CHAPTER 72: ROOTMILK (2)

Ah, so this is why Yoa didn’t want her to help. With each passing moment, it became more obvious to Nova that anything capable of healing wounds was bound to be challenging to obtain. To apply Rootmilk to Yoa’s injuries, it also needed to be combined with Miroth leaves and used as a poultice to hold and deliver the Rootmilk to the wound. It sounded so simple when he explained it.

Then he told her where to find the leaves, and for a split second, she said nothing. Yoa took her silence for hesitation and immediately dropped the entire subject, insisting she stayed by his side and cuddled instead.

But how could they cuddle if he bled out?!

Nova gave him a reassuring smile before kissing him gently on the cheek and detangling his limbs from her.

"Be careful," he whispered against her skin. She could feel his fear, but it didn’t have anything to do with her ability to get what she needed. No, he was confident she would succeed, but his beast didn’t want to part with her again so soon.

Now she stood at the edge of the cave, her heart galloping and blood pumping with adrenaline as she stared at the water pummelling into the depths below. Her gaze slid to the side, instantly locating the Miroth plant.

Its leaves shimmered faintly in the mist light, their waxy surfaces catching silver from the cave’s scattered glow. It honestly couldn’t be as simple as tugging a few leaves from a plant that grew on the floor, huh?

Clinging to a slippery curve of rock, the plant grew in a treacherous spot just beyond the safe ground. Nova eyed the ledge. Narrow. Wet. A single misstep and she’d fall straight into the churning pool beneath the falls.

If there was any real danger of that, Yoa would adamantly refuse. Either that or his confidence in her was wildly misplaced.

Still, she moved forward. Slowly. Hands brushing along the stone wall, toes gripping any crevice they could find. The roar of the waterfall thundered beside her, vibrating in her bones. She didn’t look down. She couldn’t.

Mist of the waterfall sprayed against her body, drenching her hair and skin. Her skin pebbled from the cold. It didn’t help that she was completely naked— Yoa couldn’t stand seeing her in the feathery outfit, and she accepted walking around in her birthday suit until they had to leave this place.

The mist kept spraying into her eyes. She kept wiping at them and squinting so she could see better and continued pursuing the plant. This was something she could do. Just don’t think about the drop of doom.

The ledge narrowed further, her toes now hanging over the edge, making her feel unsteady as her weight threatened to pitch forward. Nova gasped and steadied herself, her fingers luckily finding a groove in the cave wall. Turning onto her side, she began placing one foot carefully in front of the other.

She inched along the narrow ledge, every breath shallow as she fought against the urge to look down. The distance shortened between her and the plant, but the challenge required just a little more from her. Inhaling deeply and calming her nerves, she stood on her tiptoes and reached up towards the plant.

With trembling fingers and adrenaline surging through her veins, she lightly brushed over the first Miroth leaf. She concentrated, holding her breath as her fingers closed around the leaves. She had to stop herself from squealing in excitement or getting ahead of herself. That was definitely how she would fall to certain death.

With her focus locked on the plant, Nova slowly plucked at the leaves, taking more than a handful. They were large and in the shape of teardrops with a silvery hue atop the thick leaf. Once she knew there were more than enough to cover Yoa’s wounds, she began backing away, focusing on her steps and ignoring the rapid beat of her heart or the thunderous waterfall.

Once her feet were completely on solid ground, Nova allowed herself to sigh in relief.

"Nova?!" Yoa called out, and his deep voice echoed.

"I’m safe!" She called back breathlessly before spinning around and dashing past the alcove Yoa was in with a little gleeful giggle, waving her hand full of the leaves and heading further into the cave.

The tricky part was over, and so she began searching for the substance Yoa assured her she’d recognise the moment she saw it. Why he had to be all vague and mysterious, she didn’t know. Why not tell her what it looked like or where to find it?

As Nova ventured further past the magical pools of water, she kept an eye on the walls. The waterfall was a soft hum behind her now, and only the occasional dripping sound echoed in the cave. Her footsteps remained silent, something Atia had taught her days prior on their hunt.

