I glance at her from the corner of my eye but don’t respond.
Rayna sets a hand to the top of my arm as her hazel eyes bore into mine. “Just be careful out there, Lilith.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Papra
THE FACT THAT I’m in danger is the last thought on my mind as Crowe and I pass the border on the edge of Aens territory. I have never set foot on their land before, and the prospect of meeting new people sets me on edge. What are they like? Will they welcome me with open arms or see me as a threat? Besides Hyacinth, I’ve never even met anyone from here. Sure, I had had classmates from this Coven, but they never made an effort to speak to me, and I regarded them in the same manner. Now I have no choice but to interact with them.
Again, I wonder to myself what they’re like, and I risk a glance out of the corner of my eye to Crowe. He doesn’t appear as full of wonder as I am. I hope his foul mood isn’t an indication of what to expect from the Coven. I twitch my lips and look away.
I have the feeling he’s focused on The Sage’s parting words as we stroll through the knee-high grass—if anything happens to me, it’s solely Crowe’s responsibility. I don’t think The Sage would be too happy with him if I were to be killed during his watch and that’s the thought that’s rooted itself in his mind.
I open my mouth. I want to tell him to relax, that things will be okay, but I don’t know what words I can possibly use to convince him of that fact. For all I know, it could be a lie. There could be some sort of ambush in place in any of the Covens that we plan to visit. The poisoning of the river might’ve been the Elementals’ way of flushing us out, and we’re stumbling right into their trap.
That thought sends a shiver of unease down my spine. Crowe notices the twist of my face and raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything as his gaze darts back to the path ahead. He takes a minute to scan our surroundings and part of me wonders why he doesn’t just change into a fearsome animal if he’s that worried about someone sneaking out the shadows to harm me.
I sigh, ruffling my hair with my hand to pull myself from my thoughts as I join him in surveillance. Aens territory is far different from the other Covens. They live on the plains without a river in sight. It’s so open I understand Crowe’s uneasiness. I pine for the pit of stones in the middle of Ignis’ territory and wonder how Aens gets enough water to supply themselves but I stop myself from asking. I’m sure I won’t get a proper answer anyway—I never do. A chilly breeze blows through the early hours of the night, shuffling our clothes and sending chills across the bits of my skin that are still exposed.
I fold my arms over my chest to block out some of the cold. “It’s so peaceful here,” I say finally as I glance up at the moon above us. The only positive thing I can say about Aens is their view of the stars is breathtaking.
Crowe dips his head. “It’s a lot more open than I care for.”
“Think we’re being watched?” I question as I watch him spin in a complete circle.
Crowe shrugs. “Can’t rule out the possibility.”
“So where are we going?” I ask, suddenly unsure about the situation on our hands. Not only are we dealing with dangerous people, but this will be my first job as a Coven representative. Crowe not only has to defend me but also has to show me off to the public as a person to be admired. I puff my cheeks and blow out a slow stream of air—what a dilemma. “Do we have a plan or are we just going to barge into the heart of the Coven and drag people out in search of the Elementals?”
Crowe shakes his head. “Of course not—that would be reckless, and would most likely get us hurt while frightening a shitload of Aens. Both routes we don’t want to go. No, we’ll have a proper survey over the group in the morning. Right now, we just need to find Papra and get some rest. Tomorrow is gonna be another long day.”
“Papra?” I question scrunching my eyes as I try to picture the person he’s mentioned, unsure if I’ve met her before or not.
“Hyacinth’s mother,” he clarifies with a tilt of his head. “Lovely woman.”
I nod and my eye twitches involuntarily. Great, I don’t even know what to say to her about her daughter. “This should be easy then,” I say out loud.
“She doesn’t share Hyacinth’s ability if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“What’s her power?” I inquire, finding it difficult to hide my disappointment. If Papra could read minds, we’d be in and out of Aens with no time at all. Studying the landscape of this seemingly endless Coven suddenly makes the task at hand seem infinitely larger.
