The Violet Awakening (The Elementum Trinity Book 2)

by Lane, Styna

  An orb of pure white slowly rose from her lips, and I recognized it immediately. I had seen many of the orbs flicker and fade in Lily’s memory of our kind’s massacre. The orb rose high above us, then, without warning, shattered outward into a thousand tiny pieces, glimmering and falling all around the mystified faces that watched it.

  When I finally lowered my eyes back to the ground, Nadia’s body was gone, replaced by a diminishing cloud of glowing ash.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Changes

  We all sat on the cool floor of Al’s house, huddled around Bryant in a comforting circle. Sarah sat awkwardly on the sofa, staring at us with tears in her eyes as she fidgeted with her fingernails. She was not one of us; she couldn’t feel the consuming, crushing void of Nadia’s death. But she had lost her entire family. Perhaps she didn’t feel exactly what we were feeling, but she understood. I waved her over, and welcomed her into our circle, where she placed a hand on Bryant’s back and her head on my shoulder.

  There were no words, which seemed to be a trend when any of us experienced loss, and especially when all of us experienced the same loss. Nearly everyone in the Eden mourned, in their own way. They’d all felt it in the very moment Nadia was taken from us. It had been so long since an Elementum passed. They were all reminded of a time when our kind populated, and cared for, the earth; a time before The Destructive Ones. They were all reminded of the day we had lost so many. But there were no words. And none were needed.

  “What will this mean for our generation cycle?” Cora whispered in the kitchen.

  “Hush, Cora. Now is not the time,” Lily said, eyeing our group to see if anyone had noticed.

  “We rely on our cycle for survival.” Cora ignored Lily’s words, voice rising with panic.

  “Seriously, shut up,” Gabe whispered.

  I could feel my fingertips getting hot as my blood boiled. Fury crept through my veins like molten rock, stabbing and scorching as it traveled.

  “This could be the end of us!” she continued, nearly shouting.

  “How dare you?” I said, eyes burning with tears as I looked up from the faces of my generation. “You are feeling the same thing that is inside every single body in the Eden, right now. You feel this loss. You feel this grief. How dare you be so insensitive?”

  Cora stared at me, bewildered by my outburst. Finally, as my words sunk in, her eyes went glossy with rage.

  “Do you not understand the severity of the situation? I’m sorry you lost your friend, but this could mean the end of our entire existence!”

  “That is enough, Corina,” Lily said in her disturbingly-calm, motherly tone.

  Waves of heat emanated from my palms, charring the floor beneath me.

  “Since when do the Oracles play favorites, Lilith?” Cora said, words oozing with malice. “You are so taken with these outsiders that you’ll ignore the words of your own generation?”

  “They’re not outsiders. They’re our own kind, and they deserve the same care and protection as anyone else in the Eden.” Gabe bounded to our defense, Reagan nodding in agreement behind him.

  “And these are not the words of our generation. These are your words. And I am ordering you to silence them,” Lily said, eyes nearly glowing as her voice boomed.

  Cora’s mouth fell agape. She huffed something that looked like it was meant to be a laugh, before turning to make her way to the door.

  “Where are you going?” Al asked protectively, grabbing her by the arm.

  “You’re no better than she is,” she said, nodding toward Lily. “You’ve devoted your life to finding this generation, and you’ve nearly lost it on more than one account. You would put Angie before your own blood. And for what?”

  “Cora, Angie’s generation will—” Al began.

  “Will what? Save us all?” Cora mocked. “Based on what, exactly? The words of a crazy old man? A couple of rocks? None of us have ever made a difference. We will never be able to change the people who infect this planet. But it doesn’t matter, now. We won’t even be around to try.”

  Nixon, who had been silently standing by the entire time, followed Cora through the door.

  “Nixon,” Reagan called out, “you can’t honestly agree with her.”

