When I was on my way outside, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My skin was pale. My cheeks were red. My eyes were bloodshot and accessorized with dark bags. My hair hung lifelessly down my back and my face was marred with tear tracks. Splashing water on my face didn’t help this time, though.
I grabbed a small basket that was by the door and went outside. It was a bit chilly, but not enough to need a jacket. The trees were still where they were yesterday and the plants were once again green, lacking pale flowers or colorful fruit. I moved around the garden, gathering a bit of fruit from each plant, thanking each of them in return. It was when I passed the peach and apple trees, the ones nearest to the strawberry bush, that I noticed nature’s prisoner.
Tree roots had wrapped themselves around him, holding him to the ground in an awkward position, but he was still able to sleep. I envied him.
I didn’t touch him as I collected the food, but I did convince the reluctant plants to release him before I went inside. I had enough food in the basket for a week and that wasn’t including the fruit I had to carry in the fold of my shirt.
I went back into my room and got under the blankets. I pulled a fresh apple from atop the pile and began eating, all the while disappearing into the fantastically written worlds that existed on my e-reader. I must have read at least two books when I heard the back door open.
I got out of bed and ran to my door, clicking the lock into place moments before the soft knocking began. I rested my head against the door and slid down to the carpet. That was where I stayed for most of the day. Even when Daris said he was going to go buy some extra things, I didn’t get up, didn’t speak to him. I just sat there; hugging my knees to my chest and letting the reality of the past few weeks fully settle in, from dealing with my father to a new fear of heights to being more than reluctant to train because of a lack of trust.
When the sun finally set, I watched it peak through the leaves that covered my window, listening to the small branches beckon me outside.
But I couldn’t. As much as I didn’t want to, I sensed Daris in the house. I knew where he was and what he was doing: he was cleaning up the kitchen after eating. I had heard him place a small bowl by my door and I knew the intoxicating smell didn’t just wander into my bedroom by itself. Instead, I ignored it for the fruit I had stashed.
Even after an entire day of just thinking about what happened, I couldn’t get over it. I couldn’t stop feeling the devastating helplessness that had overcome me when Daris made me let him go, the very same one that made itself known when I learned about mom. The feeling clung to me like I had to my trainer and was refusing to lessen its grip enough for me to move past it.
Daris knocked on my door quietly, but I didn’t answer.
“Goodnight, Blo- Skyler.”
It hurt more than I thought it would, that he would switch. He calls me both, but he had never switched. The loss of the nickname nearly broke me right then, and I would have opened the door to apologize for how I was acting if I felt like I had done something wrong, but he dropped me and now he dropped the name.
I listened for his door to close before I grabbed my dagger and climbed out the window. The night air greeted me happily, and the trees watched me. They were back the way they were when we first arrived, and the yard looked like a forest; but in the middle, there was a clearing just big enough for me to clear my head. Some moonlight rays danced between the leaves and I felt at peace.
Just like I did a few weeks ago, I grew a few small saplings. I heard the encouragement of the earth and the plants around me as the dagger in my hand glowed red and grew. Unlike my little training exercise, though, I didn’t stop growing the trees. I just kept cutting as more and more constantly appeared until I was surrounded. The blade glowed blue and I gave myself over, allowing the weapon to guide my body through graceful motions until it was the trees struggling to keep up with me. I slowed the growth rate and took control of myself again as I finally allowed myself to release the emotions I had. I remembered what Daris said about touching the metal, but sometimes, I just needed to full-on vent.
With each tree that went down, went another of my problems. Melanie had about ten trees before I moved on to Camille. That took a while. Next was Travis, who took longer than both of them. He must have had at least fifty trees.
Then, I grieved for my mother; each cut was joined with a sob until I was slouched on the ground. The grass was gripped in my hands and my shoulders shook. I ignored the comforting whispers of nature. I didn’t know what was happening and the only thing worse was that I couldn’t figure out how to solve it. I didn’t know what to do and it was breaking me.
Thoughts of my mother gave way to anger at my father and everything he did. Each tree was an action. One went down for taking mom. Another for hurting Daris and me. A third for coming back. A fourth for leaving in the first place. That one was for hitting me when I stole a cookie. That one was for drinking. The list went on until I couldn’t think and I had to take a break.
I looked up and saw the apple tree and immediately remembered Daris. The trees grew in swarms and each attack was accompanied by a scream. That one was for overreacting. That one was for not telling me the whole truth. That one was for my heartbreak. That was for dropping me. That was for laughing and another for never saying sorry. Before I knew it, the thin saplings I had grown were gone and I was left panting in the middle of the clearing with tear tracks running down my face. I sat against the peach tree and cried, hiding my face in my knees. Leaves fell around me and I looked up when the roots cradled me, smiling when a peach dropped into my lap.
