Fractured Soul

Chapter 48: Tara's Festival

March had left, the flowers and lack of snow its signature. The same excitement that had preceded Nadai's festival in Ryn could be felt in Koa. As soon as the other two girls knew Mella was going with Drake, there was talk of dresses and hair. Mella personally didn't care. She just wanted to work on her magic abilities. But the other's wouldn't have it.

"Mella, I'm running out of things to teach you. You can take a day off. Get some sleep, relax." Enki told her two days before the full moon.

"I sleep enough. What am I supposed to do? Everyone else is busy with dresses or sleeping." Mella asked her. The nightmares had stopped, but as the festival got closer, the familiar vision had returned: the four of them Mella and Wesley fighting Larein and Rin, and then nothing. She knew it was a vision.

Because she couldn't tell anybody.

"I don't know, Mel. Whatever I guess. But I'm not doing any earth magic teach-y stuff. I'm going to get all of my sleep so that the night after next we can get ready and party all night." And Enki dropped the curtains to her rooms.

Mella left Enki's place and walked through the quiet city back to her tree house. She found the prince sitting in one of the smaller sitting rooms, reading. Rin's necklace was dangling from his hand.

"I thought you destroyed that thing." Mella said in way of greeting.

Wesley looked up. "No. I found spells that I want to do. Break the curses on us. Make it so Rin doesn't get the magic back."

Mella nodded. It was a sound plan, except that she doubted it would work on the little sun on her shoulder. If Gareth's spells wouldn't, why would this? "I'll make you a deal. I'll help with spells if you help with some combat stuff."

"Combat stuff? Do I want to know?"

Mella wanted to say "Because your family is going to fight us," but it came out, "Call it a hunch. I can't tell you why, exactly. But will you?"

"The last time I tried ignoring one of your hunches, we almost got caught and Myra died. Give me a few minutes."

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The ringing of metal echoed through the clearing. The two of them had been going at it all morning.

"Who taught you…to fight?" Wesley grunted, swinging the sword at her again.

Mella crossed the two blades of her daggers, halting the swords in its tracks before spinning and swiping at the prince's stomach. He jumped back and sheathed his sword. "I yield. But still, who taught you?"

Mella relaxed and put her daggers away. "Myra when I was in Berna, Alex and Kai in Ryn, and your sister."

"Oh, wow. Alex, Kai, and Rin. I didn't know Myra like you did, but she must have been good. All of them are good. Mel? Hey!"

The pain had come without warning, coupled with a memory. Mella's eyes had started glowing, but it quickly turned worse and she crumpled. Wesley caught her, and nearly dropped her. Mella had slowly been becoming paler and paler since they arrived in Koa, and now she was white and cold. Deathly cold.

"We're running out of time…" Wesley murmured.

In Mella's head, she was seeing and hearing the same thing, in a less pleasant manner. It was no memory…

Larein was standing before her, red eyes glaring at her from under her ghost-white hair.

"I told you we would find you, Mella. You're running out of time."