3. Chapter Three #2
"An excellent question." She stretches out an elegant hand, and a flash of that same sharp pain spikes through my temples.
"Your sister didn't find some way to get a message to you?
You haven't so much as an inkling where she could be?
It's imperative we help her or stop her before it's too late.
I showed mercy after your Ritual, let you keep your lack of magic secret and gave you an ally two years later by sharing it with Aubria after hers, knowing you cannot speak of it yourself.
Now, I must insist you tell me if there is anything you know. "
The pain fizzles out, and I'm left sucking in shaky gulps of air, hoping the pain was a byproduct of her heightened emotions and not in any way intentional.
"I swear, I don't know where she could be.
When I learned she wasn't returning, I intended to go to the Grotto with the twenty-year olds so I could see her. "
"I had intended to speak to the Zelindyr king about your sister's decision to leave so he could inform your father.
However, I am aware neither man was overly thrilled at her request to stay away, so this news will likely be met with an even less favorable reaction.
Perhaps we should give her a chance to return on her own first." I nod, agreeing we shouldn't tell my father.
The first thing he would do is stop me from going anywhere.
The peal of the bells rings out, reminding me I need to make my way down to the Triv and start assembling baskets, or I'll be running late when the Queen arrives.
Apparently, the sound serves a similar purpose for the High Sage.
"I must return to the reflection pool. Holding this form is tiresome, and I need to speak with the kings and their councils about the soil before returning to the Grotto. I wish you well, Alyxia."
More than a little whiplashed, I'm about to dip my head in farewell when her gaze turns cloudy and she speaks again, her voice low, gravelly and distant, almost slurred.
"Should you decide to seek her, a long-kept secret passage shall aid you.
Mycelium to pass beneath the new world. Spiraling fragments…
of diamond…illuminate the way…for those who know how to forage. "
Her rasping words come in hacking, labored pants, each one a struggle as she presses a prism sphere the size of an egg into my palm. The smooth, flat surfaces meant for refracting light are cool against my skin. "Hand this to no one. It must remain hidden… Find it, but carry on the secret."
Wait, what? Is she serious? "I thought the Mycelium root network was an ancient myth?" I blurt out. Given their history, the High Sage is not someone I would ever expect to reference a tale from the gods, never mind her thinking I could even contemplate going to find my sister. Me, of all people.
"Not a myth, just forgotten when the realms withdrew. Keep it secret, golden daughter… Access to the entire island cannot be trusted to just anyone."
"Then why tell me?"
That icy phantom hand slams into my forehead again, and I'm rocked backward. "Because we cannot go back to this."
Pearlescent beams of violent light splinter the heavens.
The earth screams, fractures, splits apart, and I swear, I feel my rib cage shatter with it.
A volcanic eruption, pouring thick rivers of white hot lava down its blackened sides. Crushing everything in its path. Smothering every inch of greenery, every plant, every field of wheat.
Down into a plane of giant golden sunflowers that wither and die before the glowing streams can get close.
The thunderous cracks of burning trees and frightened screams of animals and people are haunting.
I'm frozen, helpless, wishing I could act.
Ash coats my tongue and heat blasts my skin. I need to go.
The sky is deep purples and greys with billowing clouds blocking out light.
The dark shapes of three dragons circle the mountain. They bellow and roar furiously, but no fire hews from their jaws. Flakes of burnt debris float everywhere.
High above a once-perfect four-point star, one of the points now severed, jagged, snapped away.
Next to nothing lives. A flood of black and grey, orange strands, and endless white.
Everything burns.
I gulp down air, filling my constricting lungs, desperate for water to wash the ashy soot from my mouth. That had to have been the Split I just witnessed. It felt so real, my entire body shakes from the adrenaline.
"You were supposed to come together, to replenish and restore the lands, not compete for them.
That was the only reason we gave it all up," the Sage whispers, closing her watery eyes.
Stars, no wonder this woman barely has a corporeal form anymore.
She's over a thousand of years old and lived during a time when Atafye was still connected to the mainland and belonged to the unnamed gods, long before anyone else wielded magic.
"We are eternally grateful for your sacrifice and blessings bestowed, Your Grace." I lower my eyes, dipping my head respectfully, the same way we always acknowledge the freedom she relinquished to seal the south point and gift the noble-born with magic.
Eyes fluttering open, she stares at me sorrowfully.
"Sorry to say, child, I will not be the one required to sacrifice this time.
" Approaching voices down the hall pull her attention, and she shakes her head, as if to clear her thoughts, sounding the same as she did moments ago when she says, "I wish you well.
May your sister return safe or be found by those with good intentions. Remember, not a word to anyone."
"Wait, what about the…" My question trails off as she presses her palms together in front of her chest, whirls around, and disappears in a flap of robes and whipping air.
For a few seconds, all I can do is stare down at the prism sphere she gave me before tucking it into my satchel, along with the gifts from Bri. I'll have time to look through them later and process everything that just happened.
For now, I swing the heavy bag of nutrient supplement onto my shoulder and hurry to the main entrance, where one of the Endurers waits. The second he sees me, he rushes to take my bags and offers me a hand up the steps of the waiting wagon. I smile and take it, even though I'd rather not.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, let's head out.
" He nods, pushing the door closed and walking around the front of the work horses to clamber into the driver's side.
We head through the gates and start down the steep hill toward the Triv in silence, and I force myself to take deep breaths to quell my rising stress.
This was not how I expected the morning to go. For now, I need to focus and shove everything the Sage told me aside. Giving Day is always a highlight, and I refuse to let it be ruined.