She focused, biting down on her lip and straining the foreign muscles. They shifted, but not by much, as if they were seized up with tension.
“Relax,” Roya said as she approached them. “Take a deep breath and relax as best as you can. Feel them, but don’t strain.”
Seda slowly breathed in and out, pausing her steps and closing her eyes. She focused on the new feel and weight on her back, and the memory of the dream came back to her—the dream of foreign muscles she didn’t recognize as a battle rang out in front of her. She flexed the same muscles from her dreams, and her wings flapped vigorously, causing the air around them to stir.
Seda opened her eyes and saw Roya watching her, tears forming in her dark azure eyes as her hair blew around her.
“They’re going to be sore. I’d suggest practicing moving them as much as you can while you walk. Maybe soon you can fly with me,” Roya said with a smile that lit up her face.
“Thanks, you guys,” Seda said to them, offering them a small smile in return. She didn’t know if she could use them to fly any time soon, but what else were wings for? The thought thrilled her.
Roya shifted into her Corvid form and took to the skies, watching from far above and cawing loudly down at the group.
“How do you feel?” Cahir asked as she approached and began walking alongside him.
“Sore, confused, mad,” she replied. So much was currently at play, and Kalon was right. She needed to refocus on what was important. She was tired of games and secrets. “When Kalon told me all of this, I started to feel… so angry, like it was all too much too fast, and all I could do was pulse with this fury.”
He studied her, his eyes searching hers. “I’m sorry, Seda. I wish I had all the answers for you.”
It felt honest, and a part of her ached to reach out to him. She offered a small smile and looked ahead on their path. The green, grassy landscapes stretched on endlessly until the darkness of the trees ahead stopped their cascade of color. They walked over a small bridge, over a trickling stream below, and Seda looked down, seeing a rainbow of small fish swimming around.
Everything appeared so peaceful in Umbrea. Why was Joro so vastly different? How had Tievel become this Monster King? He was just a short, snide-looking man who hosted the beginnings of each Wyrd. She never would have guessed he was behind all the torment down there.
It took them a couple more hours of walking through the peaceful landscapes before the roadway narrowed and the trees began to thicken, leaving the lush green fields behind them.
“We need to watch for wolves,” Elco said to her, and she looked around at the vast pine trees, breathing in the fresh air and feeling the forest’s tranquil silence.
If wolves approached, she knew they could handle them easily. She didn’t feel scared at the thought. In fact, she almost embraced the idea. She hadn’t used her powers much in the time she had been in Umbrea, and her palms began to itch with anticipation.
She flared her magic and looked down at her hands. A slight feeling of pride washed over her. She was strong, and she could now feel that within herself—no more broken promises to herself and no more cowering in fear. The one thing her painful past taught her was that a person’s sense of inviolability didn’t develop overnight or even quickly. You had to grow into it and find it completely within yourself.
“The road seems to be cut off ahead by an overgrowth of those roses that were planted on the castle grounds,” Roya said as she shifted forms and walked alongside them.
They walked forward until the roadway ended, leading into a dense thicket of rose bushes that blocked their path. As if on cue, all the roses turned their gaze to watch them, a rainbow of colorful eyes shifting and growing from dangerous stems.
Seda remembered what Neoma had told her. These roses were monsters, their tears like burning acid that could eat through your skin.
Cahir pulled his sword out, readying to use it as a machete to cut through the thick, thorn-filled bushes.
“Don’t!” Suza ran in front of them, holding out her hands to stop them and blocking their path. “There’s no need to hurt them.”
Seda peered over at the flickering form of the snake, her eyes wide with fear. The roses had shirked away from them, peering back to watch them with wary eyes.
“Why not? I was told they were monsters,” Seda asked as she watched the florals begin to quiver.
Suza glanced at Seda, her breathing ragged. “And what is a monster to you, Seda? Is Elco not a monster, despite his ability to breathe fire? Am I a monster because I’m an Amaru? Are you a monster because you have wings and magic that can kill? These plants harbor no ill will toward you. They thrive here. They’re as much a part of nature as we are.”
Elco huffed in annoyance. He really disliked being referred to as a monster, but so many had, and that made Seda reach over and place her palm on Cahir’s arm, lowering his sword.
What truly was a monster? The Hailecs in the Heath Forest, the Gnashing Flora, and the Mungder… they all attacked them, resulting in the death of her friends.
But… they were only trying to survive in their own way…right?
She remembered feeling sorry for the roses when Neoma was chopping away at them, picking her stupid, fucking bouquet for her. A bouquet she didn’t even want. They looked in pain, too. Sherecalled their quivering eyelashes and tears dripping down their curled petals.
Seda stepped closer to the bushes and knelt in front of them, causing Suza to move to the side with hesitation.
The roses continued to watch her, their stems trembling in fear.
