Page 50 of Prisoner of Darkness and Dreams
It seems to work, as the creaking above us lessens. Etusca falls silent, still holding her hands to the tree for a few moments, until she turns to fix her gaze on Tira. Her eyes are bright with fury.
“What did you do?” she demands.
“Hey, that’s not fair.” Ana immediately jumps to her friend’s defense. “We don’t know that?—”
“I’m sorry!” Tira interrupts, breaking free from Ana’s arms to grab her pack. She pulls out a handful of sticks and throws them to the ground. “I was on watch and noticed them just lying there. They’d already fallen off the trees, I swear!”
“Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?” Etusca demands.
Tira’s devastated, tears running tracks through the smears of dirt on her face.
“I thought they’d make powerful arrows. Because the forest is so magical.”
“Stupid, foolishpestilixe,” Etusca spits, and I don’t need to speak Agathyrian to recognize a curse when I hear one. “Not only did you take something from the forest without permission, but you intended to use it to makea weapon. That’s why the Miravow reacted so strongly.”
Tira hangs her head in shame, prompting Ana to go to her once more, pulling her into a hug.
“I’m sorry,” Tira sobs again.
“Shh. It’s okay,” Ana says. “We all make mistakes.”
“That may be,” Etusca says, her voice softening a little as she calms down. “But we can’t afford any moremistakeslike that.” She looks around her nervously. “There’ll be no more camping out here. The Miravow has a grudge against us now, and it won’t let it go tonight. We must keep moving.”
“Wait,” Tira says as we start gathering up our scattered packs and bed rolls. She turns to Etusca. “What if I could undo some of the damage? Would that help?”
“It might,” Etusca concedes. “You can only try.”
Tira nods and carefully gathers up the sticks, moving toward the nearest tree. She hesitates as the branches once more shudder above us, and I’m hit by a wave of apprehension that’s not my own. I take Ana’s hand.
“Don’t worry, she’ll be okay,” I say. She nods, but still doesn’t look certain. Etusca starts praying again.
Tira kneels down beside the spot where she destroyed one of the roots, the jagged stump lying there like an amputated limb beside its other brokenhalf. Tira lays the sticks in between the two, using her hands to hold them against the broken pieces of wood. The wood writhes between her fists, and when she lifts them away, the sticks have taken on the shape of the roots, fusing the two sections together.
The trees still their branches, the groans and creaks dying away.
“Well done,” Etusca says as Tira rises, her face shining with approval. “You used your power to heal, and the Miravow values that above all.”
Tira looks relieved more than pleased with herself, and doesn’t linger by the trees, even if they have fallen silent.
“I didn’t know you could do that,” Ana says when Tira’s back by her side.
Tira offers her a tight smile. “I discovered it while I was training with the Hand. There were parts of my magic I’ve been overlooking.”
Ana smiles, proud of her friend. But I can feel the underlying sadness too—a hint of jealousy perhaps. Not so long ago, Ana was discovering the unprecedented things she could do with her power, and that’s lost to her right now.
But only temporarily.I don’t say the words out loud, but as I help Ana back up onto her horse, I will her to feel the hope I do—the certainty that we will fix this.
Mal works some of his magic on Tira’s cuts as Etusca looks on, both curious and unsure about the half-dryad’s abilities, and then we’re ready to set off again.
Tira may have made amends with the plants, but that doesn’t mean we’re safe. As we ride deeper into the Miravow, there’s an unmistakable growl that carries through the undergrowth. Whatever it is, it’s a still a way off, but we exchange silent looks of warning. The trees are far from the only dangerous thing in this forest.
Chapter 17
Morgana
The forest remains quiet all through the rest of the night, and as dawn arrives, I think the trees seem a little less hostile. Perhaps the Miravow has gotten more used to us and is realizing we don’t mean any harm. I want to ask Etusca about it, but I hold back. I’m not ready to bridge the gap between us. I don’t even know if we can. Instead, I listen as she speaks to Leon and the others.
“It’s only a day’s more travel before we reach Starfall,” she explains. “We’ll meet my brother there. I think he can help you.”