My mom may be gone, Travis may be hunting me, and my father may or may not be gone, but the nature around me was proof I was not and never would be alone. I smiled through my tears and began to eat the fruit. Next to me, the dagger glowed blue and shrank. I brushed my fingers along the surface and felt the emotions begin to leave me. I moved my hand. It might be better to get rid of them, but for now, I needed to feel the sadness, the anger, the betrayal, the frustration; they were the only things telling me that this was my reality. This was what I had to deal with.
The morning sun filtered through the leaves of the peach trees and unfortunately woke me. I stretched my arms up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, feeling something heavy on my shoulders. When I moved it, I saw it was a blanket and next to me was a plate of bacon and my dagger, a single pink Amaryllis tucked into the sheath. I smiled and leaned back against the tree, wrapping the blanket tighter around myself as I ate the crispy bacon. It was warm and crunchy, and the deliverer was sleeping softly against the apple tree across from me.
Daris looked just as tired as I felt. Against his black shirt, his face looked pale. He had small bags under his eyes and his arms were loosely crossed. In one of his hands, he had his own blade, sheathed in leather that looked like it was being consumed by flames.
The apple tree went to enclose him in another root prison, but I asked it not to, opting instead to drape the blanket over him. I hoped to leave it at that, but he pinned me with tired blue eyes.
“Sky-” He removed the blanket and sat up.
I looked down. “Go back to sleep.”
“I’ve slept enough, but it’s obvious you haven’t.”
“I’m fine.” I picked up my dagger and started gathering some fruit.
“No, you’re not. Come here.”
“I’m busy.” I started putting the fruit into the fold of my shirt.
“Skyler.” He sighed.
“Daris.”
“Skyler.” His tone changed to a more serious one, and I sat next to him, the fruit in the fold of my shirt rolling to rest between us. He moved to touch me, but I shifted out of reach. He sighed again and we were left to our loud thoughts in a quiet yard. The wind tickled my cheeks and made me giggle, forgetting for a moment what the problem was until Daris spoke again.
“You know I’d never let anything happen to you, right.” The sudden declaration was not
what I expected and it caught me off guard. “I thought you were going to catch yourself early and learn how to control the air.”
“You promised you wouldn’t drop me.”
“Technically, I promised I wouldn’t throw you off the roof or out a window.”
I scowled and he put his hands up.
“Sorry?”
It was my turn to sigh as I leaned against a tree. My eyes drooped and my head slumped. Daris wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me to him. I rested my head against his chest and yawned. He chuckled and covered us with the blanket. “Does this mean I’m forgiven?” I nodded slightly and fell asleep only to encounter the dream that had me shaking and screaming right before I hit the ground.
I shot up and tossed the blanket over to Daris before hugging my knees tightly. I rocked myself back and forth and tears started falling slightly.
“You okay?”
I nodded. “I’m fine. Just a nightmare.”
“You’re not fine,” he said sternly. “What’s wrong?” His no-nonsense tone left me without any room for debate. I sighed, wiping the tears from my eyes and bracing myself for the memory. Daris rubbed my back and I felt my muscles loosen. “Skyler.”
“In the dream, I don’t stop falling. I see the ground and it’s spinning, getting closer. When I look up at the sky, I see Travis and my dad, and the only thing I hear is you laughing.”
Daris was silent for a moment before he choked out, “Sky.”
“I wake up just before I hit the ground and can’t fall back to sleep, no matter how tired I am.”
Daris ran his hand through his hair before he smiled.
“Dar--AH! Daris put me down.”
He shifted me into a bridal hold, and I tensed as he shot us into the sky.
“Daris, this isn’t funny.” I hid my face in his neck and wrapped my arms around him tightly.
“I’m not laughing this time, Blossom. I’m completely serious. You’re going to fly.”
“But-” I moved my arms back to his shoulders and looked down.
“No buts. You’re learning to fly and I’m not going to drop you.” His eyes shone with promise. They were lacking all the humor and malice that was in my dream. “Trust me. What happened to you constantly asking me to teach you to fly?”
“That was before you dropped me!” I looked at the ground that seemed so far below us. I squirmed and Daris tightened his grip. “You’re not giving me a choice?”
“Not really.”
I sighed in defeat and the lesson began.
“This is different than trying to summon an attack or asking nature to help you. This is asking nature to give up its control of the air and to let you run the show. Seeing as you have already formed a strong enough bond that my own garden holds me hostage, I think you can convince the Earth to help you. And no matter what, I won’t drop you.” He squeezed me and I saw the conviction in his eyes, alight with excitement but tamed with concern. He wanted my trust back.
“Why can’t we start from the ground?” I whined.
“Because, you can’t fly if you have fear of heights.”
“Still your fault.”
“Still regretting it. By the way, we aren’t touching the ground until you can do it. And no, I don’t care if you have to go pee. I used the same excuse when I was training, so don’t even try.”
“Fine.” I pouted.
“Alright, seeing as you can’t fly from your current position,” he shifted a bit to emphasize that I was still in a bridal carry, “you have to get in an upright position so you’ll be balanced when you need to get a footing.”
“Ok?”
