Page 67 of The Scars Within (Twisted Thorn #1)

Rhodes’s words snapped a puzzle piece together within my heart. The only sounds were the chilly breeze and the distant movements of Lakota and Noemi as they departed. My heartbeat returned to normal, the tears and heartache fading away.

I was lost in the storm of him when the sound of approaching footsteps alerted me that we were no longer alone. I turned to see Laney ascending the top step.

“Scarlet?” she called out.

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” Rhodes said, glancing back at me for confirmation. As he walked away, I noticed a dried substance on the back of his neck. Mud, maybe. Or–?

“What’s going on?” Laney’s voice got my attention as Rhodes closed the door behind him. “I’ve been so worried about you since Professor Yearwood found us in the mountains. I really don’t think you should be alone right now,” she said as she approached me.

I cleared my throat and replied, “I’m fine.” I started to move towards the roof’s edge to sit on the parapet but decided against it. So I just stood with my back to Laney.

“Nobody would be fine after what happened today.”

“I’m fine,” I snapped .

“Stop lying to me.”

Her sternness took me by surprise. I turned around to face her. “I’m not lying.”

She stomped closer, “Do you think I’m stupid?”

“No, Laney—”

“Don’t call me Laney when you’re lying to my face. I know something’s wrong. You’re being stubborn and pulling away from us. After the Burn Trials and everything we’ve discovered about the school, what’s making you so afraid to talk to us?”

I had no answer. I turned back around, facing the horizon with her at my back once again.

“We are your friends.”

That’s when I snapped, “Yeah, until the going gets tough. There’s too much bullshit in my life right now that you all won’t want to be a part of.”

Her laugh had no trace of humor. “Excuse me? We’ve been by your side through all of this—”

“You don’t know half of the shit I’ve been through.”

“And whose fault is that? You won’t let us in!”

She had a point, and I fell silent.

Laney took a step closer, her voice softer now. “You don’t have to pretend like you’re okay all of the time. Just tell me what’s going on, and we’ll be here for you.” She stepped in front of me, blocking my view.

My voice trembled, barely above a whisper. “I don’t want to scare you away.”

She shook her head, smiling gently. “You dumb, bitch.”

I opened my mouth to speak but she cut me off.

“I love you. Cleo and Tatum love you. My family loves you.” Her voice softened, but her words were firm. “Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with us now.”

The knot in my throat grew, burning a hole inside me .

“I will not leave you. It’ll take more than you being a stubborn ass for that,” she said, her lip curling up into a small grin.

Spilling my truth to Rhodes gave me a sense of relief that I’d never felt before.

I have never trusted anyone enough to reveal the darkness in my mind.

I have built a fortress around my heart in order to protect it.

But was it worth protecting if I’m still all alone?

With a deep breath, I walked over to my reading spot, and Laney followed, sitting beside me.

I wrapped my arms around my knees. “I’m not okay,” I whispered.

“It’s okay to not be okay.”

I shared my truth with Laney, just like with Rhodes, but something was different. I wasn’t sobbing; I wasn’t screaming. I wasn’t feeling sorry for myself. The stabbing pain I felt in my chest before was gone, but not numb.

It’s like it was… free.

Laney listened intently, her eyes never leaving mine, only interrupting to ask gentle questions. She held my hands in hers the entire time, grounding me with her presence as if silently promising I wasn’t alone in this.

“I wake up every single day just trying to make it through. I’ve never felt like I’ve filled my own shoes.

I know how to act tough and unbothered, but really, I’m just insecure.

About myself, about my feelings, about how others see me.

Mageia was supposed to be a fresh start for me.

But then, I ran into fucking Captain Thorne.

” I threw up a hand in frustration. “And he obviously has it out for me even though I didn’t do anything to him.

I was a child. Whether or not I was a bastard, I was still innocent.

But he treated me like it was all my fault.

And it has taken me this long to realize that I did not deserve how his absence affected me. ”

The sound of wings beating in the air caught my attention. We looked up to see Lakota flying over us.

“Then the Burn Trials happened, and the War Chief threatened to banish us to the Barrens. Once again, I was being held responsible for something that I had no control over. I didn’t know if I would channel one element, let alone two.

Then Professor Reynoski, and the Grim’s message on the wall!

Captain Thorne threw me back into Kalluri’s office tonight for another interrogation.

Although he just wanted to throw accusations at me.

You want to know why I stay quiet? Because I’ve always felt like such a damn burden to everybody around me.

No matter where I go, or what I do. The truth is, I have so much to say. But nobody will fucking listen to me.”

“You are not a burden to me,” she said softly.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but I’ve known since the moment we first met that you were someone that I needed to hold onto.

You are fearless. Even when you’re afraid.

That’s why I suggested Throne of Steel to you.

The main character reminds me of you, Scar.

You think that your past and your present are the only future for you.

But you’re wrong. You are the only one in control of writing your story.

You can’t rewrite the past, but you can start right now and choose to change the direction of your future.

So keep fucking writing it. Because one day–” she sucked in a shallow breath, tears were forming in Laney’s eyes.

“One day. Your story may be the survival guide for someone else who is fighting the same battles that you have, Scarlet Thorne. Don’t you ever walk through that darkness alone again.

Because you have people in your life that will walk with you.

People that would rather see your hell than to see your funeral. ”

Laney wiped the tear that rolled down her cheek. I had just said that I have a lot to say, but right now, I cannot speak. I never thought that I would be accepted for who I truly am.

