Chapter 30
Seda
Seda could hear the roar of the ocean as they stood before the castle, the tumultuous waves crashing against the rocks below the cliff face.
The sound was all-consuming around the group that had gathered at the tall, emerald-colored gates of the castle.
The chilled wind swept through her hair, and she pulled her cloak closer to herself, thankful that Suza had thought to pick this for her.
“This is where we part ways,” Benny said to her. “I don’t like it, Seda.”
She looked at her brother, her brave, loving brother who had stood at her side ever since they were children.
For most of her life, he had been her only friend, and this was the first time they were willingly parting ways.
It was clear he didn’t want to separate from not only her but Roya as well, judging by the way he clutched Roya’s hand tightly.
“Come here,” she said to him as she held out her arms and stepped closer, pulling him into a tight hug. “Please be safe and let us know how things are going. Come back here as quickly as you can. We’ll be back.”
Seda looked over to Vira, who inclined her head at her. “We’ll keep him safe, my queen.”
She released Benny and stepped closer to Askold, hugging him as well.
“We’ll be fine, Seda,” Askold said as he hugged her back. “Benny’s pretty smart when he wants to be.”
Benny laughed, but Cahir growled at Askold, and he chuckled in response. “Chill, dude. She’s my friend. Friend’s hug.”
Luelle smacked Cahir in the chest and muttered something about possessiveness before she swept past him, heading to Seda and hugging her as well. “I’ll see you soon, Seda. Keep my friend safe,” she said of Cahir. “I can see that man would do anything for you, no matter how stupid.”
Everyone leaving was strapped with weapons, even Seda.
She had a knife strapped to her hip, remembering when the Mungder had attacked them, and all she had was a stick to protect herself.
The new weight of her wings felt heavy on her back, and they ached with the same soreness as if she had exercised for the first time in a long time, but she refused to let it affect her.
She mentally reassured herself that she was brave and strong, no longer the weak Seda of the past. Her fears and new feathers would not weigh her down.
“It’s time to go,” Cahir sternly said.
Seda looked at Askold, Benny, her new friends, Vira, and Sephyr, one last time before they set foot west. She watched them walk away, hoping that she would see them again soon.
They headed north on foot, away from the crashing sound of the waves, where the mountains and forests awaited them in the distant landscape.
Hundreds of homes and buildings lay behind them as they pushed forward, away from the castle and city behind.
They had walked past hundreds of Fae, who watched them with wonder and fear at the sight of Elco and herself.
Many stopped to bow and talk to Cahir on their way out, but once they left that place behind, the familiar feeling of freedom sank deep into Seda’s bones.
She was amongst nature once again, where mysterious animals, and possibly monsters, potentially lurked in the shadows. The last time she stepped into the unknown, she was scared, but her determination pushed her forward. And that same feeling rekindled again.
The floating orbs seemed to lessen in intensity the further they walked away from the castle.
Cahir walked by her side, Roya near him, and Elco followed closely behind with Suza at the far back. Wilted flowers dangled from Elco’s mane, and he wore an expression of wariness that deepened the further they traveled.
“This land is unfamiliar to me, moon-flutter,” he echoed into her mind. “I don’t know what to expect on this trip.”
She paused and looked back at him, at the way he looked into the darkened trees ahead. When he caught up to her, she reached out her hand and slid it across his scaled shoulder. “Thank you for coming, Elco.”
He huffed, and smoke billowed from his nostrils. “I told you. I’m yours.”
She smiled, feeling her heart warm for her friend. Elco was truly hers, and she was his. He was the steady ground beneath her feet, and they had shared horrors, both coming out stronger than they were before.
“Have you tried to use them yet?” Elco asked, eyeing her glittering wings. Suza had helped cut a hole in the cloak she wore so her wings would be exposed, and she pulled the cloak closer around herself, feeling the cold, misty air sting her cheeks.
“No. I can barely move them. I struggled to sit in the chair earlier,” she admitted.
“Practice flexing them,” he suggested. He flared his expansive wings out and back in, showing her how to move them with ease. His movements were fluid and graceful, with an impressive power she longed to have.
She focused, biting down on her lip and straining the foreign muscles. They shifted, but not by much, as if they were seized up with tension.
