Chapter 50 Briar
brIAR
We’ve pressed our luck, continuing our search for Skylar up to the last minute.
It’s the final day to get through the veil, and Dani has already mentioned it multiple times today as we zoom across the mountains of Patagonia.
We’ve seen glaciers, volcanic landscapes, stunning coastlines—there’s far too much area for Skylar to get lost in.
“I’ll let you drag me around for another hour, but after that I’m going back,” Dani warns, revving their hunter-green floracycle. “Fate didn’t give the order to stay and miss my claiming ceremony. I won’t do that to Cherri.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to,” I call back to them over the breeze whipping between us.
“Is it weird knowing Monroe will be there without you?”
“No. Not really.” I keep my gaze trained on the road ahead, searching for a good spot to park and scout from. “I never planned on being there.”
“You didn’t hope she’d change her mind?”
“Of course I hope she will someday,” I shout, really wishing they would change the topic. “I’m just glad she’s considering it.”
The bond tightens with every bit of Monroe’s stress as she prepares for the ceremony. But it’s stress that makes sense, given what she’s been working on. Nothing to be alarmed about.
“I’d say it’s more than considering if she offered to stay with the girls.”
“She wanted to help me out.” And it was the best solution. With the bond, I can instantly sense how things are going even if I can’t be there. Aside from a few short stints of frustration and worry, I know they’re safe. “I’m not reading into it.”
I can’t.
Part of me wants to believe Monroe now sees how she fits into our future and wants it.
But I’m not na?ve. Monroe’s been cornered by this bond, so I’m giving her the space to choose it of her own accord, not out of obligation or pressure.
If these weeks apart have solidified her choice not to have a mate, not to be with me, then so be it.
I suspect Dani thinks I’ve extended our rescue mission to avoid finding out.
I also suspect they’re right.
Out of the corner of my eye, a hulking dark-brown mass sprints through the forest. “Did you see that?”
“What’s a bear doing out here?”
There are no bears in Patagonia. At least there shouldn’t be.
The closest would be the Andean bears, but they should be much farther north.
I break, skidding to a stop on the side of the road.
Our floracycles disappear and we shift into our earthside forms. Springing off my hind legs, I bound ahead, zipping around large rocks, bushes, and forest debris.
In front of the bear, a bunny darts with long dark-brown ears whipping behind.
Skylar.
“We gotta help her,” I say to Dani, who huffs in agreement.
The lagoon at our backs, we follow, zigging and zagging until Skylar runs between the rocks beside the mouth of a deep cave set at the base of the far-reaching gray-marbled mountains.
The bear heads inside it, and I hope Skylar’s safe.
We speed through the small opening she disappeared into and run until we’re spat out in the middle of a darkened path.
Shifting back into our harbinger forms, squiggles of neon-blue and a pair of matching eyes watch us from the darkness.
“Stop right there.” Branches of blue light race up and down the Storm’s arms and neck.
Snap.
Bolts crackle under a floating cloud, caught by the Storm’s waiting palm. The narrow tunnel illuminates.
“Kara,” Dani seethes.
“Nice to see you again, Radix Daneel.” Kara chuckles, amused. “Come for another ass kicking?”
Dani’s knees bend, but before they launch at Kara, I stick my hand in front of them, halting them in place. “Why is one of your fellow Storms chasing a Bloom that’s been missing for weeks?”
“If one of our Storms was chasing a Bloom with the intention of harming them…” She sighs, waving us to follow her like we’re an inconvenience. “Let me remind you, we are predators. You little furballs are prey.”
The tunnel opens up into a cavern with gray and creamy stone layered in waves. It marbles across the cave’s interior where slips of light filter in. At the center of it is Skylar.
No longer in her bunny form, she’s dressed in a cropped tank top and a pair of jean shorts, bits of her flourish mark showing along her thigh. There’s no alarm when she sees Kara, but the moment we step into the room, she stiffens.
Like we are the ones she’s wary of.
She’s chosen to be here.
“Radix Briar, Radix Daneel,” she says, giving us a small bow.
“Did they do something to you? Harm you in any way?” Dani asks, voice hard.
“Not at all.” She shakes her head. “I’ve honestly never been better.”
“Why did you run off?” I move closer in case she needs to whisper whatever truly is going on. “Everyone’s been worried.”
“We need to get you back.” Dani glances down at their watch, cursing under their breath. “The veil closes soon.”
“I’m not going back.” Skylar’s voice is firm, tugging me from my thoughts. “I’m staying.”
“What do you mean you’re staying?” Dani huffs. “You can’t.”
“Yes, she can,” Kara says. About a dozen Storms file in, forming a semicircle behind her and Skylar, who takes a few steps backward to join them.
I lift my hands, hoping they don’t assume I’ve come for a fight. We need to get her home. “I don’t know what they told you, Skylar, but if you stay, you’ll get sick.”
Chills, fatigue, pounding headaches. I wouldn’t wish seasonal sickness on my worst enemy.
“Don’t you notice anything different here?” She smiles, and I’ve never seen her look so happy. I hold my breath and scan the room, trying to see what stands out, but there’s nothing. “A peaceful quiet along the bond. No tension or pain.”
The bond isn’t just quiet. It’s silent.
“What is this place?” I try to remain calm despite how unsettling it is not feeling Monroe, knowing she can’t feel me.
“Somewhere beyond the influence of the seasons,” Skylar says dreamily.
“But every season has its purpose. It’s a cycle not meant to be tampered with.”
Who could do such a thing? Why would they?
