by Imogen Elvis
Lara knelt silently by the grave, her hand pressed against the dirt as if that could connect her to Rowen one last time. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but the wracking sobs had died away, replaced by numb silence. She bowed her head, grief written in the lines of her body and the pain on her face.
Kade eased himself down next to Briar, his red-rimmed eyes fixed on Lara. For once, his face was easy to read, painted with sorrow and disbelief. “I can’t believe he’s dead.”
“Neither can I.” It wasn’t fair that it should end like this. “I hoped maybe, just maybe we could pull this off and everyone would be safe. I never believed Rowen would…” She couldn’t bring herself to say the word. It was so harsh. So final.
There was a pause. “We can’t stay here for long.” Kade closed his eyes for a moment. “Sachio isn’t going to wait for us to grieve.”
“What will he do now?”
“He’ll run straight back to Mizra like the coward he is.”
“The Tree didn’t take his magic,” Briar said quietly. “Just the leaves. He won’t be as overwhelmingly powerful, but he’s still dangerous.”
“So he can still make his plan work.” Kade’s voice was flat. “He’ll still be able to control the king. And that’s all he needs. We failed.”
“No, we didn’t.” Briar roused herself at that. “We took away his greatest power. Without that, he can’t control everyone like he did before. We have a better chance of stopping him now that he’s weaker. And remember, the Nameless Ones aren’t as powerful either. The Tree didn’t take away their magic like we hoped, but it did help us. It gave us another chance.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Kade looked up at the Tree. “I hoped this would be it, that everything would be over if we could just reach the Tree. I guess that was just a fool’s hope.”
“A fool’s hope is still a hope. It’s not over yet.”
“I like your faith.” Kade gave a small smile. “We wouldn’t have got this far without you, Briar. You know that, right?”
Briar shrugged awkwardly. “You’d have thought of something.”
Kade shook his head. “Not in time. We needed your help to do this. Thank you.”
“We couldn’t have done this without all of us,” Briar said. “Not just me. We got this far together.” Still, Kade’s words made her feel warm inside.
“I guess our next move should be to head to Mizra,” Kade said. “If Sachio is going to carry out his plan, he needs to be near the king.”
And then what? If Master Sachio was dangerous before, then he was doubly so now, because he would be desperate. “We can’t let him win.”
“We won’t.” Kade clenched his fist. “I don’t know how yet, but we’ll find a way to stop him, for good this time.”
Briar lifted her eyes to the Tree. It was so serene, standing there in the middle of the peaceful clearing, glowing from inside with pure magic. She dipped her head in respect. The Tree did help them, just as she’d hoped it would. It saved them. Just… not all of them. Her eyes dropped to the grave and the bowed figure kneeling beside it.
“We need to tell Lara.”
“I’ll talk to her.” Kade roused himself and went to join Lara. He knelt next to her, laying a hand on her shoulder and said something in a low voice. Lara shrugged his hand off, shaking her head vehemently. Kade said something else, more earnestly now.
Again, Lara shook her head, lifting her eyes with a flash of defiance. Her voice rose. “I’m not leaving him.”
“I don’t want to leave Rowen either, but we have to. Sachio is still out there, and he’s still dangerous. Rowen wouldn’t want us to let him win.”
Lara’s shoulders sagged. “I don’t want to go.” Her voice broke.
“I know.” Kade wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “But Rowen died to give us this chance. We can’t fight if we stay here.” Kade’s eyes wandered over the clearing. “I can’t think of a more beautiful place to be buried in.”
Lara wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. “I can’t believe he’s gone. He-he always looked after me. Even when he was annoying.” She clenched her fist, her face suddenly fierce. “If I have to hunt Sachio to the ends of the earth, he is not going to win. He doesn’t get to just walk away from this.”
Briar moved to join them. “I’m with you all the way, wherever this ends.” She met Lara’s eyes, expecting to find anger or even resentment there. Maybe she deserved all of them for her inability to save Rowen when it mattered most. But there were neither of those, only a steely determination as Lara gave her a nod. They were in this together now, whatever it took.
“Sachio will make his move in Mizra, and soon,” Kade said. “Sooner now the Tree has weakened his power. We need to be there when he does.”
“Fine by me.” Lara swung her pack up onto her shoulder and took one last look around the clearing. “Well, why don’t we go, if we’re going to?” She strode to the edge of the path, a fierce, broken warrior. Briar pitied the ones who got in her way.
Briar slipped on her own pack and followed Kade and Lara as they strode back into the mist. At the edge of the clearing, she stopped and looked back at the lonely grave, lying in the shade of the Crystal Tree. Pressing a hand to her heart, Briar bowed her head in one final gesture of respect. The Tree would watch over Rowen now. And they, the ones left living, had to find a way to go on.
Master Sachio stole something from each of them. For Lara, it was Rowen. For Kade, it was his title, his honour, his home. For Briar, it was Ava, and the new life she’d struggled so hard to build. If they didn’t stop him, how many more innocent people would suffer and die because of his greed? She didn’t know what would happen, but she did know that they had to keep fighting. Because if they didn’t, then all of this was in vain. And she refused to let Rowen’s sacrifice be for nothing. The Crystal Tree gave them another chance, a fool’s hope to carry them through the difficult times coming. They were battered, but not yet beaten. Master Sachio hadn’t won yet. The battle was just beginning.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would not have happened without the hard work of many people, most of whom are not me, and all of whom deserve great thanks. The Crystal Tree would not be the book it is without these people, who put so much time and effort into helping me finish it. So thank you to everyone who encouraged me, helped me, and cheered me on throughout the writing of this book.
First, and most importantly, thank you to my amazing parents, who supported me throughout the long process writing of this book, and never told me to give up and get a 'real job'. You are the greatest. Extra thanks to my amazing mum for all her advice and ideas, which help make this book so much better.
Secondly, thank you to my awesome sisters, who suffered through the early drafts and still told me to finish writing the book. Thank you in particular to Charlotte, who designed this gorgeous cover, Sophie, who proofread, helped me with the formatting, and also fixed all my technical problems, and Gemma-Rose, proofreader, cheerleader, and tea supplier extraordinaire. You guys are the best.
Thirdly, thank you to my beta readers: Grace, Addison, Jamae, Hannah and Iris. Thank you for volunteering your time and your expertise to help make this book better. You were all so enthusiastic and encouraging, and your feedback was invaluable. I couldn't have asked for better betas. I hope I did you all proud.
Bonus thanks to the awesome people at NaNoWriMo. I have written so many books thanks to them, and this one is no exception. I wouldn’t be where I am now without the motivation they provide.
And finally, thanks to you, the reader. I feel like readers never get enough credit for being the reason so many books exist, so you're going in my acknowledgements too. I only wrote this book. It takes amazing readers like you to make it something more. So thank you. You are amazing.
Imogen Elvis is a seven times NaNoWriMo winner who writes best under the pressure of an incredibly tight deadline. She is also a classical singer/pianist, and a YouTube cover artist. Imogen hord
es blank notebooks, keeps her phone firmly on silent, and hides out in a small village tucked away in a corner of the Australian bush. Find her online at: www.imogenelvis.com