“Are you going to talk about it now?” Everly asks, her voice soft.
“Talk about what?” I sink to my shoulders again.
“The baby.”
“No,” I say, my reply too quick.
“Sol…”
I let out a breath and rotate to face her. “I’m not ready.”
Disappointment tinges her expression and echoes in her words. “All right.”
Water droplets slip down my body as I climb from the pool, and she hands me my clothes. Neither of us says anything as I dress, pulling on the surcoat over my damp body. Nor do we speak as we leave the pool behind.
The Seer was right about so many things.
As we walk toward the mouth of the cave, Everly grabs one of the crystals and holds it in front of her. “Cenric would love this.”
“Does he collect crystals?”
“He does. And rocks.” Her eyes glisten with unshed tears as she continues. “I would do anything to hear his voice right now.
Guilt pierces my chest, stinging my heart. “I’m so sorry, Evie.”
“Don’t be sorry. I wanted to do this for you.”
“I know, but you sacrificed so much to be here.”
“I would do it again, if it meant helping you, Sol,” she says, sincerity echoing in her heartfelt tone.
“Thank you.”
I don’t deserve her kindness or her friendship.
She offers it anyway.
The thought follows me as we exit the cave and bask in the sunshine. For a while, I’m content to stand there, soaking in the heat and the promise of something new, something different, something that dances inside my veins now that I’m renewed.
The high gods are with me in a way they have never been before. I feel them, like the warmth of the sun kissing my skin. Hear them, like the soft melody of the birds singing in the nearby trees. See them, like the puffy white clouds above.
They are here.
They are watching.
Maybe I didn’t feel them before now because I hadn’t renewed myself yet. Hadn’t touched that sacred pool. Hadn’t allowed it to siphon away everything. All the darkness. The lingering bitterness left behind by Mother’s death. My hatred for Roland.
And now that I am renewed, I must go back to my roots and speak with Father, then I can focus on the next chapter of my life.
ChapterThirteen
Aflock of birds follows us as we take the first road toward Lanvilla, the village where I grew up. The entire day, I think about what renewing has done for me. How my hands are no longer afflicted, and my chest hurts a lot less. Everything has changed now, and the world is bright and beautiful again. So very beautiful.
As the sun lowers on the horizon, we take refuge beneath a fat acai tree. Everly gathers two piles of pine needles and sits on one of them. I take the other one and pull two blankets from the satchel Jasce gave us.
The fading sun casts shadows across Everly’s face as she picks up a pine needle and twirls it between her fingers. “Tell me what is next.”
“We will go to Lanvilla, so I can speak to my father.” I unbraid my hair and run my hand through the thick, dark strands. “I will need to be careful, though. I’m not safe there.”
