Villain's Second Heart: Trapped in A Fantasy Novel (BL)-Chapter 16: Departure

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The conversation about the academy took a turn.

"My advice would be to stay away from Asteria."

His words filled the air with a haunting, unspoken tension.

The Royal Magic Academy was a front. It was the king's way of gathering and controlling all the Magicians of the land into one place. The curse placed upon Oberyn was proof enough of that.

To some credit, they did teach him how to control his wild mana. They also kept him safe - the world could be a dangerous place for Magicians, especially Nephilim ones. There were many who would use him to wage war - or worse, take his power for themselves.

But he would have never chosen to go there. Not at the cost of his freedom. And until he brought the king a Harbinger, he'd never be free.

Oberyn cleared his throat, pivoting on his foot to turn away from them both. Before he did, he locked eyes with Ezra one final time.

"Farewell."

With just that one word, he shifted on his heel and proceeded away from the meadow, heading north-east. Deek and Ezra stood there, side by side, watching him get further and further away.

"You're not gonna run after him and have a big dramatic moment, are ya?"

"I thought about it," Ezra smirked.

She put her hands on her hips. "Yeah. I don't blame you. He's totally into you, ya know."

"W-wait, what!?" Ezra screeched, turning to her in surprise, reacting with his whole body. "What the heck is that supposed to mean!"

"Mr. Rav would beat you black and blue for being so oblivious."

"Oberyn isn't into me, we're just friends! I think I'd know."

"Well, one of us had his heart beating out of his chest, and it wasn't me."

She started to walk away, flicking her ears. "Ferin hearing. Can't beat it. Speaking of, your heart sounds weird. Like someone fallin' down the stairs or somethin'."

Ezra instinctively clutched at his chest. She didn't know it, but she was hearing his Second Heart - the 'Apocalypse Engine' left in his body by its previous owner, Alcor.

[She can't hear me, either. So much for that Ferin hearing.]

Ezra clutched his head. Whenever he heard Alcor's voice, it was always accompanied by a sharp pain in his temple. Almost as if Alcor were a physical thing, crawling around his skull.

"Hey, Farm boy! Keep up! You're gonna do my chores for me, remember?"

"Oh, right!" Ezra shook off the discomfort and jogged after her.

First she sent him into the chicken coop for some eggs. As he crawled around in the narrow coop, checking under chickens, he thought about Oberyn.

He wondered how long the journey to Asteria would take, and hoped that Oberyn wouldn't run into any trouble on the road.

The first time they were in the forest together, they found themselves in the crosshairs of a Torrent of magic. If they hadn't both held it back, they'd be goners.

If something that dangerous could happen randomly, he didn't even want to think about what else may be waiting out there.

Next, they went to milk the cows. Deek assured him that the meat they ate wasn't from the farm's own animals - they trade for meat in the village.

As he worked on the cow's udders, he thought about Oberyn. He hoped that the Nephilim boy would find what he was looking for. He'd have ripped the Second Heart out of his own chest if he could've - he didn't need the thing. Oberyn was the one who needed his heart.

He scoffed to himself as he had the thought. 'Oberyn needs my heart.' The double-meaning behind that was heavy-handed even for him, a hopeless romantic. But a part of him saw some sense into it.

He could draw in mana, after all. And Oberyn already demonstrated that he could draw mana back out of Ezra.

"With my heart, Oberyn wouldn't need the king... but he'd be bound to me instead. No freedom. Just another cage."

"You say somethin'?" Deek asked, finishing up with her cow. "Why're you workin' so damn slow?"

"Been a while since I milked a cow," Ezra grimaced.

Deek led him to a small cave behind the farmhouse and they picked some mushrooms - something she did every Thursday, according to her.

They filled up a basket each and packed them into containers. They're a rare delicacy - she was able to buy everything she needed from the market with just those mushrooms every week.

Then they fed the wild ducks living in a small pond nearby. Not because she wanted to - allegedly - but because they would get in and bother the chickens if they weren't 'kept fat and distracted'.

Ezra was pretty sure she just wanted to feed the ducks.

Deek handed him a basket and brought him over to their small orchard.

"Just get a few fruit. And try to grab some different types! Cliff gets grumpy if it's just a bunch of apples."

A plum, a pear, and a peach. Ezra grabbed one of each, and two apples to round out the bundle. A full, happy basket.

As he grabbed the fruit, he thought about Oberyn. It made him realize he was thinking a little too much about Oberyn.

He met Deek back at the entrance to the orchard, as she was just finishing up some of her other tasks. They gathered up some supplies to bring to town, and Ezra unwittingly became her pack mule. Not that he minded - his body was strong, almost superhuman in some regards. The agility of a sprinter, the dexterity of an acrobat, and the strength of a bodybuilder - all in one slim but muscular package.

After Deek chatted with Cliff a bit, the two were ready for their departure. Deek put her hands on her hips and looked straight south. All he could see were more trees, but a large mountain loomed further in the distance.

"Well, time to get goin'," she said, patting Ezra on the back like he was a horse cart. "Time to show you to civilization, my minion!"