Page 99 of To Scale the Emerald Mountain

“Yes. A couple moons’ ago,” I say quietly, the vague statement enough for Alec to know when this vision came to me. Understanding flashes in his eyes, twisting something sharp in my ribs.

Sitting up straighter, I recount my vision to him.

“Her thoughts mentioned that she cursed the tree to tie magic solely to herself, andshethen killed the tree, shortly before banishing her siblings.”

Alec doesn’t have the flash of surprise that Locane did over my revelation of the gods being Ellhora’s siblings, nor does he seem surprised by anything I’m saying at all, same as Nana. A twinge of discomfort gnashes at my gut, disappointment in myself for offering Locane that secret forming a black pit in my stomach.

Distracting myself, I inspect the detailed diagram on the willowbane tree and its purposes as a conduit for power, taking in the multiple large veins running through its center, wondering if perhaps those lifelines were where all the gods’ magic should have flowed—not just Ellhora’s.

“My vision of Dhystros when I was sixteen, creating the emerald, he seemed to think his magic was always meant for this world, but not in the form of the emerald. I don’t think the gems were meant to exist.” Bringing my eyes up to meet Alec’s, I find him with a finger against his lips, his thumb resting under his chin. Contemplative.

Finally, he huffs a sigh. “Yes, that has been my assumption as well. And why I wanted to give you this particular book on the willowbane tree. To give you the tools to come to these conclusions. Do you remember any of your earliest visions?”

I shake my head in denial and repeat Nana’s theory on why I can’t recall those memories.

“The first vision you ever had was of Ellhora creating the littaweeds of the Plains of Ire. When you were six.”

“She did?” I ask, surprised. I rub a hand over the knee of my dress, smoothing it out excitedly.

Alec nods, his intense eyes dripping with pride. “From what was gleaned, it was after a particularly brutal battle in Quinndohs during the Original War. Ellhora used strange magic, a tainted version of the earth magic she was said to hold as well as the ability to command the sky.”

I interrupt him suddenly. “She could command the sky. I Saw her lightning fading from where she used it to break the land apart,” I say excitedly, giving him that finer detail.

“Well at least her power is one thing the historians got right.” He offers me a smile before continuing. “Ellhora changed the landscape from a field of grass and wildflowers to the life choking littaweeds in an act of warfare.” Alec rubs the pads of his fingers against his thumb absentmindedly, pausing his words as he’s lost in a memory. “Her hands in that vision were as black as Locane’sare now. All the way to the wrists. Users of forbidden blood magic show their darkness with black stained fingers.”

My eyes are wide and shining with excitement, pieces of the puzzle snapping into place. “They were black in my vision of the banishment as well. Only it started with her fingertips. It then spread to her wrists after Ellhora called upon the earth and sky.”

“If her fingers were already black, it seems she was familiar with blood magic even before the banishment.”

“Perhaps when she tied the willowbane tree solely to herself.”

“If the stain she carried when poisoning the land had only spread after the banishment, it seems the war raged well after that act, discrediting the idea that the war ended when history claims.” Alec’s voice is barely a whisper, his dark eyes showing the same wildness that’s making my heart race.

We sit silently, both feeding off of this new energy that emits between us.

Suddenly, a peal of laughter from gardeners outside flows through the open window, their indiscernible voices cutting through our intimacy to remind me the world outside still exists. It’s as if sound has been restored without me even noticing that it had been lost to me at all.

Barely pulling back, I realize I had been leaning into Alec again, his body also arching towards mine, our noses nearly brushing. This close, I can easily see the dark brown tones of his eyes, small flecks of black peppered around his blown pupils. Sweat builds under my arms as intrusive thoughts of an identical set of eyes demand to be recalled, extinguishing the glimmering moment that passed between us.

Fear instantly flashes over Alec’s striking features as he witnesses me begin to retreat into myself. He leans his head back quickly,opening his mouth to speak, apology drowning his lively eyes. But then, heavy footsteps break me out of my surreal panic and I turn towards their source cutting through the towering bookshelves.

Kraeston’s booming voice calls out from the shadows, “I was supposed to be off today.”

He rounds the corner, finding Alec and I tucked into the cozy alcove, still sitting huddled together, and gives us a beaming smile.

Alec shoots him a stern look, his expression alone screaming at Kraeston to stop speaking. Kraeston winces slightly, obviously also receiving a mind-to-mind scolding to accompany Alec’s scathing glare.

It occurs to me that in his own panic, Alec reached out to Kraeston using his mental gift, asking him to come interject when I began to pull away, surely hoping to make me more comfortable given my acceptance of Kraeston these recent weeks.

Turning to scowl at Alec, he’s schooled his features, holding nothing but calm and careful ease as he settles back into his chair, raising his muscled arms behind his head in an exaggerated stretch.

Perfectly innocent.

My mouth drops to spew angry words, fire beginning to itch in my cheeks. But I’m cut off by a deafening clap of thunder that rattles the room, storm clouds rapidly gathering to snuff out what was left of the twilight sun, plunging the room into cool and shadowy darkness.

My head swivels towards a window, the scent of fresh rain and clean desert sand wafting through its open frame on a breeze ruffling my hair.

“Please, Elly.” I turn towards that pleading voice. “Let us help you understand,” Alec asks, timidly as the dawn sun coaxing a flower to unfurl.