32. Adrianna

32

ADRIANNA

M orning comes, distinctly lacking the spark of hope that the sunrise usually brings. Flooded with worry, overcome with the need to fulfill my promise, and drenched in exhaustion from the lack of sleep last night, I feel helpless.

Summer Oak, however, looks thankful for our presence.

As I lay staring up at the highest point of the shelter with Kryll’s body pressed against mine, I couldn’t find the sleep my body begged for. Not while Commander North’s soldiers worked through the night on rotating shifts as they continued to remove the rubble.

It’s going to take a lot longer for everything to come along properly, but it doesn’t look as broken now as it did when we arrived yesterday. The job at hand today is to focus on making sure we can get as many of the communal areas up and running. The school is a high priority for the children. They need somewhere to go other than the cramped town hall.

The library and grocery stores are also high on North’s agenda, while the homes will come in time. His words, not mine.

Watching as the cement mixer whirls beside me, I’m intrigued as they attempt to build on top of the foundations that still remain for the school. Everything is so… hands on. I almost feel out of my depth with it. I’m so used to being with my magic now that it’s hard to recall living on the farm and doing everything by hand to blend in.

“Queenie!”

I’m startled from my thoughts by Janie’s shout over the machinery, and I whip my head in that direction to find her waving me over. Kryll is at her side before I am, peering at something over her shoulder before his wild eyes find me.

“You’re going to want to see this,” he states, and I’m rushing toward them before I even realize it.

Kryll takes a step back as Janie holds out her hand, offering me a piece of paper, and I tentatively take it from her hand.

My heart stops all together before it slowly starts up again, spiking at an increasing rate as I struggle to catch my breath.

It’s a picture.

Two children.

One boy. One girl.

He stands a few inches taller than the little girl, his smile spread from ear to ear as he drapes his arm around her shoulders, but the glare on her face is undeniable. With her arms folded over her chest and a pout on her lips, she looks as grumpy then as she does now.

They’re not just any two children.

No.

They’re far more familiar than that.

It’s my father and Clementine.

Running my thumb over the image of my father as a child, a warmth spreads through my veins. His smile is real and full of energy, not even a little bit dampened by the glaring girl at his side.

There has to be more than what meets the eye. A story only they can tell. But more importantly, why is it here?

“Do you think she left this on purpose?” I ask, already knowing the answer in my gut.

“I can’t imagine why else it would be here,” Kryll admits, increasing the tension in my shoulders, which only tightens when I try to take a soothing deep breath.

Flipping the picture over, I wonder if there’s anything on the other side, but it’s blank. There’s no hint, no clue, not even a minuscule lead that would explain why it’s here or why she would want me to find it.

It’s another part of her mind games that I’m becoming accustomed to. It’s nothing like appearing in the prison cell beside me, luring me in with half-spoken stories to reveal my secrets, and it’s nothing at all like being hidden in the kiss of death that was implanted in my flesh, but it’s still up there.

Folding the image in half, I slip it into my pocket for safe keeping.

“Is everything okay?” Commander North asks, approaching from my left, and I smile.

“Everything’s fine,” I admit, ghosting my hand over the pocket of my pants, and he nods, seemingly happy to accept the brush off.

“I’m trying to figure out why you are still here,” he blurts, rolling his shoulders back as he cocks a brow at me, and I frown.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, there’s been another attack. Half of your patrol has gone while the other half remain with you. With us. Why? Why didn’t you all leave together?” he pushes, confusion clear in his words, and I shake my head.

“I already told you. I promised I would help. I’m not done helping,” I insist, and a smirk teases the corner of his mouth.

“You’re stubborn, you know that?”

Kryll snickers beside me. “You haven’t seen anything yet,” he adds, earning a glare from me as Janie grins at him.

Fuckers.

“Honestly, though. You should go,” North offers, and I frown.

“I would, but you won’t let me use my magic to speed this up so I’m here until I’m done,” I declare, my voice firm in the hope that he stops arguing with me, and to my surprise… he does.

“Do it.”

Two words, a breath as heavy as a confession, and I frown at him.

“Do what?”

He rolls his eyes at me before waving his hands around. “Whatever it is you want to do with that magic of yours.”

“Are you sure?” I ask, desperate to confirm his words, even though my magic is already tingling at the tips of my fingers, ready to be unleashed.

“Sure? No, definitely not. Intrigued? Absolutely.”

Running my tongue over my bottom lip, I turn, assessing the entire space as my magic continues to thread through my body. Calculating the most central point, I take measured steps until I’m satisfied with my position.

