Chapter 30
Chapter thirty
They exited the study, and Seraphina led them into a dim corridor. At the end stood a large black stone door, veined with faint silver light.
Seraphina placed her palm flat against it. A deep, grinding rumble rolled through the hallway as the door unlocked and swung inward.
Gisela flinched at the sound, but she forced herself to steady.
A spiral staircase twisted downward into darkness.
Gisela hesitated, her fingers brushing the smooth stone railing.
Seraphina glanced back, offering a reassuring smile. “It’s safe, I assure you,” she said.
The air grew colder with each step, carrying a faint hum that vibrated through the stone walls.
Each twist of the staircase pulled them closer into what felt like an ancient secret.
Eva shivered, and Adrian draped his cloak over her shoulders.
The stairs ended in a tunnel system. Seraphina guided them until they reached a great arched door. She pressed her hand to its surface, and it groaned open.
The room beyond was archaic. Walls were lined with ancient, twisted roots that glimmered faintly with an ethereal light.
At the center of the chamber stood a massive tree, reminiscent of the one they had seen in the garden during the Trials of Kharos.
Its wide, gnarled trunk looked as though it had weathered centuries, and its sprawling branches stretched toward a ceiling lost in shadow.
A thick scent of rich earth and sweet dreamberries filled the air while aether leaves glimmered among the branches like stars in the night.
“This is one of the Great Guardian Trees,” Seraphina said. “You have one in Mystralos too. I suspect it lies beneath your king’s castle.”
Gisela slowed to a halt as the towering tree filled her vision.
And the tree stirred.
A ripple of light ran across its bark, as though something beneath it woke at her presence. A soft golden pulse traveled up the trunk and into its branches. The air warmed around her, humming in tune with her heartbeat.
Before her fingers could reach the bark, a man cloaked in midnight blue entered through a side door and moved silently into the chamber.
Gisela jerked back, but Thorne’s firm grip on her arm was swift and steady, anchoring her.
“Our Seer, Byron,” Seraphina said.
Byron came to a stop in front of Gisela and Thorne. His head tilted slightly as his focus shifted between the two. “Two souls. Bound by fate and love yet caught in the currents of a dying world.”
Gisela took a single step forward. “You once told a woman named Helena Donolo that Mystralos would die.”
Byron did not blink. “Mystralos will die. It will die as you know it to be.”
Thorne’s voice sharpened. “What does that mean?”
Gisela took another step forward, ignoring Thorne’s interjection. “We’re here to understand why and we want to know how to fix it,” Gisela said. “I believe I was given a prophecy—”
Byron’s voice filled the room, clear and imposing:
“In times of dire, the balance shall break,
Six elements lost, a world at stake.
To mend the divide, the willing must find,
The six who unite, in heart and mind.
By trials endured and elements’ might,
The Great Guardian Tree shall rise in sight.
When darkness looms and hope is thin,
The power within shall new life begin.”
Gisela swallowed, the words a familiar echo in her mind.
The room fell silent. The others behind them listened intently.
“The six are here, in this palace. Five in this very room,” Byron said. “Yet you . . .” His attention shifted to Thorne.
A muscle twitched in Thorne’s jaw. “Yet I what?”
Byron’s expression remained neutral. “You do not yet know your role, nor of the path you must take. Your journey will reveal more than you expect.”
Byron’s eyes settled onto Gisela. “You have the willingness to act. A helper. A descendant of the First-born Mystics.”
Gisela went rigid. “I—that’s a mistake.”
“It is not,” Byron said simply.
An uncomfortable sort of dread settled in her bones.
He continued, voice growing strained. “Your land will die without its life source. The six must return that power and revive the Great Guardian Tree, when it is on the brink of demise. Only then will you restore balance for good.”
With that, the Seer turned on his heel, his movements slow, as if the weight of their exchange had exhausted him.
Gisela’s hands itched to move. She wanted to demand answers, to touch him, to pull him back into explanation. “Please, I have more questions,” she called out, her hand reaching to stop him. But before she could make contact, Seraphina caught her arm.
