Page 132 of A Grave Not Made For Mourning
“Wendy!”
“Ignore it,”the boy demands.
My body sways, and I recognize the voice. Somewhere in reality, Calista is shaking my body back and forth.
“Wendy!”the boy shouts desperately, but I’m already opening my eyes.
Calista is sitting before me. My breath is ragged as I struggle to inhale.
“What in the gods?” Calista breathes, her eyes widening. “What are you doing to yourself?”
I glance down. She’s holding my hands in hers. For a moment, I’m nearly grateful she stopped me. For a moment, I’m angry the boy is not flesh and in front of me.
“Nothing.” I rip my hands from her grasp. “I’m not doing anything.”
“You looked like you were dying.”
At the worddying, I notice the sword sheathed to Calista’s back. Her hair is more than loosely braided—it’s fastened to her head. Not a wisp is out of place.
She’s out here for a reason, and I think I know what it is.
Lilac.
“I’m fine,” I say. “It was a mistake.”
I rise to my feet, looking past Calista, but she follows me up. The boy pounds at the back of my mind, calling me. While his voice is louder than usual, I can’t make it out properly. Maybe he isn’t truly speaking.
“Wendy?” Calista snaps.
I look back at her. She glances down.
My gaze follows.
The grass beneath me is entirely gray. Withered away to emptiness—devoid of color. Of life.
It’s worse than dead, but I don’t know what’s worse than that.
I think back to the trees—the ones I brought to life at the boy’s command—and how they always left me feeling half-dead. They must have takenlife, too. It must have taken a bit ofmylife. Ma once used the same magic to fight the pernipe—shediedusing this magic.
Who could have taught her such a thing?
I look up at Calista, who feels more worried than I’m used to. Our dynamic was always the opposite—me concerned for her.
“Are you all right?” she asks.
“Fine.”
She doesn’t take my blunt tone well. It hurts her.
“Whatever.” Calista walks away.
I stand, taking deep breaths, staring at the grass beneath me. It’s nearly black.
What would have happened to the academy if I succeeded in bringing the boy to life? Could I have sucked the power out of the barrier, out of the grounds of this world itself?
“What did you ask of me?”I mutter in my mind.
“You misunderstand.”
