My Wild Beast-Chapter 79: The Call of Tayun (2)

"The path to Tayun’s favour is not walked without pain," Yoa added with a chuckle. "If it were, Tayun or the Kairan, wouldn’t bother setting the trials at all."

Nova’s lips remained parted in quiet shock. She had hung on every word, gasping when he made her believe his parents had left him, proof enough of the storyteller he was. She’d smacked his chest lightly when he told her his parents embraced him after his return.

"But you thought you’d been abandoned! Surely, they could have told you. You’d still be left in the jungle to survived..." She trailed off, grimacing at how bad that still sounded. She couldn’t imagine the pain he must have gone through, wondering if he’d been abandoned or if something happened to his parents.

Yoa shrugged, carefree, like he held no resentment about it.

"What about the other... candidates?" Nova asked, her brows furrowed. "Did they go through the same trial?"

Yoa nodded. "One failed."

Nova stared up at him, waiting for more. The longer he stayed silent, the more she realised how deadly these trials were. She needed to hear him say it. "What do you mean by failed?"

Yoa touched her jaw, his thumb brushing gently along her cheek. He could see Nova already knew the answer but fought against what her intuition told her, unwilling to accept the truth. She was so wonderfully innocent in that way.

"The capuchin didn’t survive. She wandered too close to Soluma and was taken by an anaconda."

Nova gasped. It shouldn’t have surprised her. This was the wild, after all, but her heart clenched. That poor little monkey had probably thought she was abandoned right before being eaten.

"Were all the trials that cruel?" She whispered. "That poor baby thought she’d been left behind." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

"That’s what happens when you’re not ready. The jungle doesn’t wait for you to be," Yoa replied, then sighed, leaving a trail of kisses along her jaw before drawing back to meet her gaze.

His tone softened. "Call it fate or luck. It was her time. Those lost in the trials return to Tayun’s embrace, and rest peacefully."

Nova nodded, still not entirely sure what their spiritual beliefs were just yet, but there was plenty of time to learn, especially now that the island was to be her home. Earlier, she wanted to ask more about this Kairan, but she’d been so enthralled by Yoa’s story, the trial he had no idea he had been thrown into, that her questions slipped away like the passing wind.

And now, all Nova wanted was to learn more about him, and what he went through to become the powerful man lying beside her.

"Alright... when was your next trial?" Nova asked, her voice soft, pushing herself up beside him. Her heart was still racing, and warmth lingered in her chest, stirred not only by him but everything he had shared. These weren’t just tales though. He had lived every moment of it to become Tayun’s Guardian.

"I was ten when I partook in the next trial-"

"Ten?!" Nova interrupted with a gasp before she could control herself. She waved herself off, apologetically. Obviously he would be young, the first trial was when he was eight, and he became Yiska when he was only fourteen!

Yoa’s eyes twinkled at Nova’s interruption. She drew her fingers along her lips and twisted her hand and flicked it like she was tossing something aside. He couldn’t understand what that meant, but he continued at her insistence.

"I’d been put through rigorous training to prepare me for my next trial. The more time I spent with Raokan—" Nova frowned in confusion, and he added quickly, "—my father, training harder than others my age and proving my abilities in the Oncari regime, the less time I spent messing around with my friends. So, when Atia and Aiyana caught onto what I was doing... naturally, they joined in when they could. Raokan was strict, and sent Atia away before he could distract me or irritate him further."

Yoa smirked, a low chuckle slipping free at the memory.

"Aww, poor Atia!" Nova giggled, her cheeks bursting with colour as she tried to visualise how Yoa and Atia must have looked at that age.

"Oh no, he was a handful," Yoa chuckled, his grin lighting up his features at the fond memories.

Nova let out a laugh, raising her brows in exaggerated surprise. "Atia? A handful? No, never!" She said, dragging out the last word with dramatic disbelief.

Yoa snorted softly. "Atia could make trouble out of thin air," He said with a smile, his voice low with fondness as his gaze drifted to the waterfall.

"He used to mimic me mid-training. Serious face, perfect form, and all of that. Said I was turning into Raokan too early.

His antics made everything feel lighter. The pressure eased, and for a while, I was just a cub again with my friend.