“What is she doing?” North asks, but I don’t bother to answer. Thankfully, Kryll does it for me.

“She’s doing her thing.”

“Which is what, exactly?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. You’re the one who just agreed to let her do it,” Kryll says teasingly, but any response is drowned out by the sound of rubble moving.

Vibrations tremble at my feet as my air magic swirls from my fingertips to the far reaches of the village. My eyelids fall closed, blocking out the world around me as I just let myself… feel.

I sense myself turning on the spot, my magic taking over as the wind picks up around me. I have no idea what I’m actually replicating, but I try my best, connecting with the foundations that lay in place as I piece everything back together, brick by brick.

I have no idea how long I stand here, rearranging the entire village with my eyes closed, but I soon grow tired, my limbs aching as a migraine threatens to cripple my mind.

Attempting to catch my breath, my hands fall back to my sides as I drop to my knees. Breath after breath, I try to turn my short panting wheezes into full puffs, but I’ve drained myself more than I anticipated.

“Addi!” Kryll hollers, his hand on my back a moment later drawing soft circles over my spine, and I pry my eyes open.

“I’m okay, just…” My words fall off, my mind unable to find the right phrase, and my dragon smiles down at me.

“You’re spectacular, Princess. You better fucking know that,” he mumbles, tucking his arm under me and hauling me to my feet. I lean into his side, basking in his warmth and strength for a moment before I manage to stand steady on my own.

Glancing around the town, I don’t recognize where I am. The remnants of the damage that was caused still lingers, but I’m suddenly surrounded by small buildings and a school playground sits in the distance. A swing set blows in the wind, and a sense of pride washes over me.

“I’ve never seen anything like that in my life,” Commander North blurts, approaching slowly as he gapes at the town. “I, well, uh, I, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’m sorry if something is out of place or I’ve used the wrong materials for anything, my magic just kind of took over and I went with it,” I admit, and he smiles. “And it looks like we might have a few more hands to help with righting anything I may have missed.”

I nod my head to the small gathering of wagons gathered at the edge of town behind him. My heart clenches in my chest at the sight of the handful of people standing in the road with various supplies, nervously glancing around at one another. A vampire with a single horse piled high with clothes, a pair of wolves I don’t recognize pulling a handcart filled with what I can only assume to be food, a lone shifter with a single toolbox in one hand and an ax over his other shoulder, and half a dozen fae, empty handed but clearly prepared to help in any way they can.

It might not look like much, but seeing the origins come together, by choice and not force, to offer assistance to those who have always been seen as the least important? Something inside of me breaks loose and settles in my stomach, warming me in a way I’ve never felt before.

“This is your space, Commander. Whether or not you accept the assistance is your decision to make.

He stares off at them for a few long moments, clearly unsure about what to do, but I see the moment he makes up his mind. His shoulders square and a smile plays at the corner of his mouth before he gently nods his head at them, welcoming the group into his town and, perhaps unknowingly paving the road to a unity I’ve only ever dreamed about.

He watches them for a moment as they unload their burdens and quickly make their way to the nearest soldiers, taking their orders and getting to work, before he turns back to me, his expression all business once again.

“What’s this?” he asks, pointing to a white statue in the middle of the cobbled road.

I blush immediately, acutely aware of what it is. It’s new. The only thing that I envisioned in my mind. Lacing my fingers with Kryll’s, I tug him along with me, and Janie inches closer to the monument too until the four of us are standing together.

“It’s a memorial. To remember the travesty of those who were hurt,” I explain, running my hand over the smooth stone. “You can etch their names into it or…” Or what, I don’t really know. Watching the commander stare at the statue, my panic grows. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe it was?—

“It’s the perfect symbol to recognize those we love, and from the queen herself, it’s priceless. Thank you. We will begin carving in the names imminently,” he states, cutting off my wandering thoughts, and I heave a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry any harm was ever brought here to begin with, and I hope it never happens again.”

“Under your rule, I’m sure it won’t,” he states, his words firm as he pats Kryll on the back in silent thanks.

“Glacial Lake can’t say the same,” I sigh, pressing my finger into my temple, willing the migraine to subside, but it seems the more stress I carry, the stronger it gets.

“Everything is set for us to leave, Princess. I think we can all agree that your work here is done. I’ll organize the carriages and we can head toward Glacial Lake so we can see for ourselves what aid is needed,” Kryll states, tucking a loose tendril of hair behind my ear, and I nod. Maybe I can sleep on the way. Whether I do or don’t doesn’t matter. The fact is: one issue down, ten thousand more to go, it seems.