Page 51 of Journey to the Elderoak (Daughter of the Earth #2)

“ Y ou’re not concentrating hard enough,” Raine instructed as Ava held out her hand.

“Yes, I am.”

She’d been trying to conjure a flower in her hand for the last hour. Sweat dripped from her brow as she stared at her palm, willing something to appear, for anything to happen. It was the second day of training her magic with Raine and she hadn’t summoned so much as a minuscule leaf.

Shoulders slumping, she let her hand fall to her side. “This is pointless. I can’t do anything.”

He glanced down and his eyes widened as he looked at her other hand, snatching it to inspect her palm. “Is that what I think it is?” He gasped.

She smiled sheepishly.

“You and Cas sealed the bond? And you didn’t tell me? You fuckers.”

She pulled out of his grip and put her hands on her hips. “Why would we tell you?”

“Because I’m your best friend. And his too. I’m offended.” He scoffed but wrapped his arms around her and spun her around. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Raine, put me down. You’re hurting me.” She laughed as he squeezed her.

“Sorry.” He let go. “So how was it?”

“How was what?”

“You know…the whole…intense sex afterward.”

“I’m not telling you that.” Her face turned bright red.

“That good, huh?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes. It was…quite good.”

“Quite good? Hmm…not ‘mind-blowing’ not ‘leg-quivering’…just quite good?”

“Okay, enough,” she said. “It was…all those things. But I’m not telling you details.”

“Damn. I’m jealous. I need Cas to take me to bed.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop,” he said. “Regarding your power. Earlier you said you can’t do anything. Well, you can. I’ve seen it. After the journey.”

“That must have been a fluke. I used it all up or something.”

He shook his head. “You’re powerful, Ava. I can feel it. The others can too. You have more magic than you should at this point, and you still haven’t gone through your great tribulation.”

“So, what was your great tribulation?” she asked.

“Are you trying to distract me from your training?”

She crossed her arms. “No, but I’m curious.”

“This is not a very happy tale,” he said, eyes sad. “But I’ll tell you.”

He sat on the stone wall and gestured for her to sit next to him. Titus appeared from the treetops and swooped toward them, landing on Ava’s shoulder and nuzzling into her hair. Raine gave him a scratch on the head, and he released a contented growl .

He took a deep breath. “It was decades ago. My…” He paused and ran his fingers through his hair.

“I was in love with someone. His name was Finnick. We had taken a trip to another town when we were ambushed by a group of rogue soldiers. Finnick wasn’t much of a fighter and a soldier had a knife to his throat. I killed them.”

“All of them?” she whispered.

“Each and every one. My magic erupted so quickly, they barely had a chance to act before they all had vines speared through their throats.”

She gaped at him. “Does the great tribulation always involve someone you care about being in danger?”

“Not necessarily, but there’s usually some type of peril. Whether it’s a loved one, yourself or even your home. A moment of desperation.”

They sat for a moment before Ava dared to ask, “What happened to Finnick?”

Raine looked at her. She had never seen him so sad. “He died. Thirty years ago. A week before we were to marry, he was traveling back to Mosshaven after spending time in another town with his family. He was ambushed by soldiers again. But this time I wasn’t there to save him.”

A lump formed in Ava’s throat. “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.” He gave her a sad smile and turned away.

Ava grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Was he your soulbond?”

“No,” he said. “But I loved him.”

“Would you ever settle down again?”

“If I found the right person…probably. Definitely.” He turned to her again. “But for now, I’m having fun. Get up. Let’s try one more time with your magic.”

They stood and she faced him.

“Hold out your hand and close your eyes. Imagine that light deep down in your belly. Watch it glow and slowly visualize it making its way through your body, to your hand.”

“You know, you’re not fun in training. Serious Raine takes over,” she lamented.

“I’ll be fun when you can do something. Stop complaining and make a damn flower, little frog.”

She huffed and closed her eyes, holding out her palm, and visualized the light like he instructed. Ten minutes of nothing.

Sensing her frustration, Raine said, “Let’s end today’s session. We’ll try again tomorrow.”

“Why haven’t you shown me your powers since we started training?” she asked as they walked back to the castle from the training rings, passing through the herb garden outside the entrance.

“I’ll show you mine when you show me yours,” he crooned.

“You always make everything sound so dirty.”

“It’s what makes me so charming.”

They wandered back inside, preparing to meet everyone else for dinner.

Since Ava recovered from her assassination attempt, Raine had been training her with magic after lunch while she continued combat and weapons in the mornings.

Those sessions were much easier now that she was in her fae form.

She was faster, more agile and had better vision which had allowed her to take Casimir down a handful of times, eliciting a sense of triumph at her improvement.

She’d even completed the obstacle course again, a piece of cake compared to before.

“So, who’s the most powerful out of all of you?” she asked.

“That’s a hard question. If you’re asking about raw magic, probably both Cas and me, though I have much better control. He’s the best out of us at combat fighting and prefers it over magic. If he would use his astral powers every once and a while, he’d be unstoppable.”

“Why doesn’t he use them? ”

“It reminds him too much of his sister’s death. And of his father.”

“That man is an asshole.”

“He’s horrible. But I must say, watching you go toe to toe with Jareth was incredible.”

Smiling at him she said, “It was kind of fun.”

He grabbed her, put her in a headlock and ruffled her hair.

“Hey!”

“I’m glad you’re here.” He let go as they entered the dining hall.

A week later, Ava was standing in the training ring, hand trembling as she willed a flower to form in her hand. Come on!

“You’re trying too hard,” Raine said.

