"The color of a dying leaf"
—Feuillemort
October 24
Misery ate away at her, clawing at the fringes of reality. Two full days had gone unaccounted for as Dana moved on autopilot. Get back to Eytelis. Get back to Eytelis. Get back to Eytelis. It repeated through her skull like a mantra as she raced alongside the others, the limbs of the forest catching and snagging; ripping at her like the forest knew of her guilt.
It was the third day of travel and she feared—the fear so great it was an animal of carnage in itself—the Gates would never come into sight.
She should never have left.
Dana could still remember her body reacting, freezing, then the bursting of adrenaline as she gathered her gear and was out the door before any of the others could stop her, reason with her, tell her to take a moment. But, she couldn't. Not when she'd left Eytelis, dying in Rosalyn's room, in Strey.
Thrown by the clear image of Eytelis' ashen, pallid features twisted in pain as her body withered away from the poison. She blinked back the burning sensation, the forest swimming in a mix of blurry greens, browns, and blues from unshed tears. Beside her Millicent navigated the forest with more fluidity than her, hazel eyes haunted and just as unseeing as her own. Millicent had been the one to receive Rosalyn's urgent message: Mila, tell the others you need to come back—all of you. It's bad. If you've found the Sea Witch than all is not lost ... if you haven't then we'll take our losses and try again another time, but Dana needs to come back. Eytelis ... Eytelis isn't doing so well. I-I don't know how long she has left, she's no longer responding to any of the healing. I just—Mila ... come back. It's serious ...
A terrible shudder wrecked her body but her pace didn't slow, not even as she stumbled over a root and nearly fell to the forest floor. A strong hand wrapped around her arm and steaded her. Ezra's clear grey eyes gave her silent encouragement and he nodded when she regained her balance. She silently thanked him, thanked all of them. They didn't ask her to slow, not even as it tore at Emrie Michele's and Millicent's body, and no one complained. Even if they had asked she wasn't sure—no, she knew, she couldn't comply. She wouldn't have been able to.
Oh, Dae, her mind cried. How you must hate me for getting Eytelis hurt ... And now she's dying. Dana wiped a tear furiously, her muscles begging her to slow down. But she had long since become numb to the pleading of her body.
The Sea Witch, almost as if she'd known what was coming, hadn't stopped them from leaving—not even when she knew her story wasn't over. Instead, the old witch, had pointed them in the direction of the Gates and showed Millicent a mental map before bidding them with swift winds and safekeeping. She would not be going with them, that was as far as she would take them.
Ezra called for a sharp halt. She wanted to refuse, her body still no autopilot. All she knew right now was: move, keep running, keeping moving until you're beside Eytelis again. But a firm grip from Rowan kept her body from continuing on. Rowan had grabbed where her sleeve still lay over her arm, coming close to touching her skin. Thanks to Millicent they all knew Rowan disliked making physical skin-to-skin contact because of the abilities Rowan possessed.
It didn't stop her from snapping, "Why are we stopping?" She couldn't afford to waste time just standing here! Didn't they understand the longer she was out here the further she was from seeing Eytelis?
Ezra didn't frown at her, but she knew the vampire wanted too, instead he pointed further ahead of them. She followed his finger and saw the stone arches of the Gates in the distance, their stone etchings rising above the treetops, reaching toward the heavens. "Any further and we would be in the clearing, meaning in clear sight of the Guards who are stationed on this side. If we were to just suddenly burst out of the woods in the appearance that we all are in—not in the illusions we showed them while leaving—we will have more to answer to than the Guards. The Council will be on us faster than a leech to free flowing blood."
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Daughters of Creation
काल्पनिक"We are the daughters of the witches you burned!" Abductions and murders are happening in the City of Strey, a place for all types of divine in the Veil. Protected by the Veil, a magical barrier created as a safe haven for the children of the Mothe...
