Chapter 5
To flee and withstand another attack would take an act of the gods.
The heaviness of my limbs and the return of throbbing pain in my head were immeasurable.
The gash in my hand bled freely, and my ankles burned from the nettles’ sting.
After Gabriel reassured me three times that he wouldn't hurt us and would keep his distance, I was able to let the fear slowly leave my body, pain becoming more pronounced, and exhaustion settled into my bones.
I sat silently on the ground with Cora’s arms and legs squeezing my torso, her head buried in my chest. My chin rested on her head, and I stroked her tangled curls as we gently rocked back and forth.
It had been a few years since Cora let me hold her like this.
Too grown and tough for this level of mothering.
Skinned knees, friend problems, and even her struggle with accepting her father’s absence never afforded me this level of physicality with her.
She always tried to be so brave, even when she didn’t have to be.
Maybe she was like me in that way, but this moment was both heartbreaking and precious.
I looked into her distant eyes and saw the diaphanous veil between my brave spitfire and the delicate little girl she had tried so long to hide.
Gabriel took to wordlessly dragging the dead body into the trees, away from Cora’s line of sight. Neither Cora nor I could move or converse with the reminder of what we endured, gruesomely lying mere feet away from us.
His footsteps approached once more, and he sat on the ground, leaning against a tall pine, keeping his distance. I made brief eye contact with him before shutting my eyes and letting out a slow and steady breath.
“You won’t need to see him again. Are you both alright?” Gabriel asked, his tone light and gentle.
I nodded and brought Cora away from my body to check her over for the third time to be sure. “Cora, my sweet girl,” I soothed. “Are you hurt?”
Her glassy eyes met mine, and with a swallow, she shakily answered, “N-n-n—no. I’m alright.
” She unlatched herself from me and slowly slid off my lap onto the spongy moss-coated ground.
I checked her legs and ankles, where the roots had wrapped around her.
A few minor scratches were pulled across her calves, but she was unharmed otherwise. Physically, at least.
I turned back to face Gabriel, his eyebrows raised, and his intense blue eyes searched my face. “She is unharmed, but I think I twisted my ankle, and I have a deep cut on my palm.” I held my hand closed and pulled it into my abdomen.
He stood in a flash and moved toward us.
I was startled at how quickly he moved, and he slowed his pace as I winced.
He again placated me by putting his hands up and gently smiling.
“I’m sorry. I simply want to help you with your injuries.
Let me see.” Gabriel kept his tone soft, like he was addressing wounded animals.
Maybe to him, that was exactly what we were.
Normally, I would refuse help from a strange man, let alone a seraph, but the defiance that was usually at the front of my personality could not be found, doused in favor of fulfilling the need for aid.
An apprehensive nod was all I could muster, and he proceeded to slowly kneel at my feet.
He kept his eyes locked on my face as he gently put his hands on my sprained ankle and pushed up my pant leg.
“Don’t be frightened. I am going to heal it, but I need you to hold still,” he said.
I waited for him to pull out some sort of bandage, but I jerked, and Cora let out a gasp when soft white light emanated from Gabriel’s hand.
We had only heard about seraphs’ divine magical gifts through our history lessons and stories.
At times, we thought them to be fairy tales or fables, meant to teach children lessons through fear.
I remained still, and the pulsating pain in my ankle disappeared.
“Thank you.” I rolled my ankle around with painless ease.
“I am sorry for our fear and distrust when you arrived, but we have always been taught the dangers of seraphs. One of your people attacking us reaffirmed what we had been told about this side of the barrier.”
“I assure you, he is not the same as me,” Gabriel nearly growled. “Imagine my surprise to find a human and her youngling in the woods!” He flashed a grin of dazzling white teeth. "I am sure we both have questions for each other, but let's take care of your hand first.”
He turned to Cora and gave her a genuine smile. “Cora, is it?” She offered an apprehensive nod. “Well, Cora, I am going to heal your mother’s hand now. Would you like to come closer to watch?”
Cora scrambled to my side, her face brightening for the first time since crossing the barrier. “I’ve always wanted to see seraph magic,” she chirped.
