Daughters of Creation

Chapter Twenty-Two: Whelve (Part Two)

Arms infinitely warmer than her sister's was the first thing Rosalyn's exhausted mind focused on. A mix of spices and smoke curled around her and she knew who held her. Hari.

"How are you feeling, tigris meum?" his voice was warm and husky, as if he too had dozed off while she was unconscious to the world.

Her eyes felt puffy and her throat like sandpaper as she swallowed. "I've been better," she admitted.

His chuckle rumbled through her and she sunk into the sound, enjoying the way his heart beat under her ear. Millicent must have gone to get him, she thought. After Casimir she welcomed the firm weight of Hari's arms around her.

"She's grieving right now, Rosalyn. Once the worst of it wears off I cannot imagine things continuing the way they are between you two." He didn't need to tell her who he was referring to.

"But will she? If it were me in her position I would resent myself as well—I would hate me for being responsible for losing the one I loved." Rosalyn pushed herself up. They were still in the same alcove that she had fallen asleep in, but vines and greenery no longer consumed the library.

A gentle finger slid under her chin, forcing her to look up. Soft, knowing eyes gazed down at her. "As I am sure Mila has already told you it was not your poison that ate away at Eytelis. We have never dealt with a being who was half-Original, our powers were never on the same level as theirs—and rightfully so, as they were our first parents. In time I am sure an individual will come along who could stand against an Original—or half-Original—and maybe that person is already born, but you can't blame yourself for Eytelis dying and Dae choosing to take her place."

She sighed wearily. All of their words made sense; Millicent's, Hari's, and even Casimir's, but it wasn't that she was ignoring them ... she just couldn't see past the self-blame at the moment. It clouded her perspective in this matter and she wasn't sure when she would come to terms with how things turned out.

"What is the Earth telling you?" he asked softly.

She hesitated, then listened. She wasn't out in nature so her connection wasn't as strong but as she sat on the oak bench she felt the pulses of the land beneath her fingertips. Like gentle, caressing waves, the Earth lapped at her feet, answering to her call. A sweet melody hummed through her veins and she felt a part of herself sink deeper inside her. Everything dropped away from her: Hari, the warmth, the oak beneath her, everything.

Daughter of ours, the Earth seemed to say in a rumbling voice both soft like a woman's voice and deep like a man's, the power is inside of you, but as you are right now you could not have beaten the half-Original's poison that flowed through your friend's body. Listen to your friends, they are not far from the truth in this case.

A tear leaked down her cheek. It was as if her own mother was with her again, wrapping her in arms promising safety and understanding. But, if the power is inside of me why couldn't I have access to it? I could have saved Eytelis ... could have saved Dae.

The Sentry knew it was his time to go, noctifer, you could not have changed his fate in this—it was long since written in the stars. Neither could you have harnessed the power inside of you to purify the poison. For something to awaken that kind of magic requires an emotional surge so crippling it could shatter your very fiber of being.

She suddenly found it very hard to breathe. The death of someone she knew wasn't enough to awaken this magic inside of her? Rosalyn felt even worse about herself.

The Earth didn't seem to take this lightly. We did not tell you this so you could continue to wallow in self pity, Daughter of the Earth. We told you this so you will recognize what is happening when it does happen—and it will happen. Do not let the darkness win, Rosalyn Octavius, High Priestess of the Noctifers.