Page 75

Chapter 75

Karus

Saelyn was seven years old and as much a part of Felgren as any channeler would be. We lay on the forest floor, naming the flowers around us, calling to the birds which flitted across the sky in a symphony of white wings. Moira sat on my stomach, pasting new petals to her skirts as Saelyn handed them to her.

“ But how do you know the roots of these trees give us power?” Saelyn was a curious child. And as we waited for the summer months to arrive and her favorite person to return to Felgren , we were in a constant state of answering all of her questions as best we could.

Moira’s eyes widened in exasperation just before she rolled them.

Saelyn had already asked us what each flower’s seed looked like.

She’d asked us why lumens grew so large, which had then began a conversation about the fae and what they were and where they’d come from.

Learning she shared some fae blood through me brought her to a torrential stream of questions for Moira , most of which the faerie had replied with, “ You don’t need to know.”

I chuckled at my faerie friend. She had more patience over the years with Saelyn than any other fae would have. I was sure of it.

I took Saelyn’s hand in mine and sat up. I pressed her palm to the soil, ensuring each of her fingers was covered with the fresh spring loam. “ Call to the roots of these trees.”

Taken aback, she tilted her head in a frown. “ How ?”

I shrugged. “ Your choice. Do what feels right.”

She chewed her bottom lip, and I shook my head in disbelief. Every day she looked more and more like Revich and my heart overflowed with the love I held for our child.

She closed her eyes and I caught Moira’s stare as we sat quietly, waiting to see what Saelyn could do.

It began with the smallest sprouts of green crocus leaves—the first of Saelyn’s favorite flowers because when they began to grow in clumps of purple and white, it was a clear sign that spring had arrived and summer would soon follow.

The striped leaves unfurled before the blooms shone in their spring hues, each with a brilliant yellow center. But Saelyn wasn’t done. She pushed her fingers into the ground further and roots tipped the surface, winding over her hand, up her arm and over her legs. She laughed delightedly and I stared in awe.

Such power at such a young age was rare—unheard of except for two others in this world. One of them was myself and the other…the other had not appeared in years. Not a sighting, not a hint of the Blight that had coursed its way over this forest in a deathly embrace.

Saelyn was seven and she lived in Felgren while the forest lived in her.