“Aren’t you cold?” Cole’s voice came from behind. I turned to see him and he immediately eyed my belly. “I know, I know, I’ve gotten bigger.”
“No, I was going to say,” he paused here, looking me over, studying my face. “I wanted to tell you that you’re beautiful,” he offered. Simple, effective. “Pregnancy suits you.” He sat at my side slowly so the bench wouldn’t swing too much. Soon, we were moving back and forth at a relaxing pace.
“Thanks,” I said, leaning to rest my head on his arm. He lifted it over me and pulled me to his chest and we just sat there and rocked for a few more minutes in the silence.
“After the birth, we’ll leave for Isle Lore,” he said, and I could feel his chest rise and fall with anticipation. “I’m sorry you have to come.”
“No, don’t be,” I sat up and faced him. “I should see this through.”
He nodded, again pulling me against his body.
“What will happen?” As soon as my mind began to wander, I felt another sharp little sensation crawl up over my belly and under my ribs. I winced, trying not to draw attention to myself.
“Are you alright?” Cole’s eyes sharpened.
“It’s fine. She’s changing fast, that’s all.”
Cole nodded with a deep breath, then he proceeded to explain the ritual.
“It’ll take a lot of energy to see that the stone is put to rest,” he began. “The spell I’ve been reading, the one my grandfather was given from his grandfather, says the stone will only cease to exist if the temple and the conductor extinguish its force as one.”
“And that means… what exactly?”
“You and I will need to unite.”
“How do we unite?” I stuttered.
“Um,” he bit his cheek as his eyes went to the little window over the kitchen sink. I knew he was checking to see if Elliot was watching us. With a quiet voice, Cole leaned to me and said, “It’s a blood thing.”
I pulled back and studied him. “A bond?” I whispered.
With a single nod, he continued. “Once we’re there, there’s a place, a little mound of earth that’s surrounded by a channel of water. It’s about an hour trek through the land.”
Oh yeah, another portal.
“What’s the time difference there?” I asked, not really wanting to know the answer, but needing it.
“Eleven days.”
Great.
“The main entrance welcomes all visitors; it’s in the southern swamp of the Isle,” he told. “The place is nothing but a murky, muddy carcass of its former self. The illustrations in my grandfather’s book are truly magical.”
“Have you seen what it looks like now?” I asked him.
“Iliana took me there—briefly,” he eyed me.
Where didn’t she take you?
“To find the stone originally.”
“What do you mean originally?”
Cole stopped rocking and said, “After she brought me to meet Lorcan for the first time, we ventured around a while. She wanted that stone more than anything.”
“More than her own respect,” I mumbled.
“Things were different for her, you have to remember that,” he breathed out. “Lorcan was the same before you met him.”
“Was he really that terrible?”
“Maybe not by the time I’d met him, but years ago, yeah, I’m sure he was.”
I looked to the house and waited to hear the people inside as they spoke. I couldn’t hear Lorcan, but I could hear Tristan. He was talking to Scarlet in the kitchen. The window over the sink didn’t catch them for my eyes, but I could listen.
“Scarlet and Lucas haven’t regained their magic yet,” I told Cole.
“It won’t be an easy event.”
“Yeah, and we think their mother was actually protecting them by taking it away,” I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s so hard to understand.”
“If they want to make that sacrifice, then they can,” he started to rock again. “But if not, then we have to find another set of enchanted twins to help, and fast.”
“I don’t even know any other twins,” I huffed.
“Well, maybe they’ve decided to go through with it.”
“Maybe,” I mumbled. “What about my brother?”
“There was something in the library in Talon Grove about a similar binding spell, like the one Dune placed on Dylan. I copied it down and gave it to your aunt. I think she and Charlotte might have figured out how to reverse it.”
“I hope so,” I sat up. “Because he’s here.”
“They brought him here?” he wondered, his brow flickering in thought.
“What’ll happen to Dune?”
Cole shook his head, letting his eyes travel down to the sidewalk. “I don’t think anyone knows,” he told. “But I’m betting he’ll show up here, tracing his way back to the last thing he controlled.”
