Page 76 of A Kiss of Embers
And then he raised the cloak again while the other three were clearly trying to hold back their laughter. Seraphina clamped her hands over her mouth as if to stifle her own.
“If we must,” he started again, “we can swipe the slate clea—”
Her lips crashed into his again, stealing the words from his mouth and fogging his mind until his train of thoughts dispersed into the most beautiful chaos. Without a doubt, he knew he had made the right choice. He would go anywhere with Seraphina. Now and forever.
“I don’t know about you,” he breathed the moment they parted. “But I’m ready to go home.”
Home…
Home was wherever she was.
Seraphina smiled and rested a hand lightly on his chest. “There is just one thing I need to do first.”
Seraphina refused to admit how much lingering in the Forest Fae territory unnerved her.
The silence of foreign uncertainty garbled up the quiet birdsong in the giant boughs above as she held tightly onto Pri’s hand. Bastien held onto her other hand. The young girl glanced nervously about, watching each Forest Fae with suspicion. Seraphina couldn’t blame her after what had happened. Nor did she completely trust that no one would jump out at them with a weapon raised.
But Forest Fae created a path on either side leading to the Glades, with Ashryn guiding them forward only a few steps ahead. No one attacked. No one reached for a weapon. Rather, they wore hopeful expressions, as if they wanted the war between their people to end as much as she did.
The war over the Glades.
Pri whimpered and hid her face in Seraphina’s shoulder as the roaring falls echoed in their ears. Her gaze shifted back and forth across the line of Forest Fae, and she knew if any one of them attacked, not only were she and Bastien capable of defending Pri, but the Ember Fae following behind would defend them to their dying breath.
They stopped at the edge of the rickety wooden bridge, and for a moment, she watched as it swayed back and forth, a misty breeze scaling the steep ravine walls and clinging onto the rope and boards. Her breath caught when she spotted the sheen of green far below, a layer of volcanic glass beneath the water rushing down what used to be a dry riverbed.
Ashryn turned to face the villagers. “This day marks the truce between Forest Fae and Ember Fae alike. By sharing the Glades with our friends, we vow to put anger and bloodshed behind us.”
Murmurs of agreement lifted into the air, though most of the fae remained quiet.
Ashryn nodded, and Seraphina, Pri, and Bastien moved forward. She tested her weight on the bridge, and thankfully, it held. Although she wanted to trust her previous enemies, she also feared the road to peace was weaved with a few thorns.
Together, they crossed the bridge, and with each sway, Pri’s whimpering grew louder. The poor girl must be terrified. But she vowed to never let anything harm her again.
When they stepped off the bridge and onto soft grass, she exhaled a breath of disbelief as she stared at a large boulder formation etched into the mountainside. A peaceful stillness washed over her as she gazed in awe at what used to be the pride of her ancestors.
Bastien released Pri’s hand, and without a word, he stepped aside to let them go in alone together. Likely to watch as a lookout as well.
She gave Pri’s hand a reassuring squeeze as they stepped through the door carved into the boulder and entered a series of corridors, almost like a maze, leading into different rooms of the sanctuary.
It was as if a magic called to her, beckoned her forward within the dim light of the rocky corridor until the air turned cold and humid. The stone hallway opened into a larger cavern. Her feet froze, her eyes widening as the sight struck her with awe.
A reverent hush settled upon the cavern, aside from the gentle lull of the pool of water in the center of the room. A blue light pulsed gently at the bottom of the pool, creating a mesmerizing sheen beneath the surface of the sacred waters.
Their movements created the faintest scuffs of a whisper as she helped Pri undress and then took several hairpins out of her hair until she lay bare, her tattered wings hanging limply against her back.
“You will come with me?” Pri asked, the faintest murmur of her voice nearly shattering the reverent atmosphere.
She shook her head and ran a hand over her daughter’s dark hair. “The healing pool is not for me. It’s for you.”
Pri exhaled a long breath before she descended the stone stairs leading into the sacred pool. She inhaled sharply at what must be frigid water before she took a deep breath and dunked her entire body beneath the surface.
Please, Seraphina begged, her fingers clasped together.Please heal her.
Of course, she knew the healing properties of the water did not always heal immediately. Sometimes it took days. Other times it took months. But mostly, the Glades chose not to heal those afflicted with their infirmities. Would it shun Pri? Or accept her with grace?
Pri gasped as her head reemerged from the water, and she shivered from head to toe as she scrambled for the stairs. The moment she stepped foot out of the pool, Seraphina wrapped her in a large drying cloth and held her tight.
I beg you,she murmured within her mind. If the waters didn’t heal Pri, it might only prove to the Forest Fae that Ember Fae were unworthy of the Glades. She refused to believe her people were any lesser than their counterparts.
