Hours into our travels,I’m feeling muscles I didn’t know I had ache and burn. The need to rest pounds through my body with every step, but we can’t risk it. The only rest we will take is when we are collecting the blessed soil. I made a promise to Trent, and I plan to keep it. Miles hasn’t said much the whole time we have been traveling. The rain dies down, but walking in my soggy cloak is just as uncomfortable as the pelting rain.
My mind wanders as we walk, trying to invoke anything I can about my life over the time I’ve lost. There is nothing. So, instead, I think about what I’m doing now. What I know of the people I’m choosing to trust. Is Dax someone I even like? Are we friends? Does he deserve to be saved? He must be if he chose to go after his young sister, going against Cano’s orders, right? I groan and rubat my temple, trying to stifle the headache which is beginning to build.
Miles keeps glancing my way, but he isn’t saying anything. I try to ignore it, but after the sixth time, my irritation wins and I snap at him.
“What do you keep looking at me like that for?”
“Sorry, Ms. Raelle. I just—are you ok?”
“I’m fine.” I spit at him, lips pursed. “Please just call me Raelle or Rae. No need to be so formal. You literally just saved my life a few hours ago.” I huff, but then run my hand down my face in irritation. “I’m sorry for being rude. I’m just tired and stressed. I’m trying to figure out what I’m missing from my memories, but I guess it doesn’t matter. Things aren’t what they must have been anyway. Cano, who was supposedly my boyfriend… is sketchy as shit. Dax, who is, from what I’ve been told, an asshole, is who I’m running off to save, and I’m just wondering if I’m doing the right thing.” I take a deep breath and release it loudly.
“Sometimes we do things that don’t necessarily make sense as we are doing them, but we do them anyway because we have a gut instinct that it’s the right thing to do. I suppose that is why I’m here with you now and not at Dax’s bedside. I had a feeling that I could not ignore, even though it did not make sense at the time. Here I am.” A smile lifts from one corner of his mouth.
“And here I am because of it…” I say with my brows stitched together. “Had you not followed your gut instinct, you wouldn’t have been there to help me when the Raskin attacked. I would likely be dead.” I raise my eyebrows as I look at him.
“Perhaps,” is all he says as he just stares ahead.
“Are all butlers as wise as you?” I muse with a grin.
He responds with a grin of his own, “Perhaps.” His smile widens.
As we make our way closer to the sea, the salty air stings my sinuses as the wind tries to rip the cloak from my body, and the rain pelts us relentlessly. The powerful roar of the surf crashing against the cliffs echoes through my ears. A powerful energy bursts through me like a buzz of electricity moving through my veins as the willow comes into view. Thunderclaps with a deafening roar, sending vibrations to run throughout my body, threatening to turn my bones to dust… I stumble, and Miles notices offering me his arm, which I take for support. The wind is stronger, and the unforgiving gusts make me unbalanced as we crest the hill. Miles and I are both holding our cloaks with one hand at our chins to keep the hoods from falling back and losing the minimal protection they provide us. We walk hunched, keeping low with our heads down, as we approach the willow.
The magic coursing through my blood is alive. A frenzy of electric energy makes every hair on my body stand on end and my scalp prickle. The sense that I’m being watched is back, but there is no emotion attached to it that would cause me to worry. It’s giving me a sense of awe. Each footstep is heavy, like I’m walking up a snow-covered mountain in a blizzard, but here there is no snow. My hand falls away from Miles as I make the trek. I take a deep breath, breathing in the scent of the sea ahead of us. Salt, seaweed, and the earthy smell of sand reed blows on the wind. When we reach the cliffside and the willow there, I’m able to see the Creale Sea for the first time. Sadness fills my chest as I think of my brother and our promise to see this ocean together one day. This is not what I imagined when I thought of visiting.
Blood-red skies meet the dark depths of the ocean, and the water is almost black in contrast. Both the sky and the ocean swirl and twist like angry vortexes. The ground we are standing on is vibrating with each clap of thunder. The sound is a constant stream of growls. The lightning is blinding as it strikes, making me reach up to cover my eyes.
The weeping willow and the blessed ground that surrounds it are unaffected by the maelstrom brewing all around it. The branches of the willow are not even blowing in the howling wind; it’s eerie to witness. A deep power radiates from the ground and in the air all around me. When I reach the tree, I stop and gather some of the branches, dusting the dirt as they hang lifelessly in the chaos. I sweep the golden leaves aside so I can see the trunk. Just as I do, I hear Miles yell my name, and a rumble vibrates under my boots. I didn’t even notice he wasn’t right next to me, transfixed on the ancient power radiating toward me.
There is a strike of lightning so bright that it momentarily takes my vision, and thunder rumbles, immediately sending tremors through my limbs. The tiny hairs along my arms stand on end as my heart hammers in my chest. Dizziness settles over my senses, making me think I may have been struck. My vision comes back to me in flashes, and I see the ground opening in fissures. Crevasses so large they threaten to break this piece of land off and send it away into the ocean.
