From Breath and Ruin, page 21
This time, I didn’t mind that he was protecting me. Because I wanted a good look at this stranger, this Easton.
Easton’s gaze went to the place where Rhodes touched me, and he narrowed his eyes before blanking his face. I had no idea what that was about, but I didn’t focus on it. This man was the son of our enemy, the one who threatened everything Rhodes and I wanted.
Rhodes lifted his chin. “Your mother has my sister, and you know it. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Easton sneered before turning to me. “You better go home, little girl. This isn’t your fight. You’re just going to get hurt.”
I blinked since he was talking to me, not sure why he was doing so at all. “I’m not a little girl. And I don’t need to go anywhere.”
Easton met my gaze for a moment before turning his head away. “Suit yourself. But the longer you stay here with him? The more likely it is you’ll get hurt. This isn’t for you. Go home.”
Then, he turned on his heel and left, and I had to wonder how he had gotten here. How had he been at the right place at the right time? Yes, he had saved us from the Negs, but who had sent them in the first place? Maybe it was just a coincidence that the Negs happened to be here. After all, this is where they lived.
Or, maybe Easton had been the one to send them.
His mother had sent the originals.
And he was the Prince of Obscurité.
Chapter Twenty-Six
We slept that night on our new rolls an hour from where we’d fought the Negs. We’d known we would have to sleep in the borderlands themselves before we entered the Fire territory, but it was hard to fall asleep so soon after the battle, so soon after the confrontation with Easton.
Rhodes didn’t want to talk about the other prince, and I didn’t want to push, not when we were so close to our original goal. There might not be any sign of Rosamond, but we were getting closer. I could feel it.
By the time we ate and cleaned up, the sun had set, and the temperature had indeed dropped dramatically. I was glad that Luken had told us to purchase blankets. I lay in my roll next to Braelynn, the two men on patrol since they both said they wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. It stung that they could go longer without sleep, but Luken had explained that it was because they were Wielders. Since they aged slower, they also burned less energy. I didn’t understand it, but they hadn’t needed the amount of sleep Braelynn and I did over the course of the trip.
Tonight was no different.
Braelynn had fallen asleep after Luken told her a story, soothing her in their own private moment. But it had taken me longer to succumb.
The dreams hadn’t made it any easier.
The dreams that hadn’t haunted me since the human realm.
The dreams that were back.
I didn’t want to believe the nightmares were coming for me, were there to keep me up at night and pull me in, forcing me to let go. But then again, they’d been gone for so long, maybe it was time for them to return. I’d had my reprieve.
I might be living in a new world, one where I could physically see the difference between the paths that I took, but it didn’t seem to matter anymore.
Because the dreams would tell me exactly what I needed to see. Maybe it was time for me to actually look at them. I supposed it was time for me to truly understand what they were trying to tell me.
Or maybe I was losing my mind, one element at a time.
The dream began like it always did, dark, shadows, a pause where I had to figure out exactly where it would begin—or maybe where it could end.
Once again, I stood at the convergence of four elements, four directions. Earth rumbled under my feet, the Air slid through my hair. Water sprayed along my face. And the heat of Fire singed my skin.
I hadn’t known all of this was true before. I hadn’t known that the elements that haunted my dreams were the ones from the Maison realm. I hadn’t known that, one day, I would be able to feel one of those elements deep within my soul, that I might be able to feel the others once they were unlocked.
So, as the elements brushed against me again, I tried to take a look into my surroundings. This time, unlike so many other times when I was a passive participant, I knew where we were.
This time, I knew where we had been all along.
We were in the southern Spirit territory. Or maybe not, if the northern Spirit territory looked the same, but I had been in a place that looked just like this, and from the feel of it, I knew we were there.
Maybe I was at the point where all the elements met, or maybe I was just in a symbol of what the Maisons needed to believe in. I wasn’t sure, but I knew that outside of the elements that hurt my skin, that made it hard to breathe, that made me feel like I was fighting a war that never ended, there were landmarks that told me I was near the Spirit Wielders. The white trees, the bleached sand, the never-ending sun that never seemed to brighten anything it touched.
This was the Spirit territory, and I wasn’t alone.
I looked around, and the shadows came at me. I almost screamed. I tensed, trying not to show my panic. These were the same shadows as before. Could they get into my dreams? Had they been haunting me this entire time?
I didn’t know exactly what they could do, but since we were here, I didn’t think I would be able to fight back like I could in the human realm.
Or could I?
Maybe I could use Air more here than I could in the real world because this was merely a dream.
But before I could form a plan for exactly how to save myself in a world that didn’t make any sense, the shadows shifted. Suddenly, they were no longer what I feared could be the horror. Instead, I was surrounded by twelve people in long, cream robes.
It was as if each person stood at the hour mark of a clock, their heads down, the hoods of their robes covering their faces. I could see the long, flowing hair of some of them, one blond, two brown-haired, one red, but from the builds under the robes, some could have been men. I just didn’t know.