Although Yoa stated there was nothing else to worry about in the cave, it didn’t hurt to practice a little stealth. She was the weakest being on the island, after all, and her fighting skills were absolutely zero right now; the best she could do was run and hide.

Nova went deeper into the cave, and the luminous vines and colourful pools fell behind her. It was almost pitch black, and she started shuffling her feet after banging her foot into a rock and grazing it. A curse formed on her lips, but it fell short when she finally saw the Rootmilk.

It glowed in the dark, dripping from stalactites. But the rich blue liquid looked like roots wrapping around the stalactites, stretching out like branches along the ceiling. They throbbed and hummed quietly with almost an angelic tune. The noise bounced softly off the walls.

Nova began climbing up the side of the wall, using her hands and feet to fit in the ridges and grooves. The leaves were almost solid and easy to use as a grip against the rock to climb higher. With only a little light from the Rootmilk, she’d slipped a few times from misjudging a step or groove in the wall.

Finally, she held onto a vine and brought the leaves up to the stalactites. The cave rumbled from the touch, and she froze with a soft gasp, clasping onto the vine harder as her heart thundered uncontrollably. Some rubble fell from the ceiling, trickling down and along the ground, until the rumbling stopped.

Nova released a steady breath and glanced back up at the Rootmilk, halting when she noted the glowing liquid had vanished from the ceiling.

With a frown and feeling in utter defeat at failing Yoa, she climbed down until she was on mostly even ground again. She started to return to the alcove, guilt and self-hatred dragging her feet back to Yoa’s side.

"What happened?" Yoa brushed some of her hair aside, peering into her eyes with nothing but warmth and love.

Was she really deserving of that?

"Why do you look so defeated?"

Nova sighed and opened her palms, unable to speak the words. She looked away, not wishing to see Yoa’s expression of her failure. He was probably going to be all sweet about it, and she was in a rotten mood-

"I might be huge, little mouse, but I don’t need that much," Yoa mused, and the low chuckle forced her eyes to snap back to him. The twinkle in his eyes and the curve of his lips confused her until she looked down at the Miroth leaves.

In the low lighting of the alcove, the leaves had merged together with a sticky liquid. It was no longer blue but looked more like a thick brown paste than runny, bright blue rainwater. Nova stared at it in wonder.

"This place is so weird," she murmured.

Yoa breathed out a low chuckle, then moved forward with strained movement and pain darting along the dull bond to kiss her on the cheek.

"Thank you," he murmured against her skin, lingering and trying not to sound like he was in pain.

Nova tutted and helped him rest his torso back against the wall and began tending to his wounds, applying the Rootmilk to the gashes, dabbing them on the area, and then placing the leaves on top. Nova watched in awe as the leaves relaxed against Yoa’s body, the firmness gone, curving around him, cooling his body down and providing a numbing sensation where they lay.

"Incredible," Nova whispered, watching magic unfold right before her eyes. She had seen the beasts shift between human and animal forms before, but there always seemed to be something new amazing her daily.

Would she ever get used to the magical world she now lived in?

Yoa’s body relaxed more, and his breathing calmed. His eyes rested on her again, softening as she looked back at him. "You thought it vanished..."

Nova nodded.

"Like the island, the Rootmilk also has a consciousness. It is why I could not describe it to you because it might look different to you than to me. It has been known to disappear entirely before the one in need of it can get close, deeming them unworthy of the essence," Yoa explained.

Nova’s eyebrows shot up. "You think I’m worthy?!"

There was more behind those words than a simple question about the island’s judgment. Even now, she didn’t fully understand why the stars believed she was Yoa’s equal—but that only pushed her to prove they were right. She tried not to let it show, and under the weight of Yoa’s stare, her self-doubt faded away.

Yoa’s eyes glimmered as he smirked, cupping her cheek, warmth radiating from his touch. "If you weren’t worthy, I don’t think you’d be on the island in the first place, my beautiful Serakai."