Page 9 of Through the Wicked Wood

And whose fault was that?

Biting my bottom lip, my mother’s voice floods my head once again as a memory is drawn to the surface.

“The year of Awakening is sacred to an Enchantress, Elora. You must take this seriously.”

“Sorry, mama,” I whispered, placing my hands in my lap and clasping them tight. It wasn’t as if I didn’t like learning, I was just so dreadfully bored.

“Now, listen. On each Enchantress's twentieth birthday, Mother Gaia harnesses our powers from within us and makes them accessible. The Awakening Stones are part of the ritual and vital to its success, the most precious Stones known to exist.” Pulling the Stones from a sealed box, my eyes lit up as the crystals flickered and glowed in my mother’s hands.

“Earth, Fire, Air, Water. A Stone for each element, and an Enchantress, you my susi, as the fifth.” She smiled, before securely placing the Stones back in their box. “The Awakening magick is unique to each of us as it’s specially chosen by Mother Gaia herself. Without the Ceremony, and without the Stones, an Enchantress will possess no magick.”

“What if I don’t have any magick in me?”

My mother smiled again, her eyes sparkled and her onyx hair glistened in the moonlight as it crept through our window. “You are the magick, susi.”

The thought sends a shiver down my spine. Shame and anger intermix as I recall my own fruitless Awakening Ceremony three years ago. How the night ended in nothing but blood with no magick at my disposal. But if the Stones were still there…I shut my eyes as I take a deep breath.

A small glimmer of hope warms my chest as the voices in my mind quiet themselves. If I can find my way back to Kirsgard, unearth the Stones, I could…I could…I pick my nail beds until they sting. What would I do with the Stones? Attempt another Ceremony? Lose the last bit of sanity I have trying to figure out why Mother Gaia skipped me?

Coward.

As quickly as the spark of hope appears, it dissipates, nothing more than a whisper in the dark. Lost in my train of thought, it takes me a moment to notice Sorin staring at me through the flames. His eyes shift from the top of my head, trailing down to my lips, then settle on the scar on my neck that peers through the top of my tunic. His eyes narrow at the sight of it and a muscle tenses in his jaw.

Tugging my tunic up to cover the raised flesh, I break the silence and stand, letting out an exaggerated yawn. “Whether the Awakening Stones still remain or not—” I toss another stick into the fire “—I have no use for them. If you desire the Stones, by all means, enjoy your quest. But there’s no use in wearing our voices out over a myth.”

Turning towards the cabin, I shut down all the remnants of purpose I felt only moments ago. No, I would not return to the place that broke me, that ripped out my heart in front of my eyes, that turned every dream since into a nightmare.

“I could help you, you know.” Sorin’s words are barely a whisper, and yet, they ring loud in my ears, forcing me to stop halfway from the fire and my cabin. “And there are many others that would benefit from the Stones not landing in King Roman’s hands. The blight across Teravie, the famines, the storms raging in the Holden Sea. The people across Copenspire, Wickersham, even Davenport have their suspicions that it’s the Mother herself who is causing such catastrophe to our lands,” Sorin says and my heart races in my chest. “To the people. Punishing us for the mistreatment of Enchantresses. If there’s a way to take back some of that power, perhaps it would appease Her enough for the blight to stop.”

“Pardon?” I ask, turning to face him. How could he propose the Mother would do such a thing? Sorin smirks as he pours a few handfuls of dirt onto the remaining embers of the fire. The smoke rises from the smothered flames, accentuating his dark features. His deep brown hair falls slightly above his eyes as he stands and takes a few strides in my direction.

“You’re saying you think the reason hunting has been sparse and the storms across the seas is all because of King Roman?” I ask, disbelief thick in my voice.

He stops just a few inches shy of where I stand, glancing down at me before he speaks. “Doesn’t it make sense?” he asks. “Roman has been mistreating Enchantresses for years, and the longer he continues his search for the Stones, the worse things get. Enchantresses are directly linked to the Mother, are they not?” Nodding, I cross my arms, unsure if I want to hear the rest of what he has to say. It’s too overwhelming. Too unbelievable.

“So, you mean to tell me, that if there’s a chance to find the Stones and bring power back into the hands of an Enchantress, you wouldn’t take it?” Sorin presses on. “To not only stop Roman but to stop all this famine, the killing of innocent people due to starvation and stormy seas.”

I’ve been so secluded here, I had no idea just how horrible things have gotten throughout Teravie. It would be a lie to say finding the Stones doesn’t sound appealing. Stopping the king. Seeking revenge. Justice. Even more, if what Sorin is proposing is true, about Mother Gaia lashing out against us for Roman’s mistreatment of Enchantresses, isn’t that enough of a reason to stop him? It could also mean redemption. Redemption for what I’ve done. Redemption in the means of stopping the man who has ripped apart an entire generation of Enchantresses. But I know better than most what it is to lose, and I can’t stand the thought of losing again.

“With the Stones back in the hand of an Enchantress,” Sorin contines, “we could prove to Mother Gaia where our loyalties lie. With Her.”

“I am no one,” I admit much too quickly. “I wouldn’t be much help.” No, I would not be much help indeed. I was given the opportunity to gain my power, to save my mother, and it was wasted. But he doesn’t know that. Doesn’t know I am magickless, and because I’m a coward, I decide not to tell him. I don’t need for him to have the upper hand, not yet.

“I very much doubt that, Enchantress.” It’s not what Sorin says, but how he says it, with such conviction, that raises the hair on my arms and neck.

Eyeing him for a moment, I try to push past the fact that he is standing so close. The warmth of his body radiates toward me so I take a step backward to rid myself of it, ignoring the scent of pine and firewood that drifts off of him. Angling my face away from him, I fixate on a large tree near my cabin.

“Hypothetically...” When his eyes land on me, I stop and take a few more steps backward. Taking a deep breath through my nose, I let it out in a long exhale through my mouth. “Hypothetically, if the Stones still remained where I believe they could be—” I turn to face him, careful with my words to not reveal their exact location as I last saw them “—maybe I would consider finding them myself.”

His smile reveals that dimple again. Forcing my gaze back toward the fire pit, I wait for his response.

“And you’d wish to do this alone?” Sorin asks. His jacket rustles as he pulls it off the rack where it’s been drying for most of the day. Whipping my head back in his direction, I don’t hide the frustration on my face.

“How typical of a man to believe his presence is necessary to accomplish anything at all. Is it so hard to believe? That I’d be able to accomplish such a task without you?” Heat rises to my cheeks as my mother’s voice rings in my ears.

“Such a sour temper for such a beautiful girl.”

She wasn’t wrong about the temper part.

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