But with the second trial around the corner, I had to remain focused. We didn’t know what it would be, and the capuchin’s death was a reminder of how dangerous they could be."

The warmth in his eyes dulled slightly as he looked down. "My training made me stronger, faster, a better hunter, and fighter than others my age and those who are rooted-"

"Rooted?" Nova asked softly, the word lingering on her tongue. Then like a slow internet connection buffering, the meaning clicked into place.

"Adulthood," she murmured.

Yoa nodded then his golden eyes hardened, the ring of red like drying blood on solid gold. "The problem was our next trial did not test us on our physical abilities..."

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ Trial of Choice °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

The rhythmic sound of shells rattling together was the only warning young Yoa had of the guide’s arrival before a man cloaked in tatty hides, his face hidden beneath a hood and crowned with what looked to be the jawbone of a shark, breezed past the cub who stood staring after him. Behind the cloaked figure, three other younglings walked in a single line, following the guide, their scents mixed, revealing two Takaru children and an Apatka.

They passed by without a word. Chief Tamuari gave Yoa a single tap on the shoulder before turning away, a silent farewell and good luck. Raokan knelt on one knee, gripping both of Yoa’s shoulders.

He was taller than most boys his age, but still hadn’t filled out like the Apatka youth. His hair had grown past his chin, though not long enough to tie back.

"Remember your training."

Raokan’s eyes shone with the fierce determination of a father who needed his son to succeed—to survive. His grip tightened slightly before he pulled Yoa close, hand firm at the back of his neck, and pressed their foreheads together.

"You are strong and capable. You carry our blood and the fire of our line." He exhaled, voice steady but thick with unspoken emotion. "You are my son. And that means everything."

"It is time, Raokan," Chief Tamuari said from a few steps behind them, his back facing father and son. "Let the boy go."

Raokan pulled back with a deep inhale then nodded, his expression fierce. "Go, before you lose sight of them," he urged, releasing his son and nudging him towards the other ’Marked Ones’.

Yoa chased after them and fell in line, following the others through the dense jungle. The Apatka was the first to trail behind the guide. He was the same height as Yoa, with cropped black hair that faded into a dark green, shimmering almost golden in the right light. The other two between them were shorter, but their limbs were long and wiry, almost out of proportion, like the spider monkeys they could shift into.

The guide led them east, beyond the trees where grass met sand, the beach was a pearlescent white, and the sea stretched out clear, fading into cerulean and vivid blues. For a long while they traipsed along the burning hot sand. All four boys started to hop and tiptoe, jogging to the little shaded areas the trees provided so they could cool the soles of their feet.

The man guiding them didn’t look back, nor did he move any quicker. The soles of his feet must have been thick and unfeeling. The sun was so strong today that heatwaves shimmered above the sand, warping the air like a living mirage.

If this was the trial, then they’d all accepted their failure.

Fortunately, walking across the heated sand was not the trial. They were led beyond the burning dunes, down a narrow path where the jungle opened to a hidden inlet. A vast tidal basin carved into stone, half-shaded by overhanging cliffs and tangled vines. The walls around them narrowed into an echoing chamber of rock, where light filtered down in shafts through cracks above.

Yoa squinted against the turquoise light casting waves across his features as they followed the guide into the tidal cove. The cloaked man waded into the shallows without a word. The boys followed, feet splashing in the cool water, their relief unspoken but shared in breathy sighs. The cove’s floor was slick with smooth rock, and the scent of brine lingered in the air.

The guide finally halted, and the boys instinctively formed a line, water swirling gently around their shins. At the far end of the cove, partially submerged in shadow, stood four small totems. Each wooden carving was unique, their features worn smooth by time and salt.

On the far side of the cove, was a jaguar, clinging to the staff with alert eyes peeking out from behind the wood. Two in the centre were spider monkeys, hanging upside down with loose limbs, carves as if mid-swing. The final totem was a crocodile, gripping the staff with its toothy grin perched over the top.

"The trial is simple," the guide intoned, voice low and weathered. "Claim your totem. But know this: only the worthy shall pass."

Yoa’s gaze swept back to the jaguar totem. They only had to swim to the other end?

A current of unease rippled through the group, as each of the boys locked their sights on the totems with confusion and determination.

It couldn’t be that simple.

Visit freewe𝑏nove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience