Lucia held out her hand, and Leo was quick to take it into his own. She gazed into his crystal-blue eyes. They turned dark as a heavy glaze coated his lashes. There was guilt within them, a despair she knew too well. The air tensed as the sounds of thunder built overhead, almost as if it were warning them.
Lucia didn’t know what to do. She clenched Leo’s hand, expelling another wave of warmth from her palm to ease the torment shrouding his soul. She sent in the light with an image of many colors, those of the bright petals of flowers floating amongst the soft winds of the Pinean hills, as well as the aroma that came with it. Though it might feel as if his home and title were stripped from him, they still existed. That was all that mattered. Somehow, he would get his home back.
His hand loosened around hers as his eyes shut and his breathing calmed. Lucia smiled softly at the revelation of her newfound power. To absolve the pain of others—what a truly selfless gift, yet still a heavy burden to take on all of these emotions on her own. Even in the depths of these feelings, she couldn’t bring herself to express them, not like she used to. She looked into the distance, into nothing, as a numbness overcame her. The Light Wings could cleanse them of their troubles, but it could not expel her own. And in absorbing their grief, Lucia’s heart only hardened while her mind sharpened. This pain, she could not forget it. Her sadness was transforming. What was once doubt and fear became something entirely different.
“How are we supposed to stop this?” Luzanna asked, letting out a cold breath and seeing it hang in the air.
“We don’t know,” Lucia said. “That’s why we sought out Talon. Sigranole told us your father would know, but now . . . ” She wiped the rain from her cheek.
“His secrets died with him.” Leo finished her thought as a shade of guilt covered his face. “I wish I had done more to protect him.”
Luzanna touched the side of her mother’s face before rising to her feet. She let out one more breath, to collect herself. Then, with ease, she took the mask and placed it on her face. And with one swift movement, she took the magenta ribbons and tied them into her hair, securing the mask. Her tone steadied with resolve. “His secrets did not die with him. They were never his secrets to begin with.” She turned to face Lucia. From her pocket, she pulled forth the Elder Stone. It shimmered in her fingers like a cinder with magenta streaks. She secured it into the center groove of her mask, on top of her forehead, where it seemingly enlightened and brought her into a higher state, empowered by the wisdom of her ancestors.
“What do you mean?” Lucia asked.
“In the training grounds, when I confronted my father, he told me that it was my birthright to someday hold these secrets. They would come with my ascension as chieftess of my tribe. The only way to learn them is through the sacred pilgrimage to the realm of the protectors, Remena.”
“Remena?” Leo scoffed. “I thought that place was only a legend, the kind of place heard of in fairy tales.”
“I remember,” Lucia said quietly, recalling a memory from her childhood. “Amelia used to tell me stories about these people called the ‘children of light.’ She told me they had once existed long ago, born to preserve the balance of nature. They were supposedly the first generation of humans to live in Terestria.” She turned to Luzanna. “These people—they truly existed?”
“Yes,” Luzanna said. “I believe so, and I think they still do.” She tried to remember the final conversation she had with her father. “My father said that you opened a door, Lucia. With some power, you established a connection.” She held back tears, maintaining her focus as her father’s words left her lips. “And the darkness is now using that power to stay connected to this world.”
“My power? You mean the Light Wings?”
“No,” Luzanna said. She paused to analyze the details of Talon’s testimony. “It’s a power passed on from your mother. In all the history I’ve researched and studied, there’s never been a record of a human being born with any supernatural abilities, not like those of the Light Wings or otherwise. Any sort of special abilities were spoken of in the context of fiction. Or, at least that’s what I believed it to be . . . . But the protectors of legend, they were said to be direct descendants of the light. They were themselves created solely for the purpose of worshipping it and, like you said, preserving the balance between the light and the darkness, nature itself. And to do so, they were given powers not of this world. I know we’ve all heard stories, but what if it’s true? What if the protectors do exist . . . and you, Lucia”—Luzanna tilted her head—“are one of them.”
