Page 47 of Of Blooming Embers
I nodded, focusing on the sensation of my ember rippling under and over my flesh, the waves beginning at my neck and pushing outwards along each extremity.
“Splendid. Now guide it.” She rocked forward, and I glanced at her. Her forehead raised, pushing into her pale hairline.
My lips pressed together, and I prodded my power down my arms, through the glowing bough patterns, and into my palms. My fingers weaved the sparkling light into a spinning orb.
Gavrel’s rune lit up. Its energy tugged at my ribs, knotting around them.
Mine, my ember growled.
I breathed in.
I am you.
Breathed out.
You are me.
The coiling sphere kept its shape and grew, my arms widening to accommodate it. My focus flicked to the Augur, eyebrows lifting.
My body thrummed with frenzied energy, little sparks plucking and popping within every inch of me. With my eyes tightly shut, I focused on channeling my power so it wouldn’t burn me alive. Cresting waves of iridescence leaked from my palms and fingers.
A darkened space formed in the center of my orb, its blackness slurping in the glittering light around it. It looked like stars being rapidly pulled into the void, much like water twirling and disappearing down a drain.
My mouth dropped open, and the line between Gavrel’s eyebrows was quite severe.
The Augur lurched out of her chair. “Enough. Call it back,” she ordered. My knees wobbled at her sharp tone, and I willed my energy to sink within, become a part of me once more.
The orb fizzled and unraveled into nothingness. My aura melted away. I flexed my fingers before rubbing them on my breeches.
A wide grin spread across my lips as I hopped onto the porch.
“You’re incredible,” Gavrel said, lifting me by the waist and spinning me around. I giggled and braced my hands on his shoulders. He set me down, clasping his hands behind his neck with a look of awe on his face. “Truly.”
“You’ll practice more tomorrow, but the boy is right. Progress deserves a cuppa.” She hobbled into her hut and poured us each some tea.
“I’m pleased with you, Belladonna.” She sipped from her cup and closed her eyes, savoring it. “As are the Fates.” The corners of her eyes crinkled as she opened her eyes and studied me. Her elbow perched on the edge of the table, the lifted teacup hiding the coy smile I knew was there.
I snorted. Over the last several weeks, all the talks of the three prophetic sisters and their predictions disillusioned me. “So you’ve mentioned. Where were the Fates when the Withering cursed Midst Fall? Where were they when our loved ones were taken from us? When the Elders abused countless souls?”
Her cup clinked against the tabletop. She was most definitelynotsmiling. “Do not confuse my generosity with a willingness to accept such disrespect. It is not for us to understand the schemes of the Fates. But we must strive to navigate the road laid before us, no matter how obscured in shadow.”
Chin dipping, bitter resignation coated my tongue. “Apologies.”
The corners of her mouth curled. “I am quite close with the Fates, you see.”
I nodded as if I believed her, and Gavrel’s countenance maintained a look of impressive indifference.
Reclining, she clasped her hands, resting them on her stomach. With a faraway look, she stared off into the distance as if she could see through to the bogs outside her walls.
Damn me all the way to the void.She was settling in to rattle off a story that would prove her point.
“Long ago, there were two brothers. Quite different in every way, but close when they were young. Their father doted on his eldest son and his gifts. Bitterness festered within the younger one.”
Gavrel shifted in his chair, his tongue pressing at the inside of his cheek. I leaned forward, bending slightly as I placed my forearms on the table and steepled my fingers against the wood.
“As they grew older and more powerful, they didn’t take heed of the Fates’ warnings. Their prophecy of a child who’d have the ability to take what they held most dear—their gift turned against theAncients. They were too enamored with the roles they had to play. And they were tested. One was too trusting. The other too covetous.
“If they’d have respected their oracles and the divinations that were revealed, they’d have been on different paths. The Fates don’t take kindly to complete disregard.” She glanced at me and then at Gavrel with a raised brow. “Thus, one brother’s jealousy destroyed the other, and will most certainly carry him to his demise. The other brother suffered for a long while, and it’s yet to be seen if that will end.”
