Page 24 of Ecliptic

Rowen clenched his jaw. “The Marked.”

I nodded before counting ten more glimmering marks, and that was just what I could see. I knew there was one at the base of my skull. During my brutal time in the Crystal Crypts with Caeryn and Fou, I’d sustained a severe head injury along with a myriad of broken bones. Rowen had treated my concussion first, forcing me to feel and fight for my life as he brought me back from the brink of death, healing petal by healing petal.

The Spirits tried to warn me that I would return with more power, but they gave me too much! They’d had to alter my body to handle it, but even with these changes, it was still a burden I struggled to bear.

It was, as Takoda said,overwhelming me. But I was determined to prove myself, Takoda, and Nepta wrong. I needed to show that I could handle the new power within me.

The bathing chamber once overflowed with glowing blossoms, but now, it housed only a single flower, its petals wilting at the edges. “Keira?” Rowen questioned as I rushed over to it, my heart aching for its fragile state.

My light had been known to grow vegetation, spark moonblooms, and even bring extinct plants back to life. The least I could do was help one withering flower.

I gently cradled the indigo plant, the precious life flickering within my palms. My heart soared as it recognized me, but then, like a creeping tide, the wilting edges washed upon my consciousness in brutal waves.

Suddenly, I was drowning in death. It was everywhere, not just in the flower but in everything. Inme. It overcame my body, and before I could let go, the decay spread, drying the petals to a burnt crisp.

The flower was already dying, yet I had sped up the process and killed it faster.

Tears burned in my eyes, blurring the dead petals in my hand. I thought I had the gift of life, but I was wrong. I had the penalty of death.

I couldn’t see anything as storm clouds gathered overhead, but the air was parched. Not even my tears could summon the rain we so desperately needed.

“Keira,” Rowen yelled over the thunder. “Breathe. You’re okay. It’s okay.”

The panic had taken over,blinding me. I couldn’t stop. Everyone was right to handle me with care. I was unstable.

“Breathe with me,” Rowen called from right beside me, but I couldn’t wrangle myself in; my thoughts spiraled in death. “Be here with me. Please.”

“I don’t want to feel like this,” I cried, the sense of doom looming within me. I was thankful that Rowen wasn’t trying to touch me; if I hurt him, I would never recover. “I’m scared of what is happening to me. I’m losing all control. Losing myself.”

“My flame, it’s all right, you’re all right,” Rowen soothed as I choked on feelings of dread and terror. “Be here with me in this moment. Now this moment. And this moment.”

Second by agonizing second, Rowen helped me back to myself, and I tried the age-old trick of breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth.

“Good girl. You are here with me in this moment,” Rowen assured as the wind calmed and my hair fell around me in thick tendrils. My eyes snapped to my soul flame, looking terrified yet relieved as I came back to myself.

I collapsed to my knees, my hair floating around me like billowing seaweed. “I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. We will get through this. You are the strongest person I know.”

“I have no clue what to do.”

“Just keep being yourself. That is all you can do.”

“I’m trying,” I said, hoping I could stay myself while everything slowly slipped away and darkness crept in.

“Will you be okay to dress while I gather the Summit? They will know more about your changes and markings than I,” Rowen said, his strong and unwavering presence offering me comfort.

“Yes, I’ll be okay. It will be nice to have a moment to gather my thoughts.”

“You are safe here.”

“I know,” I said with a weak smile, holding my arms around myself.

Rowen quickly changed into his dark breeches and shirt and fastened his holster around his waist with a few deft clinks of his belt. “I’ll be back for you.”

“I’ll be here.”

A part of me was scared to learn the truth. The possibilities terrified me, but there was no more denying it, no more running from it. The truth had to be faced. The body I once had was gone, the woman I knew vanishing before my very eyes, something terrifying taking her place.

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