The next morning, we encounter a group of merchants traveling in the same direction. They hail from the nearby town of Lancrest and are on their way to Lanvilla to attend the annual market festival.
Everly and I join their caravan, grateful for the company and protection that traveling in a group provides. The merchants are friendly, but their trade talk bores me after a while, so I fall back and walk alongside the cart, carrying our belongings.
A woman with long blonde hair grabs my attention. There’s something familiar about the way she moves. When she flips her hair and turns to smile at the man walking beside her, my breath catches in my throat.
Tersah.
Why is she here?
And why is she wearing a surcoat with the Kyanite sacred tree?
She moves to walk next to me. “Phillipa told me I would see you here, and here you are.”
“Phillipa?”
“Yes, the Seer. My older sister.”
“How long has it been since Everly and I left Karra?” I ask, needing to know how much time has passed since I stepped through that first portal.
Tersah’s brow pinches as she thinks for a moment or two. “It has been around five months, I believe.”
Five?
Poor Hector. How agonizing those months must have been for him.
Unconsciously, my hand drifts to my stomach, cradling his baby. “Are we in the past or the future?”
“We’re precisely where we need to be.”
What does that mean?
She slides closer to me and lowers her voice. “I have been searching for you for weeks.”
“Why?”
“Phillipa sent me to help you with casting Bloodstone magic.”
The Seer did?
I have no wish to cast Bloodstone magic. Especially now that I’m renewed. I can heal again. Help again.
When I don’t speak, Tersah reaches into the leather bag tied to her waist and pulls out a small, delicate looking flower with petals arranged in long, orderly layers, giving the flower the appearance of a star.
The snow-white flower shimmers as she holds it toward the sunlight. “I created this flower with Kyanite magic. You can use it to cast Bloodstone magic.”
“I can usethatinstead of something living?” I ask, not bothering to hide my skepticism.
She scrunches her nose and purses her lips like she just tasted something shockingly sour.
Knowing I mean no offense to her, I try to explain. “You think I can draw from your flower instead of a person or some other living thing?”
“Well, it is living.” Reverently, she brushes her fingers across a petal. “I created it with magic, and it’s alive and thriving.” She continues. “So, yes. It should work the same as any living thing or creature.”
“It may work for Mildred and Everly,” I say, shaking my head. “But that will never work for me.” My bloodstone magic doesn’t just draw from life. It has alwaystakena life—ahumanlife.
Tersah puts her hand on my arm and counters solemnly. “But it will. That’s why Phillipa sent me to find you.”
I have never seen Tersah so serious, and it makes me consider her words. Olah knows, I would prefer to never use Bloodstone magic again. And I have a hard time believing my magic would be content drawing from a flower like this. But wisdom cautions me to leave the door open to this possibility. What if I could learn how to use this flower? I may need them someday.
