Page 37 of Of Stars and Lightning (Sun and Shadows #1)

Twenty Eight

FLORA’S TRIAL

SOL STILL HADN’T SHAKEN free of her conversation with Cas by the time they all arrived at Flora's Temple the next morning.

She refused to make eye contact with him during breakfast and was relieved when the guards forced her to take her own carriage. His words resonated with something buried and frozen within her, something she tried for years to forget.

And she hated it.

Although Sol preferred peace, as Fin stood before them at the entrance of the temple, she wished Cas would have ended him when they first arrived at Rimemere instead of the other kingsman.

Finigan wore a smug smile as he stepped out of formation, sure to glare at her seconds longer than the rest of the prospects.

"Two prospects fell to the first test," he announced.

"In order to be part of a Royal Court, one must be sure to know how to detect all sorts of poisons, especially those hidden.

" He came closer, his cloak grazing Sol's boots as he walked down their line.

"In order to keep the Queen safe, of course. "

Several scoffs sounded to her left, but it was Phil who said,

"Doesn’t seem like she needs help there." Sol smiled sweetly at Fin as he shot her a glare.

“Did your time in the farms teach you how to sniff out Savit,

Princess? Or did someone help you through the first test?”

Sol shrugged. “I’m sure one of the many spies you have within the Villa wouldn’t mind recalling the event for you.”

He narrowed his eyes at her and stepped closer, forcing Sol to lift her chin to keep from him colliding with her. “There are no spies in the Villa—the gods wouldn’t forgive it.”

“Better pray harder, then.”

Before Finigan countered with something smart another soldier stepped forward.

"The first official trial is the walk of Flora, Goddess of Land and Blood.” The soldier met every prospect’s gaze with lethal fierceness, so much so that even Sol had the good sense to remain silent as he continued.

“To pass it, you must know the tale of our first goddess. "

A carriage pulled up to their left, and the noble sigil made Sol tense. While she surveyed it, she caught Cas's eye from his place at the end of the line. He gave her a slight nod. She pursed her lips and looked away, annoyed. She wasn’t through being mad.

"Hand Gina will be today's spectator,” Fin declared, leaves crunching beneath his heavy steps as he made his way to open the navy-blue carriage, casting a final scowl her way before lending his hand to the person inside it.

The Semmena Hand was dressed in blue robes, much like the ones she had worn at the castle.

Her sandy hair was pulled back in a perfect knot, and her violet eyes were lined with a thin flick of kohl.

Sol didn’t know if she would ever get used to the uncanny resemblance the woman shared with Samara, or how Penny also shared their peculiar gaze.

"Hello, Southern prospects." Gina stepped out of the carriage, holding Fin's outstretched hand. "I do hope the Villa has been to everyone’s liking."

Sol stifled an eye roll, and beside her, Jonah scoffed.

Unbothered, Gina continued, "To fully honor Flora's glory, we will be issuing Kerproot. A way to mimic her descent into madness."

Kerproot.

They're not serious.

“It will also mute your magic for a few hours.” Gina retrieved a small, silver box from within her robes. “To mimic the way Flora’s

own became scarce during her journey on Erriadin.” Instantly, Sol looked over at Phil beside her.

The boy seemed unphased by the announcement, his glacier blue eyes not wavering a single beat. If Kerproot stifled magic…

“My brother needs his air magic to see,” Jonah said from her other side, chin held high. “He cannot see with his eyes. He sees with the wind; it helps him map out the locations of things around him.”

Sol’s palms began to sweat, and her heartbeat boomed in her ears as she awaited Gina’s response.

Finally, with an expression that yielded no kindness, Gina said, “All must be treated equally.”

“You can’t be serious,” Sol blurted, stepping forward and out of their line. “He will have an incredible disadvantage if he cannot see. That’s not equality. Equality would be blinding us all.”

Gina smirked at her. “I’m sure I can arrange that if you’d like, Princess.”

“Princess.” A small hand wrapped around her own, gently pulling her back. Phil shook his head. “It’s okay.” Sol’s chest ached.

When she turned back to Gina, she let some of that anger slip into her voice. “You will not give this child Kerproot.”

“I will.”

“You will not.”

The tension was palpable as Sol and Semmena’s Hand glared at each other. She had already started off on shaky ground by joining these things, might as well continue the pattern of defiance.

She would be labeled impulsive, but at least consistent.

