Page 47 of The Tree of Spirits (Paragons #2)

SURVIVE

I pushed Elandra aside, rushing toward the Spirit Tree. I had to save it. This couldn’t be the end.

“Stop fighting, Savannah. Stop looking for a way out of this,” Elandra said behind me. “See? The poison is already spreading. Very soon it will completely consume the tree. There’s nothing you can do to stop it. This is the end of magic on Earth. Accept it. Embrace it.”

“I will never embrace the end of the world,” I growled. “And I will never give up.”

It will survive. The memory of Rane’s words looped in my head, from the first time I’d met her. I have to cut away the rot to save it.

I grabbed a fallen sword off the ground. One of the Techno Knights must have dropped it during their battle with Conner and Kato.

“That won’t work. You can’t stop this,” Elandra told me.

Her voice was steady, but I knew she was lying. Somehow I knew.

The sword was heavy and long. I gripped it tightly in both hands, pumping magic into it as I drew it back. I swung.

“Savannah, no!” Elandra screamed.

The blade sliced through the blackened, dying branch, severing it from the Spirit Tree.

Elandra stumbled toward the poison bottle, grasping for it. But Kato and Conner grabbed her first, binding her wrists and ankles.

“You’ve ruined everything!” Elandra snarled at me.

“No,” I told her. “I’ve saved everything.”

I dropped the sword, shaking out my arms. Painful vibrations shot up and down them, a souvenir from the tree surgery. I glanced at the gigantic Spirit Tree, cringing when I saw how lopsided it now looked. The poisoned branch I’d cut off was enormous.

“It will recover,” Conner promised me. “And grow stronger than ever before.”

Kato waved his fire staff, and flames consumed the poisoned branch on the ground, turning it to ash.

Behind him and Conner, the four Techno Knights were disarmed and bound.

And the fire cage was no more. I stared down at the ground.

A ring of earth was scorched black, all that remained of the wall of flames.

“I’m glad the tree will be ok,” I said. “But things are not ok. The hate that sparked this, the hate that poisoned humanity, is still out there.” My gaze panned across Elandra and her followers. “And as long as the Government continues to mistreat the people of Gaia, that hate will not die.”

Using his magic, Conner quickly spun the branches and twigs together into a cage and shoved Elandra and her four Techno Knights inside. With their armor broken, they wouldn’t be able to break free.

“I’ve told the Knights and Watchers where to find them,” Kato said, putting away his phone.

“Then I guess I should make myself scarce before they arrive,” Conner said.

“I wouldn’t mind making myself scarce too,” I told him. “The Watchers give me the creeps.”

We both looked at Kato.

“All right. Fine.” He looked at the Brothers. “I suppose they aren’t going anywhere.”

Conner tapped his helmet, and Elandra and the Techno Knights fell asleep inside their cage.

The boys and I walked through the woods, the shade providing little comfort from the scorching summer sun. We’d been fighting for so long that the sun had come up.

Last night’s rain clouds had melted to steam, smothering us in a thick layer of hot, sticky fog. I felt bad for the boys in their full-body armor, but most especially their helmets. They must have been baking in this heat.

“It’s really hot. Maybe you guys want to take off your helmets?” I suggested.

“Knights wear helmets.”

Kato repeated the words he’d told me the day I’d met him. It felt like months had passed since then, but it had only been a few days.

“She’s right.” Conner pulled off his helmet, revealing a mess of blond hair that stuck up in every direction. “It’s hot.”

Kato sighed deeply, then took off his helmet too. His hair was just as messy as Conner’s.

I grinned at both of them, so disheveled and unKnightly. So human.

“Well, I guess my work here is done. Until next time, Red.” Conner winked at me. “Try to stay out of trouble.”

Kato rolled his eyes. “She’s not you, Conner. She can behave herself.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Kato. I never get into trouble.” Conner’s face was the epitome of innocence.

Kato’s laugh was more of a grunt. “Oh, no. Never.”

Conner winked at him. Then he disappeared.

Kato pivoted toward me. “You know, Conner and I get along much better when you’re around.”

“Wait, that was getting along?”

“Actually, yes,” he replied, his face wistful. “Lately, we haven’t been seeing eye to eye.”

“Since he left to join the Rebels?”

“It started before that. We just don’t seem to be on the same page anymore.”

“I think you’re both on exactly the same page,” I told him.

“You and Conner, you two are one and the same. You’re both good people who want to do the right thing.

You just disagree on how to go about doing it.

And that’s ok, you know? People are allowed to fight over the best way to do things.

I sometimes even fight with myself about the best way to do things. ”

“There’s a big difference between fighting with yourself and fighting with your best friend. It’s not like you can say something to yourself that you really end up regretting.”

I set my hand on his arm. “It sounds like you and Conner have a lot of issues to work out. And no better time than the present, right?”

“You’re right.” His voice shimmered barely above a whisper, like he hardly dared say the words. “Will you come with me?”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. This is between you and Conner.”

“It is,” Kato agreed. “But, like I said, the two of us get along better when you’re around. Somehow, you make us understand ourselves better, and that makes us understand each other better too.” He shook his head. “I’m not sure if I’m making any sense?”

“I think I get it,” I said with a smile. “And I’d be happy to be there with you both as you try to mend your friendship. But only if you both want me to.”

Kato snorted. “Oh, Conner will definitely want you around for this. The problem is getting him to settle down and stop showing off long enough for us to have a serious conversation.”

“Maybe you don’t need to have a serious conversation, Kato. Or at least not one that’s only serious.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you two are looking to find a common ground, right? So maybe that means Conner needs to be a little more serious. And that you need to be a little less serious.”

Kato frowned. “I’m not sure that makes any sense.”

“Sure it does. You two agree on your goals but disagree on how to get there. So the sticking point in your friendship lies only in the how .” I positioned my hands in front of me, spread wide apart.

“If you each come just a little in the other’s direction,” I said, drawing my hands together, “you’ll meet in the middle.

” I clapped them together. “See what I mean?”

Kato watched me for a while, so long that I was starting to get worried. Until he said, “You’re pretty wise.”

I grinned at him. “So that means you’ll do it?”

He looped his arm in mine. “Let’s go talk to Conner.”