“It’s a bit tiring always being made out to be the villains. Everyone may have turned their backs on the Storms, but there was someone more powerful who was sympathetic to our plight,” Kara says from behind Skylar.
“Who would do that?” Dani sneers.
“Time.”
“Time?” My brows furrow while I try unraveling the implications. “No one has seen them in decades.”
“No one beyond the veil.” Kara waves off my words like I’m nothing more than a petulant child. “Time’s been here. Disguised as a mortal, but here.”
“Here?” Dani asks, glancing around the room, as if Time is going to pop out and reveal themself.
“No,” Kara sighs. “They had some business to attend to.”
I turn back to the Bloom who brought us here. “Skylar, help me understand. Why would you abandon your post and choose to stay tucked away in some cave most of the year?”
“Aren’t we tucked away beyond the veil in Florezca?” she asks, cocking her head at me.
“That’s different… You have a life there. People who care about you.”
She scoffs. “What people? Your sister? She rejected our bond. Me.” Stepping back a few more paces, she slips her hand into the hand of a Storm with long neon pink-and-purple hair and mismatched eyes. “Her.”
“What?” I rasp, not sure I believe what I’m seeing.
“Bet Corrigan never told you the real reason she rejected the bond.” She grabs the hem of her crop top before pulling it over her head. A ranunculus and my sister’s anemone are inked atop her sternum, but instead of their stems twined together, they blossom from branches of glowing white—
Lightning bolts.
“Don’t worry, no one told me either. Your sister made it seem as though she wanted to wait for me to finish my training.” Skylar huffs out a laugh and shakes her head. “Imagine my surprise last spring when Torynn found me with these very same markings.”
The pink-and-purple-haired Storm unbuttons the top few on her shirt to show us the proof.
“That’s not possible.” My hands shake at my side. “There are no bonded pairings or groups from different seasons.”
“It’s rare, but we aren’t the first,” Torynn says, chin raised as if to say I dare you to call me a liar.
I won’t. But I’m not so certain about Dani.
“Only one thing could be worse than being bound to the new Bloom failing her courses.” Skylar’s voice cracks, and Torynn puts her arm around her. The pair glance at each other and then over at us. “Being mated to a Storm.”
We don’t have much time. At least I don’t think so. I don’t know how it works here, but I won’t let Dani down after they stayed earthside with me. However, I also refuse to let down my sister.
“Why don’t you come back? Talk to Corrigan. I’ll get special permission for Torynn to come too,” I offer, holding out my hand for her. “The three of you could clear the air, find a way forward.”
If they could meet with Fate—
“Why fight for a bond with someone who doesn’t want it? We already found a way forward. Together.” Skylar’s brows pull tight with resolve. “Now she doesn’t have to worry about either of us.”
“What did you do?” Dani asks, rushing forward. I catch them just in time for the Storms’ fingers to ignite, lightning climbing up their arms and rippling out from their irises.
“Go now,” I tell Dani. “Get to your mate.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be there soon.” I try to sound reassuring, but I can’t go back and tell Corrigan this, and I can’t leave Skylar behind.
In a blink, Dani shifts and vanishes into the soil. At least our magic still works here, even if I don’t fully understand this place that Time has carved to defy the laws of nature I’ve grown up abiding by.
“Skylar. Torynn.” I step forward despite the apprehension the bolts cause. There are a dozen Storms and one of me, and I’m not deluded enough to think I can take them. One strike and I’ll be out, will miss my window back once again. “I know what it’s like to feel abandoned by your mate. Unwanted.”
“She may have ignored the bond, but Monroe never abandoned me.”
Doubt creeps across my mind. It’s been weeks since I’ve seen her. What if this time apart strengthens her resolve about not wanting a mate?
My stomach churns.
“Maybe not,” Skylar says. “But what happens years from now when she doesn’t accept the bond?
Maybe you’ve been able to counteract the effects so far, but eventually it will be too hard to be around her.
The continual rejection. Having to repress your symptoms each solstice no matter how much you’d rather give in to your instincts.
I didn’t become immortal to endure an eternity of suffering.
” Her eyes soften. “Don’t you see, Briar?
You should be happy for me. Now I can be with someone who wants me too. ”
“You deserve all that and more, Skylar. But the bond isn’t meant to be broken. There must be some catch.”
“I didn’t believe it at first either.” Kara steps out from the row and raises her arm to her fellow Storms. Their bolts fizzle out, and they catch the clouds in their palms before they vanish.
“Fate claims there isn’t a way, and we’ve been conditioned to believe her as the most powerful of us all.
That’s simply not true. Time has a way.”
“We all deserve to be loved,” Skylar says. “Don’t you want to be with someone who feels the same way about you?”
I do. Of course, I do. How many days and nights had I dreamed of my mate until my mark arrived? How often did I wish Monroe would be as certain of us as I am?
“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll hang on to my bond. It may hurt, but it’s mine, and as long as I have this”—I press my hand over my shirt where the mate mark lingers beneath—“I have hope.”
“For your sake, I hope she changes her mind.” Skylar strides toward me and hugs me close, whispering in my ear, her voice laced with pity. “I appreciate you coming here and making sure I’m okay. But you should go back. Tell anyone who asks not to worry about me.”
Guiding our hands over my chest, I press my forehead against hers.
“You can tell them yourself,” I whisper, praying I’m doing the right thing.
My nose twitches.
Her eyes widen.
A bolt of white-hot rage spears my side.
The world tips and everything spins into darkness.