Tersah places the flower back into her bag. “I will make a lot of them for you.”
“Thank you,” I say with sincerity.
My thoughts drift back to the cave and the feeling I had when I left. The feeling that everything could be changing. Surely, Tersah being here and willing to help me is a part of that change.
“How did you know where to find me?” I ask after a while.
“Phillipa told me you would be near Lanvilla, but I think the high gods led me to you.” Tersah shoves her gold bracelets up her arm. “The gods always lead me to wherever I need to go.”
They do?
That must be wonderful.
As I mull over everything she told me, I look around, taking in the countryside. The road is lined with trees, providing some respite from the blazing sun.
It’s beautiful and peaceful, unlike where the Hematites live.
Jerrod’s voice hisses in my ears.“If you don’t return with the relic, I will hunt you and kill you.”
I shudder and focus on walking—placing one foot in front of the other. Everything else I can think about later.
Even Jerrod.
ChapterFifteen
As the day wears on, we finally catch sight of Lanvilla in the distance. My heart quickens at the thought of being back. The caravan comes to a halt, and Everly and I bid farewell to the merchants.
The Seer’s sister stays behind, and when the merchants leave, she looks at me. “I have things you’ll need when you’re finished here. Come and fetch them in two days.”
“Where will you be?”
“At the Broken Haven Boarding House.” She nods at me, then walks away.
The lines deepen near Everly’s mouth as she stares after her. “She’s Kyanite.”
“I see that.”
Everly scratches her arm and frowns. “What did she say to you?”
“She told me I can use flowers to cast my Bloodstone magic.”
“Oh.” Everly’s brow lifts. “If that is true, why didn’t she help you before?”
“I don’t know.”
As Everly and I make our way through Lanvilla, I look around. It remains unchanged, with a gathering of sturdy stone buildings knit around a central square. The cobblestone paths lead us past the robust cottages, their windows adorned with colorful flower boxes.
The more I walk through the village, the more, I cannot escape the feeling of being an impostor. I should belong here. Instead, I’m forced to walk with my shoulders hunched and my head down.
There are Kyanites who want me dead. They even turned Malachi against me.
I shake my head, lost in a river of sadness. It has been a while since I allowed myself to think about him and remember his betrayal. He was my friend, and he would have killed me.
Who led him to that point?
I watch my feet as they cross the familiar street—the place I called home for many summers. The place that should have accepted me. Instead, they rejected me, then they placed a mark on my life.
I am KyaniteandBloodstone.