“That’s not good,” Lydia added, coming around from inside the house. She leaned on the house and crossed her arms to the chill of the slight wind. “It’s going to storm.”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “It’ll be a pretty bad one.”
“Hey, there you are,” Lucas came outside and smiled to Lydia. He wrapped his arm around her as she nestled into his chest. It was super adorable, and it made me want to go find Elliot—even though I was happily resting next to my long-time crush.
Cole, I thought to myself, letting his name roll around in my thoughts for a second.
He had already told me he was still in love with me. That he’d wait for me to make a choice. I wondered if he saw the pregnancy as a choice, or if he was waiting for me to actually say the words. It wouldn’t be an easy conversation, but I was starting to think it’d be one I’d have to have.
“Are you going to do the ceremony?” Cole asked Lucas, who then glared up to the rolling clouds overhead. “We can’t waste time, you know?”
Lucas nodded, then pinned his eyes to Cole. “I’m going to do it,” he told in a low voice. “But I don’t have a great feeling about it.”
“No one ever does when it comes to spells,” Cole mumbled. I got a quick flash of the night my aunt took his memory away. I felt awful sitting there next to him like I was a friend, especially after all that pain.
“Should I get my aunt?” I offered.
Lucas nodded, then said, “I’ll find my sister.”
Out in the backyard, my aunt and Erik formed a sacred space. They anointed each other with oils and herbs, and then said a few words of blessings. After arranging some twigs on the ground in the form of a circle, they invited Scarlet and Lucas inside.
To reclaim their magic, each of them needed to consume the sap of the tree that birthed each realm, Erik’s words. That translated into drinking the blood of an enchantress, a faerie, and a dragon. My sister offered to be the enchantress, but my aunt said it had to be a full-blooded creature for the reclaiming to succeed.
“I’ll offer my blood,” Manon came forward. Kind as she was, she was also the only person able to participate. Thankfully, she spoke up before we had to ask. I wanted to help, too, but being a full-blooded creature meant having a bloodline that didn’t divert from its foundation. Not even my aunt was full-blooded.
“So will I,” Tristan stepped up to Manon’s side. That took care of the obvious. Now, we waited for a dragon. Elliot was inside speaking with Julian about my brother. I had left them to come outside with Scarlet a few minutes ago. My dad, though, I wasn’t sure where he’d gone to.
“I’ll lend my blood,” Julian stepped outside. I was sort of surprised at this, but also grateful. I would have helped right away if I could, but if Elliot had offered, well… I wouldn’t have liked it. Blood is sacred, which was why they needed it for the reclaiming. Elliot’s blood, though, it was sacred to me. I wasn’t sure if the reclaiming would force a bond between them all, but I didn’t want to chance it with my Lord. We were going to Frostmoor soon, and I needed his full attention on the baby and me.
&nbs
p; Sitting on the swing again, with Elliot at my side now, we watched Julian, Manon, and Tristan all get down to their knees around the circle. Erik went around and dabbed the same oil he had used for he and my aunt onto their foreheads and wrists. The air was calm now, but the sky was even darker than before. Clouds of gray and black rolled overhead, the passing horizon a hue of navy blue and violet. It looked like the sun was setting, but I knew better; it was my daughter gaining momentum.
My aunt set up the candles. One on each side of Tristan, Julian, and Manon, respectively. Then two in the center of the circle, between Scarlet and Lucas. The siblings were facing each other. Scarlet had an eager, grateful smile as she anticipated what would come next. Lucas, though, kept glancing back at Lydia. I wondered if he felt bad for her. She was, by the time the reclaiming ended, at least, the only mortal. As far as anyone knew anyway. I didn’t understand how she wasn’t an elf just like Cole, but maybe she just needed time to embrace it. Or maybe she was right to think she was plain. Something Lucas once told her he enjoyed.
Either way, her mortality was something that was starting to send us in different directions in our lives. We had been friends for so long. I never imagined that one day, we’d grow apart. But here we were. I was about to have a baby, with a dragon Lord. And she was spending all her time with Lucas. It was inevitable, if I was being honest. But it drove us further from each other, and I didn’t really like that.
