57. Adrian
Adrian
B lades of grass broke in frozen fragments as Adrian and Seth crunched their way through the snow to the clearing in the woods. The buzz of the magic hung in the air as they entered the zone where Prudence had cast the protective charms.
Adrian had barely slept last night, and his eyelids were heavy with worry and fatigue, held up only by adrenaline. Alfie motioned toward them silently in position behind a woodpile. He was joined by Prudence, Zion, and Fern.
The Fire Elemental, Fin, was there as well, looking cleaner and less wounded than the last time he had seen him, no doubt thanks to Prudence’s healing tonics. The other local Gray witches were back at the safe house tending to Astrid.
It had been surreal for Adrian to meet Astrid. Her mannerisms were so much like Cori’s, and she had the same heart-shaped face with delicate features that looked like they were carved out of porcelain.
He closed his eyes and pictured Cori’s face, like she was painted permanently in his mind, and his chest clenched.
Ever since Cori had left to meet her brother, he was hollow, made of nothing but bubbles of air. He barely heard anything that Alfie said as he reviewed the plan with them. It wasn’t until Seth nudged him hard in the ribs that he snapped back to reality .
“Adrian, did you hear that?” he asked in a whisper.
“No,” he said, quickly surveying the surrounding land. He needed to focus. Now was not the time to let his fear get in the way. “Sorry. What did you say?”
Seth thrust a pair of binoculars into his brother’s hands. “Look for yourself,” Seth said with a small smirk. “That’s the sacrificial site on the top of the hill.” The woods were dark and bare. No leaves clung to the trees. Adrian shivered at the dead land ahead of him. He wondered if his mother could even coax life from this place. “Do you see what I see?”
Adrian peered into the binoculars and focused on the top of the hill in the clearing woods. There was a tiny stone structure just below the clearing. He lowered the binoculars, focusing on his brother. “Is that a well?”
A smirk spread on Seth’s face. “I reckon it is.”
Despite the bubbles of anxiety, hope broke through the tension within him. For the first time in days, Adrian smiled back.