“That escape was absolutely magnificent, Seda.” Seda looked over at a handsome man with a black moth tattoo on his neck. He walked over and stood next to Cahir, his smooth, deep voice tickling her memory. “I’m Kalon. It’s great to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Benny here.” He pointed his thumb over to Benny, and Seda looked at her brother in confusion.
“Seda, there is a lot we need to catch up on,” Benny started, wiping his eyes and taking a deep breath. “Please meet everyone. You just met Kalon; he is a Traverser, and so is Seren over there.” He pointed to a tall, thin man in the distance, and the man waved at her.
He gestured toward a large, muscular man with a thick brown beard and curly hair. “This is Ojore, a butcher and longtime friend of Dad’s.” Ojore stepped forward and nodded his head.
“This is Askold, he is an undercover Rozzer.” Benny patted Askold on the shoulder, and Askold winked at her, smiling brightly and showing off perfect, straight teeth.
Cahir growled at him, and Askold raised his hands in surrender, chuckling.
Benny let out a strained laugh and then pointed to a tall man inhis mid-thirties. “This is Ruel. He is another Traverser. These men were under Dad as part of The Rising. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, and we will answer them.”
Seda’s eyes widened, covering her mouth with her hand. Her father was the leader of that rebellious group?
She got up slowly, her mind hazy from dizziness, and made sure to be polite. “Um… It’s nice to meet you. I heard of The Rising but didn’t know who was behind it. It’s fascinating to find out my dad and brother were involved in that,especially since they’re such good rule followers.” She looked at him again and raised her eyebrows.
Benny shook his head. “Lots to catch up on, Seda. I’m just so glad to see you safe from that place. Mom is safe, too. She is home and focusing on work. The neighbors have been checking up on her. When you and Dad left, she broke down even more. But she was doing okay when we left. She is keeping focused on the orchard.”
Seda let out a sigh of relief for her mother. Her sorrow must be eating her alive, but she was a strong woman, and she was safe. She had the registration stating that she had a child, and she also had a good job. She would be okay with them all being away from Joro for a while.
She caught sight of three people with unique coloring in shades of blue standing near Cahir.
A woman with azure black hair and slanted eyes stepped forward and introduced herself, “I’m Roya, and this is my murder.” She pointed to a mirror image of herself, except for the baby blue ends in her hair. “This is Ferona.” And then to the man who matched the woman, except that he was taller and broader. “And this is Feich. We have been watching over you for a long time, Seda, but you did not know we were here.”
The three of them shifted into ravens and then back into humans before her eyes.
Seda gasped and fell into the sand.
She was utterly exhausted, and she didn’t know how much more she could take in. She looked down at her fading fingertips. “There has been a lot I’ve seen in the last few days.” She shook her head in confusion and bit her lip. Then she said, “I fear I’m having a hard time taking it all in. Were you the ones following me around? I take it that you know about this, too?” She held her hands up for them to see.
Roya stepped forward and lightly took her hands into hers. “Yes. We didn’t know when this would show. But, we knew you would someday show signs of magic, and we’re here to help guide and protect you along your path.”
“The purple explosion came from you?” Askold asked from where he was standing.
“It exploded?” Seda asked back, looking up at him in confusion.
Kalon added, “Yeah, we saw it as we were nearing the Camp. A huge eruption, and then all of a sudden, your friend, Elco, came flying out of there, holding you. You were pulsating in the sky. It was truly amazing.”
She looked at Kalon and then back down at her injured friend. “He needs more time to heal. They shot at us, athim, when we were escaping.”
A loud alarm sounded from the Camp, and everyone looked over toward it in the far distance.
“We need to move,” Cahir said as he stepped forward and held onto Seda’s shoulder with a single hand. “I can help you walk if you want? The sand is hot.”
“I will not go until Elco can travel,” she said adamantly as she pulled away from him, concerned that her friend would not be able to walk or fly.
Elco’s voice rumbled across the sand, “I will be okay. I will lie here a bit longer and catch up to you guys. Can you ask them wherethey’re headed? They cannot hear me… only you. If you go back to Joro, I won’t be able to come. Please ask them for me.”
She looked up at the group, and she finally realized that only she could hear this magnificent creature before her. “Elco wants to know where we’re going,” she said to the others.
The group looked at each other, confused. “He talks to you?” Cahir asked.
“Yes. And he’s still injured. He cannot go to Joro. He wants to know where we’re going so he can catch up to us. Please don’t say we’re going back there. Everything we have known has been a lie, Cahir,” she looked over to him, and tears pooled in her eyes. “Terrible things happen there. Women arehurtto produce children, people are being eaten alive, and Lord Mordred is aware of it! We cannot return to Joro.”
“We’re going to the Wisps,” Ferona said. “They wish to talk to you.”
“She has a choice, remember? I want her to go to Umbrea,” Cahir urged firmly.
“I don’t care where we go, I just want to go far away from here.”
