Page 50 of Shadows in Bloom

I’d wanted to partner with Alandris, so that we would have a private moment to check the journal for a response from Lyandril, but I didn’t want to give Kallistra reason to be suspiciousafter she’d already caught us alone together. I had no choice but to follow her lead while the other three divided up the rest of the area between themselves.

Large, thick trees, along with a few hills and rock faces, blanketed the area that Kallistra and I were set to search. Kallistra kept herself busy at a nearby hill, searching for a spot where the earth had been lifted, and peering underneath. We had already been over this area once before as a group, so I was able to pick out a few points of interest to investigate further on my own. I made sure to stay in sight of Kallistra as I worked. It was mostly for her peace of mind, but also for my own. Nothing here felt right.

I walked over to a giant tree, examining the trunk for any gaps or loose pieces of bark that might create an opening. It was possible our cave wasn’t a ‘cave’ at all. It was possible that we were searching for a staircase leading down into a concealed cavern.

I glanced into the nearby pool of murky green water. Was there a possibility of an entrance below the water? I shuddered at the thought. That would be the absolute last place I looked.

My hands grew red and raw from prodding the rough bark, pulsing with stinging pain by the time I finished my search. I’d found nothing but bugs nestled underneath the loose pieces. One had been so horrifyingly large that I’d stumbled backward, snagging my foot on the roots of the tree and plummeting to my butt on the damp, mossy ground. The impact left my pants muddied and my lower back aching.

If Kallistra noticed the messy state I was in, she didn’t mention it. “This may be a lost cause.” She sighed. There was defeat in her voice. It was unlike her.

“We need this,” I reminded her. I wasn’t about to let her give up now. Not before I’d figured anything out. “Beyond the gold, don’t you want to make a bargain with the Fae to see if she can help us? Was that not your intention?”

“It’s never been needed before,” she mumbled, fidgeting with her dagger mindlessly.

“Needed before?”

Her eyes widened for a second, just long enough for me to notice, before her face returned to calm neutrality. It may have been the fact that I’d lied to her so many times now that I could tell she was searching for one of her own to feed me. “You weren’t the first to be blessed with the gift from our God. Others have attempted the pilgrimage to restore his power.”

I didn’t know how to react. I’d always believed I was the first person they’d sent out to save our village from its curse. To make me believe otherwise… there was no point lying about that. “What happened to those before me?”

“They failed.” Her eyes dropped to the ground. “The last one… well, we lost track of the priestess, as well. We are at a disadvantage this time.”

“Because the priestess can help me master my power? Our God’s power?”

She nodded.

I’d gathered as much. That wasn’t what bothered me—it was what was supposed to happen afterward. “And then what?”

Kallistra looked up at me, her rich brown eyes filled with indiscernible emotions. “I-I cannot say.”

She didn’t have to—because the realization hit me like a knife to the chest. My throat grew dry and scratchy. The voice that resonated in my dreams and during my training echoed in my head.You are mine.It was his voice. My God. That thing. In my dreams, the priestess had referred to me as a vessel. That was why my people were so particular about my safety, about my body…

“He will take me.” It felt like ash leaving my mouth. “The reason you want me stronger… it is for him. A mortal housing.”

The way Kallistra’s face blanched told me I was right. “It… it is an honor.”

“I will cease to exist!” My shock had shifted into rage. “I will be trapped in my own body. As I have been trapped my entire life!”

“It is an honor,” she repeated. “You were born for this very purpose, just as I was born to protect you.”

“Will it kill me?” I wasn’t sure what would be worse, but I needed to know one way or the other. Was I to be a prisoner in my body for all eternity, or would I die once he took me over?

“I cannot say.”

I’d have lunged for her then, if a bloodcurdling scream hadn’t ripped through the air, freezing me in place. It was a female’s voice from just south of us. Zorinna.

Before taking off in a sprint, I took one last look at Kallistra. “We are not done discussing this. You will tell me the truth of what I am. All of it.”

I took off running, my legs burning as I leapt through underbrush and ducked beneath branches. My magic was humming right beneath my skin, as though it had been listening to the conversation between Kallistra and me, and was now taunting me with his presence. I could nearly perceive that twisted, malicious voice cackling in my mind.

You are mine.

If not for the scream, I’d not have been able to hold on to my emotions. Even now, I was struggling to keep my tears at bay, letting the wind whip away any stray droplets that escaped. Sadness, betrayal, and uncontrollable rage were swimming in the pit of my stomach, mixing in a volatile manner, threatening to burst. I managed to maintain my sanity, solely because my fear and concern for Zorinna were stronger than my desire to lash out.

The sound of Kallistra’s footsteps reached my ears from behind. She was slowing her pace so as not to overtake me, though we both knew she could run far faster. She wanted to keep me in her sight. It only made me more furious to think she believed I would use this moment, that I would leave Zorinna behind, in order to escape from her. She thought me weak. I was not that person. Not anymore. When I confronted Kallistra about lying to me for our entire lives, it would be head on.

I slowed my pace as Alandris and Kaz came into view. They were standing at the edge of a gaping hole in the ground, staring down into the darkness beyond. Huge tree roots, which someone had sliced apart, scattered the ground. A small leather bag was tossed haphazardly just before the entrance, its contents spilling everywhere. One thing in particular I recognized instantly—Zorinna’s teal ribbon.

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