But these people, whoever they were, circled me. They were closing in, taking one step at a time, each to a tone that I couldn’t quite hear but could feel in my bones. I tried to catch my breath, but I wasn’t sure I would be able to. Then again, when was the last time I’d been able to fully catch my breath at all since everything started?
I knew this was important, I knew this wasn’t just a dream.
None of the dreams I’d had before were truly dreams either.
The one at twelve o’clock slid her hood from her head and looked at me, her wide eyes staring as if she were seeing into my soul. The figures to my right and left slid their hoods back, as well, and I assumed the one behind me did the same, if the rustling was any indication. The one before me was beautiful, stunning. She took me in as if she were trying to see every inch of me, every ounce of the person that I thought I could hide, of the person that I didn’t even know I was. But there was beauty there I couldn’t quite comprehend.
Her long, strawberry-blond hair tumbled around her shoulders, blowing in the wind I could feel yet knew wasn’t coming from the same direction as the wind hitting my face.
In fact, if I looked at each person, we seemed to have our own wind, our own elements.
It didn’t make any sense. Then again, I was in a dream, after all.
“Stay with the light. And the darkness.”
I blinked as the woman spoke. I didn’t understand.
“What? What do you mean?”
The one at my three o’clock spoke, her voice deep. I looked over at the woman with dark skin and darker eyes. “You must choose the path.”
The one at nine o’clock spoke, and I turned to a man with light brown skin and hazel eyes. “You must choose the path,” he repeated.
The one at six o’clock spoke, and I turned yet again. This woman had long, straight, black hair, her cheekbones severe. She looked stunning. Gorgeous. And I was scared of her. “We are the Spirit Wielders. The ones who must hide with the humans because of what’s become of our realm. Do not fear us, do not forget us. But know that one day we will come back.”
“Then why aren’t you here now? If you can get into my dreams, if you’re truly who you say you are, why aren’t you here with the rest of us, trying to figure out what’s going wrong? Doesn’t the realm need you? It’s dying. I’ve seen the people. They say it’s because the crystals are fading. Don’t they need you?”
“Of course, they do. The Maisons need all five elements to truly thrive. But we can’t survive right now in that realm. You will know more when the time is right. But know that you must choose your path.”
I turned away from the woman with the dark hair and back to the original woman at twelve o’clock. The figures stationed between the cardinal directions hadn’t removed their hoods, and I knew they were likely just there so their powers could be used. They wouldn’t speak.
The other woman spoke. “Stay with the light and the darkness. Don’t fold. Don’t run. Learn the gray.”
“And know that others watch you. It is not who you think it is.”
I turned to the man that had spoken and screamed as fire erupted all around us. It didn’t make any sense. Heat blasted, and the others shrieked. The hairs on my arms singed, and I shook myself, trying to catch my breath as smoke billowed around us. I ducked, my mouth open in a scream, but I didn’t have enough air to actually make a sound.
Everything burned.
Everything hurt.
And I didn’t understand why.
“Learn the gray. Stay with the light. Stay with the darkness.”
All of them spoke at once, and then they screamed, the fire erupting. I covered my face, trying to stop what was happening and wake up. But I couldn’t. Instead, I opened my eyes and looked around.
Someone had attacked the Spirit Wielders as they had come to me in my dreams. Someone was coming after them. Someone was coming after me.
But who? Who would want to do this?
I looked through the fire, through the smoke that tasted of ash, and I gasped.
It was the crystal.
The dark crystal.
The one from the Obscurité Court.
The one that was dying, yet somehow fed the magic in the Earth territory as the people in turn strengthened it.
Queen Cameo was the one in charge of it, the one who ruled using it, and yet I could see it through the darkness. Whoever was near the crystal at that point had to be the one attacking me. But I didn’t know what to do.
And then a dark shadow stepped in front of the crystal, and their arms went out, their magic pouring through them.
Their Wielding far stronger than mine.
Was it the queen?
Was it Easton?
Was it someone I didn’t know?
I didn’t know what I could do next. I threw up my hands, using my Air, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough. I wasn’t strong enough for this. I didn’t know what I would be able to do, but I was going to need more than one element, more than a few weeks of learning how to prepare myself if I were going to save myself, my friends, and maybe even a kingdom or two.
The figure in front of me raised their hands once more, and fire burned around me.
I screamed. Alone.
The Spirit Wielders had left. Whatever had let them come into my dreams to try and speak to me, to warn me, to confuse me, hadn’t been enough against this Fire.
It hadn’t been enough against the crystal that might’ve been fading but had more than enough power to come out to us all.
And as the fire came at me again, the earth rumbling under my feet as if I would fall at any moment, I woke up. My eyes went wide. But I wasn’t how I was when I had fallen asleep.
Flames covered my body now, dancing along my skin in an arcing burn. I could feel the heat, sense the singeing of the hairs on my legs and arms, the filaments burning into dust and ash.
I shook my hands, then my legs. A scream almost escaped my mouth, but I blew it away, afraid that I would catch the tent fully on fire or end up burned. But then Rhodes, who I had forgotten had slept next to me, sat up quickly. His arm blazed with fire on his tunic, and he shook it out, not uttering a word as he focused on me.