Gabriel chuckled. “We call our divine power ‘enchants.’” He held out his hand to me, and I presented my palm to him.
Gabriel closed one hand softly around my wrist and lightly touched his other palm to my injured one.
Again, his hand softly glowed, and the burn on my palm subsided, the skin knitting together until there was nothing but a faint line where the wound was.
He closed his hand in mine as I sighed. Relieved from both the pain and the danger… for now.
“Whoa!” Cora exclaimed.
I looked up at Gabriel, warily. “You’re kind to show Cora your enchant. She is a curious child.”
“Happy to do it. We value younglings greatly in Tironaill. They are most precious to us,” he exclaimed. “Can you stand?”
“Yes.”
Before I could pull away from his grasp, Gabriel took my other hand and pulled me to my feet.
I craned my neck to look up at him. He had to be over a foot taller than me.
His lapis blue eyes remained locked onto mine.
His complexion was light, and he had a strong jaw with perfectly straight teeth.
He was a beautiful man. Standing so close to him, his scent hit me. Mint.
Why does he smell so good?
I took a step back and rambled, “Thank you again. I’m Rory, and you’ve met Cora. We are completely confused about how we ended up here. I thought we would be dead if we crossed into the barrier. Do you know how this happened? How did you and that other seraph know we are humans?”
Gabriel briefly paused and laughed. “Direct and right to the point! I like that. I was going to ask you how you were able to cross the threshing wall. I am as perplexed as you are about how this happened. As for knowing you are not seraphs, I suspect that had to do with your ears.” He pointed to the tips of his ears.
My shoulders slumped. I didn’t know why I thought it would be an easy answer.
“So, what do we do from here?” I asked hesitantly. “We need to get back to our side of the barrier before we get attacked again or worse.”
Gabriel sighed. “I know the ancient history between our people is somewhat complex and does not show either side in a good light. We lived for too long unchecked by Themis and have since been shown how to keep order and justice to prevent atrocities from happening again. I can assure that you and Cora are safe with the angheals.”
Either side? I had to wager his history lessons were different than mine.
“What’s an angheal?” Cora asked.
Gabriel smirked. “Maybe we should start walking, and I will explain more. I want to get you both out of these woods, where it is safer. The forest is dangerous for us.” He studied the apprehension on my face and continued, “I promise, I won’t harm either of you.
My scouting group is waiting for my return, and we can lead you to someone who may be able to help you. ”
“Let’s go, Mom,” Cora urged as she took a step to Gabriel’s side.
Apprehension or not, I had no choice but to follow him to keep her safe.
I pulled a leaf from Cora’s tangled curly hair and tried to wipe the dirt and drying blood from my hands onto my equally dirty trousers. “Alright. Let’s get out of here.”
Gabriel led us through dense forest, moving with more stealth and grace than Cora and I possessed, chattering away like we were old friends.
“We will head to Aquila City, which is the stronghold of Tironaill. I think you will like it.” He glanced down at Cora, who was hanging on his every word.
“You will meet all manner of seraphs there. All but the dryads, though you had the unfortunate pleasure of just encountering one.”
I furrowed my brow and shook my head. “A dryad attacked us?”
“Correct.”
“And you are an angel?” I asked.
Cora stumbled over some brush, and Gabriel reached out to steady her before I could even react. “Oops. Thanks,” she chirped as she nonchalantly continued navigating the terrain.
Gabriel put his eyes back on the forest. “Angheal,” he corrected. “There are three sects of seraphs: angheal, daemonites, and dryads.”
I let out a deep breath. “I just hope someone there can lead us in the right direction and get us back to Edenalee.”
Gabriel nodded. “I believe our scholars will be able to help. If I remember my Tironaill history right, there was a human who had entered this realm once before. Two centuries ago. Though I don’t recall how he came to be here or even what became of that man.”
My eyebrows raised.
Gabriel pulled a crooked grin. He roguishly whispered, “I was more concerned with flirting with girls, so I may have missed that lesson.”
I see men have a one-track mind on both sides of the barrier.
