Emotional withdrawal from things and people they once enjoyed.
Self-doubt and feelings of worthlessness.
Fire-starting tied to emotional feelings, mostly anger.
Uncontrolled display of any powers.
Dreams of a dark nature.
Hearing voices.
I snapped the book shut after seeing the words “hearing voices.” There were a few more items but I was too scared to read them.
“I mean, I’ve had most of those myself,” Eden tried to downplay it.
My heart hammered in my chest as I thought of slowly losing control of myself. Not just my powers but my dreams, my thoughts. It was terrifying.
Light help me,I prayed, closing my eyes and bowing my head as Eden reached for my hand and squeezed, hug hard.
I opened my eyes and handed her the book, a calmness coming over me. I was reminded in that moment of what Avis had said to Queen Solana.
“I’m not going to go dark.Ever,” I suddenly declared, and Eden gave me an encouraging nod. Maybe if I kept saying it and believed it, it would be true.
“That’s right,” she agreed.
Twenty minutes later, I decided to just head to my shift at Avis’s early. After bidding Eden goodbye, I was walking across campus when an eerie feeling came over me. A sense of dread filled me that I couldn’t explain, so I just stopped walking and froze.
Then Yanric’s voice came blaring inside my head. ‘Your dad got hurt at work!’he said. ‘Mable brought him to the clinic but there are no available beds and he’s lost a lot of blood. He’s in a lot of pain.’
Panic rushed through me at his words. My first thought was to find Ariyon, but after seeing that wall tally with all of the time he’d taken off of his life to save others…I couldn’t bring myself to do it. If my father had any idea what Ariyon had given up to heal him, he never would have let him.
‘Is he going to make it?’I asked, running for the school stables. I hoped Ariyon wasn’t going to mind me borrowing Ember. Because I couldn’t get to Avis’s, then to the clinic on the West Side, in a timely manner without a horse.
‘He’ll survive, but he’ll need help making all that blood back that he’s lost,’Yanric stated. ‘And something to numb the pain and ward off infection from the cut. A piece of machinery landed on his leg.’
Oh Light!
I pumped my legs faster and hoped everything would be okay.
Hang on, Dad, I’m coming.
I burst into the stables and scared the person tending the horses. “I need Ember. Ariyon Madden said it was okay. It’s an emergency,” I lied.
The man frowned at me. “No one rides Ember but the prince or his brother.”
Okay, I was going to have to take some liberties here. “I’m Ayden’s girlfriend, I’m sure you’ve seen us together? And if you don’t give me Ember right now, I’ll make sure you will find yourself jobless tomorrow.”
He blanched at that, pausing for a moment before finally moving to saddle the horse. I tapped my foot, wasting precious seconds until finally I mounted the mare and smoothed her coat with my gloved hand.
“Good girl.” I kicked my heels and she burst out of the open stable doors in the direction of Avis Apothecary.
I don’t think this woman knew what she was signing up for she hired me, but I hoped she wouldn’t say no to me now.
* * *
I gotthere in record time, bursting through the door to Avis’s shop and startling her. I was glad to see she was alone. “My dad’s leg got crushed by machinery at work. He’s at the West Side clinic but he’s lost a lot of blood and he’s in pain. They have no beds for him,” I said in a rush, so grateful Yanric had been looking out for him.
Her eyes widened as she flew around the room shoving tinctures and salves into a basket.
