The Seer nods and glances back at me. “And, of course, you know the other reason I told you to leave Karra. You know firsthand what can happen when you cast Bloodstone magic, and the darkness is allowed to grow unchecked.”
“You urged me to not wait for the spring, for the snow to thaw.” Those memories seer my thoughts as I continue. “You told me to find a way to the pool of Zalhandara. There, I saw sacred roots drinking blood as the darkness was siphoned from me.”
Surprise sparks in the Seer’s eyes. “I had no idea those two things were related. I only knew if you didn’t renew, the darkness would have killed you. And Tarrobane would have suffered.”
“What do you mean?” My question comes out shaky.
“My other vision, the one I had most often, was of a sun rising over Tarrobane that turned as dark as night.”
Panic rises in my chest and lodges in my throat. “What are you saying?”
“If you had not left and renewed, I suspect Hector’s heart would not have recovered, and he would have gone down the same dark path his ancestors did before the gods took their magic away. Tarrobane would not have survived an untethered Hector.” The Seer’s words come out low, yet they screech through my ears.
Untethered Hector?
Nausea rises from the pit of my stomach as I remember the disagreement I had with Hector before I left. He said he would rule over all Tarrobane. As much as I wanted to believe he would do so with mercy, I saw something in his eyes, heard something in his voice, that made me question his intentions.
“But I am renewed now.” I hold the Seer’s gaze, silently pleading with her to lay my fears to rest. “Tell me you no longer had this vision after I left.”
The Seer shakes her head, and I think she is going to confirm what I’ve said, but she does the opposite. “I had it again about three or four weeks ago.”
“No!” My chair falls backward as I lurch to my feet.
The Seer reaches for my hand, but I pull back out of her reach.
I won’t accept this.
I cannot.
“Hector is a good man,” I say, ready to accuse her of not knowing anything if she contradicts me.
“I know,” she says calmly, as if the storm raging inside me doesn’t affect her. “That’s why I sought him out in the first place. Tarrobane needs Hector.” Compassion shines in her eyes as she motions to the chair. “Please, sit.”
Tentatively, I pick up my chair and sit down.
“You love him fiercely.” She emphasizes her next words. “Good. Tarrobane needs you too.”
It’s true. In my heart I know it’s true. Tarrobane needs me. That’s why the gods are speaking to me.
“If you had that vision again, what does that mean, Phillipa?” Tersah asks the question that I cannot.
“I believe I had that vision after Sol had renewed, but before she started the journey back to Bloodstone land. Back to Hector.”
The Seer’s words bring hope to my chest. Hope for Hector. For us. For our future.
Then, she fastens her gaze to me, her eyes burning into my soul. “Hector wanted to believe you would return to him, but he was beginning to lose hope.” She grabs my hand, and this time I let her. “You making the journey back to him has made all the difference.
“But surely you knew how Hector suffered,” I say, holding the Seer’s gaze, wondering aloud why she didn’t simply give him the information he was searching for that would end his anguish. “Why did you not tell him so he could come to me?”
“Whether Tarrobane rises or falls as one, is first dependent on you and Hector, then on the other tribes,” she says as if that should answer my question. After a moment, she shares more of her insight. “Since you left him, you had to be the one to return to him. It was the only way he would know for sure that what you have is real. It was the only path back to his trust.”
Last night was a start back to that trust. I felt it in the way he kept me close. If he hated me, he would have pushed away and threw up more walls.
The Seer leans forward and places a ring in my hand. “This is for you.”
I stare down at the ring with a red stone in the center. “Is it bloodstone?”
“Yes. Hector made it for you.”
