A strong wind rips through the garden, whipping fallen pieces of my hair across my eyes and making them water.
Leaves begin cascading down upon me as the mighty wind tears them from the tree. The iciness of the wind lifts the hair on my arms.
The sight of the leaves being thrown so forcefully makes mychest tighten. Something is very wrong here. I struggle to look up at the tree and shield my eyes from the wind. The orbs in the branches dim and resemble glowing eyes.
But as violently as it came, the wind suddenly stops. The leaves now flutter peacefully to the ground. The staggering calm the wind left in its wake should have brought a sigh of relief, but high up in the tree, there are completely bare branches.
Sadness creeps over me. This great, majestic tree is withering away and slowly dying. Is this from magic fading or something more?
I plop down on a bench and tilt my head back to the sky, fighting to keep the warring emotions at bay. A tree this old, withering away, is heartbreaking. Ribbons of greenish blue light begin to dance overheard, setting ablaze the stars that dance between the branches of the mighty tree. The sight of them soothes a bit of the sadness permeating my mind.
It’s so stunningly beautiful in this magical place. When the shadow of a large bird flies overhead, blotting out clusters of stars, I try to follow its flight to determine if it’s an actual bird or a guard. But I lose sight of it through branches that still have a few leaves clinging to them, those branches looking healthy and full of life.
I’m disappointed I wasn’t shown this on my brief tour of the city, but I’m even more surprised that it wasn’t even mentioned.
Or was it? When I first arrived, Odessa said weird things were happening, and she had hoped that when they heard the charm, it meant my mother was finally returning to restore things. But this seems more foreboding than that. More along the lines of what Mathilda said.
If I stay, will the tree begin to heal? The decision to stay and fulfill my duty begins to take root, with each falling leaf that flutters down. I watch as several more fall, but the sadness it brings pushes me off the bench and back to the Great Hall. I can’t witness any more of it.
I have to do something to help, and quickly.
With each step away from the dying tree, my new path opens up before me. I begin planning what I can do to help. The first thing I need to do is tell Odessa about the abuse from Julius. Suffering through that will get me nowhere, and if I want to help, I need to push myself so my powers will manifest. I also need to ask her to teach me how to travel back and forth so I can visit Gran.
My self-reflection is interrupted, though, when a wiry man with bright white hair is thrown from a pub.
“War is COMING, and we should all get ready, you fools!”
The doors swing shut. Luna materializes from the shadows beside the pub, the moonlight bathing her in its glow.
She looks serene, her feet gliding over the ground with each step as she approaches him. She pauses a foot away, holds one slender finger to her lips, and whispers something, but I’m not close enough to hear her words. The yelling man goes rigid and silent. I’ve only seen her twice now, but something about her makes me want to avoid her at all costs. A sense of foreboding rises in the air. Dread has my knees trembling. I scurry my way to my room, nausea roiling in my stomach from uneasiness or exhaustion, I can’t tell.
Before I get ready for bed, I take one last look at my appearance. My cheeks are flushed, and my eyes still glow brightly. I barely recognize myself, and my parents probably wouldn’t recognize me either. I tip my medallion up to study it closer, running my fingertips over the poppy engraved in the center of the swirling runes.
“Am I where I’m supposed to be now, Mom?” I whisper, before letting it rest on my chest again.
Warmth blooms when the cool metal nestles against my skin, like a sign convincing me to stay here, see this through, and try to help in any way that I can.
15
BETRAYAL
The scent of cedar and rain jolts me awake. The sunlight seeping through the windows and thin curtains gives me a pounding headache. I tumble out of bed and to my feet. My entire body throbs and aches as if I’m one giant bruise. I have no idea how they continue to train every day. But I suck it up and head to my training with Julius.
It goes the same as it has the last couple of times, some kind of emotional abuse, followed by slight physical abuse, and then abandonment.
Today is pretty bad.
He wants to see if I can shoot a bow, and when I struggle to pull the bowstring, he not only has a marvelous time telling me what a disappointment I am, but he also pulls the string for me and lets it slice my cheek when he abruptly lets it go. I’m really glad I agreed to Evander’s suggestion for additional training because I will never learn anything at this rate.
After the complete waste of time my morning training was, I find myself in the dining hall for lunch, and for once, it is not empty.
“Hey! I missed you leaving last night. Were you ok?”Mathilda asks, worry creasing her brow. Her opalescent wings are out on full display today, and I realize the backs of the chairs are thoughtfully designed for people with wings.
“I’m sorry I just left. I got really tired and knew I had double training today,” I reply, taking a bite of my apple. The juice spills over my lips and down my chin, and I wipe it away with the back of my hand.
“Oh yeah, you’re with me today after lunch.” She winks. “I won’t take it easy on you, but you will definitely learn something, I promise,” she adds. I’m looking forward to it. I can’t wait to see her in action again today. The brief time I saw her sparring against Tane, I’ve held onto as an example of what I could be, what I hope to be.
“Thanks, I feel like a punching bag for Julius,” I grumble. The abuse he gave my ribs the other day is still tender to the touch, and I wince.
