Page 5 of Hidden Kingdoms
Gods she was dramatic at times.
Though she was right, my migraines did stop.
I waited, again, as she ran her eyes over my palm muttering to herself, brows creased in confusion. The energy in my hand raced forwards to meet with hers, the familiarity of it soothing to my still-frayed nerves.
“Something’s different, something’s changed,” she muttered to herself, as her eyes travelled over my palms before they snapped up to mine. “Have you been keeping up with your wards? Keeping them charged?”
I rolled my eyes, pulling my hand back. I may not believe in the ability to see into the future, but I did pay attention to all those tales she had told me growing up. Of Faeries and monsters and things that go bump in the night. I believed in the magik she taught me that flowed through the world even if I could not wield it in the same way she did, no matter how much she tried to teach me. And I’d seen more than enough things that just could not be explained to doubt her.
Over the years I had chosen not to dive more deeply into it, but I knew the importance of protecting myself. I’d kept every talisman she had made me—made my own when necessary. Mostly I chose to trust in the wards we would cast together and continue life as normal.
“Has there ever been a time that I haven’t? Anyway, what were you saying to me before I fell asleep?” I waved off her questioning hoping she would accept the change of subject, but I didn’t miss how her eyes flicked to my necklace.
The look in her eyes told me this wouldn’t be the end of it but for now, she would let it go. “I was trying to tell you that Briar should be arriving at some point tonight, most likely late enough that you’ll be long gone by then. You obviously need your sleep what with all your work keeping you up late.”
I perked up at that despite the sarcasm she delightedly tacked on at the end. Briar was Nanna Alba’s dearest friend, and I had grown up with the two of them taking me along on their adventures. She would breeze into our lives at a moment’s notice, her and Nanna whisking us away on some trip or to spend a week in an isolated cabin somewhere. She would be gone as fast as she had arrived, her energy lingering in the house for a day or two after she left. A small comfort considering we never knew when she would reappear again.
After my parents had died when I was young, I’d gone to live with Nanna. Living a life loved and happy. With adventureand magik. A life by her side hanging on every word she said. A connection that ran deeper than the blood we shared; it was in the magik that ran through our veins. I had just been a little girl eager to be all her Nanna wanted her to be, until I grew up.
I didn’t remember much of my parents before they died, probably because I had been so young. When I had questions about them, she would answer. She never kept anything from me, but mostly I found I wasn’t interested in my life before Nanna. She must have sensed that as she never offered information, either.
Sometimes, I felt all I could remember was the time since I had been with her. As if my life had only started once I was by Nanna’s side. There had never been a man in Nanna’s life; there must have been at some point for me to even exist, but she had never mentioned him, and I hadn’t asked.
Briar was part of the family we created together, and I may not have known when she would pop up next, but I did know that she loved me deeply. Like Nanna and I, she also could manipulate the energy that flowed through the world, but where this gift we shared came from, I had no idea. We just had it.
Don’t question the gifts you’ve been born with Elodie,Nanna would say.
Nanna pushed me to hone my magik, to memorise every crystal, learn the properties of every plant that grew in the woods around us and braided wishes into my hair before school. She would tell me stories about the old gods that most of the world had forgotten, that were worshipped deep in the countryside around us.
Briar showed me how the heartline runs parallel to the headline in the creases of my palm, brought me trinkets I treasured beyond words from her times away, and taught me the meaning of every single tarot card in every position she could think of. Making me promise to keep practising even when shewas gone. She would listen when I spoke of the things I had long learnt to withhold from Nanna, being utterly convinced I held the gift of prophecy with every word I spoke.
One birthday—once Nanna was busy clearing up the confetti party Briar had thrown for me—she had given me a set of second-hand tarot cards that she said had belonged to someone she loved very much. She said the cards had told her it was time to pass them on, and although I had rolled my eyes when she started her speech about them, I couldn’t deny the way they had called to me the first time I held them in my hands. They felt like family, like safety, like warm blankets and hot tea.Or coffee. They quickly became the only deck I used, never failing to interpret something going on in my life whether or not I wanted to listen. Briar never told me who they had belonged to, but I got the feeling they were someone who would have been important to us all.
Together they taught me everything they knew.
“I take it we don’t know how long she's staying again?” I asked, already knowing the answer. “Maybe I should wait until she arrives.”
“No, sweetheart, you know what she’s like. There’s no telling what time she will turn up. I’ll probably be in bed myself.” I knew she was lying; she would sit in her chair all night and wait for her like she always did. She glowed brighter when Briar was around, as if something once missing had been returned.
“She isn’t going to go anywhere before she sees you, you know that. Stay at yours tonight, try and get some decent sleep. Take home some tea, it will help. Work can wait until tomorrow, too,” she countered, one brow raising as she looked me over.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed heavily. I really did need to sleep. The tea definitelywouldhelp and workcouldwait until tomorrow. But with the sleep came the dreams, and drinking the tea would send me off deeper into them and weakenmy ability to pull myself out. Work, however, would keep my mind occupied.
I had turned my passion for making jewellery into a business, running it from my spare room. For as long as I could remember, I had been obsessed with jewellery, so it was only natural that I started to make my own. I would spend hours on a single piece, days on bigger ones. I sourced and cut all the gemstones myself, inlaying them into their delicate gold settings. It was always gold, never silver. I just didn’t seem to have the same connection. Work could keep me busy until I was practically falling asleep, that way I wouldn’t be tossing and turning for hours, unable to fall asleep for fear of the night ahead.
I should just admit how much this was affecting me, I knew Nanna would do her utmost to help. But I couldn’t bring myself to accept how rattled the dreams had me. Admitting it to her would make it all too real. I would wait this out. They had to stop at some point.
Unless I was going crazy. Fuck, I hope not.
“Yeah, I’ll go home and get some sleep. Who knows what we’ll be up to in the next few days now.” I wouldn’t be drinking the tea, but I’d let her think I did with no guilt whatsoever. I didn’t need to end up stuck in a dream.
If I really have to, I’ll make myself some warm milk and listen to whale noise.
I waited as she went to gather the herbs needed for the tea from the large wooden armoire that spanned the length of the wall, its shelves filled with everything from recipe books to jars of questionable liquid I learned young not to open. Humming a tune under her breath, she worked with ease, and I watched with the same awe I had as a child. It never ceased to amaze me the wonders she could do, the sheer amount of knowledge she held and did her best to pass onto me. My life was filled withthe results of her wisdom, and I knew I was more than capable of putting together something to help me sleep, but she enjoyed doing it for me.
I wasn’t like Nanna, I didn’t hold the need she did to help everyone I come across. Nanna Alba collected the needy like it was her hobby. The house she lived in was large and stately and had far too many empty rooms for her liking, so she often let them out to those in need or who just needed a little time to themselves. She would help them in whatever way she could, and those who came left feeling better than when they had arrived. I still had my room here from growing up, stocked with what I needed if I ever stayed the night.
I wasn’t a people person. I kept a small circle around me which consisted of Nanna and Briar, my best friend Polly, and Mrs Piper, my closest neighbour who brought me her home-made cakes every few weeks in exchange for a tea that alleviated her arthritis. Being around too many people was always difficult; my mind became a confused, fuzzy mess. I preferred to be at home with Titan, my ridiculously large wolf-like dog.