I sat up, my heart racing, and used the rest of my Air to get the fire off my body, out of the tent, and off the man that I thought I could love.
After his patrol, he had slept next to me, our bodies brushing but not fully touching. He’d wanted to make sure I was safe, and I had been able to truly fall asleep when he was near me. It hadn’t meant anything that the dreams came to me when he was there.
It only meant that I had finally been able to sleep deeply because he was close. Because I had felt safe.
And then I had hurt him.
I had burned him because of my dreams.
The fire hadn’t completely gone out, and the tent above us still burned. Rhodes used his Water Wielding to put it out completely, but the skin beneath his tunic on his right arm was singed, blisters already forming.
My dreams had hurt him. Something had attacked him. Was it my dreams? Or was it whoever had tried to attack me through them? It didn’t matter. It was dangerous for him to be around me.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, finally able to catch my breath. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
He shook his head and reached out to cup my face. “You didn’t.”
I pulled back, afraid that I’d burn him again with just my touch. I tried to ignore the disappointment in his eyes, but it wasn’t easy. “You’re bleeding. Your arm is a blister right now. I burned you. Fire Wielding burned you.”
He swallowed hard, and I watched his throat work. “It was the dream. Have you unlocked your Fire Wielding? If so, then it might happen. Air has such force, such tenacity, but it’s harder to initially hurt someone with it. That’s why Fire is such a dangerous element to have. And why so many go crazy when they can’t master it. They become insane because of the flames within them, the heat singeing their souls and their minds. Those that harness the Fire have to be so strong, have to almost be cold in the end. It’s almost as if they aren’t the same person they were when they started. I’m not going to let that happen to you.” He cupped my face, and I closed my eyes, leaning into him. I felt like I could breathe with him, even if I was shaking. “I care about you, Lyric. You’re a part of me, and I don’t know why, and I know it’s too soon, and I know we need to worry about the rest of the world before we can worry about us, but I care about you. I’m not going to let the Fire Wielding take you. Okay?”
My heart practically skipped a beat, my body shaking at his words. I knew this was important. Then again, everything was important lately.
I nodded, unable to actually form the words. Did I care about Rhodes? Yes, I had let him sleep next to me, knowing I would be safe in his arms even if he didn’t hold me the whole night. I knew that there was something important where he was concerned. I had felt a connection to him from the first time I saw him, and as the days progressed, as the weeks passed, I knew that he was someone important to me. I knew that I wanted him in my life, I just didn’t know exactly what that meant. There was so much going on around us that I needed to focus on. I knew that.
But it was hard not to want to focus on him, as well.
He used his Water Wielding to somehow soothe the wound on his arm, and I wanted to cry. My eyes stung, but the tears didn’t come. Honestly, I was probably too shocked to cry.
Someone had tried to attack me through my nightmares, and it had hurt Rhodes.
When I explained the dream to him and then explained the rest of my dreams, he had nodded but hadn’t come up with an explanation. I hadn’t expected him to. Not really. The dreams weren’t for him.
They were mine.
But I knew that someone had tried to attack me through them, just as the Spirit Wielders had tried to warn me.
I wasn’t going to refute who I was anymore, wasn’t going to deny what other people wanted me to be.
They wanted me to be the Spirit Priestess.
I didn’t know if that would ever come to pass. I didn’t know if I had that type of power. But I was going to help find Rosamond. And I was going to make sure Rhodes was safe. And maybe I could even help find Emory again.
Because right then, I almost felt like it was time for me to go home. Everything had changed, and everything was going so fast. It was hard to keep up when all I wanted to do was take a break and try to catch my breath—and maybe just go home.
But when I went back to the human realm, would I be the same?
Would home be the same?
Would Emory be the same? Would she even be there? I wasn’t sure what to think. A small part of me wanted to run back to find her, to make sure she was safe, but that would never happen. I’d never be able to go back the way she had. And I didn’t want to. Not really. The idea of finding her was a small, misguided wish that would likely hurt more than it helped.
I couldn’t do that to myself. Couldn’t do that to the others. I couldn’t do that to Braelynn. I couldn’t leave her, not when she was forming something with Luken…and when she was connecting so clearly with the land around us.
Braelynn was fighting. Fighting for herself and smiling and laughing. And truly acting as if she belonged here. Braelynn didn’t have a single Wielding aspect to her. She didn’t have a connection to a single element, yet sometimes it felt like she was far more connected to this territory, to this kingdom, to this realm than I was.
And maybe that was because Braelynn knew who she was, or at least had an idea of who she could be.
And I was only just beginning to discover those things about myself.
Was I making the wrong choice? Should I leave and let Rhodes use his powers and strength to find his sister? Was I just in the way?
Those had been the questions plaguing me since I first stepped foot in the Maison realm, and yet with the dreams from the Spirit Wielders, and the person that attacked me full-on with Fire, and even the earth rumbling beneath my feet, I knew I couldn’t go home.