“She manipulates wind, like most members of Aens who control some aspect of the weather.” He pauses. “It’s why they feel so comfortable with these damn open spaces.”
“Powerful group,” I remark, reclining my head a bit.
“Which makes me more inclined to believe the Elementals will have some kind of following here,” he comments, narrowing his eyes to slits.
“If they’re as strong as The Sage says, they’ll have members everywhere, right?”
Crowe nods. “We need to stay on our toes,” he murmurs as we approach a small house.
It’s dark brown in color, the door blending in with the siding. It looks as if it’s made of straw, and I wonder how it holds up against the impossible winds the Aens moors have to offer. Crowe doesn’t hesitate to knock, and it’s obvious he’s been here before. Idly, I wonder what could’ve caused him to have to travel this far out if The Council hasn’t experienced any problems until I joined them. I hear footsteps inside and a moment later, it opens to reveal a woman who shares Hyacinth’s white-blonde hair and hooded violet eyes.
Are violet eyes a trait shared by Aens? I purse my lips, struggling to remember.
“Crowe!” the woman exclaims, throwing her arms around him, the white dishtowel in her hand catches in the breeze as she does so. The screech of her voice pulls me out of my thoughts and I watch the exchange. “This is a surprise!”
“I’m sad to say we’re here on business.” He sets a hand on my shoulder when he pulls away, dragging me a foot closer as his fingers dig into my shoulder, and Papra’s eyes flick to me as if she had just noticed my presence.
“I haven’t seen you before,” she says, lifting a finger thoughtfully to her lips.
After the Arcane Ceremony, that’s a surprise, I think with a huff; The Sage had made it sound like I’m on everyone’s minds. Probing her thoughts gives me the realization she’s being polite, and I swallow away my acid comments—after all, it’s not her fault I’m here. I glance at Crowe from the corner of my eye and remember his anger after the meet and greet with the Advisory Council of Fairies.
He’s right in saying I need a new approach.
“I’m new to The Council, name’s Lilith,” I state, holding my hand to her. “But people usually just call me Li.”
She shakes it in welcome before leading us inside. It’s nice inside the house, small but the scent reminds me of flowers in a meadow. I glance around but don’t see any plants, instead an open window snatches my attention, and I’m sure there are plants outside her home that I didn’t see on the way in.
“I’m Papra,” she introduces herself and glances around. “It’s not much, I know, but you’re welcome to stay as long as you need to.”
“Thank you. We’ll really need it tonight after the trip we just endured,” Crowe says, running a hand through his messy red locks and eyes the couch with an exhausted gleam in his eyes.
“How’s Hyacinth?” Papra prompts, setting down her dishtowel on a nearby table as she glances at us.
“She’s doing well, concerned for Callista,” I reply.
Crowe gives me a confused look. I didn’t even know you talked to her.
I resist the urge to smile, giddy with the idea that The Council doesn’t know everything.
“Something happen?” Papra asks, eyes wide with a similar expression I had seen Hyacinth use during my first conversation with her.
“The Elemental Coven,” Crowe pipes up, re
aching up to scratch behind his ear. Looking between them is enough for me to guess they’ve had a similar conversation before.
Papra sighs. “I’ve been hearing more and more about them over the past few days. It’s such a shame they ruined your Arcane Ceremony. You must’ve been so disappointed.”
Actually, I’m fine with it, I think but don’t bother to say it. Thoughts of that day bring to mind the sight of Helena’s devastated face and a sudden eagerness to see her washes over me. For a moment, I find myself jealous of Hyacinth’s hearing range, wishing I could pick up on the thoughts running through Helena and Clio’s minds at this moment in time…even if it is just whatever dream they’re currently on.
When I shove the longing back into the darkness it came from, I smile at the silence in my mind. It’s nice to be out of Hyacinth’s hearing range for a while…I almost forgot what it’s like to have my thoughts to myself. I didn’t realize quite how adjusted to an internal audience I am already. Sympathy suddenly fills me as I stare at Papra…she’s had to deal with Hyacinth’s tricks much longer than I have. Her thoughts are open and free—no cloaking technique in place—which leads me to wonder if she knows I can read her mind or not.