Lucia shook her head. “That couldn’t be possible. My mother was born and raised in Moz. Our house has held power for centuries. Granted, my grandfather never bore a son and my mother was given the throne. If her family was from Remena, I would know.”
“But your abilities, Lucia,” Leo interjected. “Can you say for certain they all came from the Light Wings? Have there been signs before of you doing things you can’t explain?”
Lucia began to sweat. Her stomach churned as she remembered every premonition, every intuition, every thought that ever came true. “I . . . ” Lucia closed her eyes, exhaling before she managed to speak. “My mother called my intuition the light’s blessing. It was a gift for my faithfulness to it. I’ve always had visions. Ever since I was a little girl, I could somehow predict events, droughts, storms, natural disasters, or conflicts within the city. My mother—she was adamant about me honing this gift so I could better serve the province. That’s why I spent so much time in the sanctuary, always praying. Because faith, like all things, must be exercised.”
“But these visions, how are they connected to the darkness? Lucia didn’t see this coming,” Leo said to Luzanna.
Lucia interrupted. “No, but I could feel it. Death . . . it clung to them—the Light Wings.” Lucia recalled the moment she first laid eyes on the silk they were wrapped in. She remembered the exact moment her entire world changed.
“But that still doesn’t answer my question,” Leo said. “How do we know for certain that the power Lucia has inherited is the same power bestowed on the protectors? How do we know it’s connected to the darkness?”
“It’s true. My mother never spoke of having a power of her own. Just prayer—she firmly believed in it. She always said that prayer would ward off evil. Just as she experienced in Frailty’s War.”
“And my father said your faith would not be strong enough to keep the darkness at bay, not yet anyway.” Luzanna thought a moment. “I’m trying to make sense of all this. But it’s hard to put the details together when there is still so much we don’t know.” She recalled her father’s words. “‘She awoke the ancient spirits with her song, and now she is connected.’”
“My song?” Lucia clasped the pendant with her hand, stepping back as Luzanna’s words seeped in. “That’s how . . . that’s when this all started. How would you know that? You weren’t even there!”
Luzanna blinked. “Well isn’t it obvious? It’s because your father knew. Everything he foretold is coming true—every fate, every destiny. It’s as if he wrote it himself.”
“And that’s a detail you’re just going to overlook?” Leo asked with wide eyes. “Lucia has the gift of intuition, an ability to foresee, or from what we know, feel the outcome of future events. If it’s not her mother who passed on the ability, it was Stello.”
This was all too much for Lucia to process. She struggled to breathe. Everything fell silent as her thoughts began to isolate. These pieces of herself, those she had once interpreted so blissfully, were now under scrutiny. With each passing moment, they closed in on the truth, and for some reason this terrified her. “I never knew much about him. My mother spoke nothing intimate of him, only of his nobility and devotion to Moz and its well-being. I always thought he left us, abandoned us . . . or died on his mission for peace, a mission that he failed.”
“Well, Le
o’s right. That simply can’t be overlooked. What if this gift of ‘intuition’ isn’t intuition at all? What if your visions, your premonitions, are prophecies as well? You can’t ignore that the two are in fact similar, Lucia, not right now. It can’t be a mere coincidence. You’re clairvoyant.”
“Clair—what now?” Leo asked scratching his head.
For the first time in a while, Luzanna smiled. “Clairvoyant is a word used to describe someone with extrasensory perception.”
Leo gave his wild look, still confused. Luzanna shook her head.
Lucia blinked hard. “I know there might be some truth to what you’re saying, Luzanna. I shouldn’t overlook or deny the truth. Every detail is far too important to ignore. But this whole damn world revolves around me right now, and I can’t do anything to free myself from it. Can you imagine what that must feel like?” She turned from them as anger pulsed through her chest. Her head pounded as her thoughts pumped in and out of her head like the blood in her heart. “Damn it,” she whispered, as the thoughts seeped in. Famished, she craved the truth more than anything, yet she didn’t know what she feared more: the truth or the darkness surrounding it.
