The Sentinels

6: Dawn

We walked back empty handed to where we had split up. We were in a much healthier looking area, just a few meters away from a small clearing. Standing here with moss between my toes, I felt like the death we'd witnessed just a few moments ago had been merely a bad dream. Even Emmet, who'd seemed like he'd been dying from the inside out, vibrated with life. His face had regained its normal color, his almost white lips were a pulsating red while his hazel eyes sparkled, as if he were excited. His hair seemed fluffier—I hadn't even noticed how much volume it had. It was a brutal contrast—one so harsh, it really made me doubt my sanity. Now I knew what the Thrakos men had meant. The world really was dying...

Not even Emmet, the all-knowing, could explain the way he, and the rest of us soon after, had felt back there. The lack of sunlight, even he had to admit, could not be the cause of it. Where there was shade, there was not automatically death in its path. Sunlight came and went with day turning into night, some plants needing more light while others required less. Not all plants would wither and die in the shadows.

To explain the death of all trees and plants within that large of a diameter was simply put: not possible. At least not to Emmet, because Emmet didn't know an essential part of how our ecosystem worked. Kendra and I did.

The lack of magic flowing through the ground here was the reason for the plants' tragic fate. There wasn't enough of it to sustain them.

We were in one of those parts in Espheros that was having its magic drained from the ground, happening all around Espheros. It was frustrating to see how Emmet kept trying to explain a concept he couldn't begin to grasp, especially since it was his gift to know things, to memorize everything he'd ever learned. Just like it was mine to handle emotions, or Reece's to take control over the mind.

We'd always been taught that while there was a thing called magic, it was only ever something we explained our shift with. Magic was what let immortals outlive humans and shifters by centuries. But that everything, living and breathing in one way or another, was touched by magic, even humans? That was an entirely new idea one needed to comprehend.

I couldn't quite fathom it either.

Unfortunately, I couldn't pester the Thrakos men about it, since Reece would go ballistic if I'd disappear for even a minute. I could contact Reagan, but I wasn't sure I was ready for that level of intimacy again. It wasn't supposed to become a habit to just invade his mind whenever I needed to. I sure didn't want him to breach my walls whenever he pleased. We'd already shared a few moments, but our link had never been active for longer than a few seconds.

Who knew what else would be conveyed except for spoken words.

My countless questions would have to wait.

And Emmet would have to deal with not knowing for a change.

"The whole section of the forest was dead back there. Did you find anything worthwhile, at least?" Reece asked as Holden and his group approached us. Shyla held out her hands which were full with dark blue berries. Tyler did the same.