  Nixon stopped in his tracks, giving his sister a regretful look. “I don’t know. But I’m not leaving her. I’m sure you understand…”

  Reagan was stunned into silence, gazing after her brother with hurt betrayal as he closed the door behind himself.

  Cora’s shouts rang throughout the Eden. Her voice wasn’t entirely audible from inside the house, but bits and pieces of her speech permeated the walls. ‘Leaving,’ and ‘Welcome to join,’ stuck out the most.

  “Angie,” Lakin warned, nodding at my hands.

  The floor all around me had blackened, and the heat continued to swell from my palms. I took a shaky, panicky breath as my stone burned against my chest. I couldn’t stop. I closed my eyes as tightly as possible, not wanting to meet anyone’s gaze, unsure if it would have the same explosive effect now that I was an Oracle.

  ‘Angie,’ Al’s voice whispered in my mind. ‘You can control this. You are strong. You are so strong.’

  I sighed as a hot tear ran down my cheek. I willed the fire into the void of sorrow, and bravely opened my eyes at the touch of a hand on my shoulder.

  “Hey,” Bryant said with a teary smile, staring directly into my eyes. “You got this?”

  I nodded and sniffled, smiling back at my brother as the heat dissolved from my palms and chest. My brother, who would never feel the bond that was known by the rest of his kind. My brother, who lost far more than the rest of us. My brother, who was soothing his panicking sister because she couldn’t control her anger.

  Uncertain of what was fueling my actions, I reached down for the purple crystal and removed it from my neck. Bryant would never have his own stone, and there I was with two when I only needed one. If he could never have his own, at least he could have our mother’s. He shook his head slightly in protest, but eventually bowed after I had glared at him long enough.

  Al nodded a brief smile at me before I curled up into a more horizontal position, head resting on Lakin’s lap as my brother observed his new accessory. Lyla and Joseph held each other, while Sarah’s hand remained firmly on Bryant’s shoulder. Silent tears continued to warm my cheeks as I touched the resonating warmth of the floor I had charred.

  “I’m sorry about your floor,” I whispered, unsure if Lily could even hear me through the sleep that thickened my voice.

  “It’s okay, Angie. Floors are insignificant in the grand scheme of things,” Lily called from the kitchen, the tea kettle clinking against the stove.

  “Nothing is insignificant,” I mumbled. The thought came from somewhere I didn’t recognize within my mind—somewhere new.

  I didn’t want to sleep. I didn’t want to see the Room without Nadia. I had already done so once before, and the thought of returning to that place, knowing I would never see her again, sent an ache into my heart. Would her seat still be there? Or would the Room sense that she had been taken from us, and remove the yellow chair to spare us the pain? I wasn’t ready to find out.

  Through one final attempt to take in the faces around me before I faded off into sleep, I forced my eyelids open. Through the tear-blurred vision, my gaze vaguely focused on something I had forgotten about.

  “Lily?” I mumbled, barely mustering up the energy to move my lips.

  “Yes?”

  “Where did that trashcan come from?”

  “It was a gift. From an old friend.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Lavender and Sunflowers

  I shielded my face against the harsh light of the sun as my eyes fluttered open, confused by my unfamiliar surroundings. My comfortable blue chair was not beneath me. The unending whiteness that I had grown so accustomed to was not encircling me. The Energy Room was gone.

  I was in the center of a magnificent prai
rie, rays of light shining down as a gentle breeze rustled the tall grass. The meadow was vast, and surrounded by tall, dark pines. The air was dry and warm, laced with the scent of lavender and sunflowers, and it felt as if it were a part of me. As it was not unlike me to do, I wondered if I had died and gone to heaven.

  “Hello?” I shouted, my echo traveling for miles.

  “Hello, Angie,” a soft voice called from behind me.

  Startled, I spun on my heels.

  “I-I don’t understand,” I said, in awe of the face before me.

  “That’s okay.”

  “How is this possible?”

  “Anything is possible in a dream,” Nadia said, coppery eyes wrinkling as she smiled.

