“She needs virelthorn,” Heraphia conveyed for her friend.
A moment later, Sylaira’s mother shoved a smattering of leaves into her daughter’s hand. She threw them back without hesitation, chewing so fast she nearly choked.
“Come inside both of you, or you’ll catch a chill.”
A fire roared moments later, drying the friends.
But even the hearth couldn’t chase away the chill of Sylaira’s vision.
And as she rested beside Heraphia, all she could do was cry.
Heraphia dried her cheeks, saying nothing.
Because they both knew the truth…
For an Elessarum Seer, death was a mercy.
Sight was an enduring curse, one that would steal far more from them than either realized.
48
White. Suffocating. Entombing. There was nothing and everything, no sense of up or down. Just…endless.
I blinked, trying to focus on something, anything that might indicate my location. But no matter which way I turned, only that incandescent void greeted me. Even Vaeron was nowhere to be seen—hadn’t we fallen asleep together?
Pleasure didn’t course through my veins. I looked down at myself.
Long, billowing sleeves held my arms captive. A set of robes, similar to what priestesses wore, draped the rest of my body. My brows furrowed.
Where was I?
“Daughter.”
The word had me whirling around, searching for the source of the sound.
From the abyss, a feminine figure emerged. Never had I seen someone so beautiful. Face perfectly serene, skin smooth as glass,omniscient orbs in a shade paler than should have been possible. She glided like the world bent around her, hair like freshly fallen snow drifting behind her.
It wasn’t comforting; it was cruel. Terror looped a noose around my neck and cinched.
“Why do you reject my gift, daughter?”
There was that term again. But she wasn’t my mother.
“I am no mere female. I am Goddess.”
The realization slammed air out of my lungs. Her divine stillness should have been the first indication. That unnerving, unblinking gaze the second.
I fell to my knees, hooking my thumbs together and pressing my palms over my heart. I rocked back and forth, fluttering my palms.
“Forgive me, Radiant Mother,” I pleaded. “I did not know.”
“No, you would not for how long you have tried to keep me out. But I am stronger than your attempts to reject what I blessed you with,” she said, her words sharp and aimed to wound.
“I am sorry,” I breathed, keeping my head down so she wouldn’t see the lie.
She tasted it anyway. “You think visions a curse. You have no idea the power you truly hold.”
She was wrong. In this realm, I was powerless. Trapped beneath those who sought to exploit me. And Seeing? That would be letting them win.
