Chapter 29

R oderick returned to the table moments later, a broad smile on his face as he sat in front of his heaping plate of food. He held up the grid-like pastry.

"Waffles!" he announced. "They're delicious. Trust me."

She peered down at it as though it were a foreign object. "I seem to have lost my appetite."

That made him stop buttering his waffle and look at her. "Why?"

"Something feels…off," she said. "I can't explain it."

He glanced around the tavern looking for an imminent threat. "We're safe here."

Her gaze flickered up to his. "Are we?"

He dropped his fork and reached for her hand across the table. "What's wrong? I thought you would be happy we managed to recruit the first soldiers to help us in the fight against Seraphina."

"I am happy about that."

She glanced around the tavern as the people went about their business as though nothing had changed. The large man at the bar continued to drink his ale. The ranger returned to his seat at the back, hood up, smoking a pipe, as though he hadn't pledged his life to protect hers.

"But?" Roderick asked, his voice gentle.

She inhaled a deep breath, expelled it. "It's just that I can't shake the feeling she's watching through her mirror."

"If she is, then she knows we are coming for her." He released her hand and went back to buttering his waffle, then poured a heaping portion of honey on top of it.

"Doesn't that ruin the element of surprise?" she asked.

He sliced a corner of the waffle and stabbed it with his fork. "She has to know we're coming for her."

"We?" Snow lifted a brow.

He dropped his voice. "She sent me to kill you. I didn't. She knows that. She's also intelligent enough to realize that if you're not dead, you're still a threat to her."

Her stomach twisted into a knot as a sick feeling erupted through her. "I think this was a mistake."

He dropped his fork and pinned her with his bright gaze. "No, Snow. You're doing the right thing."

"But—"

"Sometimes the right thing is the hardest thing," he said, his voice soft and gentle. "When we finish breakfast, we will ride out to the next village."

"Which one is that?" she asked.

"Lighthill. But I must warn you. Things are much different there than here."

She pushed food around on her plate, watching as he dove into his with alacrity. "How different?"

He stuck a bit of waffle in his mouth, chewed, swallowed. "Different," was his only response.

She didn't like the sound of that one bit. As she poked her waffle with a fork, the door to the tavern burst open with a loud thud.

"The Wyldwood Forest is on fire!" a man shouted.

Her heart leapt to her throat as she jumped up from her seat, her chair scraping along the wood floor and then tipping over. Patrons spilled out of the tavern into the street, but Snow was faster. She moved past them all. As soon as she was outside, she saw the dark plume of smoke in the distance curling upward into the bright blue sky.

She sucked in a shuddering breath, as she thought of the elven village, Faradill and Annilen, and all the other creatures inhabiting the forest. She closed her eyes and opened her senses to nature, reaching out to the forest.

The fire was large and raging, burning through trees. She cried out with the pain she felt from them. Her mind raced to find Faradill. Thankfully, he still stood and was out of the fire's path. However, the elven village did not fare so well.

"Snow?" Roderick's tentative voice at her side broke through her thoughts.

"The elven village." Her breath hitched, then her eyes flew open as she spun to face him, gripping him by the arm. "You have to do something!"

"Me?" He blinked.

"You are an Artificer. You have the power of all the elements. The power of water."

Understanding dawned. "But I've never used the power of water."

"Me, either, so we'll have to try together." She gripped his hand in hers and closed her eyes again. "The Sea of Mara is the closest water source. Envision it. Close your eyes."

"I've never been there—"

"The coastline is rocky," she interrupted. "With pale blue sand. The waves crash against the rocks. When the sand is wet from the undulating surf, it turns a deep blue. Can you see it?"

She peeked through her lashes to see his eyes closed. "Yes, I see it."

"Good. Keep that in your mind. Think of the water. The waves. The wind. The surf breaking on the rocks."

She released his hand and dropped to her knees, placing her palms flat on the ground. The earth was cool and sandy beneath her fingers. Once again, she closed her eyes, connecting with the nature around her, around them, and thinking of the rocks on the shoreline. The ground rumbled and came to life.

Help us!

