Free Web NovelChapter 39: Learning to Lean on Others (2)
Maeve blinked in surprise. Being carried on Cerus’ back felt very different from being carried by Ikarus.
It wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, it was quite secure, but because she was sitting so much higher than usual, her view suddenly seemed much farther away.
And honestly? It was a little scary.
"Which way should we go?" Cerus asked cheerfully.
Maeve immediately held her breath. The height didn’t bother Cerus at all, but she was genuinely worried that she might somehow fall off.
Without wasting a second, she wrapped both arms tightly around his shoulders.
"J-Just go straight," she answered in a small voice.
"Alright, then!" The excitement in Cerus’ voice should have been a warning. Unfortunately, Maeve realized it a little too late.
As if carrying her so high wasn’t enough, Cerus suddenly sped up.
At first, she thought he was simply walking faster, then the scenery around them started passing by much more quickly.
The wind hit her face, the ground blurred beneath them, and Maeve finally realized that he wasn’t walking anymore, he was running.
Damn it! It was way too fast!
Maeve immediately tightened her grip on his shoulders. "D-Don’t go so fast!" she finally shouted.
But instead of slowing down, Cerus sounded even more determined. "I’m sorry!" he called back. "But if I move faster, we’ll reach the Tomb of Heart sooner!"
He sounded completely sincere. "And if we get there sooner, you won’t have to stay under the hot sun for as long!"
Maeve stared at the side of his face. For a moment, she couldn’t even find the words to respond.
Because somehow, despite terrifying her half to death, Cerus was doing it because he was worried about her, and that made it incredibly difficult to stay angry.
In the end, Maeve decided to simply close her eyes and let Cerus be her eyes.
There was no point in arguing anymore, not when Cerus clearly believed he was helping, not when the triplets seemed completely convinced that racing across the wasteland was the best way to protect her from the heat. freёwebnovel.com
So Maeve buried her face against Cerus’ shoulder and gave up.
The only thing she told them was how to recognize their destination.
"The Tomb of Heart is surrounded by a dried-up river," she explained. "If you see a large riverbed without any water, we’re probably close."
"Got it!" Cerus replied immediately.
After that, he somehow ran even faster, and Maeve chose not to acknowledge that. Instead, she kept her eyes closed and focused on the sound of the wind rushing past them.
Every now and then, the triplets would ask her a question about the map, and she would answer without opening her eyes.
Apart from that, she simply rested. After all, she trusted them. If they said they could find the Tomb of Heart, then they would.
Suddenly, Cerus slowed down. When Maeve noticed it, she immediately opened her eyes.
"Did you find something?" she asked.
The cheerful mood from earlier disappeared almost instantly.
Slowly, she lifted her head and looked ahead. At first, she couldn’t understand why they had stopped and then she saw a massive stretch of cracked earth lay before them, cutting across the landscape like a scar.
It was so wide that she couldn’t see the other side clearly and not a single drop of water remained.
The only thing stretching before them was a vast expanse of dry, cracked earth, as if the river had been dead for a very long time.
Maeve swallowed nervously. "A dried-up river..." she murmured.
Cerus finally spoke, his voice much quieter than before. "We found it."
For a moment, none of them moved. They simply stood there, staring at the enormous riverbed because if the map was correct, then the Tomb of Heart had to be somewhere beyond it.
"There should be an entrance that leads into the tomb," Axan said as he slowly scanned the wasteland. "But I think the wind has carried so much sand over the years that the entrance is completely buried now."
Maeve could easily believe that because the area looked untouched for ages. Who knew how many years of sand and dust had been piling up here?
As soon as Cerus set her down, Maeve quickly pulled out the map again. The paper was already worn from being opened so many times during their journey.
She studied it carefully before pointing toward the middle of the dried-up river.
"It should be somewhere near the center," she said. "According to the map, that’s where the Tomb of Heart is located."
The triplets followed the direction she pointed.
"Yeah, I believe so," Ikarus said. He looked out across the dried riverbed, his eyes growing distant as old memories surfaced. "If I remember correctly, our father used to bring us across the river whenever we wanted to come here."
"But even back then, the water level had already dropped quite a bit," Axan added.
Cerus let out a soft sigh. "And now it’s completely gone."
For a moment, the four of them looked out at the endless stretch of cracked earth. It was hard to imagine that a river had once flowed through this place. freewēbnoveℓ.com
"Did you visit the Tomb of Heart often when you were younger?" Maeve asked.
Ikarus nodded. "We did." A faint smile appeared on his face. "Since it’s also the resting place of our ancestors, we tried to honor them by taking care of the entrance."
"Father always made us help," Cerus added. "He said cleaning the tomb was a sign of respect."
"And if we tried to sneak away," Axan said, "he would find us."
Cerus immediately looked offended. "I only tried to sneak away once."
"You tried three times."
"Those were different situations."
"They weren’t."
Maeve couldn’t help smiling as she listened to them. Whenever the triplets talked about their parents, they sounded less like powerful warriors and more like ordinary sons remembering their childhood.
The warmth in their voices made it easy to picture three young boys following their father across a river that no longer existed.
"But after the world started getting worse, we stopped leaving our territory," said Ikarus with a bitter smile.
