Chapter 96: The Longest Apology
Maeve ignored them for hours. Even after the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon, she was still sitting far away from them.
Even so, Cerus lit a campfire near her so she wouldn’t have to sit in the dark or feel cold.
"Maeve... we’re sorry," he pleaded, looking at her with the eyes of a guilty puppy. "We promise we won’t ever do it again."
Maeve simply turned her face away and crossed her arms. Right now, the star-filled sky was much more interesting than looking at Cerus.
A few moments later, Axan walked over and gently placed a large leaf beside her. On top of it was a piece of freshly roasted meat.
"I know you’re hungry," Axan said softly. "And I know you’re still mad at us, but... please eat something."
Maeve answered with nothing more than a quiet huff. Even though the smell of the roasted meat made her stomach growl, she still didn’t want to forgive them so easily.
After all, if she forgave them that quickly, they would think what they had just done was acceptable.
She had even asked them to stop in the middle of the road, but they refused to listen!
"I’ll eat after you leave," Maeve said as she turned her back to them again. Her cheeks were still puffed up with anger, and it didn’t seem like there was anything they could do to make her smile.
"We’re not fighting anymore," Cerus said. "And... I promise we’ll never fight again."
Maeve let out another huff. "Don’t make promises you can’t keep."
Cerus was about to say something, but he closed his mouth again because, deep down, he knew it would be impossible to never fight with his own brothers.
To be honest, Maeve knew that as well. But what made her so upset was that they had chosen to go through with their ridiculous bet instead of thinking about whether she was comfortable or not.
"I’ll tell Ikarus about this," she said all of a sudden.
"No! Please don’t tell him!" Cerus begged. "He’ll be furious with us!"
Maeve finally turned around and looked him in the eyes. "So you’re more afraid of Ikarus getting angry than listening to me when I told you to stop?"
"That... that’s..." Cerus tried to think of an excuse, but nothing came to mind.
In the end, he simply knelt in front of Maeve and lowered his head until it was almost touching the ground.
"We were wrong," he said quietly. "I’m really sorry."
Axan glanced at Cerus before silently stepping forward. Then, to Maeve’s surprise, he also knelt beside his brother.
"I’m sorry too," Axan said, lowering his head. "We got carried away."
Maeve stared at the two of them without saying a word.
Both of them looked so pitiful, but Maeve still couldn’t shake the anger that had settled in her heart.
"I—"
Crack!
Before Maeve could finish her sentence, a deafening bolt of lightning split the sky, lighting up the entire forest for a brief moment.
Maeve flinched in surprise. Only a heartbeat later, thunder roared so loudly that the ground beneath them seemed to tremble.
The three of them instinctively looked up and saw dark clouds had gathered overhead without them noticing.
"It’s going to rain," Axan muttered.
The timing couldn’t have been worse. Even so, Maeve knew rain was one of the most precious things in this world. The more often it rained, the less dry the forest became. Plants would grow faster, the rivers would fill again, and the animals would have more water to drink.
In a way, rain meant life.
A cold drop landed on the back of Maeve’s hand, and then another.
She slowly looked up at the dark clouds gathering above them and saw a bright flash of lightning suddenly split the sky.
Crack!
The deafening thunder that followed made all three of them flinch. Only a few seconds later, the rain began to fall.
At first, it was only a light drizzle. But within moments, it turned into a heavy downpour.
The campfire hissed as raindrops fell onto it, and the flames quickly died out.
Cerus immediately stood up. "We have to get inside!"
The mating cave was only a short walk away, so Maeve quietly stood up without arguing this time. She had no intention of staying outside in the pouring rain.
The three of them hurried toward the cave, their clothes becoming completely soaked before they even reached the entrance.
By the time they stepped inside, the rain outside had become so heavy that they could barely see the forest beyond the curtain of water.
Maeve quickly covered her nose and mouth with a clean cloth, making sure the aphrodisiac smoke wouldn’t affect her. After all, she was still far too angry to let Cerus and Axan touch her.
Fortunately, the two of them noticed the smoke as well. Without saying a word, they quickly covered their own noses and mouths.
Axan walked over to the cave entrance and stacked several large rocks together, blocking the rainwater from flowing inside.
Meanwhile, Cerus crouched beside the fire pit and carefully lit a new campfire using the dry firewood he had stored inside the cave earlier as a backup.
Soon, warm orange flames began to dance through the cave once again, pushing back the cold brought by the heavy rain outside.
The warm glow of the fire slowly filled the cave, casting flickering shadows across the stone walls. Outside, the rain continued to pour without any sign of stopping.
The sound of thunder echoed every now and then, followed by another flash of lightning that briefly lit up the cave entrance.
For a while, no one spoke. Cerus silently added another piece of firewood to the flames, while Axan sat near the entrance, keeping an eye on the rocks blocking the rainwater.
Maeve remained where she was, hugging her knees as she stared into the fire.
Cerus then glanced at Axan, silently asking him to say something.
Axan only shook his head because he had no idea what to say. After all, anything they said now would probably make Maeve even angrier.
A few minutes later, Cerus quietly slid the roasted meat closer to Maeve.
"I saved it before the rain reached it and warmed it up again over the fire. It should still be warm," Cerus said softly. "You don’t have to forgive us... but at least eat something."
Maeve lowered her eyes to the roasted meat. The delicious smell made her stomach growl for what felt like the hundredth time that day.
She let out a long sigh and without saying a word, she picked up the meat and took a small bite.
"I’m only eating because I’m hungry," she replied flatly. "Don’t misunderstand."
Cerus’s hopeful smile instantly faded. "Of course!"
After finishing half of the roasted meat, Maeve quietly placed the rest back on the leaf. Even that small amount was enough to make her feel full.
She then leaned against the cave wall and closed her eyes, hoping to get a little rest while waiting for the rain to stop.
However, the thunder outside grew louder and louder, so loud that the cave walls trembled slightly.
Maeve wasn’t someone who was easily afraid of thunder, but the thunder in this world was incredibly loud and... kind of terrifying.
The dark cave and the constant rumble of thunder made the atmosphere feel even more unsettling.
The next flash of lightning lit up the cave entrance for only a split second.
Boom!
Another deafening roar of thunder followed, making Maeve instinctively flinch.
She frowned. Seriously... how can thunder be this loud?
Back on Earth, thunderstorms had never bothered her much, but this world was different.
The thunder sounded as if the sky itself were splitting apart.
Another rumble echoed through the air and she unconsciously pulled her knees a little closer to her chest.
Cerus noticed the small movement immediately. "Maeve?" he called softly. "Are you... scared?"
Maeve quickly looked away. "No." The answer came a little too fast.
Cerus exchanged a glance with Axan, and neither of them believed her.
When another flash of lightning lit up the sky, Cerus and Axan finally decided to sit right beside her, leaving Maeve in the middle. There was still a small gap between them, but it was much better than sitting so far apart.
Maeve glanced at the two of them but didn’t say anything.
Before this, she would have told them to move away. But this time, she let them stay.
Cerus noticed that she hadn’t chased them away, and a small smile almost appeared on his face.
"I’m sorry we didn’t listen when you told us to stop," Cerus said, finally breaking the awkward silence.
Axan nodded in agreement. "We were acting like children, and we ended up hurting you. We should have been much gentler with you."
Oh.
Maeve suddenly realized that they probably still weren’t used to controlling their strength around her.
To Cerus and Axan, tossing each other around like that probably wasn’t a big deal. But they had forgotten that Maeve’s body couldn’t handle the same rough treatment.