“You look well,” I tell them, tears still stinging my eyes.
“We aren’t the only ones.” She tilts her chin toward my window, and I follow her gaze.
I have to squint to see, but then I do.
The cat.The stray feline Telfi loved. He’s perched on the windowsill, licking his paw as if not a single day has passed.
She took care of him.
“I wish I could say the same for your plants,” my mother says, offering me a grim look.
My heart sinks, but only briefly. I still have every intention of asking Jax if I can have some of the flowers from the palace gardens.
“It’s okay,” I tell her, forcing a smile. “They survived far longer than I ever dreamed they would.”
And it’s true. Those plants should have died within weeks of me potting them.
“But you…” My mother breathes out slowly, eyes scanning every inch of me. “You look strong.” She grips my shoulder, so much pride in her smile.
I cover her hand with mine.
“I feel strong,” I tell her, needing her to really believe it. I kiss each of them on the cheek. “I have to be at the arena soon, but you have nothing to fear. The flames…I can control them now.” My voice is a whisper, and my parents pull me close again.
“We always knew you’d be able to,” my father says against my hair.
I hold them both tighter, never wanting to let them go, never wanting to be apart again.
But then—
A whooshing noise.
A burst of bright light.
I pull away as Jax reappears, Theo standing beside him, his face alight with excitement, which only makes me want to roll my eyes.
Ajja trots off toward the border of our village, as if he couldn’t be bothered with what’s about to occur.
My mother steps back, straightening her posture. “Go, Serafina,” she says, her tone commanding, just like it was two months ago. “Go and show the world what you can do.”
I look between them. My mother and my father. Memorizing their faces, their love, their unshakable belief in me.
Even before I was an Essentari…they always knew I would survive. I owe it to them to do exactly that.
I nod once. No goodbyes.
There’s no need for them.
And besides…they’ll be watching me soon.
Competing in the arena.
Fighting for the right tolive.
The third trial starts in less than one hour, and they’re not allowed to not attend.
Chapter 35
Serafina
