Page 69 of Of Serpents and Ruins
"Brandt was able to heal almost instantly." I massaged my arm beneath the warm waters, my fingers pressing along the sensitive points. Dull and sharp pricks and lines of pain spiraled into my wrist and up into my shoulder, but already the improvement was marked.
"Brandt is fully seated in his powers as a water serpent shifter, and his ring is full of shifter energy. After the chamber is unlocked and your ring is restored to you, you will start to regain your healing abilities as well. With time, of course. You’llneed to rebuild your endurance, but all your training with the basics is going to pay off there." Auntie Runa’s eyebrow arched as she gently prodded Bubbles. The manatee continued to scoop up mouthfuls of the flowers. "Don’t eat all the petals, you greedy thing. There’s still plenty of lettuce and mango from breakfast."
"You were right. It wasn’t the alcohol, Auntie Runa." The words were bitter on my tongue, but I forced them out nonetheless. My cheeks burned as I recalled how I’d practically swooned over Brandt and how swiftly my own desires had pushed me toward very poor decisions. "How do I stop being stupid around him?"
Auntie Runa sat on the edge of the canal. She tucked her blue skirt up around her knees and dangled her bare feet in the warm waters. "Oh, girlie, there’s no real way to keep from being stupid around the one you love when it’s like this. You just have to stay away from each other as much as you can, though that might not be possible if we want to get this all resolved. The Gola Resh is a cruel one. She’ll likely orchestrate it so you two have no excuse but to be near one another. All you can do is ground yourself. Remember what matters. Don’t let Brandt be the center of your world, no matter how much you want him, and remember, temptation’s much easier to fight when it’s not looming over you in the room."
Yeah, but I wanted Brandt looming over me, pressing on me, climbing on me—
I clapped my hand over my eyes. "I hate this!"
My hand dropped to the necklace as I rubbed the charm, tugging at it as I did. The cool stone offered no comfort, nor did the steel on the other side. The faint scent of cherries returned, sparking more memories I couldn’t quite bring into focus.
"These are difficult days," Auntie Runa said.
Auntie Runa’s more basic observations brought out my sarcastic side, but I bit my tongue instead of contradicting her. Besides, she was right. Sometimes the truth was simple.
"What was your vision about, Auntie Runa?" I tread water, my gaze focused on Bobbles as if the ancient manatee was the most fascinating creature in all of creation. Truly, he nearly was, especially when he was eating chunks of lettuce and watching me with those big dark eyes, but there was one other thing that was even more compelling.
My question hung in the air as the silence intensified. At last, I glanced back at Auntie Runa. My eyes widened.
She didn’t have the same calm visage as usual. The look in her eyes…the tension in her hands…the tightness of her muscles…
She wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing.
That didn't make me feel so good. My insides churned.
"You must understand that this is not a vision that is lightly shared." Auntie Runa’s mouth pinched. "I understand your curiosity, but you must not press this matter. This knowledge—I fear that it will…" She bent her head forward then shook her head again. Her fingers pressed to her lips.
I nodded slowly, avoiding Auntie Runa's gaze. As much as I wanted to know more about her mysterious vision that had so upset Elias, I knew better than to push her. A sharp bitterness filled my mouth. What had she seen? It must have been powerful if she did not want to share it. Or horrifying. Probably horrifying.
"I understand. I won't ask again." Dipping my head down, I continued to tread water.
Auntie Runa's expression softened. She leaned out and squeezed my shoulder, affection shining in her murky eyes. "You're a good girl, Stella, and you’re a smart one, even if you don't always feel it and sometimes don't act it."
I sucked as a queen, though. The woman I had once been sounded incredible. A powerful seer who could easily turn into a water serpent. Who marched into the king’s chambers and challenged him with her predictions and her insights. And she had been right about her predictions too. She had also been willing to lay her own life down along with seven others. The more I learned about who Stella was before, the less I felt like I could measure up to her spirit and skills.
None of that rang true to who I was now. Whatever steel and fire had existed within me had been muted in my time on Earth.
I’d gotten dorky and goofy.
Curse or no curse, I was boy crazy. Well—man crazy actually. Brandt was no boy.
Old Stella would have rolled her eyes at that, probably. I would have rolled my eyes at current me at any stage in my life after twelve. Horns, I used to be a judgmental know-it-all.
I startled as the surface of the water rippled. Bobbles bumped against my arm gently. Her wise eyes met mine, and she let out a soft rumble.
Smiling sadly, I reached out and stroked her large slick head. "You're right. Worrying won't help," I murmured.
Bobbles blinked slowly at me. Bubbles came up under my other arm, demanding attention. For a few moments, I forgot most of my troubles and simply stroked and scratched the manatees as the healing waters worked their magic on my wounds and fractures.
Sighing, I sank deeper into the soothing warmth until the water covered all of me up to my ears. As much as I wanted to be the bold, fearless queen I had once been, my new life had softened me. The struggles and heartaches of Earth had sanded away my strong edges, leaving me raw and vulnerable. Even if my memories returned, I would always be different from who I once was. I would never again be the unflinching seer-queenwho had looked doom in the face and sacrificed herself. That Stella was gone for good. She really had died.
How pathetic was it that she had died and I had come back, and yet it was as easy as slipping into water to believe that this was who I should be? It wasn’t that I was in the wrong body any more. It was just that I didn’t measure up.
I shuddered despite the water's warmth, a knot of dread forming in my stomach. I had to get serious about collecting every scrap of knowledge and skill if I really wanted a chance of stopping the Gola Resh. She’d hauled me down into that well as if I were nothing at all. Maybe that would have still happened even if I had been a water serpent. My skills didn’t immediately scream a connection to stopping the Gola Resh, but Auntie Runa said I just needed to be faithful in training for now. The rest would come later.
So…I was faithful.