The panicked voices of the creatures from the forest flickered through her mind. Was she too late? Was the village destroyed? The forest? Leaving one hand flat on the ground, she reached up for Roderick. It was risky, but she had to do it and she prayed the elves were out of the burning village. She thought of Elator and Yirrie and even the Elders, willing them to be safe.

"Take my hand."

He did, his fingers lacing with hers.

" Where the rhythm of the tide softly beats, draw the water from the depths of the Mara Sea ." She paused, her eyes opening as she looked up at him. "Send the sea to the village, Roderick."

He sucked in a breath through his nose, his hand tightening on hers. A droplet of sweat slipped down one side of his face. Still connected to the ground, she heard the crash of the tidal wave as it swelled and then flooded through the edge of the forest. Deep in her mind, she heard the sizzle as the fire snuffed out and the waters receded.

"You did it," she whispered.

Still clutching her hand, he opened his eyes and met her gaze. " We did it."

As she looked at him, she realized that while they were each powerful in their own right, together, they were formidable.

"What just happened?" someone asked. "The ground shook and then—"

"Shh! Listen!" someone interrupted.

Snow heard it then. The distant sound of water cascading over land. Her heart jammed into her throat as she realized their combined power managed to send a tidal wave all along the coastline, not just to the edge of the Wyldwood.

"Roderick!"

"I don't know how to stop it."

She released his hand and placed both on the ground, then bent forward. Her forehead touched the ground.

" Water's wild and torrents flow. By these words I command, recede, retreat, reclaim the land ."

The villagers chattered around her, but she heard none of that as she focused on the sounds of the water flowing over the land. In her mind, she pushed the water back. It was as though the land inhaled a deep breath as it sucked the tide away. She didn't know how long she crouched there, but her back ached. Sweat trickled down the sides of her face. Her heart continued to palpitate a wild beat.

She reached out her senses looking for Faradill or Annilen or any of the forest creatures. Even though she was far away from the fire, she still smelled the acrid tang of smoke.

You saved us, but we are damaged. It was a collective voice deep in her mind. The voice of the forest. Hot tears pricked the back of her eyelids.

Roderick placed a hand on her shoulder. "Snow?"

Stiffly, she lifted her head. Every muscle and joint inside her ached. A breath shuddered out of her. She focused on her surroundings and saw the villagers returned to the tavern or their homes or shops. Only Roderick remained standing by her side, his hand on her shoulder.

"Where did everyone go?" She blinked away the tears and looked up at him.

"You spooked them a bit, I think," he said. "When the ground cracked and rumbled, they ran."

There were tiny fissures snaking along the ground around her, as though she was the epicenter. There was no more smoke in the distance. What did her nature magic look like to the villagers?

"But you didn't."

"I didn't," he agreed.

"It was the only way to stop the tsunami," she said.

"I know." His voice was quiet. He dropped to his knees in front of her, took her hands in his. "Snow, I may be an Artificer, as you said, but you…you have so much elemental magic deep within you. Did you know?"

She shook her head, the threat of tears still behind her eyes. "I couldn't save them all."

"But you did save some of them."

Her bottom lip trembled. "The village…"

He squeezed her hands. "We can't go back."

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Do you really want to see it burned to the ground?" he asked.

She considered this and finally shook her head. "But Elator and Yirrie…"

"We have to believe they are all right." He brought her hands up to his lips and kissed her fingertips. "We have to believe they got out."

His tenderness nearly made her come undone. She tugged her hands away from him and pushed from the ground, getting to her feet. He rose, too. She clenched her fists, staring toward the Wyldwood Forest.

"This is Seraphina's doing," she said. Her voice cracked a little when she said it.

"I thought so, too. She's trying to get to you, Snow. Don't let her."

He was right and she knew that. She whisked away the tears and took a deep breath, pushing back emotions that threatened to overtake her. She'd left behind the only real home she'd ever known. Left behind the two people who raised her these last ten years. When she left, she questioned if she made the right decision. She was certain she had now. Seraphina would destroy the forest no matter if she was in it or not.

"I'm not," she said, sounding strong and sure. Blistering determination seared through her. "Let's get my throne back."

He grinned. "As my princess commands."