Page 29 of Scars and Burns

I halt right then and there. Turning to her, lookingher straight in the eyes, “Because I said so. Listen Saphrina, I am not going to be like your other teachers. I am not going to baby you, coddle you. I am not going to spare your feelings because you are a princess or because you are blessed by the Goddess.” I turn, continuing towards my destination.

She follows. Giving me a weary laugh before starting, “Yeah about that, the Goddess mark. It’s gone.”

I pause for a moment. Glance over at her before continuing my walk. “It hasn’t switched places? Appeared somewhere else on your body? Sometimes it will do that without notice.” Having experienced that myself recently.

I’m wearing a high cross over jacket to be sure to cover my Goddess mark. I’m still trying to process what it means.

“Um, no it’s in the same place as before but it’s no longer complete. It’s just a single crescent moon.” I’m turning the corner onto the patio to my Mother’s garden when she says that. I freeze and turn to her. Grabbing and pulling her arm to me. I turn over her wrist to expose her Goddess mark.

It’s not gone like she said. It’s fading. One of the crescent moons is gone and the full moon in the middle is gradually disappearing. But she is correct, only one single crescent moon remains solid.

I’m staring down at her mark. Contemplating what this could mean. When I slowly glance up. My eyes begin to scan my Mother’s garden. My heart sinks even more. The garden is dying.

My eyes frantically scan the area. Every plant is dying. Withering away. Wilting and turning brown.

No, this was our place. We spent every day here together. This is where I unlocked my magic. This is where she held me when I cried.

Not able to face this. I release Saphrina’s wrist and just start running into the forest. Tears swelling in my eyes. A lump forming in my throat. I can’t let her see me cry. I can’t let anyone see me cry. I cannotbe this weak. I cannot be this worthless. I run straight for my favorite spot. Not bothering to slow or turn around as I hear Saphrina calling after me.

* * *

I’m sitting in the forest in my favorite spot. Not sure how to proceed. Cookie is gone. My Mother is gone. They’re dead. They faced the Shadowlings alone. They died alone.

I should have been there for my Mother. I should have gone to her first thing.

But where were her guards?

The moment I saw King Elio. I immediately thought he killed her. She didn’t look like herself. Her hair and skin were a different shade than I grew up with. Her eyes closed. A stab wound right through her chest. Directly entering her heart. Lying there in a pool of her own blood.

I didn’t want to get into how I knew my Mother was not from the Celestial Realm. Too enraged to confront King Elio about it. Remembering the conversation I eavesdropped in on.

I never got a chance to speak to her about that. Goddess, what am I going to do now? I have so many questions. My last conversation with my Mother still haunts my thoughts. She said I had a mate. She believed I was an extraordinary Fae. She told me I was a rare star whose light could not be matched. She reminded me of blood for blood. I don’t understand any of that. My Mother always seemed to know something I didn’t. I just thought that came with being a mom. But that last conversation was so odd. So out of the ordinary for her. I still have so many questions. I’m moreconfused now than ever and I need my Mother. She was always my sense of direction. My guidance in life when I didn’t know where to turn. She was my home.

Now my home is gone. Shattered into a million pieces. Ripped right out from under me. Along with my heart. My soul.

I can’t breathe. I can’t do anything but cry. My eyes are swollen. My throat is raw.

I don’t know how to handle her death. On top of that I am supposed to start training Saphrina in magic.

I was sure King Elio was going to kick me out of the castle or even banish me. He despises me enough to do so. Instead, he tasks me with developing Saphrina’s magic.

I didn’t understand it then and I don’t fully understand it now. King Elio said Saphrina’s magic was about to change. I would assume he thought it was changing for the better. But with her goddess mark fading there’s no way that is the case.

Saphrina never showed any signs of extraordinary magic. No signs of magic at all. Even though she has been supposedly blessed by our Goddess. Now her mark is fading from complete to a single crescent moon. What could that mean? I wish my Mother was here. She would know. Or would at least know where to start and what to say.

I didn’t think my heart could sink much lower but when I saw my Mother’s garden. I lost the last fraction of her I had left. She grew that garden. Nourished it. She told me once she did not create life. She simply helped it flourish from the life that was already there. I guess now that she is gone. The magic she put into helping the garden grow fades too.

I recall the look of worry my Mother had the day Saphrina was born.

Is that what is happening with Saphrina?

I stand to return to the castle. Still needing to sort out the little cubI brought home. That’s when I sense them. Someone is watching me. I slowly unsheathe my blades. Ready to attack when I hear, “Don’t bother. You won’t win.”

I turn. Shock pours through me when I see him. The same boy from all those years ago.

Boy turned into a man now.

He’s different and yet the same.

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