Page 97 of A Monarch's Fall

“Soon,” Ana agreed.

We stayed in silence, long enough that I drifted to sleep, hoping we wouldn’t be found.

Chapter twenty-three

Old Enemies.

Percy Flores

We awoke early the next morning, as the dawn was breaking in front of us.

“I’ve slept better,” Ana grumbled next to me.

“You drool in your sleep,” I replied.

“What? I do not!” she sat up and putted down my shoulder. I couldn’t help laughing. “Percy, this isn’t the time for making jokes,” she complained.

“Now is the perfect time for jokes. Laughter is the cure for fear,” I told her.

“I don’t know about that. Have you ever seen a clown?” she asked.

“I saw a picture of one in a book once,” I offered.

Ana laughed.

“One day, if we ever forget what it’s like to fear for our lives, we can go and pay to see one, and you’ll understand,” she told me.

“It’s a plan,” I answered.

“What is our actual plan?” Ana asked as we crawled out of the root shelter I had made for us.

“We head east and keep walking until we reach the edge of the forest. I don’t know after that. Arvid didn’t give a specific pick-up location; he just said to follow the trails east,” I told her.

“We’re not on the trails,” Ana said, “And how far is the edge of the forest from where we are anyway?” she asked.

I stretched; my legs and back felt tight from the cramped position we'd been in all night.

“I don’t know,” I answered.

“That’s helpful,” Ana grumbled, and I heard her stomach rumble.

“You’re hungry,” I stated.

“I don’t think I could eat,” she said, and then immediately asked, “Do you have food?”

I laughed.

“I can get us something to eat,” I said.

“Thank you,” she said and linked her arm with mine as we began to walk.

We walked east. Quickly, I found a frozen blackberry bush and then, far rarer, a little blueberry bush. The blackberry bush had some berries that were surviving to the end of autumn, and we picked them all, careful not to get snagged by their thorns. The blueberry bush was bare, but it didn’t take much to have it full of fruit. I hummed to it softly and felt it perk up, shake off the frost, and produce small, well-formed blueberries.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to watching you do that,” Ana commented as she walked forward and picked a blueberry. “I’ve seen you work your magic countless times now; it’s effortless for you to produce something so beautiful and nourishing.”

“Thank you for the compliment, but it’s not effortless. I get tired, and I can’t even harness my magic. When I do, it destroys everything,” I replied.

I hated my novel ability. It was the opposite of everything I wanted to be, everything I thought I was.