“I’m going to let go of your legs, so just put your arms around my neck.”
I did as he said and only noticed how much closer that seemed to make us. I blushed.
“I’m going to let go of your legs now.” He did just that and I was left dangling there like before. I inhaled sharply and shut my eyes.
“Relax. You won’t hit the ground. I’ve got you. Just stand on my feet, okay? I’ve got you.”
I listened to him and did what he said, but I kept my eyes close. Daris put his arms around my waist.
“I don’t like this. I really don’t like this.” I hid my face back in his neck and pulled myself closer to him.
His arms tightened around me. “A fear of heights is normal, Blossom.”
I tilted my head down, still with my eyes shut.
Daris moved my head back up. “Open your eyes, Sky.”
I did and my breath caught. The morning sun lightened his hair and eyes, making him seem much friendlier and much more attractive. He moved his hand back to my waist and I suddenly became more aware of all his slight movements.
“You won’t let me back on the ground?” I whispered hopefully.
He smiled softly and I wanted to lean forward until our foreheads touched. He spoke softly and his breath tickled my cheeks. “You won’t touch it until you can hold yourself up. Feel how firm the air feels right now? How it feels like we’re standing on the floor?”
I nodded.
“Good. Now imagine that same hard feeling. Picture a strong surface that you can use to stand on about a foot away from where we currently are.”
I closed my eyes and focused. Unlike when I was asking for the trees to bear me food, this was something I had to create without anything but the wind around me. I envisioned the floor of my apartment, the tile in the bathroom, the sidewalk where I ran after school.
“Good. Now step onto that surface. Move your hands to my arms and I’ll do the same.”
I moved my hands down until I was gripping his forearms. I took a step outward, expecting something solid but feeling nothing. My balance faltered and I shut my eyes as I felt gravity pull me down; but Daris was already there, pulling me back towards him. My breath came in gasps and my heart rate struggled to slow down. I grabbed the sides of his shirt until my knuckles paled.
“Calm down, Skyler. Just breathe. You almost got it; you actually made the platform but missed.” He chuckled lowly and his breath skimmed across the side of my face. “Come on.” He tried to put some space between us, but I just held tighter. He sighed. “You’re acting like a child.”
“I don’t care.” I sounded like a kid, too.
“Come on, Sky. Take two.”
I took a deep breath and sighed. Daris pushed me a bit more and I was forced to let go.
“Okay.” I focused once more and felt what Daris had been talking about. I felt the small platform I had created; something I now realized was only about two feet wide and no bigger than the average school desk. I attempted what Daris described, calling the wind and asking for control until my platform was right beneath us. I turned in Daris’s arms and gripped his hand tightly as I stepped off his stand and onto mine, just a hop beneath it. Even when I was settled, I refused to let go of his hand.
“If you fall, I want you to try to catch yourself as soon as possible. For now, balance yourself and let go of my hand before I lose it.” Daris grasped my wrist and forced me to release him when I only clutched tighter. Nevertheless, I walked around the edge of my platform.
“Skyler, look down.”
I did and my heart stopped when I saw how high up we were.
Daris stepped onto my platform with ease and put his hand in mine. He squeezed before dropping my hand and I exhaled. “Calm down. You aren’t going to fall. Now, follow me.” He took a running start and jumped. He stopped three feet away and just started flying around me.
“You want me to just randomly start flying?”
“Pretty much. Flight is based on mutual trust. The Earth lifts you up, but you must trust her not to drop you.”
“I know the Earth won’t drop me; it’s you I’m afraid of.”
He looked hurt. “You are never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“Not on your life.”
Suddenly, he dropped, muttering a curse as he plummeted; and without even thi
nking, I dropped too. I asked the Earth to speed me up, but she never answered. I touched the blade that rested at my hip and a surge of energy flowed through me. I was the one propelling myself towards Daris, not the Earth and not the wind. I caught his arm and pulled, getting my feet under me and straightening us out before I lowered us to the ground. I dropped Daris, though.
“Ow.” He groaned and looked up at me.
“Please. You know you deserve worse than that.”
He smiled and got up with a grunt. “Do I now?”
“Yes, you do.”
“Says the one who jumped after me,” Daris smirked.
“Well, I- I”
“Yes?”
I felt my face begin to heat up so I just let my stomach do the talking. I giggled.
“How are you still hungry?”
“This is taking up more energy than I thought, okay?” I plucked a peach from a higher-up branch, showering Daris in pale petals. “Besides, fresh fruit is always good.”
“For someone who’s talking about using so much energy, you seem to be having no problem keeping yourself up there.”
“Oh, shut up.”
He raised his hands “I’m just saying, you’re getting this stuff pretty fast; you know, everything except attacking.”
“I’m working on it,” I defended. “Besides, I think I got the dagger down. Other than that weird yellow light a few days ago, I know what I’m doing.”
Daris stiffened and flew up to my level. He grabbed my shoulders.
“Daris?”
Marked by Time (The Mark Series Book 1) Page 13