Cole, standing on the opposite side of the swing, snapped his fingers after my aunt looked over with a nod. Flames ignited on each of the wicks, growing tall before settling into a steady burn. My sister came close to the circle, releasing Caleb’s arms and standing beside my aunt. With her arms out wide, Charlotte began to move the herbs around the circle like a slow churning tornado. The flames stayed present, flickering a little at times. The twigs of the ring did not flinch, though.
With a little red book in his hands, Erik stood at the back of the circle—from my position, anyway—and began to recite the spell. Foreign words that sounded identical to the dialect Cole used during the revoking hit my ears in waves. There was a rush of wind overhead, something Charlotte wasn’t garnering. She glanced back to me and arched her brow as if to warn, settle down. I gave a rapid nod and wrapped my arm around Elliot’s for stability.
“Do you want to go inside?” he asked me, rubbing my arms to give me warmth. I shook my head and just slid closer to his body, which he welcomed with a smile. I wasn’t cold; I had on the same sweater I had worn to Skye Sorn. I was getting nervous.
Cole looked down over me with an investigating glare, then turned his attention back to the circle. Charlotte was lost in her trance now, deeply focused on her element. Erik kept chanting, repeating himself as the flames grew taller. And over to the left, in the growing shadows of the encroaching evening, my aunt had been sharpening a blade to a black stone. I felt my heart skip, and so did Elliot. He faced me fast, worry blanketing his sight, but I pointed to my aunt and he understood.
With a small porcelain dish, my aunt stepped up to Manon, who was sitting on her heels without affliction. She, being an enchantress of many years, must have seen this happen once or twice. As my aunt bent over, Manon reached out, exposing her wrist. Cutting just deep enough to capture several drops of blood, my aunt slid the knife over Manon’s glistening hazelnut skin. Satisfied with her bounty, my aunt then moved on to Julian. It must not have mattered to clean the blade. They had to have known about the lingering bond that would come of their contribution. Again, my aunt bent over, placing the dish under Julian’s wrist. I could see he was a bit hesitant, but he was willing. Slicing at his wrist, my aunt again collected the blood needed. Now to Tristan, my aunt moved around the circle. The Prince pulled back his jacket sleeve and reached out over the dish. A quick cut and his blood dripped into the collective.
Erik was now silent.
The dish was half-full of magical, sparkling blood. I could see it from where I sat, reflecting the candle flames and tugging at my senses. The raw, fresh nature of the blood, the pure sap of the tree, all in one little cup. It smelled like death and life all at once. I leaned up and put my leg under me, gaining a couple of inches of sight. Elliot looked to me as I used his arm for leverage. I caught him grinning at my interest.
Charlotte had let her hands rest at her sides now. The first part of the spell had gone as planned. Scarlet tucked her hair back as I caught the uncertainty in her shifting gaze. This was all she had wanted for the past weeks. It was the only thing she could think about, talk about. But now, as Lucas sat there accepting his fate, facing his sister without an inch of regret, Scarlet was forced to acknowledge the weight of her recent desires.
My aunt bent over one last time, to hand the twins the cup. Lucas didn’t hesitate, taking the dish into his palm and holding it tight. With a smile to Scarlet, he took a sip. The dark red liquid smeared on his lips as he swallowed. It must have been thick, grainy. He smacked his tongue a bit to remove the taste, making a sour face when it wouldn’t go away. Now, passing the dish to Scarlet, he nodded for her to copy his actions. Her slender fingers and coral painted nails took hold of the bowl and slowly brought the curve of the rim to her mouth. She licked at her lips while glancing over us all once more. The candlelight warming her face, her eyes aglow beneath the dark sky. A heavy blink and she took a sip without giving herself time to revel in her thoughts.
Was it over? I sat tall again, eager to see what would happen. Elliot did too. Charlotte, extending her arms to the sky, whispered a few words, and then Manon, Tristan, and Julian all fell over. Elliot got ready to jump out of his seat, tensing his shoulders as he pulled from my grasp. Caleb, however, stopped him.