“You cannot touch him. He will rest now. There is nothing you can do.”
In a trance-like state, the Seer disappeared behind the door he entered through, leaving them with more questions than answers.
Silas’s voice broke the heavy silence that had settled in the room. “Well, now what?”
Adrian and Eva moved closer to the tree, awe widening their eyes. The roots pulsed faintly, responding to their closeness.
“No time like the present. Am I right?” Adrian said, his tone jarring.
Gisela shot him a faint glare, her jaw aching from tension, but she allowed herself a small nod.
“You must be extremely careful. Do not enter another realm,” Seraphina warned. “Touching the tree with intention allows you to connect with it, but stepping through to another realm can be perilous. Focus solely on your destination, and do not let the tree’s energy pull you beyond that.”
Thorne’s hands flexed at his sides. “Wait.”
“I’m right here.” Gisela said, placing her hands on his chest. “I’m just going to look.”
“I’ll try it first,” he insisted.
“Do not,” Seraphina said sternly. “Your magic is corrupt. The tree will reject it.”
“Corrupt?” he said. “I’m not corrupt.”
“You may not be. But your power is,” Seraphina said, regret flitting along her features.
Gisela put her hand on Thorne’s arm. “We will figure out how to fix it. But right now, we have to try this.”
Seraphina nodded in agreement. “As long as they don’t step through, they won’t leave our sight.”
Gisela, Silas, Eva, and Adrian approached the massive tree.
Thorne took a step forward, but stopped.
Each of them pressed their palms against the bark, and a warm, tingling pulse of energy thrummed beneath their fingers.
But when Silas reached out, nothing happened.
“All I feel is rough bark,” he muttered, frustration wrinkling his brow. He stepped back, joining Thorne.
Gisela closed her eyes and the world around her fell silent. Images of distant realms shifted behind her lids, faint and elusive.
Seraphina’s voice cut through, muffled from the shifting reality. “Focus on Mystralos. To the village you want to see.”
Gisela drew a deep breath and pictured Frosthaven clearly in her mind.
When she opened her eyes, the scene before her twisted her heart.
The familiar landscape lay skeletal. Mist clung thick and heavy.
Wolves prowled, fangs sinking into dying animals.
The Guardian Tree was losing its essence.
Its branches drooped, and aether leaves lay scattered on the ground.
A sharp pang of sorrow ripped through her, and she gasped. She stumbled back into Thorne, and he caught her without hesitation.
“What is it?” he asked.
Gisela shook her head. “The forest . . . it’s dead.”
Adrian and Eva staggered back from the tree, Adrian catching his sister. “I don’t know what Aquamere looked like before, but the woods are swallowed in mist,” Adrian said, hands on his knees, gasping.
Eva widened her eyes, unsteady on her feet.
“What did you see?” Gisela asked.
Her hands moved swiftly, and Adrian followed. “She saw Thunderpeak . . . there’s nothing left.”
“What do you mean nothing?” Silas asked.
Eva’s movements continued.
Adrian interpreted, voice tense. “The tree’s still there . . . but everything else is burned to the ground.”
Sweat beaded on Gisela’s forehead. “I need to go to Frosthaven.”
“No,” Thorne said. “It won’t be safe. I can’t get there fast enough if you need me, Gisela.”
Silas wiped a hand down his face. “We go back to Aquamere. Quickest route. Maybe Terranox will carry Thorne, Marina and me. Adrian, Eva, and Gisela can use the tree. We meet at Marina’s house on the beach.”
Seraphina exhaled, her expression troubled. “Terranox may suffice. Vespera can stay with her egg, but he must return soon after. You must promise me.”
“No,” Thorne said immediately. “I’m not going anywhere without Gisela.”
Gisela met his gaze, sorrow and resolve entwined. “It’s the only way. I’ll have Adrian and Eva with me. I won’t be alone. You all go first. We’ll meet you there.”
Thorne rolled his neck, the fight in his stance softening into reluctant acceptance. “Fine. We leave in the morning.”