I stumble under the protective canopy of the willow. There is no sound within its branches. There is no light. I feel no wind on my skin. I drop the hood of my cloak, but I close my eyes instead of looking around. Dipping my chin, I take a deep breath throughmy nose. “A wise butler once told me to trust my gut,” I say into the nothingness with a smile.
Dropping to my hands and knees, I dig my hands into the ground. Both fists collect blessed soil. I rise only to my knees, hands full with soil at my sides. I tip my head back and slowly bring my fists up, arms extended. I blow my breath out. A tugging sensation starts at my chest, like there is a thread pulling at me. Making my back arch, my chest rises toward the sky. My breath catches on a deep inhale—then I’m falling.
Chapter seventeen
“WHERE IS SHE?” Iscream into Trent’s blood-stained face; his body hangs limply from the wooden chair in the cabin dining room. Spittle sprays his face as I do. When he was brought to me, I thought it was my lucky day. Then they walk that bitch Kait in. I was ecstatic. That was until I realized this motherfucker had gone and let Raelle go out on her own. She was here not long ago; I know she was. Even though he won't talk. I will find her. When we do, this won’t happen again. I will lock the cunt up until she is useful to me. I have so many men out searching for her, it’s almost comical. Specifically, because of how many times I’ve told Dax, that such search parties are not beneficial because of the risk of losing men. I’d sacrifice any man to have Raelle in my grip again.
I’m done playing games with these children. Dax is as good as gone. When I return to Ravendene, he will likely be dead from the curse. Then Ravendene will truly be mine because now I have both remaining Fornax siblings in my clutches, and the bitch Kait, well I have no use for her… I’ll just get rid of her after I let the boys have their fun with her.
“Sir, the storm is proving to be an issue. The men don’t want to go further than the tree line. They are all worried that it’s a warning from the gods.” Flynn tells me.
“I don’t give a fuck what they think, Flynn! Let them know the only warning they should fear is the one I am giving right now! FIND RAELLE APUS! NOW!” I bellow.
He swallows any other words he is going to say and scampers away like the rat he is. “I’m surrounded by idiots,” I mutter as I pour a measure of bourbon into a glass. “You know, Trent. Your brother won’t survive this curse. He’s likely dying as we speak. Even if Raelle gets the items needed for the elixir, there is no way she can reach him in time.” I laugh. “And considering I have you and your sister as my prisoners…” I rock the glass of bourbon in my hand like the swinging of a pendulum, mimicking the movement with my head. “Time will only tell how long the Fornax line has before it’s no longer theirs to claim.”
Trent looks up at that. “You touch her, I will kill you myself, you fucking coward.” He seethes.
I laugh as I saunter closer to him. Bending at the waist, I tilt my head, eye to eye with him. “Oh Trentikins, and how would you manage to do it? Did you forget the situation you find yourself in?” I taunt him with a smirk playing on my lips. “You, sir, are in no situation to be threatening me. If I were you, I’d only openyour mouth when I tell you to, because you may find yourself in a situation much worse than that of the currentarrangements—or, perhaps we bring your sister up for a chat?” He doesn’t say anything, but the look in his narrowed eyes speaks volumes. “That's what I thought.”
Kait hasn’t said a word. Even when I had her beaten for information, just like Trent, she is a good soldier. It’s too bad she will be lost from the regime. I saunter over to the chair she's bound to and roughly brush two fingers over her lips. “Such pretty lips; since they won’t speak, perhaps we can make use of them another way?” She jerks away from my touch, and a cruel smile spreads across my lips. Then, she spits a wad of saliva and blood on my face.
“You bitch!” The back of my hand lands firmly across her face, splitting her bottom lip open. Blood drips down her neck and into her lap. “Now look at what you did…” I suck my teeth, my lips pulling into a sneer. “You ruined the one useful thing going for you.” She narrows her eyes at me smiling, blood coating her teeth. I glower back at her. The whole back-and-forth with these two is a waste of time. I have what I need. Both Fornax siblings and Dax will be dead anytime now, I’m sure. It’s been hours since we found these two. Raelle got away, and if she made it to get the blessed soil, she still wouldn’t get to Dax in time, regardless. It’s too long of a journey from the cliffside, where the willow is, back to Ravendene. The thought brings a sinister smile to my face.
“Lock them in the cellar with the girl,” I tell Flynn. He nods, and the guards move in to take them. Before I leave the room, I make eye contact with Trent. I stare at him with malice, the smile creeping slowly to reach my eyes. It’s a silent promise of what’s to come. I will get what’s owed to me. He holds eye contact withme as he and Kait are dragged to their feet and out of the kitchen. Spitting on the ground just before the door closes. I laugh at his dramatics, then slam my hand down on the table. Flynn jumps to attention, stepping forward with his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist, head held high.
“Sir, what are your next orders?"
