Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
More trees sprouted close by, surrounding me in a circle as their branches unfurled with newborn bark. They stretched and shivered, their roots fanning out, and burgeoning leaves soaring proudly from their stems. Blossoms released fragrant spices while flowers of every colour soaked in the sun.
The rumble in the soil grew louder as my pain reached a singular height of madness.
I went to scream—
But then...the pain vanished.
The world went quiet.
The colours and auras returned to their usual bland camouflage.
Breathing hard, I slowly moved my head, brushing away petals that’d stuck to my sweaty cheek.
Pallen sat steadfast with lips thinned, her lined eyes wide as they could go. She didn’t glance around us at the multitude of new plant life. She didn’t look away as bees appeared in a thick black and yellow cloud, spinning around my head, hovering in a crown of translucent wings before darting off to pollinate the candied feast that had suddenly appeared.
Her stiff silence unnerved me, and I dug my hands into the earth, intending to push myself upright.
Only...
I gasped as the silence that I’d been so used to now hummed with so many heartbeats. Every inch of dirt and decay sparkled with vibrancy and vitality. It crackled in fresh buds and dying leaves, energy arching from plant to plant, communicating by root, stem, and pollen.
I could hear them.
Could see them.
See their aura, their purpose, their lifeforce.
“I knew...” Pallen cleared her throat and spoke again. “I knew you could sense life...but I didn’t know you could create it.”
Removing my hand from the humming ground, I sat cross-legged and shook out the forgotten damaq leaves from my hair.
Pallen’s gaze dropped to my legs. “You’re bleeding.”
I tensed and looked at where she focused. To the earth that shimmered red.
Scrambling away, I stood and swallowed hard. The insides of my legs and the tops of my feet were splashed with rivers of crimson.
Pallen stood too, watching me closely. “You haven’t bled before?”
I hugged myself, feeling dirty and ashamed. “I-I haven’t cut myself. I’m uninjured. I don’t understand.”
Her shoulders tensed as she climbed to her creaky feet and reached up to cup my cheeks. “Ah, child. Your past has hidden yet another thing from you, it seems.” Smiling kindly, she patted me softly. “You have been with us long enough for your body to grow strong, Runa. You have put on weight from the skinny thing you were when we first found you. Your body is no longer struggling to survive but ready to thrive.” Glancing down at the puddle of blood I’d left on the ground, she added, “You carry the power of life within you, Runa.” She chuckled under her breath. “Somehow, I think that is more true for you than any mortal girl. Your womb has shed, and your lifeforce is ready to mingle with another. To create a new spirit. To bear a youngling.”
She dropped her hands from my face. “Your matehood with Aktor will be blessed.”
I tripped backward, cringing at the mess down my legs. “This means I can become like Tiptu when I first arrived? Swollen with child?”
She nodded. “It seems whatever gifts you carry, whatever powers you have forgotten, are ready to be known.” Taking my hand, she pulled me toward the river. “Come now, bathe away your blood, and I’ll request new clothing from Hyath. I believe she’s been busy creating a new method of dress since becoming inspired by your wrap.”
I let her tug me toward the water, dazed and trembly.
She undressed me like a mother would, gentle and sweet, allowing me to sink inside myself and drown in panic of what I’d done. I flinched as my eyes fell on the grove of new trees and shrubbery that’d seemingly appeared from nothing but my blood.
Once I was naked, she took my hand and pulled me into the water.
“Hello again, Life Bringer,” the water sang in my head. “We are honoured to cradle and cleanse you.”
I bit my lip as Pallen pushed me softly into the stream. Returning to the shore, she murmured, “I’ll be back soon. Rest.”
As her footsteps faded up the embankment, another voice filled my head. One I’d never heard before, but it coated my tongue with woodsy earth and decaying loam. “You have begun to remember, Life Bringer. You bless us with your power.”
I didn’t need to ask what element it was. Or look back at the crimson puddle of my drying blood as it transformed into a blanket of tiny wildflowers, shining their pretty petals toward the sun.
Lokath had finally appeared.
The earth element that’d been so silent while Quelis claimed me for its own, Vetak sang its watery melodies, and Rivoza played its airy games.
All four elements.
I could hear all four.
When I should only be blessed with one.
“Oh no, not you.” The air pulsed with mirth. “You are blessed with all. With more. Same as him.”