Read The Guardians of the Forest: Book Two Page 20

CHAPTER 42

  LISTENING

  Her inhalation came in slow, even breaths.

  Kiethara was sitting cross-legged in the middle of her mother’s clearing. It had recently become her favorite spot in the forest. So calm, so peaceful, and so quiet. It was perfect for what she needed it for.

  She was listening.

  Even after the few days that had passed, she was still not used to the connection she held with the forest. Every day she woke up and it would take her a few moments to work past the overwhelming wonder that always filled her. Her body was bound to one place, but her mind was everywhere at all times.

  For some reason, it seemed to make her dreams more vivid as well. While she dreamed, she could still sense the forest around her—one night she had been violently awaken by a pair of bears fighting in the trees near her. It had not been the noise that had woken her, but the claws that had slashed at the bark of the surrounding trees. It did not inflict physical pain, but it bothered her mentally, like a hornet stinging at her thoughts. She shuddered to think of what it would have felt like if she had had this connection when the forest had been on fire.

  One time she had tried to pull herself from the connection, to see what it felt like if she withdrew. It took her a couple of times before she had really managed anything. Holding on to the connection was like trying to grip wet marble. It acted like a smoke; whenever she tried to control it, it always found a way to creep back out. And while she was doing this, or anything with it, she needed to be completely concentrated. Not a single stray thought could cross her mind.

  These past few days, Kiethara had used more magic than she usually used in a month. She experimented with every element and theory she could think of, combining and creating emotions she didn’t particularly enjoy just to see the result. She felt adventurous, no longer prohibited by the fear of passing out or running low. She could regain it all in seconds.

  For example, her shield had passed on to a level of excellence. It would fly up in less time than it took to blink and expand with the merest flick of her thoughts. She could even fly with it now, too.

  She had even earned herself congratulation from Aaron when she had demonstrated it for him. Usually, she wandered upon her powers accidentally, more from mistake than anything else. This time, however, it had been her will and hard work that allowed her to reach this new level.

  The days melted by along with the snow. She no longer required a death grip on her robe when she slept; her lake was not rimmed with ice in the morning anymore. The trees that had lost their leaves were beginning to recover them. Blades of grass pushed themselves out of frozen soil and the sky above was now more gray than blue. The winter was melting into spring, and Kiethara’s spirits bloomed just as the flowers did.

  Yet life was not perfect.

  Navadar had not visited her in quite a while. She was used to him taking some time between his visits, but it had never been this long before. Especially after their last meeting—the memory of it sending her stomach flipping—she expected him to visit more often than not. They had reached a point where Kiethara was craving for his presence in more ways than one.

  She went over their history every day. From their first meeting to their first kiss, every detail was reviewed in her mind. He had come seeking an adventure and received a romance. She felt a bit guilty, though: he had to balance the life he held in the kingdom and the life he held here now, both of which threatened him in very different ways. On top of that, she knew he was being forced to make some very serious decisions. If he wanted to be with her, to start a family with her, he would have to live permanently in the forest. This entailed a lot, the less extreme being a new diet of forest food, while the most extreme being on alert for the possibility of an attack, any day, anytime. He would have to accept that his only child would be the guardian of this forest for the rest of his or her life.

  Kiethara had asked Aaron why guardians did not have more children after their first.

  “It should be obvious, Kiethara,” he had told her one day. “The second child will only get jealous or be neglected. A long time ago, a guardian was killed by her younger sister, after she had a child, that is. You will spend every day training your child like I have trained you. You will not have time for a second one. It’s not worth it.”

  And thus Kiethara was convinced—or ordered, considering Aaron’s stern tone—not to have a second child. Hopefully Navadar would agree to that as well. He didn’t have much of a choice.