“There is one other thing my father mentioned.” Luzanna tapped her beak with the tip of her finger. “He said that when the darkness emerged years ago, your mother used her power to seal it away. Yours, on the other hand, is being used as a gateway to our world. If this is true, then I’m certain we can find a way to use Lucia’s power to cut off her connection to it.”
“And how do you suppose we go about doing that?” Leo asked. “Can’t you see Lucia’s had enough? She needs her strength.”
“Then what do we do? Wait?” Luzanna crossed her arms. “We’ve analyzed the facts and taken into consideration every move made up to now. If we have any chance of defeating the darkness, we have to—”
“We?” Leo interrupted in frustration. “When has it ever been ‘we’?”
Luzanna gasped.
Lucia looked back to them, feeling the sting of Leo’s words where Luzanna’s mother was still dead within their sight. Immediately, Lucia stepped forward and, with a push of her hand, sent a wave of light toward Leo, knocking him off his feet and into the bark of the tree in the distance. With a loud smack, he cracked into it and fell to the ground as the air left his body.
“Luzanna, I’m sorry,” Lucia said. “Don’t listen to him. We’ll go with you to Remena and fulfill your sacred pilgrimage. Surely there is more to the story of the protectors and their gifts.” Lucia’s stern look dissolved into a comforting smile. “And I know that’s what your parents would have wanted for you, to learn the truth.” She clenched the Light Wings in her fist. “You’re stuck with us. Right, Leo?”
Luzanna blinked slowly before looking to Leo, who struggled to get to his knees. “I guess she’s strong enough,” she said slowly. “Thank you, Lucia.”
Lucia walked over to Leo and held out her hand. “Are you going to get up?”
Leo grunted, taking her hand and bringing himself to his feet, catching his breath. “I’m sorry, Luzanna,” he said softly, unable to make eye contact with her. “I spoke out of turn. I should have . . . ” He hesitated, raising his sapphire gaze. “Shown more restraint.”
“No offense taken. Apology accepted.” Luzanna walked toward them and, with her two arms, took them both in. “We’ll figure this out. I know we will.”
Lucia saw the sympathy form in Leo’s eyes. She knew, even if Leo didn’t agree with them, he was wrong for pushing Luzanna away. After all, they were all one another had left. Lucia had once felt she had to do this all alone, but these two had shown her that this was a lot larger than her. Perhaps, if it was true, she’d learn more about her father and his connection to all this. Despite everything, there was something exciting about it, learning more about who she was and about this power she held deep inside. Whether it was from the Light Wings or some ancient bloodline, it made her stronger. She simply had to believe, even if it changed the way she saw herself completely.
Lucia sighed. “So where is Remena, anyway?”
“To the west, I believe, past the marshlands. The marshes aren’t the prettiest of places, but I don’t think it’d take longer than a couple days to get through it,” Luzanna said.
Lucia said, “We’ll go on this pilgrimage together, the three of us, for Luzanna and for Terestria. Talon did say that Luzanna would learn many things there, and so can we. Who knows what might be there? It might be the key to saving the world.”
“And if it isn’t?” Leo asked with an awkward smile.
“Let’s just hope it is,” Luzanna said, containing a distinctive optimism in her aqua-green eyes.
Lucia smiled so big that her eyes narrowed into mere slits on her face. Something welled up inside her like a bubble floating to the surface of a murky pond. The warmth of friendship emitted between them as the burden lifted off her. She wasn’t alone, even when she felt she was—as she did when she had almost forced Leo to leave her. It was different now, and somehow, she’d changed. The gloves that pressed so snugly against her skin seemed to bring light not only into the lives of those around her, but into her own as well.