She was the one meant to be queen, after all. Perhaps it was time to act like one.

“Sol,” Cas warned from the end of the line. “Let it go.”

“I’m afraid we have different views on this, Prince.” She cut her gaze to his. “Considering your lack of action during the Savit mess.”

“We are wasting time.” Gina flicked the box open, the smell of the Kerproot immediately wrapping its earthy, acid scent around Sol’s temples.

She did not have a good experience with the herb.

She and Leo had come close to being thrown into the Yavenharrow pits, a place for law breakers to sit and rot into repentance.

And it had been her fault for nearly burning half the ships down in her unhinged search for fresh seafood, a promise the Kerproot hallucinations had whispered to her until the effects wore off the morning after.

She eyed the herbs with trepidation but remained solid in her conviction. Sol met Gina’s violet gaze again, deciding to give it another go. “I will take his dose, then.” Gasps resounded behind her.

Cas stomped forward, grabbing her forearm. “You will not—”

“Let me go,” Sol ordered, her tone letting him know just how she felt about him currently. “I will. End of discussion.”

His gaze roved over her face, his brows furrowing slightly, lips pressing into a tight line. But he released her. “As you wish.”

“Again, Hand Gina said it must all be equal,” Fin countered with a scowl. “Now stop being difficult and—”

“I’ll allow it,” Gina said. “Let’s move on.”

The woman walked over to the end of the line where Cas returned, offering him the first thread of the vibrant green plant.

Sol stepped back in line, her heart hammering in her chest.

“Princess, I—” Phil twirled his hands, his breath quickening.

“You will struggle. I will be okay with a dose of Kerproot.”

Sol simply said, “No.”

“I will take my brother’s dose, Princess,” Jonah said urgently.

“You must be well to travel the length of the Temple labyrinth.”

“I will be fine.”

She would not be fine. But she wouldn’t let Gina win, and handing off the dose to another was cowardly after her bold acceptance.

So when Gina stepped in front of her, two stems of the plant in her palms, Sol placed them in her mouth before she could truly think of the consequences.

THE PROSPECTS WERE taken to individual threads of the forest, all interconnected to Flora’s Temple at their ends. They were each to travel into the rows of seemingly endless trees and make the correct turns based on Flora’s legend.

A legend Sol could not, for the life of her, recall as the blades of grass began to twist into bows and ribbons.

At first, the hallucinations were small.

Little flickers of light in her peripheral, or stones that seemed to ebb and shrink in her path.

The first fork in the road was easy. To her right was a dimly lit path lined by broken, dry trees, while to her left stretched a path with resplendent golden flowers, mimicking the sunlight Flora was born from.

That part of the legend she remembered, primarily because she had thought it so unbelievable when she had first heard it from Mother.

The second fork, though… that’s when the second dose of the herb truly hit her. Sol glanced from one pathway to the other, her eyelids unbearably heavy. The right path shimmered as if showered in emeralds. The left shone red, the ground that led to it a mess of weeds.

Emeralds. Sol liked Emeralds.

She turned to the right, pointing a lazy finger at the opening between the trees. “This way—”

“It’s not that way, you know.” A small, bright voice whispered. “That way leads you to a pit of serpents.”

Sol halted. At least, she tried to. But the forest shifted slowly sideways, as if melting like wax from a lit candle. She angled her head the opposite direction, and the world dripped that way as well, strings of rainbow shimmers wrapping around the edges.

Fuck.

“Kerproot from Rimemere is quite strong, Queen of Wielders,” the small voice said again, this time with a hollow timbre.

Sol looked around. Aside from the melting trees, there was nothing that seemed able to speak. Beneath her, the dirt turned to tea.

She giggled. “It’s chamomile tea.”

“You must go left, Queen of Wielders.” The voice wrapped around her in a warm hug, softly smelling of lilies and begeroot. “You must hurry.”

The branches waved, and the leaves reached out their hands to guide her, grasping her by the hair and sleeves. “Are you talking, leaves?” Sol’s throat was mush as she focused on her speech. “You aren’t meant to talk, I think.”

“The Kerproot is too strong, Queen of Wielders. We must help you.” Beady eyes bloomed on the evergreen leaves, and Sol gasped.

All around her, the dim forest was ablaze with ruby light and life before it shifted into a warm amber hue. The tea on the ground fed blooms of orchids, and the branches guided her forward toward the left side of the fork.

“Wow,” she breathed.