Page 135 of A Blightress of Wrath
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Itwas laterthat evening when a small group of soldiers watched her go.Mymother’s green portal flickered like firelight and the rest of theFourbid her farewell, asking to relay their wishes for a peaceful rest for her mother, theLadyLamoral.
Thevinheld my hand as he approached for their goodbye. “GoplayLadyof theSpirefor a bit and then get right back here,” he said, letting go of my hand to hug his friend.
Chuckling, she squeezed him tightly, forcing a grunt from his chest.Shestood back, gripping his forearms as he gripped hers. “Don’tstart any new wars without me.”
Helaughed. “WhydoIfeel likeI’mthe one who needs to say that to you?”
“Becauseit’s true,” she shrugged.
“Well, old friend,Iinsist you find some peace while you are gone.Youneed it, and you deserve it.”
“ThenpeaceIshall find.ThoughIdon’t think you can call me old.I’mbarely seven years older than you.”
“Practicallyancient.”Thevinwinked and brought her in for another hug, this time squeezing her to a gasping grunt.
Imoved to hug her goodbye next and she murmured in my ear, “Thankyou for loving him back.”
“Actually,”Iinformed her, “Iloved him first.”
Shehummed and turned, walking with a limp to the portal where she gave her final wave and stepped back to theSpire.
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Thesimulationof the sun was heavy.
Mymother had warned me of its weight along with a truthIdid not know; the spell had taken all the chestnut brown from her hair, leaving it a shadeless white.Therefore,Iknew the risk whenI’dfirst tried the spell.Ialso knew that she had never been able to break it without someone helping her—usually by forcing her to the ground before she was lost to it.
Shehad never told me the whole story of how she had lost seven years of her life to the aftermath of the spell the first time she’d tried to carry it on her own, andIdidn’t pry.Justas all of her life history,I’dlisten when she was ready.
So, though the sun was heavy, it did not affect me in the same way.Ihad grown it, held its weight, and closed the spell with relative ease, and my mother was proud.
Shebeamed across the training pasture, watching her daughter build the sun over and over untilIwas so exhausted,Icollapsed ontoThevin’scot for an hour at the end of each training.
She,Clairannia, andFiguerahwere training the whole lot of us youngerWieldwryns, teaching spells of fire, lightning, and wind—anything that could harm theBlightress’screatures and theBlightitself.
Afew days in,Ireceived my officialWieldwrynpin.Ihad admired the red flower pinned to the vests and shirts of all theWieldwryns, but hadn’t yet studied them up close.Iaffixed the red flower to my shirt, admiring the garnets and black obsidian stones.
“It’sso detailed!YousaidIlyennamakes these?”Iasked my mother a fortnight after we had arrived at theHyrithianruins.
“Mm-hmm.Iasked her for this design to mark theWieldwryns, and this is what she came up with.Sheis a very talented lapis conduit.”
“Whythis flower?”
“Inhonor of an old friend.”
Iwatched her carefully.Wewere walking through my acre of woods, our orbs of green and white light hanging above our heads to brighten the way in the dark. “Someoneyou lost in the war?”
“Yes.Afae ofFelgren.Hername wasMoiraand she was there with me through my darkest times until her life was taken long before she was due to leave this world.”
“I’msorry,”Isaid quietly. “Wasthis flower her favorite?”
Shenodded, adding, “Demorte.Shewould mix the petals into a concoction to paint my lips red.Itwas and still is very rare for humans and fae to interact, butMoirawas…an extraordinary creature.Imiss her dearly.”
Ahardened cold settled over my skin, andIfolded my arms at my chest, rubbing my sides.Ahowl interrupted the silence and we both looked south, reminded of the lumens we’d left behind. “IwishIcould have known her.IwishIcould have known what life was like beforeIbecame the cause of all this.”
“Youare not the cause of all of this.”Sheswept a hand down my hair. “Youhave done nothing but bring joy and love to all the lives of the people you meet.TheBlightressdoes not understand love.Thiswar is her doing and hers alone.”
