Nell nodded contemplatively. “That’s fair. Let’s try something, then.”
“Sure,”I scoffed.“Why not?”My pessimism seeped from me uncontrollably as I bent over to stretch my back muscles from sitting for so long.
“I want you to let me inside your mind. Fully.”
“I have,”I retorted.
Nell shook her head, then pushed her long, willowy strands from her face. “No. You’ve only let me in enough to communicate. Let me see your memories. I feel like you’re protecting something, or hiding it in shame. That alone is enough to block you.”
I sighed, a heaviness sinking in my chest before settling in the pit of my stomach. Immediately, I knew what she was referring to. The memory flashed in my mind. My palms began to sweat, and my lungs constricted, making it difficult to breathe.
“Don’t be afraid. Anything I see will be kept between you and me. These are your secrets to tell, Cotton.”
I shook out my hands, my eyes darting around the office as my heart began to race.
“Deep breaths, sweet child. No harm will come to you here.” Nell’s voice dropped into a lower octave, calming, yet strong.
Warmth flooded my chest and radiated throughout my arms and shoulders, climbing up my neck and sliding down my spine. The tension eased, my muscles loosening and my lungs expanding to draw in air, calming me.
“Take me there. Show me the chapter that keeps you from finishing your story.”
Chapter Fifteen
Gray
The next few days passed by in a haze. The earth Elementals constantly switched with one another to maintain a clear path. When we entered the patches of poisoned Arcadia, our pace slowed, everyone cautious not to touch any limbs or branches. So far, we’d been lucky not to run into any creatures from Arcadia yet, but the foreboding quietude of the forest made me fear that our luck would soon run out.
We had enough food to last us another two weeks. If that.
Three days ago, Slate had cracked a code signaling where and when the next scorse would pop up. We didn’t see much of a way to bargain with the most depraved humans running those rings, especially not when we had such a large group of Elementals belonging to the most wanted Hollow in the world. We didn’t have time to enter a match, and even if we did, we wouldn’t be able to win enough food or supplies for half of the Hollow.
The only solution? To kill them all and take what we needed. The victims captured and held as slaves by these egregious monsters would then be freed. It was risky. We didn’t want to lose any more lives than we already had back home, but we had the advantage ofour magic and combat skills. The highest risk? These individuals no doubt had bullets designed to kill us. We had to plan accordingly with the best of our knowledge.
As I took a drink of water, a wicked energy approached, brushing against my aura and threatening to taint it.
“You sense that?” I asked Slate under my breath, the heaviness in the air pressing down on my neck as the stillness prickled the small hairs all over my body.
Slate walked close to me, his eyes never ceasing to search our vicinity. With a nod, he slowly reached over his shoulder, grabbing his sword. I quickly followed suit. And seconds later, the sound of multiple blades scraping free from their holsters echoed around us. “What is it?” I asked.
Slate halted, his head held high and going preternaturally still. Sweat beaded on his brow, tanned from days of relentless exposure to the sun. “You’re not gonna like it. This isn’t like the bear that you and Chrome faced,” he said in a low tone.
I shot him a glare. “You witnessed that, too?” I hissed.
Slate shrugged. “She just wanted to go home. Be glad you didn’t kill it. The ceraber—as it’s called in Arcadia—is a regal creature. Highly regarded and respected,” he muttered absentmindedly as he continued to scan the woods, adjusting his stance.
A high-pitched screech pierced the sky, like a hawk’s cry, but louder and more vicious. At once, everyone dropped into defensive stances, searching above us.
“Slate?” The bird’s cry lanced through the silence again. “What is that?”
Once, Slate bore a naturally kind expression. His eyes, no matter how serious or focused, always told the story of his gentle soul, untainted by the horrors that life had to offer. Now, his eyes reflected a much different story as he glared at the sky, braced for attack. Whatever he’d been through in the past few years had changed him. “A griffin. But Endarkened.”
“A griffin? Asin?—”
“Half bird and half lion? Yes,” Slate said. “They’re fierce creatures under normal circumstances, but as Endarkened, they’re volatile and vicious. Get ready.”
I turned around, facing our caravan of Elementals. Scanning the crowd, I searched for those I trusted most. Onyx’s taut amber eyes met me first, before I found the others dispersed throughout the crowd. Kodiak stood hulking above the rest near the back, no doubt responsible for giving us such a wide berth by splitting a gaping path for our group. Void stood beside River in the middle of the pack, and I suspected that the reason no one had tripped over roots or stones was due to him. All the earth Elementals were constantly using their magic, but thankfully, we’re all equipped to prevent ourselves from diminishing our reserves too quickly.
“An Endarkened griffin has sensed us,” I announced to everyone. “A beast with a lion’s body and a bird’s head and wings. It’s vicious, and from the sounds of it”—as if on cue, the creature cried out again, this time much closer than the last—“it’s large. So beware.”