I gave him a clipped smile. “I have a coin purse of silver to pay for shelter and food if you can help me find cheap accommodations for us. Hopefully, we will only need to stay a night or two before the scholars can figure out how to get us back.”
“Oh, nonsense! You are to be guests of the crown and stay at the castle with all the amenities you will need,” Gabriel responded, holding some brush back for Cora and me to pass. “Did I mention that I am the brother of King Torrish?”
I snapped my head to look up at Gabriel, who looked pleased with himself.
He was the brother of a king whom he was taking us to meet, and I was disheveled, dirty, and sure I had a constant look of bewilderment plastered on my face.
Coming from a noble family, my upbringing on how to interact with other nobility slid into place, and I assessed how Cora and I looked.
My hair, frizzy and knotted, wildly framed my face.
Cora looked worse for wear. Her curls were a tangled mess with smudges of dirt on her face mixed in with dried salt paths from her tears.
I should’ve spotted that Gabriel was a noble from the moment the adrenaline left my body and I was able to think straight.
I’m sure the king would wonder what hole he dug us out of.
I knew what to expect out of human nobility, however vile it may be.
I could play their games and understand the way their minds worked.
But I was out of my element with the seraphs, and I hoped I could navigate their rules and customs with the same ease as I did my own.
I would abide by whatever formalities were required of me to attain the help we needed.
Cora’s face lit up. “We get to stay in a castle? My friends are never going to believe this,” she said as she bounced on her toes, smiling widely.
Gabriel deeply chuckled. “We should arrive at the castle by nightfall. For now, we will meet with my group of scouts and get you something to eat before heading to Aquila City.”
At the mere mention of food, my stomach grumbled. “We probably haven’t had any substantial food in a while.”
He pulled back the branch of a sapling to let us pass and met my eyes. “I thank Themis that I found you two when I did. There are many dangers in this wood, as you well experienced.”
His words brought my mind back to the dryad and the encounter. “The dryad that attacked us, what kind of enchant did he have to make the plants wind around us and hold us down?”
Gabriel’s eyes darkened, his face grim. “Dryads are unpredictable and violent.” He practically sneered.
“They do not often leave the forests and have elemental enchants. They manipulate the earth, air, water, and even fire to their will. Dryads cannot conjure these things, though. It must already be present. That is what makes them so dangerous, especially in the woods. These forests are forbidden to enter, and they will take every opportunity to harm or capture anyone who enters without their permission.”
“You have permission?” Cora asked, looking up at Gabriel as they walked side by side.
Gabriel lifted one eyebrow and smirked, looking down at Cora’s wide, innocent eyes. “I represent my brother, King Torrish. I don’t operate on permissions,” he said with a wink.
“Oh.” Cora grew quiet, scanning the forest again.
Questions shuffled endlessly through my mind. “Do you have other magic…er, enchants…besides healing people?”
“I do,” he said, reserved. Gabriel kept us moving while his eyes constantly scanned the forest for potential threats.
“But we are private about our individual abilities. Almost everyone has healing abilities for themselves and others. Most can shield to protect against other enchants being used on them, but the power and ability of that enchant differ with everyone, and as such, shields can be broken. Additionally, almost everyone has at least one enchant beyond healing and shielding, and they all vary. Some are physical powers or what we call active enchants, and others are mental powers or passive enchants.”
“You said at least one enchant. Do some have more than one?”
“Yes. More powerful enchant wielders will have more than one. I have two.”
I desperately wanted to know what Gabriel could do, but I wouldn’t invade his privacy and ask.
He offered nothing further on the subject, intently focused on cutting a path through the forest and watching for danger.
His solemn demeanor effectively conveyed that he wasn’t willing to speak more on the subject.
My unending questions would have to wait.
I silently giggled to myself at how Clotha must’ve been in a creative mood with how she was weaving this path that lay before me.
Prior to leaving the apothecary, I prayed for her to weave a path so that we wouldn’t end up at the mercy of my mother.
She had done just that, but it wasn’t lost on me that I was running from one aristocratic system only to end up at the mercy of another.