“First I’m not trying hard enough and now I’m trying too hard?” She let out a noise of frustration. “This is impossible. Why did it come so easily that one night?”

“Because Cas was hurt. But you weren’t in control,” he answered.

She placed her hands on her hips. “I don’t know how to do this.”

“You overthink things. It’s what you did with the obstacle course. You need to relax and let it flow through you.” Raine paused, eyes brightening. “I have an idea. But you’re not going to like it.”

“What…”

“I’ll be right back. Stay there and keep trying until I return,” he said and left.

She closed her eyes and tried imagining the light again. No luck. Frustrated with her lack of abilities, she opened her eyes and glanced at Luna, asleep under a nearby tree with Aro .

“Lucky cat. You don’t have to worry about magical training. You just get to nap all day in the sun,” she muttered.

I heard that, Luna said, cracking open an eye.

Ava gave her companion an amused look as Raine returned, Casimir in tow.

“What’s your idea?” she asked.

Casimir smiled at her and stood before Raine in the ring. Raine flicked his wrist and vines burst from the ground, faster than Ava could follow. The bright green tendrils snaked up Casimir’s legs and tightened.

“What are you doing?” she said.

Raine didn’t respond as he kept twisting the vines around Casimir, ensnaring his body and reaching to his neck. Casimir tried to move but couldn’t; trapped by his friend.

Ava couldn’t control the panic she felt and yelled, “Stop!”

Small thorns burst from the vines, piercing Casimir’s skin. The moment she noticed blood dripping down his leg, something hot surged within her. “You’re hurting him,” she snarled.

Raine released the bindings, and the two warriors faced her.

“Ava, look,” said Raine.

Fury at seeing Casimir injured coursed through her, but she looked at her feet. Small roots had grown and were making their way toward Raine.

“I wasn’t going to hurt him,” he said.

Casimir shrugged. “I’m fine.”

“What are you feeling right now?” asked Raine.

“Like I want to punch you in the face.”

He shook his head. “I mean regarding your magic. Close your eyes and tell us what you can feel.”

She did as he instructed, evaluating her body. “I feel hot. Deep down, it feels like I’m burning. And it’s coming up through my hands…and I can feel them. The roots. They’re moving. ”

“Stay with that feeling. Let the roots move. Will them to do what you want,” he instructed. “They’re an extension of you. They only listen to you.”

She kept her eyes closed and pushed the warmth through her hands, feeling the twists and turns of the roots.

“Ava,” Raine whispered. “Open your eyes.”

When she opened them, the roots were climbing Raine and Casimir’s legs, stopping mid-thigh. They were both grinning at her.

“There it is,” Raine praised.

She scanned the two fae men with a smirk on her face, and yanked her hands back, pulling their legs out from under them and landing them flat on their backs.

Casimir grunted and Raine cursed as the air was knocked from their lungs. She strode forward and stood over them, releasing her magic.

“See? All I had to do was use your bond with Casimir against you and it was easy,” Raine said.

“You’re just going to hurt him every time to make my magic appear?”

He sat up, pulling Casimir with him. “If that’s what it takes.”

Dinner was a serious affair, a departure from their usual routine.

Desmond and Vivienne were present, along with Aelerion and Thalia, who’d been joining their meetings.

Tonight, the group was discussing plans to get their kingdom back from Deidamia’s rule.

Though they’d taken as much of their army as they could when they escaped, they didn’t have their full force and needed the help of the other kingdoms to reclaim Igneothenia.

Thorne had opened the rest of the Earth Kingdom for any refugees from the volcanic province who could make it.

They had the space with their open fields and various towns protected by the Emerald Mountains enclosing the majority of Monterre, save from a few smaller towns.

Though it was tough on their resources, they made it work, many of the refugees contributing various skills to farm and harvest more food.

“We need to get your kingdom back before we launch an attack directly on Deidamia,” said Thorne, swirling the wine in his goblet. “And we’ll need to try and secure help from Caelestia, though it won’t be easy.”

“Good luck convincing that bastard, Orion,” said Aelerion. “And you’re willing to risk your army to help us reclaim our home?”

“We have the numbers with Saxumdale’s help,” said Casimir. “Both Astrid and Soren have already agreed they’ll assist.”

“And what of the environment, Thorne?” asked Thalia. “Your kind aren’t conditioned to be fighting among the volcanoes.”

Ava had learned Igneothenia was nestled among a mountain range filled with active volcanoes, the capital built over rivers of lava.

The fae who lived there were immune to the heat and ash but most others couldn’t visit long without serious consequences.

That’s why it had been surprising their kingdom was conquered so easily.

Apparently, the daemons’ world was not much different from Igneothenia, and the heat had no effect on them.

“We have a team of healers making potions to give us immunity. They’re making them by the thousands. Soren has a team working on it as well,” Desmond answered.

“How long do the effects last?” asked Raine.

“One week,” Vivienne answered.

“You’ll need a lot of potions,” said Aelerion.

“We should have enough within a month if production isn’t slowed,” said Desmond .

“Alright,” boomed Aelerion as he clapped his hands together. “One month to plan before I can have my home back.”

The sound of boots pounding echoed in the hallway, interrupting their conversation. The attention of the room turned to the door. Seconds later Pax burst in, out of breath.

Casimir stood. “What happened?”

“It’s Oakshire. A team of Deidamia’s soldiers has taken over the town and are gathering citizens to be executed. She’s sending a message. Since she failed at killing Ava.”

Vivienne gasped. “My sister lives there…” she whispered to herself, fear in her eyes.

Pax paused, scanning the room. “And Andras is with them.”