Page 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

C aelum’s arm encircled me, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. It should’ve been soothing. But I lay there, wide awake, staring at the shadows flickering along the tent walls, my mind spinning with the weight of the coming solstice. Tomorrow, everything could change. The magic might break forever, and we’d lose all our power to the fae.

I shifted, trying to burrow deeper into Caelum’s warmth, but the ache in my chest wouldn’t ease. I tilted my head to look up at him, his face smooth. Relaxed. I didn’t want to wake him, but my whisper slipped out anyway. “Caelum?”

He stirred, mumbling something unintelligible before his eyes opened, hazy with sleep. “Mmm?”

“Tell me something boring,” I murmured, nudging closer. “Like...nature facts you’ve picked up from all the books you’ve read. I need something to put me to sleep.”

He let out a sleepy laugh, tightening his hold on me. “Nothing I read is boring ,” he murmured. “For example,did you know pinecones only release their seed after a fire? It’s how they keep their species alive.”

“You would start with a fact about something releasing its seed,” I whispered, a smile tugging at my lips.

“All right, all right.” He yawned, thinking. “I bet you aren’t aware that certain types of moss always grow on the north side of trees. So, if you’re ever lost in the woods?—”

“I already knew that one.”

“It sounds like you should lead the class then, Tempest.” He chuckled, his eyes closing again as his fingers traced up and down my arm. “How about...rivers always flow downward from the highest ground.”

My thoughts snapped to attention, his words triggering an idea—a faint spark, but one that grew stronger, brighter, with each second.

Rivers flow downward...

Magic flows like a river...

And the hollow tree, always looming at the highest point of Eyre, had felt alive in a way that no other place did. Could it be the connection point where magic could be pulled through Eyre and away from the fae realm?

My pulse quickened, the idea growing clearer, more solid with each passing moment. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it sooner. If we could try to redirect the flow of magic and regulate it like I did with lightning...Maybe I could fix this.

I glanced at Caelum, his breathing deep and steady, sleeping once more. I didn’t want to wake him again. This idea, this plan, would be dangerous. The storm outside was already rumbling, the wind picking up, carrying the scent of rain. The path to the cliffs would be treacherous in this weather. But I couldn’t wait. Not with the solstice mere hours away.

I knew he’d insist on coming with me, and I couldn’t lose another man I loved to the cliffs.

I slipped out of his embrace, holding my breath as he shifted, murmuring something in his sleep. I looked back once more at him, and my heart ached. I wanted to stay, but...

I would return, I vowed. I would not leave him alone again.

When I pushed open the door to my home, my mother was still awake, sitting on her rocker facing the entrance, as if she’d known I was coming. She took one look at me, the storm raging behind me, and her face contorted in fear.

I didn’t even have to say where I was going. She knew .

I walked over to the corner where I kept the spare iron rods I used to bring down lightning. Picking them up with a steadying breath, I shoved them in a long leather sack that I could wear on my back. My mother watched me, her expression calm but her eyes glistening with a quiet sadness.

“I don’t have time to explain,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t put up too much of a fuss, “but I have to try something.”

“Eedy, what are you trying to gain from thrusting yourself out into a storm at this hour?” she said, standing as she wrung her hands together. “I hope that you’re not trying to push your gift beyond its limits. Risking yourself to gain more power will not give you what you need, dear. Because you are enough. You have always been enough .”

I froze at her words, turning to face her. To face the truth that had festered in me my whole life.

“I know, Mother. And you’re right...I did want more power once. I thought it would make it easier to set wrong things right in this world.”

“And now?” she asked, her eyes pinched tight.

“Now I know that there is power in the doing . Taking action, even if no one else will. Just like Father did. He wanted to leave the council because no one was doing anything productive, and nothing has changed. But I can make a difference, because I’m determined enough to do so.”

She nodded but worry still clouded her face. “You can be as determined as a hurricane to bring down a ship, dear, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it alone.”

I flinched at her words, looking down at the bag of rods in my hand. Even as my throat tightened, I shook my head. “I have to, Mother. I won’t risk losing someone else.”

Her jaw clenched, the glimmer of sadness in her eyes hardening into something sharper. “You’re just like him, you know. Stubborn as a mule.”

I winced at her words, but it didn’t change my mind.

“It’s my choice,” I said, lifting my chin.

“Is it now?” she said, her anger ebbing into sorrow. “And you think I could live with losing you too?”

A lump formed in my throat, but I forced myself to stand tall, to keep my voice steady. “You won’t lose me,” I whispered. “I promise. But I’m set on doing this by myself.”

For a long moment, she just stared at me, her expression a storm of emotions I couldn’t quite untangle. Finally, she sighed, her shoulders sagging as she stepped back. “Fine,” she said, her voice heavy, “but don’t you dare think for one second that I don’t see the strength in you. There is more power in you than all those worthless councilmen put together.”

Her words cracked something inside me, and I stepped forward, pulling her into a fierce hug. I soaked in the embrace, absorbing the warmth, the strength, the twenty-five rings of wisdom she’d given me. And in that moment, the weight of her trust, her belief in me, filled in every crack of doubt.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you, too, Eedy.”

“ Eada . Call me Eada, Mother.”

“Eada,” she said, voice trembling, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Now, go. Do what you were meant to do.”

With one last look at her, I turned and stepped out into the storm, the wind biting at my skin as I headed toward the cliffs.