Page 67 of A Touch Enchanted

Within seconds, the trunk was nothing but a pile of ash.

The sound of crumbling leaves started again, and Kenna turned her fire outward, following the sound as it surrounded us. Nothing launched out of the trees to attack us. It didn’t take us long to realize that had been the curse’s plan all along.

The dead zone might’ve been alive, but the birch trees surrounding it were still drier than dust. They went up in flames immediately, trapping us within the circle. Smoke rose high over our heads, clogging the air. It would only be a matter of time before it began filling our lungs.

“Shit. I’m sorry.” Kenna let go of Galen. Anguish clouded her expression as she hugged her arms tight against her midsection. “I told you I couldn’t control it.”

The ground began to rumble. I clung to Donovan as the earth rolled beneath my feet. One of the blazing trees creaked and swayed before it fell across the clearing. Galen grabbed Kenna, pulling her out of the way just in time. His hands were in her hair and the two of them stood closer than a couple of horny teens on a high school dance floor.

“Come on, you two.” Donovan let out an exasperated sigh, like he hadn’t been just as bad the first night we went wild on each other. “Help us move this rock so Wes and Audrey can put out the fire before it does any more damage.”

The flat boulder covering the cave took all four of us to move. We eventually lifted it and let it fall on the opposite side. It crashed into the fallen birch, sending sparks flying into the air. Not wanting to risk going back down again, we called down the hole. No one answered.

Donovan and I exchanged a look. A thousand words passed between us without so much as a syllable being uttered. Worry that the curse had gotten to everyone in the cave, that they were trapped somehow or had fallen like Ceti. Resolve to go down there and find out, since we were the only ones who could get out again through the River of Life. Concern about the lack of control Kenna had over her fire if the curse decided to pull another trick.

“We have no choice,” Donovan said.

“I feel like you’ve been saying that a lot today.”

He shrugged. “It is what it is.”

Kenna put her hands on her hips. “What are you two talking about?”

“No one is responding to us,” I said. “We have to go into the cave.”

“Hell no.” Kenna shook her head, her wild curls competing with the flames that continued to eat through the surrounding trees. “You’re not leaving the two of us alone.”

“Don’t touch unless you have to defend yourselves,” Donovan said. “You’ll be fine.”

Amid Kenna’s stuttering protests, he led the way down the long stairway to the bottom. I followed, keeping my back as close to the cool rock wall as I could in case another earthquake decided to strike. They were coming more frequently now.

We made it to the bottom, and the first thing we noticed was the lack of rushing water. The river had stilled to a steady flow, rather than the wild, rushing currents that had taken us to the Well of Rebirth. That couldn’t be good.

We ran toward the golden light. The melody that flowed from the cracks in the cave walls had fallen silent. As we got closer to Ceti’s tomb, the low hum of our group reached us. Their voices sounded strained. Even from a distance, we could note their unease.

I already knew.

We entered the cavern, and my gaze immediately zeroed in on the golden gate. It had fallen level with the Gate of Twilight. Cutting off the flow of the river through the island.

Epilogue

Violet

Iwokewithastart. Another dream clung to the edges of my memory, like the sticky taffy I used to get every summer at the fudge shop. Similar to the dream I’d had about Nirah and Ceti, but this one felt more vivid, the textures more solid.

The threads on the Gate of Twilight were bleeding into the Gate of Dawn.

“If the Gate of Dawn turns to night, the sun won’t rise.”

“Hmm?” Donovan flung an arm over my waist and dragged me closer to him.

“Fire can cauterize the wound, but only the fire that burns and can’t be seen can stop the bleed.” I pushed the words out of me in a rush, forgotten the moment they left my lips. I elbowed Donovan in the ribs. “Write that down.”

He yawned and stretched his arms over his head. “Write what down?”

“I don’t know.” I sat up and pressed the heel of my hand into my forehead, trying to hold the details of my dream. The Well of Rebirth rose to the surface of my memories, but it was the version of it I’d already seen. The one on the other side of the black and gold grate that allowed the waters from the River of Life to filter into the granite basin.

It had been dark in my dream. There was no light. There would never be light again.

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