Chapter Fifteen:
Rites of Passage
It took three days to reach the marshlands west of Aldric. The journey to Remena had not been an easy one, and was referred to as a “pilgrimage” for many reasons. Luzanna was quick to explain the way to the ancient and sacred land, but as the land changed, it became more and more apparent that the route they had chosen was in no way going to be forgiving.
The path itself made Lucia loathe walking, even more than she already did, especially as the storm hung over her head, drizzling and matting her hair beneath her white band. She had thought the journey to Aldric from Pinea was a tough one; one that nearly killed her, if she remembered correctly. The memory was still fresh in her mind, the terrible and uncontrollable pain that consumed her and drained her body as she was pushed through the forest against her will. It was all too clear. She remembered how her muscles and bones had fought for every ounce of control as her body seemingly tossed itself toward the light outside of that dark and ominous forest. It was terrifying. But here, as the days passed and the weather worsened, she felt dread. Whatever she was walking into scared her more than whatever they had faced in the past. Even if they had yet to lay their eyes upon it, she knew. The darkness was still out there, watching beneath her shadow.
Still, traveling with Leo and Luzanna made things a lot easier for Lucia to deal with. Luzanna’s optimism was a bright contrast to Leo’s brooding and serious nature. It was oddly energizing. Luzanna often broke out in spontaneous narratives of their travels. Lucia couldn’t tell if she was speaking aloud or merely trying to be funny, but it was amusing to say the least. Luzanna enjoyed examining the ever-changing landscapes. She nearly shrieked when they saw a rare mountain eagle perched along a rugged cliff near one of their campsites. “Do you know what that is?” she asked. “It’s an Aldrician mountain eagle! They almost went extinct two decades ago when a strange plague swept through the mountains here. So many plants and animals died. My father had researchers out here for months trying to figure out the cause of the outbreak, but no one could manage to figure it out. To this day, it remains a mystery.”
Lucia smiled, looking up at the multicolored bird. Its feathers were shimmery, even in the dull light of their campfire. “It’s beautiful, Luzanna.” She dropped her gaze, staring into the fire, her thoughts running again. “You sure do know a lot. I can’t say I’ve studied as much as you.”
Luzanna chuckled, “My father used to say that I was going to be the most innovative chief Aldric ever had because of my imagination.” Grief swept over her again. It had been coming in waves for some time, and by now she was used to it, mostly desensitized to the thought of her father passing. “But surely none of the research done in Aldric could come cl
ose in comparison to that of Sky University, Lucia. My father was to send me there to study upon my eighteenth birthday, but I suppose that dream is lost now.”
Despite her appearance, Luzanna was quite young. She had just turned sixteen three months prior to Lucia and Leo’s arrival in Aldric. This made her two years younger than Lucia and four years younger than Leo. However, she was wise beyond her years, which could be expected due to her capacity as an intellectual, causing her to seem more mature than her age indicated.
“Don’t talk like that, Luzanna. After all this, I promise, I’ll have you personally admitted. I am the high maiden of Moz, after all. I’ve met the headmistress on many occasions. You’d be a fine addition to the academy.”
Luzanna sighed. “That would be all swell and dandy, Lucia, but I’m chieftess now. I can’t change that. I’ll have to return to Aldric and rebuild what I have lost and rule my people.”
“What people?” Leo asked. “No offense, Luzanna, but your home is gone. I’m not saying this to hurt you; but as a person of reason, you can understand that you’re going to have to move on. You can rebuild in time, but for now, it’s okay to take care of yourself. Your land will be there when you are ready to get back to it.”
Luzanna sighed again. “I do appreciate your honesty, but I don’t want to think that way. My home still exists, destroyed or not. In memory, in my past, it still exists. And sure enough, it exists somewhere in my future too, just as these prophecies were written. It is my duty to build Aldric anew.” She lifted her hand and pointed a finger to her forehead. There, the Elder Stone sparkled in the flame light. “I’m the elder now, and it is my sworn duty to call the Carists home.”
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