Chapter 36
DAVID
It was when we took a break for the night that I found it.
Mom had made a little cave for us in the ground that the Seelie would hopefully miss if any passed by on their way to discover their fallen comrades. Cearo was still alive, though neither her pulse nor her breathing had gotten any stronger. I silently begged any and every god to let her make it through the night. I had settled her next to me and was patting her down to see if she had any of her dried meat on her because we were all starving. I felt something flat and square in one of her pockets. I pulled it out. It was her book.
I flipped through it, looking at all of the sketches. Then near the end, there was a page with words instead of drawings and one of those words caught my attention. “Mom.” I held the book out to her. “There’s a letter to you.”
She looked surprised. She took it and read it aloud.
Willa —
You asked me once how I became the way I am. I am this way because of three men. I will tell you of one of them.
I had been wandering for many moons. One day, I came near a small village by a river. There was a young man fishing, oblivious to the water elemental watching him. I watched him too, for I had never seen an elemental take an interest in anyone else other than myself.
On the third day, he came right to the base of the tree I sat in as if he’d known I was there the whole time. He asked if I wanted to learn to fish. I did not respond, but every day he came back to make the same offer. Eventually, I relented. He taught me to fish, and despite my initial reservations, we soon began to talk and laugh together easily. As he told me his stories, our lessons became something to look forward to. Even once I had learned to fish nearly as well as he, I still met with him just to hear about his day.
A few more moons later, we were startled from our conversation by a commotion in the village. A band of foreigners had invaded, and we could hear them slaughtering his people. He told me to climb up into the trees and to not come down until he came back. I did as he said and watched him go to help his village. He never saw the dagger flying at his back, but I did. I screamed for him, but I was much too far away.
The fight was over very quickly. The foreigners were strong, but it appeared the village did not have what they wanted. They retreated. As I made my way through the casualties to him, the other villagers saw me for the first time. I had never left the safety of our meeting place, by my tree and his river, to come meet them. They seemed to know who I was though. They looked at me accusingly. When I got to him, his mother was there wearing the same expression as the rest. I realized I could not grieve there, no matter how close I was to breaking. So I left, and the water elemental left with me.
Willa, I did not help you escape to the human world for the reasons you assumed. I did not have the same interest in the humans as you did. I am not a kind or selfless person. I helped you because you reminded me of someone I once saw. You do not wear the same accusatory expression as she did, but I have always known you were the same. I helped you because I hoped you would somehow bring my Cian back to me.
Mom flipped the page, looking for more, for an explanation. But that was the end of the letter. On the next page, captioned “Cian,” there was a picture of a man with an expression of pure joy on his face as he seemed to stare back at the artist. And while it wasn’t an exact likeness, it was clear that this man was me.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank my family and friends for supporting this endeavor. Even in those moments when I thought every word I wrote was crap, you convinced me to keep writing. I would have given up without you guys.
I’d also like to give a huge thank you to the cover designer Betibup33. I couldn’t be happier with this cover, and I’m so happy I found it and you. Thank you for bringing this book to life.
Finally, thank you to anyone who reads this. Your support means the world. I hope you’re looking forward to the next installment as much as I am. Also, if you have the time, I’d be extremely grateful if you left a review.
About the Author
Tarynn Kerr has a degree in psychology but probably should have gotten one in mythology instead because that’s way cooler. She lives in southern California where she works a boring day job and covertly writes down her daydreams when her boss isn’t looking. Aside from writing, she enjoys reading and eating enormous amounts of mac ‘n’ cheese. This is her first novel.
Connect with her on Twitter and tarynnkerrauthor.wordpress.com.
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