  My cheeks were dampened by unexpected tears as I clutched her in a tight hug. With deep sorrow, I remembered what Lily had told me on my first night in the Eden. The Room was a place for a generation to gather when they were separated in the conscious world. For the first time in our lives, the whole of our generation was together, even if only because we had been robbed of Nadia’s existence.

  “Are you real?”

  “We’re as real as you need us to be,” another voice said from behind me.

  I spun again, clasping my hands to my mouth as I caught sight of the fiery-red hair. I lunged toward Eddie, embracing him as tightly as I could. ‘If this is a dream, I will sleep forever.’

  “I’ve missed you so much.” The words choked from my throat in crumpled pieces of desperation.

  “Shh,” he hushed, patting my hair, “it’s alright.”

  “Don’t cry, Angie.” My heart sank at the little voice that piped up from behind Eddie.

  I hoisted Jenny up onto my hip, smiling in an attempt to mask my anguish. I was incapable of controlling my emotions, as her small hand brushed a tear from my face. Jenny was so young, she’d had so many years ahead of her; years that were ripped away, because of me. If I had never left The Facility, she would still be alive.

  “Oh, Jenny, I’m so sorry,” I whispered, cradling her as she hugged around my neck.

  “But, look! I’m like you, now,” she squeaked happily, wiggling herself down to the ground. Twirling and giggling through the pasture, Jenny’s outstretched hands made the breeze grow strong. As the wind picked up, hundreds of butterflies emerged from the tall grass and danced above our heads. She seemed so happy, yet it made me so sad.

  “She doesn’t know,” Nadia said, sweetly placing her hand on my shoulder.

  I nodded in understanding, wiping the salty taste of tears from my lips with the back of my hand.

  “I’m-I’m glad I can still be with you,” I stuttered, managing a bit of a smile, “even if it’s only in my dreams.”

  Nadia’s grin faded at my words.

  “You won’t be seeing us again, Angie,” she said.

  “What? Why not?”

  “We’ve waited for you, but this is not where we belong. Once we leave, we won’t be able to come back,” she explained, her words laced with sympathy for me, but no sadness for herself.

  “Angie, the journey ahead of you isn’t going to be easy,” I spun to find Paula’s concerned face, situating herself between Nadia and Eddie as she spoke her warning. “You have to be strong, not for yourself, but for everyone around you.”

  Jenny’s laughter continued to ring throughout the prairie, but the skin on my arms began to prickle as the air grew cool. The gleam in Nadia’s eyes was lost, as the sun became smothered in dark, purple-gray clouds. I raised my face to the sky, just in time for my eyeball to be introduced to a cold, harsh raindrop.

  “What is happening?” I questioned, voice thick with panic.

  Rain began to pour, filling the meadow with the sound of static, drowning out Jenny’s laughter. A butterfly landed in my hand, wings twitching hopelessly against the rain. Nadia’s eyes turned the ethereal white I had seen on Lily so many times, but her voice was unlike anything I had ever heard. It was dark and booming, and I never wanted to hear it again.

  “The coming days bring much hardship, child. Be wary of the Violets, for some are blind,” she began.

  I turned sharply at the distant sound of Jenny’s scream. Frantically scanning the prairie, my eyes finally landed on the shadow of a figure standing just at the edge of the woods. Even though I could not see his face, I knew…

  The shadow’s hand had a tight grip on Jenny’s shoulder, as he stepped into what was left of the light. My heart dropped into my stomach, and blood pounded in my ears. ‘If this is a dream, I will never sleep again.’

  “Hello, Angela.” Through the unrelenting downpour, and the distance between us, his voice was as clear as if he were standing right beside me. My legs went weak at William’s malicious smile. I could barely see it, but I could feel it in my bones.

  “What is this?” I whispered, hardly able to get the words out.

  “Be wary of the Violets.” The dark voice was coming from Eddie, this time, whose eyes had also gone white.

  “What is happening?!” I shouted, covering my ears as I dropped to the ground.

