Page 96 of Ecliptic

“Hold on a little longer,” I desperately begged, clinging to Indrasyl’s presence.

I shall try.

She sounded so weak and fragile.

“We’re coming,” I said to the tree who hopefully had turned the tides of the war.

My astral self returned to my body, and my gut lurched as Indrasyl’s pain lingered. I opened my eyes and staggered out of the Hymma.

Rowen scanned me worriedly and helped steady me. “What did you see?” he asked, handing me my clothes.

His presence was a double-edged sword, one that offered me strength yet sharpened the ache in my chest and cracked my heart open. I dressed as quickly as I could, allowing the act to hide the pain and anguish that flooded through me. It was an anguish I couldn’t afford to show. Too much hung in the balance.

Althea and Donis, the first soul flames, had found a way to leave this world together. I wasn’t that strong. I couldn’t ask that of Rowen. I’d never want to.

I would try everything within my power to save Luneth without sacrificing myself. If I could find the desert elves and convince them to help, perhaps I wouldn’t have to face that impossible choice.

Rowen didn’t need to know because I had every intention of finding another way.

I wanted to collapse into my soul flame’s embrace, sob into his strong chest as his encompassing arms held me and I told him what Indrasyl had asked of me. But there was no need for us both to suffer. I would protect him from this pain because I was determined to find another way to save us all.

“The Eye of the Sun,” I said, offering Rowen a smile to keep from crying. “We are looking for an archway.”

My gaze brimmed with equal parts hope and dread.

Even though I’d found our salvation, I might not survive this war. And if my death were part of the prophecy, I would simply have to rewrite the stars.

34

Urgency snapped at my heels. There wasn’t a moment to lose. Rowen and I sprinted home to gather supplies and fill our waterskins. Though it was late, we didn’t dare waste another minute. We darted through the village to alert Nepta of what I’d seen. Rowen pounded on her door, her dome no more lavish or exquisite than the rest of the village.

After several urgent knocks, she opened the door, her cobalt robe draped around her in an embroidered plume. Her fine, silver hair was loose and cascaded down her back as her withered hand rested on the doorway. “Yes?” she questioned calmly.

“I need to find the desert elves, convince them to help us, and hopefully bring back an army,” I said, rushing to get the words out as I quickly recalled what happened in the Hymma. “Nepta, I need to leave immediately. Indrasyl showed me the way. In the Hymma ceremony, I somehow connected with the Sylvan Mother Tree. And with what little strength she has left, she showed me the way to the Eye of the Sun, but she’s fading fast.”

“This news comes swiftly on the wings of the night. Much needed and right before the dawn,” she replied, and eventhough we had woken her before sunrise, it looked like she hadn’t been sleeping. “What is your plan?”

“We haven’t exactly figured out the logistics,” Rowen admitted, his hand on the small of my back, casting circles to calm my breathing. “She can’t go alone to a foreign city. If the desert elves know what is happening, they’ve either chosen to ignore it or believe such a blight could never reach them. Either way, what could convince them?”

“Perhaps witnesses,” Nepta said, peering her head around me to call out into the darkness. “I know you are there.”

Dyani stepped forward, surprising me. I didn’t know she’d followed us. “We saw you running through the village. Figured it must be important,” she remarked, almost embarrassed she’d been caught.

“‘We’?” I asked, my eyes scanning the darkness behind her.

Maddock emerged from the shadows, his broad shoulders rippling through his shirt, his thick thighs filling out his pants. He’d gotten bigger since I’d first met him. “Were you really going to leave in the middle of the night without telling anyone?” he asked.

“Always lurking behind trees,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Wait. Are you two . . .?” My gaze shot back and forth between them, a slight pang of jealousy twisting in my gut.

“Ew. No. You know he is not my type,” Dyani said, brushing her hair off her shoulder, her eyes colliding with Maddock. “No offense.”

“None taken.” He shrugged. “We were just training. And you think you can hide things from me?” he asked, tapping his chest, indicating the stolen bond. For a moment, I froze, and my heart stalled. Had he felt my anguish, the pain I’d tried to push away when Indrasyl told me what I had to do?

I had so many questions but now was not the time to ask them.

“Time is of the essence,” Nepta continued as she walked down the steps of her dome, muscle memory leading the way.

The moonlight illuminated the forest, casting a line of silver along the treetops. “I’m coming with you,” Dyani said, her arm cuffs shining as brightly as the steel strapped to her body.

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