Page 44 of Of Serpents and Ruins
It was strange. He cared so much, yet when I looked at him, I felt nothing. No familiarity. No connection. No awareness. Not even a hint.
And that felt deeply wrong.
STELLA
Kine refused to talk anymore about what had happened and instead focused on the training. He encouraged me to continue with the exercises, and we practiced until my muscles screamed and my brain ached from focusing. He was a patient teacher.
The remaining time flew until Elias called us to join him for dinner. He had already fed Auntie Runa who was still half in the dream state. The red soup tasted familiar. It reminded me of hearty coconut, tomato, and chicken broth with walnuts, basil, sweet potatoes, corn, and dark leafy greens.
"You did an incredible job, Elias," I said, hoping to draw a smile from him.
He sat hunched in his chair, cradling his bowl with one hand. When I spoke, he glanced up and gave me a faint nod.
Kine ate in silence.
What was going on here?
I frowned. "Is Auntie Runa all right?" I asked, even though I’d already asked that when we’d first come up.
Elias managed a small smile. "Yes. She's as fine as she was ten minutes ago." He set his bowl down on the plate. The dishesclinked against one another. "How did the training go? I'm sure it's all coming back to you."
"It is, actually, but we're only in the beginning stages. Do you shift as well?"
Elias shrugged. "Not at all."
"Elias is a type of seer." Kine rose and brought the pot back from the kitchen. With practiced care, he ladled out more servings for each of us. Fragrant steam wafted around us. "More foresight than visions. Charcoal sketches mostly. Sometimes pencil. Strong lines. That about sums it up, wouldn’t you say, Elias?"
Elias nodded, his manner calmer.
"There's so much to learn," I said, grateful that the tension was easing. "What does it mean though? More foresight than visions?"
"There's a difference between sight and prophecy," Elias explained. "Prophecy is connected to the divine and much rarer. Foresight and the like—what we seers usually do—is the awareness of possibilities. There isn't necessarily a divine will associated with it. Strong intuition allows you to see through it to what is most likely, but sometimes it's more. I see through intuition that I put on the page. You feel your intuition."
"How do you know if it's more?"
He twitched a shoulder in response, offering an apologetic smile. "It's probably not what you want to hear, but being a seer isn't like being a shifter. It's more instinctual—"
"Instinctual," I said as he said it. Sighing, I laced my fingers together on the top of my head. "Great. Right now, I feel like my instincts are split between good and bad takes, and I have no idea which is which."
"Auntie Runa will help you get back on track," Kine said gently. "She's probably going to be in and out of this vision state for another few days."
"What brought the vision on? Was it the earthquake?" I asked.
"It wasn't an earthquake, at least not one of natural causes." Elias took another spoonful of soup. The fragrant steam rose around his face. He shook his head.
Kine made some odd noise of affirmation.
Elias's gaze remained fixed on the soup. He lowered his spoon to the bowl without tasting it.
"What?" I frowned.
"It's the curse," Elias said quietly. He shook his head, wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin, and rose. His fists were gripped tight. "The countdown has started again."
"Perhaps—" Kine started.
Elias struck his fist on the table, jarring the dishes and sloshing the drinks. The muscles in his jaw jumped. He started to say something, then stopped, unclenched his fists, and sighed. "What else can it be? You are the one who said the Gola Resh had returned and was not dead, that she is the one who trapped Stella in the chasm. She stopped the curse. Now she has started it again. It makes too much sense. Just because we don't want it to be so doesn't keep it from being true. The curse starting its countdown again is what makes the most sense. And worse still, she’s no longer bound to a physical form."
Kine nodded slowly. "Fair enough."
