Sage made sure the others were out of earshot before he gave Amelia and her family his full attention. It was clear to him now. The reason Mimi had walked off was because Nero had been egging him into getting Sage and Amelia to proceed with their engagement. Sage knew Mimi didn’t want this, and neither did he. Sage loved Mimi deeply and knew he wouldn’t be able to betray his feelings for him, even if duty called.
Sage didn’t care for honor. He didn’t care for Serzio. The Lyeokee had been a thorn in his side, and if he was honest with himself, he was a bit glad that he was dead. The stone-cold snake chimera had wanted nothing but Mimi’s misery when the two of them had still been living in the chimeran tribe.
“You’ve got it all wrong,” Sage said. “They have nothing to do with it.”
Nero’s face scrunched up. He had relaxed after Elliot and the others had left, but Sage could still see Nero’s muscles tense slightly. “You say that, but you don’t know what we experienced.” He waved his arms, gesturing to his family. “The day Lyeokee died was the day the pointy-eared assassin declared war upon the oracle, declared that anyone associated with him is their enemy and they will murder us in cold blood. Friend or foe, it does not matter.”
“What?” Sage didn’t know what to think. At first, he had thought Elliot and Minari went to the lower lands to find a new home, like him and Mimi. Once he’d learned of the prophecy, it had made more sense. But he was not aware of any other elves traveling to the lower lands. Elliot and Minari hadn’t mentioned others traveling down with them. It didn’t make sense.
“Those people cannot be trusted. And the fact they have ex-Oasis captains . . . Sage, you are smarter than this.”
“Luka and Owen were under Namir’s spell,” Sage tried to explain.
“Namir? You mean that cat who was cast out?” Anna asked. “What does Namir have to do with any of this?”
“You mean you don’t know?”
The other oxen looked at one another. None of them seemed to remember having seen Namir and shook their heads.
“There were only humans and those two ethereals that were apart of Oasis,” Amelia said. “Did your memory and sanity leave you when you left the tribe?”
“No. She was there.” Sage frowned. He was sure he hadn’t imagined Namir being in the hideout. It was possible they hadn’t recognized her because of her transformed appearance, but they’d mentioned there were only humans, Luka, and Owen. Had Namir been able to mask her scent? Sage reached up and pinched his brows. It could’ve been a reason. Sage couldn’t remember if he’d been able to realize Namir was a chimera based on her scent or not, but he did remember seeing her face and immediately recognizing who and what she was.
“You have to leave with us, Sage,” Amelia said. “We need to find Lykrine and leave. Staying with them brings us misfortune.”
“Your association with them is the reason our home was destroyed,” Anna said.
“That’s not for me to decide. Mimi will have to decide that himself.”
Amelia scoffed. “Again with this. You’ve lost your backbone. An ox should not be following a small snake chimera.”
“You know what he means to me.”
“And we’ve told you what he decided for us. There’s no reason for you to follow him around anymore.”
“I won’t believe it until I hear it for myself.”
“Are you going to wait around until he returns then?” Amelia asked.
“I’ll wait as long as I need to. I will not abandon him.”
“Your devotion to him is for the wrong reasons.” Nero shook his head. “It’s a shame.”
“My devotion to him is out of love, just like it should be.”
“No, your devotion to me should be out of love. Your devotion to Lykrine should be out of duty and respect,” Amelia said.
Sage bit back the bubbling heat that was rising in his chest. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, focusing on the cold night air, attempting to cool his boiling blood. He clenched and relaxed his fists a few times. He couldn’t see red. Not now. He needed to remain calm. As much as he wanted to punch Nero, Anna, and Amelia in the face, he couldn’t. If he did that, he would be reverting to his old self.
And he’d worked hard to move on from old habits.
Sage opened his eyes, vision still clear.
“I will stay indefinitely. If Mimi confirms our engagement, I will stay and fulfill the late Lyeokee’s wish. If he says otherwise, then you are on your own.”
“What do you mean we’re on our own?” Nero asked.
“If Mimi says otherwise, then it’s likely he has chosen his path as a warrior over his duties as Lykrine. I will follow him wherever he goes, until he dismisses me.”
“So, if he still continues with his . . . other duties and abandons his role as Lykrine but also chooses to have you fulfill your engagement, then what?” Nero asked.
Sage hoped Mimi wouldn’t make that decision. He believed the snake chimera wouldn’t, but there was always a chance it could happen, no matter how slim. And if it did happen, then Sage would comply. He would let Mimi go and honor his duty as a male ox chimera. Just imagining life without Mimi made his stomach tighten and churn. His throat closed up, but he wanted to gag at the same time. Sage didn’t know if he could survive the heartbreak that would come with that decision, but if it was Mimi’s wish, he would do his best.
“If Mimi wishes for me to stay with Amelia, then I will stay.”