Page 8 of The Tree of Spirits (Paragons #2)

SUNSHOWERS

“ W hat made you think of shutting off the compound’s power?” Conner asked me. “And how did you know that would have an effect on the Cursed Ones?”

We were sitting in Marlow’s living room in Primrose Path, a district not far from the Park. Conner sat on the sofa beside the Scavenger, using his hands to draw fresh glowing runes over his wounds.

I was on the sofa opposite theirs, rubbing Wolf behind her ears. The husky had met up with us as we’d reached the Park’s exit. Using a little magic, Conner got us all over the fence. The guards never even knew we were there.

“I figured that the Brothers were using some kind of device to repel the Cursed Ones,” I said. “And devices generally require power to work.”

“So you were guessing.”

I shrugged. “An educated guess.”

“Lie still for a few minutes to let the spells soak in. After that, we’ll move on to round three,” Conner told Marlow, then rose from the sofa.

Wolf jumped up and immediately took his place by Marlow’s side.

“So now we know that whatever it is the Brothers use to repel the Cursed Ones, it needs power,” I said as I joined Conner in the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of water. “I would love to get a closer look at their equipment. Such a device could go a long way toward protecting our towns.”

“Always looking out for the greater good.” Conner watched me take a sip from my glass. “You will make a good Knight.” He leaned back against the kitchen counter. “A better Knight than I ever was. Or ever will be.”

“What do you mean? You’re an awesome Knight.”

“No, I’m an awesome person, Red.” He flashed me a grin. “But a pretty abysmal Knight.”

“Nonsense. The first time we met, you saved my brother and my best friend from the Cursed Ones. And today you saved Marlow. You always do the right thing. You have a good heart.”

His gaze dropped to the hand I’d placed over his heart, and I quickly withdrew it, my cheeks flushed.

“There’s more to being a good Knight than doing the right thing.” He rocked back on his heels.

“Such as?” I set my glass down on the counter.

He snatched it up and took a sip. “A good Knight follows orders.” Sighing, he returned the glass to the counter. “And I’ve never been very good at that.”

“Is this about how you’re not supposed to be investigating all of this?”

“It’s about a lot more than just that.” Conner slouched over, something I’d never seen from a Knight. So many things danced across his face: sadness, regret, defiance.

I set my hands on his arms. “You risked your life to save a complete stranger, Conner. I think that makes you an excellent Knight.”

He didn’t look convinced.

“I’m serious,” I said. “You’re brave, selfless, kind…”

A slow smile crept up his lips. “Stop,” he drawled. “You’re making me blush.”

I tightened my grip on his arms. I waited for him to meet my eyes before I spoke. “I’m serious.”

“I know. You’re quite good at being serious. It’s cute.”

I scowled at him, dropping my hands to my sides. “If you’re just going to joke?—”

“Wait.” He caught my hand as I turned away.

I pivoted back around and waited.

“Thank you.” All of the bravado had faded from his smile. He looked unsettled, even uncertain. “I know I joke around a lot, but I want you to know that your words mean a lot to me.”

“And your help means a lot to me.”

He brushed his hand softly across my cheek…then plucked something out of my hair. He showed it to me.

I squinted at the mysterious piece of twisted metal. “What is it?”

“Debris from the battle in the Park. There’s more of it.” He reached toward me, then froze. “May I?”

“Of course. I definitely don’t want to go around looking like I fell into a trash can.”

Conner retrieved debris from my hair, the hood of my sweatshirt, even my shoelaces.

“Wow, that’s a lot of junk,” I said, staring down at the pile of wires and broken metal shards that he’d deposited on the kitchen counter.

“Well, there were a lot of explosions,” he pointed out.

I cringed at the reminder. My hands started shaking.

“Hey, are you ok?” Concern furrowed his brow.

“It’s funny. When we were there, in the middle of that battle, I…

well, sure, I was scared, but my mind was also kind of clear, you know?

But now, when I remember it…” I looked at my shaking hands.

“…like, standing here, I know I’m safe right now, but when I think back to that battle, it’s somehow much worse, much scarier than when I was living through it.

And it makes me feel…it makes me feel so lost and alone.

” I choked out a laugh. “I guess that doesn’t make any sense, does it? ”

“It makes perfect sense,” he replied. “When you were there, your mind was busy trying to find a way out of danger. You didn’t have time to really process that danger. And now you do. It’s normal, Red. All the Knights have felt that. All Knights get scared.”