  ‘This isn’t real,’ I thought, ‘it’s only a dream.’ My tears were lost in the rain as I cradled myself, rocking back and forth on my knees. Beautiful butterflies floated in the puddles around me, some desperately flapping their wings as they tried to resist their tragic fate.

  “It is time to wake up, Angela Dawson.” I wasn’t sure where the voice was coming from, anymore. “You do not belong here.”

  I felt the rustle of the wet grass as Nadia lowered herself to the ground in front of me. I looked up into her ghostly eyes, feeling as if I were being drawn into their depths. She nodded slowly, placing her hand against my cheek, forcing my vision to cloud over.

  I saw the world on fire and crumbling. I saw death, and destruction, and war. I saw families and bonds torn from each other… and, on the ground next to me, I saw Lakin—eyes wide and lifeless. My breath was sealed in my chest, refusing to bring itself into a world without him; into a world without love. My body felt as if it were collapsing in on itself, and with my shattering scream I was gazing back into Nadia’s eyes. The rain continued to beat down on us, but the sounds were silenced. A chilling, deafening silence. I could see the outlines of William, Eddie, Paula, and Jenny behind her, all with white, glowing eyes, but I was unable to shift my gaze.

  “It is time to wake up, Angela Dawson,” she said, moving her face closer to mine.

  As she breathed into my mouth, I awoke with the whisper of Nadia’s final words on my lips.

  “Be wary of the Violets.”

  ☼ THE ELEMENTUM TRINITY ☼

  The Energy Room

  The Violet Awakening

  The Astral Descent

  About The Author

  An overactive imagination and open-minded upbringing made for the perfect combination to create the author Styna Lane would eventually become. Raised to believe originality and creativity were the keys to happiness, she was instilled with the knowledge that most of life's boundaries are far more fictional than the Fantasy books in which she secluded herself.

  Having lived in six different states by the time she was nineteen, Styna is no stranger to the road. After spending the majority of her life chasing her dreams wherever they led her, she was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 2010, which confined her to her bed much of the time.

  Following a small bout of self-loathing, Styna decided she would not let these new boundaries have control over her. She began to utilize her most prevalent childhood trait: her overactive imagination. Styna quickly found that writing the adventures she created in her mind provided her with a total escape from her physical confines.

  Styna hopes to bring awareness to Invisible Illnesses, as well as inspire those who may have thought they'd gone on their last adventure.

  www.StynaLane.com

  Kickstarter Backers

  A special thanks to all of the wonderful people who backed the Kickstarter in June of 2014 to help fund the printin
g of this book!

  Rebecca-Lorraine Egan

  Mike Stewart

  Stephany Elgin

  Ross Clark

  Jordan Kvochick

  Larry Ebert

  Nikki Bennett

  Hannah Radcliff

  Mel Lafferty

  Special Thanks

  My family and friends have continued to be so incredibly supportive through this journey. I love you all, and I don’t know what I would have done without all of you. I mean, I would have still written the books, but I probably would have been much grumpier while doing it.

  My mom, of course, who has been an unending fountain of support throughout my entire life. Thank you for dealing with random calls at three in the morning when I wrote something that unexpectedly pissed me off or made me cry. And thank you for always pushing me to follow my dreams!

  My grandparents, who continue to love me after each new tattoo and less-than-ordinary life decision. You are truly wonderful people in every way, and I’m so happy to be a part of this family.

  My Marshall, for being there for me through my mini-breakdowns when words wouldn’t cooperate, and for not putting up a fight when I asked you to read everything multiple times to ensure that it made sense outside of my head. I love your face, and everything that is attached to it.

  And my awesome editor, Ryan McDonald. Thank you for Skyping with me until the wee hours of the morning, for catching disastrous mistakes, for understanding when I disappear for days at a time because I’m stuck in the world inside my head, and for laughing at my terrible jokes.

  Thank you all for having so much faith in me.