“The Sage thinks we’ll find some of them hanging out among the Covens, waiting for commands for their next ambush,” Crowe says, tapping his foot slightly as he swipes a finger across his lip.
“I wouldn’t say you’re wrong, but you may be too late,” Papra admits, sitting down on a small loveseat by the door. Her long white-blonde hair falls limply around her thin form as her violet eyes sadden. “Half of the Coven seems to have disappeared overnight—entire families even.”
“Think it’s related?” Crowe asks.
“If not, the timing is awfully coincidental,” I point out.
“We’ll ask around in the morning to see if anyone knows anything,” Crowe assures me. “It’s probably too late to do much else.”
I bite my lip and narrow my eyes as I look at him. Does he really think we can find answers that easily? There’s a good chance that the people who are left had no idea who their Covenmates really are, and if they do…they might share their ideals.
“Even if they know something doesn’t mean they’ll tell us,” I remind him, for once deciding to voice my concerns.
He smirks. “That’s where your mind reading will come in handy. They won’t expect it. When we brought Hyacinth, they knew the drill, but seeing you? They won’t know what to expect. They’ll be confused, which might make it easier to extract the information we need.”
I dip my head, it’s a fair point though I had no idea just how wicked Crowe could be.
Papra glances at the clock on her wall before shifting her gaze back to us. “You two must be exhausted after your trip. There’s a bathroom down the hall you can use to clean up, and you can share Hyacinth’s room to sleep in.”
“Thank you,” I say, surprised to hear Crowe’s shriek of protest.
After forcing me to share a room with him at Headquarters, I’m confused by his change in mood. I’m not bothered by the thought of bunking with him again because I’ve grown used to the idea of not having space to myself. The thought of sleeping on the floor doesn’t bother me either if it means getting a night’s rest with my personal space intact. Crowe seems personally offended, and I wonder if he was raised in a richy house with more provisions than Papra could possibly provide with her simplistic Aens lifestyle.
Curiosity bites me, and I pry into his mind. His overwhelming exhaustion is the first thing that comes to surface, followed by his concern. He’s upset at the idea of us both sleeping at the same time—he thinks we’ll be vulnerable—but he’s torn at the knowledge that we’re both drop dead tired as well.
I shrug off the thoughts and back out of his mind; he’ll have to get over his dilemma himself.
Crowe goes to the bathroom to shower, and I’m the first inside the room. It’s simple with light yellow bedding, a small bookshelf, and a bucket of knitting supplies. Somehow the inside of her room reminds me of Hyacinth’s mind—both of them are so carefully tidied. Curiosity gnaws at me when I catch sight of her Book of Spells on the shelf among her others. A quick glance over my shoulder ensures I’m alone before I pick it up and begin to ruffle through the pages. I search for information about clairvoyance—if it’s possible for me to extend my range like Hyacinth’s—but I only stumble across information I had been forced to learn on my own.
With a discontented sigh, I slam the Book shut and put it back on the shelf as I ruffle my hair with my hand. I hear the roaring wind outside and glance between the bed and the floor, considering my two sleeping options. I finally decide on the floor with the gnawing feeling that if I sleep on Hyacinth’s bed, Crowe will find a way to make us both fit. I take off my stiff yellow shirt that The Sage had given me, flattening the thin red tank top I had worn underneath, and drop the fabric to the floor just as Crowe steps into the room.
His ivory skin sparkles without the dirt and grime from our training session on his skin. His towel hangs loosely around his neck as he tilts his head to the side. His usually spiky red hair is still wet, the long tendrils falling flat against his forehead and neck. I chew on my lip at the sight—somehow he seems more handsome with his hair like that.
“Hyacinth’s bed is far too small for us to share,” he mutters with a hint of a frown on his face as he tosses his towel to the floor.