I clung to his words, glad he didn’t think I was crazy—or a total coward. “Really?”

“Yeah. Even a super cool Knight like me,” he said. “It’s ok to be scared. And it’s ok to show it.”

“But don’t Knights have to always act brave and fearless?”

“The General will tell you all Knights should strive to be emotionless robots.” Conner clasped my hands as his gaze locked with mine. “Don’t listen to him, Red. We aren’t robots and we do have feelings. And that’s totally ok.”

“Conner, I…” I cleared my throat, not even sure what I wanted to say to him. So I dropped his hands and diverted my gaze to the pile of metal scraps on the counter. “I guess I should throw out all that junk.”

“Wait.”

Conner started humming, softly at first, but it grew louder and louder, until his beautiful, wordless song filled the whole room. The counter buzzed with each deep note. The walls jingled with every high one. And the air crackled with the magic that bound it all together.

“How are you doing this?” I gasped as the metal scraps rose from the counter, bobbing between us.

The pieces twisted and turned, shifted and stretched—merging and melting together until they’d become something else entirely. Something magical and incredible.

“Magic isn’t all explosions and destruction.” Conner took my hand and set the necklace he’d made in front of me into my open palm. “It is so much more.”

I brushed my fingertip across the intricate, delicate lines of the orchids, then slid it down the slender stem that formed the necklace’s chain. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s yours,” he told me, closing my hand around the necklace. “You are not lost, Red. And you are not alone. If you ever need me, just whisper to the orchids, and I will come. Anytime. Any reason. Ok?”

Smiling, I nodded. “I will.” I latched his beautiful, magical gift around my neck. “And thank you.”

“Any time, Red.” He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “Any time.”

Neither of us knew what to say after that, so we didn’t say anything at all. We just stood there, staring at each other, until Marlow’s voice cut through the long, thick silence.

“I don’t mean to interrupt or anything, but is it supposed to feel like someone lit a match to my body?”

Conner hastily dropped my hand and rushed into the other room.

“It happens sometimes. It’s all part of the healing process,” he said as he knelt down beside the sofa and took a look at Marlow’s wounds.

“I’ll weave another layer of healing spells through your wounds now, and the pain should soon subside. ”

I lingered in the doorway, watching as Conner drew more glowing runes with his hands. Marlow sighed in relief. And so did Wolf.

“Not to worry, Red.” Conner stole a glance over his shoulder at me. “Your friend will be fine. I’ll take care of everything.”

Marlow had turned on the TV. The screen showed the Garden. The view kept cutting between four angles.

“That looks like security camera footage,” I commented, moving closer to the television.

“It is.” Conner was watching too. “The Watchers’ security footage. I’ve seen these exact videos.”

“This is from the day of the attack,” I realized as the Garden’s gates slid open, and a black SUV drove inside. “How did the media get this footage?”

Conner shook his head. “I don’t know. It wasn’t even easy for me to get it, and I can make myself invisible.”

On screen, all of the Apprentices in the Garden turned to stare at the black SUV.

And so did the adults. Ms. Pirana even smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt, like she expected someone important to step out of the vehicle and reward her for being such a cruel Program Manager.

Everyone looked so curious. They had no idea what was coming.

I could barely watch. I didn’t want to see the Cursed Ones jump out of that SUV. I didn’t want to hear the screams.

“This is even worse than I remember,” Conner commented as the crowd in the Garden exploded in every direction, screaming loudly. “These people seriously need to spend a few hours rereading the Handbook.”

Kato had said the exact same thing. The two of them were more alike than Conner thought.

“The only person not running around screaming is you, Red.”

I watched the people shouting and scurrying around the Garden. At the time of the attack, I’d known things were bad. But on camera it looked so much worse.

The video cut to a woman with bouncy, glamorous hair, sitting comfortably in the safety of a parlor.

Or maybe that was a castle. The room had tall, gold-frosted columns and floor-to-ceiling windows framed by lush, luxurious crimson curtains.

The woman’s face was perfectly lit; there must have been studio lights waiting just beyond the camera’s view.

“Gaia wants us to believe they are ready to join the Court, but how can they participate in the future of the Many Realms when they don’t even have their own house in order?

” The video cut to a man with long, sleek, pale blond hair.

He wore a very stiff black jacket, embellished with silver threading.

It looked like a cross between a royal coat and a dress uniform.