But Laney and Rhodes have proven me wrong.

“You could be the wraith,” Laney whispered, her voice barely above a breath.

Fear washed over me. I shook my head frantically, “Wait, Laney, no—”

She raised a hand, cutting me off gently. “No, listen. I don’t mean it like that. What if the wraith in the prophecy isn’t evil? What if it’s about someone carrying the weight of an evil shadow—a burden? Like, a person haunted by their past but not defined by it.”

I frowned. “I don’t follow.”

Laney leaned closer, her gaze intense. “What if the wraith represents someone who’s survived darkness, not succumbed to it?

Someone who carries the scars but fights to stay in the light, like you.

The prophecy says, ‘Whose flames will guide what shadows pursue.’ What if you are the flame that’s meant to guide us—guide all of us—to stop what the shadows, what Tyria, is after? ”

I blinked. “You’re saying I’m supposed to be some kind of… beacon?”

Laney nodded. “Exactly. Maybe the wraith isn’t about destruction. Maybe it’s about survival, resilience. You’ve been through hell, Scarlet, but you’re still here. Maybe that’s the point. Maybe the prophecy has been waiting for someone as strong and as resilient as you.”

I listened closely, and one thing came to mind right away.

“Laney, there’s something else I need to tell you. You remember the magical corridor where I found the prophecy?”

She nodded, her eyes steady on mine.

“Well, there’s more to that mystery than I’ve let on,” I continued.

“Further down the hall, there’s a circular chamber filled with so much magical essence that it’s practically bouncing off the walls.

But the only thing in there is an obsidian pedestal with runes carved into each corner.

Lines spiral inward from each rune, converging at the center.

And beneath each rune, it looks like someone etched parts of the prophecy into the stone, like they were trying to piece together some kind of puzzle.

“The first time I stumbled into that room, that was all there was to it. But the second time—after I’d channeled air and fire—two of the runes were illuminated, glowing, and spiraling toward the center.

And when I touched the runes that weren’t lit.

.. I had these strange visions. They felt like memories, but at the same time, they weren’t.

I don’t know how to explain it. And when those military men came for me during Herbology the other day, they were interrogating me.

One even used a truth powder on me, and when he asked me about the location of the Eternal Tomb, my mind went straight to this chamber. ”

Laney’s eyes lit up as she gasped. “Do you remember what the runes looked like?”

I narrowed my eyes, concentrating, then stood up and began tracing thin lines of flame in the air with my finger, recreating the runes as best as I could from memory. Laney stood beside me, biting her lip as she studied the glowing symbols.

She smiled. “So, these two were illuminated?” She pointed to the top two. I nodded, still unsure. Then she gestured to the bottom pair. “And you had a vision when you touched these two?” I nodded again, my curiosity growing. “What notes were etched under each rune? Do you remember?”

The truth was, I couldn’t get the images out of my mind. I pointed to each rune, recalling what was written underneath them.

Laney stepped back, examining the runes based on what I had said.

I could almost see the gears turning in her brain.

She pointed at a rune, “This is the symbol for earth– Past unfolds anew .” She pointed at another, “Air– Scattered elements entwine .” Then another, “Water– Become whole again .” And the last, “Fire– Crimson Wraith .”

She looked at me, “Together, they are the four Mareki Essences.” I understood her explanation, but I was baffled by how she knew so much about rune symbols. “And these top two weren’t illuminated before the Burn Trials?”

I shook my head.

“What if... what if channeling the elements somehow activated the runes? What if this is all connected to the Mareki? What if this is the actual Eternal Tomb? But history wants us to think otherwise.”

“But there’s still so much that doesn’t add up, Laney,” I said, stepping back a few feet.

“What about the earth and water symbols? Why did I have visions? And if I’m the wraith, does that mean I’ll eventually channel earth and water, too?

” I whispered, the weight of the possibility sinking in. “That would make me an archmage.”

Laney closed the gap between us, placing her hands firmly on my shoulders. “No. If you were going to channel more elements, you would have by the Burn Trials. I’m just saying... what if your elements and this weird, creepy, but totally awesome rune table are somehow connected?”

“Think about it,” she added with a sly grin. “But also, think about what you’re going to wear to the All Hallows Eve Ball.” The peppy, positive Laney I knew and loved had returned as if flipping a switch.

“There is no way I’m attending that ball,” I muttered.

“And why not?” She raised an eyebrow, hands on her hips. “Didn’t Shayde ask you to be his date?”

“That asshole shattered my mug!” I snapped as I looked around for the mug handle. I must have set it down somewhere when I was crying in Rhodes’s arms.

“He– what?” Laney stumbled on her words.

“Well, for starters. Shayde asked me to be his date but then completely ghosted me after the Burn Trials. We were literally stuck in a collapsed cavern and he barely spoke to me. Do you think he’s gonna stay true to his request for me to join him at the ball?

And secondly, it would just give everybody more time to stare and talk shit to their friends, Laney,” I said, rolling my eyes. “And lastly, I have nothing to wear.”

Her eyes lit up as she practically jumped to her feet, grabbing my hands and pulling me up with her.

“For starters, I’m sure Shayde will be there, and that is exactly why you must attend the ball.

To show him what he missed out on. Secondly, the people who stare and talk shit are the ones who are secretly envious of you.

And lastly, thanks to me, you don’t have to worry about what you’re wearing. ”