“You can have the bed,” I tell him with a shrug as I drop to my knees and move the discarded fabric of my shirt into a comfortable pile. In the back of my mind comes images of Helena’s cat, and I smirk to myself as I drop to my side like I had witnessed the furry creature do on a number of occasions.
“You’re the woman. It’s only right you have it,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest as he watches me.
I smile, thinking momentarily of Clio, before it drops. I shake my head and curl up on my shirt, tucking my face into the crook of my arm, already in the beginning stages of sleep. “It’s okay, really.”
Crowe purses his lips. “You’re shutting me out.”
My mind is already too far away to come up with a decent response.
“If it’s about earlier, I’m sorry. I wasn’t protesting because of the idea of sharing with you,” he tries to explain. By his tone, it’s easy to tell he thinks he’s hurt my feelings…he doesn’t realize I simply don’t care.
I hold a hand out without opening my eyes. No need to hear his pathetic apology. “It’s fine.”
Crowe frowns and mutters something about “inadequate provisions” as he stomps over to the bed.
I’m asleep before he turns off the light.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Aens
CONSIDERING I’M THE first one to go to sleep, it doesn’t surprise me that I’m also the first one to wake up in the morning—though I am surprised Crowe managed to get any sleep at all since he had been so worried someone would try to harm us during the night. Despite his iron will, even he couldn’t resist the lure of sleep forever.
I sit up and groan at the stiffness in my joints, briefly regretting my decision to sleep on the floor before I change my mind. I glance at Crowe to seem him stretched out completely against Hyacinth’s small bed, snoring like a lion. I can only imagine how uncomfortable it would’ve been to wake up in the inch of space he wasn’t lying on. His leg dangles over the edge of the bed beside me, and I resist the urge to pull him to the floor. Instead, I stretch out my bad leg, massaging the muscles to relax the pain before I force myself to my feet.
I suddenly crave a bath and go to the bathroom to let the warm water run and fill the ivory basin. I splash it a bit with my hand before I strip off my clothes and sit in the soothing liquid, running it over my skin as I watch the dirt and debris from yesterday’s trip and training wash away. When I’m clean, I feel a bit better—though it doesn’t last once I put on my old clothes from yesterday. I wring the water out of my hair, running through the knotted
tendrils with my fingers as I wander out to the kitchen where Papra works on making breakfast. She smiles at me as I sit down at the table.
“Good morning,” she greets me.
I nod and stifle a yawn, pushing my wet locks of hair from my face as she deposits pancakes onto a plate and hands them to me. “I hope you slept well. Crowe didn’t complain too much last night, did he?”
I shrug as I reach for the syrup, surprised by the upbeat tone to her voice. If I knew someone complained about my home, I wouldn’t be so optimistic about it. “He tried but I fell asleep before I had to listen to too much of it.”
“That’s good. I would’ve had the proper provisions if I had known ahead of time, but my room’s a mess. I don’t even go in there on most days…just to work.”
I offer her a gentle smile as I wait for her to stop her rambling. “It’s okay. It didn’t bother me a bit. My house in Ignis is a bit smaller than this one, so really it’s comfortable.” I pause for a moment and pop a bite of the food into my mouth. “Crowe comes from money, doesn’t he?”
Papra nods and sits down with a plate of her own. “Pretty wealthy family actually. They practically run Aquais…or at least they pretend to. It’s part of the reason he was elected for his position…besides the obvious of course. Being in The Council makes it harder for him to watch over the events of his own Coven. I think it’s hard on him sometimes; looking out for his people was his job since he was young.”
“I can understand that,” I agree, thinking of Clio, Helena, and Fern. I know perfectly well what it feels like to miss someone.
“You must miss them like crazy,” Papra says, surprising me with the accuracy of her statement. “Your family, I mean. The transition was hard for Hyacinth in the beginning, and what I’ve come to understand, it’s difficult for everyone involved.”
“It’s not so bad,” I reply, pushing my food around my plate with my fork before I set it down and look back at her. “Things weren’t so good in my family before Tarj recruited me, so I don’t miss them as much as I probably should, but there are others I do.”
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