“She put them to sleep,” he whispered to Elliot, tapping his arm to settle him down. Thankfully, I didn’t see any smoke. “Their part is over. No need for unwanted pain.”
The bond. If they stayed awake for the next part of the spell, they’d feel everything that Scarlet and Lucas were about to go through. It was smart, really.
With Charlotte’s job over, she left the sacred area and came to stand beside Caleb once again. She looked at me with a smile, but I could see how tired she was. Putting three creatures to sleep wasn’t easy, apparently.
There was a slight wind before Erik went to Scarlet and sprinkled some water on her body. Then, he turned to Lucas and did the same. It wasn’t long after that they both began to moan. I leaned deeper into Elliot, knowing that the next few moments would be demanding.
Scarlet began to grip her stomach like she was going to be sick, eventually laying down in the grass for comfort. She kept moaning, mumbling, cringing, and soon it turned into a cry. The blood in her lips and along her teeth began to drool out as she convulsed. Her struggle seemed to travel through her in waves. Her arms trembling, her fingers reaching for something to hold. Then her legs shaking, feet twitching. It scared Lucas; his eyes taking on a deep shade of gray as he gasped backward from his sister. The knowing of what is to come is sometimes worse than the actual happening. His eyes shifted around in terror until he, too, hunched over in cries of pain. Unlike Scarlet, though, Lucas did not cradle himself with the grass, he rocked back to his palms and grunted out to the sky for relief. Again, the blood turned into a drooling mess that streamed down his mouth and neck.
Cole rushed past me quickly, catching my attention as he wrapped up Lydia and took her in the house. She was in tears, holding herself so tight her sweater was coming undone.
I faced the circle, now watching Lucas grind his teeth and bare his muscles in the overwhelming pain of the reclaiming. Scarlet, lying on the ground, was sobbing, digging at the dirt so intently that it was leaving a rut.
Erik and my aunt were standing back, helplessly watching the twins take their new form. And what form would that be? We all expected them to be balanced. That if one embodied fire, the other must take on water. I had my guesses, but not in my wildest dreams would I believe what actually came to be.
Lucas let
out a wail, tearing at his clothes like they were keeping him strapped down. His eyes, squeezed shut through the duration of the reclaiming, were only now starting to open. Those blue eyes of his were completely golden, sparkling like a thousand drops of gold under the sun. Scarlet, on the other hand, was trembling in fits of fear and anguish, keeping her eyes sealed until the height of the moment. Once she finally broke open her gaze to us, I found her eyes shimmering in a blinding silvery, moonlit hue, captivating me to my core.
My aunt, seeing how the twins were starting to recover from their reclaiming, came near with her freshly cleaned knife. I leaned up to see better. Taking hold of Scarlet’s palm, my aunt sliced at the skin, leaving a bright red, wet mark. Doing the same to Lucas, my aunt then pressed their hands together and blessed them with a prayer.
Erik stepped away and closed his book. The air was completely still. Cole came back from the house and stood there with his arms crossed, watching to see what would happen next. We all did. No one made a sound.
Scarlet, pushing herself up to her knees, blinked away the silver in her eyes until it was nothing more than a sparkle when the flames of the candles met her gaze. Lucas, leaning over to catch his breath, did the same. To anyone else in the world, they again seemed mortal, normal. The enchanted didn’t grow wings, and they didn’t harness orbs. They would live longer now, though, that was cool. But what else? What elements would they take? What powers would they harness?
Scarlet, getting to her feet, now seemed to be breathing more naturally, almost like she was content, fulfilled. Her eyes traveled over the circle and to us all. I could see the elation course through her body as she let the residual trembles rumble through her. She examined her hands, the cut of the knife, the oil that glistened in the shadowy air. Clenching her fists, Scarlet grew a grin, and we all jumped at the sound of something crashing on the other side of the house. Cole went around to see what had happened, but the look of astonishment on his face said it all. Elliot, leaning forward to take a look, was stilled by Lucas’ laughter.
Witherstone- Wings of My Legion Page 16