“Relax,” Roya said as she approached them. “Take a deep breath and relax as best as you can. Feel them, but don’t strain.”
Seda slowly breathed in and out, pausing her steps and closing her eyes.
She focused on the new feel and weight on her back, and the memory of the dream came back to her—the dream of foreign muscles she didn’t recognize as a battle rang out in front of her.
She flexed the same muscles from her dreams, and her wings flapped vigorously, causing the air around them to stir.
Seda opened her eyes and saw Roya watching her, tears forming in her dark azure eyes as her hair blew around her.
“They’re going to be sore. I’d suggest practicing moving them as much as you can while you walk. Maybe soon you can fly with me,” Roya said with a smile that lit up her face.
“Thanks, you guys,” Seda said to them, offering them a small smile in return. She didn’t know if she could use them to fly any time soon, but what else were wings for? The thought thrilled her.
Roya shifted into her Corvid form and took to the skies, watching from far above and cawing loudly down at the group.
“How do you feel?” Cahir asked as she approached and began walking alongside him.
“Sore, confused, mad,” she replied. So much was currently at play, and Kalon was right.
She needed to refocus on what was important.
She was tired of games and secrets. “When Kalon told me all of this, I started to feel… so angry, like it was all too much too fast, and all I could do was pulse with this fury.”
He studied her, his eyes searching hers. “I’m sorry, Seda. I wish I had all the answers for you.”
It felt honest, and a part of her ached to reach out to him.
She offered a small smile and looked ahead on their path.
The green, grassy landscapes stretched on endlessly until the darkness of the trees ahead stopped their cascade of color.
They walked over a small bridge, over a trickling stream below, and Seda looked down, seeing a rainbow of small fish swimming around.
Everything appeared so peaceful in Umbrea. Why was Joro so vastly different? How had Tievel become this Monster King? He was just a short, snide-looking man who hosted the beginnings of each Wyrd. She never would have guessed he was behind all the torment down there.
It took them a couple more hours of walking through the peaceful landscapes before the roadway narrowed and the trees began to thicken, leaving the lush green fields behind them.
“We need to watch for wolves,” Elco said to her, and she looked around at the vast pine trees, breathing in the fresh air and feeling the forest’s tranquil silence.
If wolves approached, she knew they could handle them easily. She didn’t feel scared at the thought. In fact, she almost embraced the idea. She hadn’t used her powers much in the time she had been in Umbrea, and her palms began to itch with anticipation.
She flared her magic and looked down at her hands.
A slight feeling of pride washed over her.
She was strong, and she could now feel that within herself—no more broken promises to herself and no more cowering in fear.
The one thing her painful past taught her was that a person’s sense of inviolability didn’t develop overnight or even quickly.
You had to grow into it and find it completely within yourself.
“The road seems to be cut off ahead by an overgrowth of those roses that were planted on the castle grounds,” Roya said as she shifted forms and walked alongside them.
They walked forward until the roadway ended, leading into a dense thicket of rose bushes that blocked their path. As if on cue, all the roses turned their gaze to watch them, a rainbow of colorful eyes shifting and growing from dangerous stems.
Seda remembered what Neoma had told her. These roses were monsters, their tears like burning acid that could eat through your skin.
Cahir pulled his sword out, readying to use it as a machete to cut through the thick, thorn-filled bushes.
“Don’t!” Suza ran in front of them, holding out her hands to stop them and blocking their path. “There’s no need to hurt them.”
Seda peered over at the flickering form of the snake, her eyes wide with fear. The roses had shirked away from them, peering back to watch them with wary eyes.
“Why not? I was told they were monsters,” Seda asked as she watched the florals begin to quiver.
Suza glanced at Seda, her breathing ragged.
“And what is a monster to you, Seda? Is Elco not a monster, despite his ability to breathe fire? Am I a monster because I’m an Amaru?
Are you a monster because you have wings and magic that can kill?
These plants harbor no ill will toward you.
They thrive here. They’re as much a part of nature as we are. ”
Elco huffed in annoyance. He really disliked being referred to as a monster, but so many had, and that made Seda reach over and place her palm on Cahir’s arm, lowering his sword.