if she knew she had failed to find him? Would she have been disappointed? Just like back then, when they had fallen out?
Nova's jaw tightened.
"Why did you leave me alone…" Nova whispered.
Marceline's eyes suddenly seemed accusatory to her. As if she were looking down at her and saying: Why can you not get it right?
It is only a statue. Just a few stones, nothing more.
She stared at her feet. A pleasant breeze refreshed the summer night. The trees began to rustle.
A faint snort escaped her. What were the chances she would ever find him?
"Maybe it is better if I give up," Nova rasped, "No one knows if he is even alive. And I do not know if I can handle it if he is not."
She gazed at the statue for a while as if waiting for an answer.
If only she had been stronger. Then she could have prevented so much.
Softly she added:
"Could I not?"
She spread her arms with her palms facing the statue while her shoulders tensed.
No reaction. Nothing else to expect.
Nova let her shoulders drop. Even though she had not received an answer, a part of the weight that had rested on her heart for years fell away. Not much. But better than nothing.
"I knew she was starting to go senile," Nova suddenly heard a familiar voice whisper.
Nova's mouth curved downward.
"Be quiet, you idiot," someone else hissed. Another voice she knew well.
Nova raised an eyebrow.
"And what exactly are you two doing here?" Nova asked sharply and shot Rinniz and Ayaz, who stood behind her, a dark look. She turned slightly toward them.
Then Nova crossed her arms in front of her chest as if she were a mother scolding her children.
"It is not nice to eavesdrop on people," she scolded in the same manner.
The two of them looked away with tightly pressed lips.
"Also… who exactly is supposed to be senile here?" Nova asked in a higher tone.
Rinniz suppressed a laugh by covering her mouth with her hand.
Ayaz replied:
"How should I know? You are the one talking to stones here."
Nova could not help but laugh as well. The two of them were trying to cheer her up… and damn. It was working.
Ayaz, too, could not help but beam from ear to ear.
The pair stepped closer. For a while they stood there in silence.
Eventually Rinniz glanced over at Nova, let one arm hang loosely and wrapped it with her free hand. After a deep breath she wanted to know:
"What was she actually like?"
Her gaze also drifted to Marceline's statue.
Nova opened her mouth only to close it again right away. Her thoughts raced without pause. Neither back then nor now had the world appreciated her sacrifice. They might have been given the hero's title, but apart from that very few people paid the old heroes any respect. So why should she talk about her friends, whom the world had trampled underfoot?
But now she had the two of them in front of her. In the two years she had traveled with them, not once had they spoken ill of the heroes. There had often been something like admiration in Ayaz's eyes when the topic came up. And their closeness did not bother Nova, unlike all the others out there. With Rinniz and Ayaz she could finally breathe again. After so long.
Did they not deserve the truth? Did they not deserve to meet the real Nova, so they could understand why she was the way she was? Did she not owe them that?
She drew in a sharp breath through her teeth and then answered:
"She was…"
Her voice failed her, and she lowered her eyes to the purple grass beneath her boots.
Could she not simply pull herself together?
"I am sure she was a wonderful person," Ayaz said suddenly, "Of course not as wonderful as my Rinniz, but certainly not despicable."
Nova blinked at him in confusion and tilted her head to the side. What an unnecessary remark that had been. Then she realized that the pain in her heart had given way to a warm, pleasant feeling.
Oh, you two…
Rinniz giggled:
"You are impossible…"
With broad smiles on their faces, they waited for Nova's answer.
Nova touched her chin with her thumb and index finger. At the thought of Marceline a smile played on her lips, and when she thought about the kind of person she had been, she could not help but grin.
Ayaz sat down in the grass in front of Nova and waited attentively like a schoolchild for her words.
"Hmm… She was… incredibly brave and had a very big heart. She always saw the good. But she was also terribly childish and a little emotional. Just like Ayaz," Nova said and turned toward him.
Ayaz patted his shoulders and bowed while sitting, as if performing for an audience.
She had to laugh. Ayaz was different from Marceline, yet the two of them shared certain similarities in their behavior. Nova had not thought of that Marceline in a long time. And his cheerful, uplifting manner reminded her of someone else as well.
"What happened to all the other heroes? There were six of you, right?" Rinniz asked.
When Nova heard the question, she lifted her chin. For a moment there was silence.
Then Ayaz spoke up with excitement:
"For centuries people have been trying to figure out what happened to them, or rather to you. You all just vanished, as if swallowed by the earth. Until you appeared again. But if I may say so… the most incredible part was that you all found each other. You ignored all the wars between your peoples and nations and did your own thing!"
Nova scratched the back of her head.
"That is true," she agreed. Nova gave a faint smile. The weight on her heart grew heavier, her throat tightening.
"But now only Iska and I are left," she murmured.
"No, three. We will find him too," Rinniz tried to cheer her up.
Nova gave a brief nod and leaned against the pedestal of the statue.
"Well then, tell old Ayaz about your legendary heroic story," he said jokingly and waited eagerly. He pulled his legs up and rested his head on his knees.
Nova looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"You do realize that I am older than you? I mean, how old are you again? Ten?" she asked, laughing.
"Hey, I am twenty-three," he shot back.
Still a child, Nova heard herself think.
Then he added with a teasing undertone:
"And besides, you would be lost without us. If we were not making sure you eat regularly, you would have starved long ago. Even a baby is more self-sufficient than you."
"Wow… those comparisons," Nova snorted and buried her face in her hand, shaking her head.
Ayaz grinned broadly and Rinniz burst into laughter. A cheerful, bright laugh.
A very beautiful laugh, Nova thought. She liked the atmosphere the two of them always created.
"So, seriously now. How did it happen that the greatest outsiders saved the world almost three hundred years ago and became legends? Was that on your hero list?" he asked with a wide grin.
But to Nova it seemed as if his interest was genuine. There was that spark in his eyes again.
Rinniz sat down beside Ayaz, two arm lengths away. She leaned forward and stared at Nova with anticipation.
"No, no. Not quite…" Nova said with a smirk.
She thought for a moment, then answered with a shrug:
"Actually, we never intended to save the world. It was pure coincidence."
Rinniz and Ayaz widened their eyes before exchanging a look.
What had Nova expected? Whenever she had been asked about it over the past centuries, she had never clarified what had truly happened. Why should she have? The world had made its judgment from the very first moment.
Then Ayaz threw his hands over his head and asked:
"How can you possibly save the world by accident?! Explain that to me!"
Nova lowered her chin.
Then she replied:
"What can I say? It just… happened."
"Fine then. Start from the very beginning. For example, how you all decided not to bash each other's heads in, like was common between the peoples of this world at the time," Ayaz urged excitedly.
Nova's eyes narrowed.
"We did not…" she began, ready to defend herself and her friends, but then she gave up and sighed. She massaged her temples with her fingertips.
"Whatever," she said.
"So? We want to know everything about you and the others. You know… name, age, hobbies, relationship status…" Ayaz joked with a wink.
Rinniz's expression darkened.
"What? I am just curious," Ayaz asked her with a mischievous smile, which made Rinniz roll her eyes.
Nova sat down on the cold stone of the pedestal, which sent a shiver across her skin, and said:
"As you wish. But I am telling the story in my own way."