Page 121 of Thorns & Fire
‘Wren, you might be saving the world,’ Thea laughed.‘Ithinkthat justifies borrowing someone’s map.’
Wren found herself before the large expanse of parchment, admiring the scope of the topographical detailing.Dozens of pins lay in the tray of the easel, and she reached for one.‘Dessa, can you read the coordinates for me?’
As Dessa called out the longitudes and latitudes of where the samples had been taken, Wren located them on the map and pushed pins into the parchment.By the time they reached the last coordinates, Wren’s stomach was sinking.
She stepped back and reviewed her findings.Dessa and Thea came to her side and stared at the locations dotted across the parchment.
‘Well?What do you see?’Dessa asked.
Wren closed her eyes, bracing herself against more disappointment.‘I don’t know,’ she said at last.
‘What do you mean, you don’t know?’Thea pressed, scowling at the map.
‘I mean I don’t know what the point of differences might be between these locations and the others,’ she admitted.‘I’ve never been to these places.I’m not familiar with any of them.’
‘That’s alright!’Dessa waved off her concern.‘You could always ask the alchemists who retrieved them—’
‘Wait.’Thea held up a closed fist – a warrior’s signal to stop.She stared hard at the pins.‘You’ve never been toanyof these places?’
Wren shook her head.‘Not that I can recall.And if I did, it was nothing more than passing through.’
Thea pointed back at the tables, to the labels written in Wren’s own hand.‘But you’ve been to all ofthoselocations?’
‘Well, yes.I gathered those samples myself.’
‘That’s not what I mean,’ Thea said.‘You’ve been therebefore?When it was barren?That’s how you discovered all this?’
Wren’s skin prickled.‘Yes...’
‘So that’s the point of difference!’Thea grabbed her shoulder.‘Everywhereyou’vebeen, something has flourished!’
Wren shook her head with a sad smile.‘I’ve been lots of places, Thee.Not everywhere produces thriving plants.’
But Thea hadn’t released her shoulder; in fact, she was only squeezing harder, motioning with her other hand to Wren’s silvertide samples.‘Then what is it aboutthoselocations that’s special?’
Wren faltered.‘I...’
Slowly, she walked back to her workbench and looked to the labels again, her heart rate increasing.Cottage Garden,Forest near Cottage,Northern Side of Swamp,Thezmarr Border,Northeastern Route to Tver...
She pictured herself in each and every barren place, not as she was now, but as she had been back then, in the wake of the shadow war.Her skin prickled once more, and this time, a whisper of power flickered beneath it.
Wren turned to Thea and Dessa.‘Come with me.’
With her heart in her throat, she shouldered her satchel and left the conservatory, crossing the grounds with long, purposeful strides.She paid no heed to the greenhouses or the manicured gardens.She passed through the iron gates, hardly realizing that she’d broken into a run—
‘Wren!’Dessa called from behind.‘Wait!’
But Thea was racing right alongside her, the two sisters running in tandem, the trees and buildings blurring together as the wind whipped through their hair.
Only when they reached the edge of the meadow did Wren skid to a stop, a cry on her lips.
In the place where she had unleashed her storm, where Torj had shielded her from herself, there was a sea of wildflowers, more vibrant, more resplendent than ever.It was as though the meadow had been holding its breath before, and now it flourished in reckless celebration, painting the world, as wild and untameable as Wren’s magic.
Lightning sang in her veins, and the scent of rain danced in the wind.As she gazed at the meadow’s wild beauty, an unbidden image of the silvertide rose flashed in her mind – its silver petals unfurling despite the thorns that guarded them, just as her magic had finally broken free of its constraints.She understood it now: the thorns were not meant to cage, but to strengthen.
Dessa gasped when she caught up with them, staring at the blaze of colours, shaking her head.She turned to Wren in wonder.‘It’s not the Delmirian soil that will complete the cure, or end this battle...’she murmured.‘It’syou.’
CHAPTER 49
