“They will be fine. No one will even know where they are. I’ll do my best to make sure neither of you even know where they are.”
“As long as they’re safe.” I might not truly connect to my parents the way I should, but I loved them. And they loved me. And Braelynn’s family loved her, even if they couldn’t remember her because of the memory spell. My parents wouldn’t remember me soon either. And it was all for a reason. For a purpose. But it didn’t make it any easier. And so, with that, I brought Braelynn close, and we started on our way to the mountains. Alura drove, competent and acting as if this were an everyday occurrence. As if I weren’t walking into a realm that wasn’t the one I had been born into, one that called to me with its siren song in my dreams and during my waking hours.
This was rote for her. But for me, it wasn’t.
It couldn’t be.
Because I was the only Spirit Priestess. The one they had all been searching for. The one Rhodes and Rosamond had been looking for. And they had found me.
Others were looking for me, but it had been Rhodes and Rosamond who eventually fulfilled that part of the prophecy. Apparently, even Easton had started the search long ago, though he’d quit while trying to save his kingdom. I didn’t know how I felt about that. Then again, I didn’t know much about Easton or how I felt about him saving me or him helping me in the end when Rhodes had walked away.
I let out a shuddering breath as we got out of the car, Braelynn in a pouch on my back with her little paws perched on my shoulder. We walked towards the mountain.
I must have looked weird with a cat sitting perfectly still on my back and shoulder, but there was no one to really look at us. We made it through the place where I had fallen that first time. The area where a Neg had wrapped its spindly fingers around my ankle and tugged me down the mountainside. I had almost died, but Rosamond had saved me. And Rhodes had been the one to try and pull me back.
We passed that place without saying a word. I wasn’t out of breath. My body didn’t hurt. I had trained for this. Alura looked as if she were gliding over the trail. As if she hadn’t a care in the world. Maybe she didn’t. Perhaps this was just part of her journey.
One day, I would find out. One day, I would ask more. But this was not that day. When we made it to the crevice in the side of the mountain where I could feel the pull of the Maison realm, I knew it was time. I understood that this was why I was here. This was what I had been waiting for. I was stronger than I was before. I was smarter. I knew more.
Now it was time for me to find my other elements. I still needed Water, Fire, and Spirit.
I needed all five to fully complete who I was.
Once that was done, I could figure out what it all meant.
Because there wasn’t a direct path that I could follow, not yet. But there was at least something.
“Trust yourself, Lyric. You know more than you think you do.” Alura hugged me then, kissed the top of Braelynn’s head, and then bussed my forehead.
“But you’re not coming,” I reiterated, my voice deceptively calm.
“It’s not my time. It will be soon. But it’s not time yet.” I vaguely remembered her saying something similar when I first saw her talking to Rhodes and Rosamond on the street. Before everything had changed. Before I had changed. I still didn’t know what she meant, but when she gave me a little wave, I gave her a nod in return and turned towards the crevice.
The magic pulled at me, licked at my skin. This was where I needed to be. Soon, I would see my friends. Soon, I would know what path I needed to take and would stop hiding. Because the others needed me, and frankly, I needed them. So I took a step, and then another. The magic tugged at me, pulling, fraying. Braelynn purred against my neck as if she enjoyed the feeling. If I were honest with myself, maybe I was enjoying it, too. It was as if I were coming home after a long journey to something familiar and sweet.
It didn’t make any sense because I had only been here once before, yet I knew this was where I needed to be.
And as I stepped into the bright light that was the southern Spirit territory, I shielded my eyes with my hand. Braelynn leaned into me, still purring as she faced forward. I focused on the three shadows coming towards me. Three figures that didn’t feel like the dark energy of the Negs or as if they were trying to hurt me.
But they didn’t feel familiar.
When they walked into the light in my line of sight, they didn’t look like anyone I knew either.
I held up my hands, the earth beneath me rattling just a bit, and the air sliding between my fingers. I was ready to fight back if needed.
But then a man held up his hands, his deep voice rumbling. I froze. I did not know these people, but it seemed they knew me.
“Lyric? Good, Alura said you would be here.”
I didn’t know this man, but he clearly knew me. Or of me.
“Who are you?” I asked, not backing down on my Wielding. I had learned to protect myself, at least somewhat, and that was better than when I’d first stepped foot into this realm a year ago.
The woman standing beside the man who’d spoken rolled her eyes. “Really, Teagan? You’re just going to call out her name and act like we aren’t strangers?” She came forward then, her dark hair lustrous. She was absolutely stunning, but I had no idea who she was.
“Sorry for that. I’m Aerwyna, but call me Wyn. This is Teagan.” She pointed over to the bigger man who had first talked. “And this is Arwin,” she said, pointing to the smaller male who looked more like a boy than a man. But I couldn’t really tell what age anybody was. Considering that Rhodes and Easton were in their two hundreds and looked my age, I probably wouldn’t be able to.
“That doesn’t really help me,” I said, my voice terse. “Just because you know my name doesn’t mean I should know you.”
“I knew this was going to happen.” Wyn shook her head, tossing her hair back from her face. “We’re Easton’s friends. From the Obscurité Kingdom. And we’re here to take you back to the court so you can begin your training.”
Training?
“Easton?” I asked, my voice breathy, my palms going clammy.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. I was supposed to contact him if I needed him. And I hadn’t. I didn’t need him. And if I kept telling myself that, maybe I would believe it. Because contacting Easton meant that I was making a choice, and I didn’t want to do that at all. I didn’t want to decide between the two kingdoms. I wanted to save them both. I needed to help them. However I could.
But that meant that Rhodes and Rosamond hadn’t sent for me. Hadn’t wanted to help.
I swallowed hard and studied the three people in front of me. Wyn had her hair down, the strands blowing around her shoulders. Her skin was paler than mine, making the red of her lips stand out. She had huge, light blue eyes that were almost gray and seemed to be filled with knowledge and humor at the same time.
Teagan was just as large as Luken, Rhodes’ second in command and friend. He was broad, and while Luken was light and blond, Teagan had darker hair that wasn’t quite as long, though it looked like he raked it back with his fingers often. Teagan’s skin appeared tan, maybe from being outdoors often, while the other man was a bit paler with shorter hair that had designs cut into it.