attack her. She had not received her power from Morven yet, and he knew he could overpower her.
Willow lured him away from Vala toward the open waters without any thought of her own safety. She was fully aware of everything around her. She felt no fear; she was focused completely on what was happening. She kept her speed up just enough to stay one step ahead of Adaro to give Vala the chance to escape.
Adaro thrived on the sea creatures' fears, yet sensed none from Willow. It puzzled him, which made him somewhat suspicious, yet he would not give up. He knew this would be his greatest accomplishment, and soon he would rule the sea world. He was aware she already possessed great powers that she would surely use to avoid his grasp, but his desire to have those powers only made his determination stronger. And once she was fully into the open waters without any coral hiding places, she would be his for the taking. He could almost feel her power becoming his, he was that close. Then she would never be able to receive the final gift from Morven, and since Morven was weakening, she too would be his.
Willow raced further into the open waters. She did not call out to Llyr like she had done before; this was something she had to do on her own. She only hoped she could. Her powers were still developing, and Adaro had been strengthening his for a long time. She could hear the voices of wisdom echoing through her head; the voices of the ancients. Though they gave her direction and guidance during difficult times, she would need much more to outwit Adaro, or she too would become one of the spirits of the ancients.
Adaro continued after her. She intensified her glide, yet he stayed with her no matter what speed she increased to. How could he stay this course? She suddenly realized he had destroyed many before her that also had the gift from the ancients, and now those powers of those he had taken were his. Willow tried not to panic, but he was about to overcome her, and she had done all she'd been taught to stay just out of his reach. She could see he was more powerful than she had anticipated.
Then there was another shrieking cry, which held them both riveted for a moment. It was a sound neither one on them had ever heard. Adaro turned briefly enough to see it was Morven. She glided toward both of them with such speed, it startled Adaro. He hesitated. That was enough time for Willow to turn and head for Morven. Adaro caught her flight out of the corner of his eye. "No!" he cried. She cannot reach Morven now. He knew that Morven would give Willow her final gift, and he would be doomed. He raced toward Willow, but she was too fast.
A wave of death swept past Adaro. He turned toward Morven and saw blood spewing from her side, where she had pierced it with a piece of coral. He could not resist the smell of blood, and he knew he would get to her in her weakened state. He knew if he devoured Morven before Willow approached her, she would never receive the final gift of power, and then it would only be a matter of time until Willow too would be his. His plan was even better than he'd expected.
Adaro's attention was fully on Morven. He knew he could overtake her, especially since she was injured. As he raced to take Morven, he noticed she did not try to escape. He assumed she was too weak from her blood loss. She would be an easy kill, and then he would have her powers. This would break the connection between the water people and the ancients. It would destroy their way of life, and there would be no one to defy his rule.
Adaro opened his mighty jaws in anticipation of devouring Morven, ending her rule of the sea and destroying any chance Willow would ever have. He sprang forward, picking up momentum. Just as he was about to overcome her, Morven let out a bloodcurdling sound that reverberated through the entire Sea Kingdom. She was encompassed in an intense, glowing light, and from that brilliance came forth a silver thread out of her forehead. Willow echoed Morven's call, and then the silver thread arced across the waters and entered Willow's forehead. Adaro made one last lunge and took Morven with his mighty jaws, turned, and disappeared into the darkness of the sea.
It was too late for Adaro; the gift had been given to Willow. The bond had been completed through the silver thread that had bridged Willow and Morven. Morven's power was now Willow's, and he knew he was doomed; it was just a matter of time. Willow screamed out for Morven, but it was too late. Adaro had devoured her and retreated to the darkness of the sea. There was nothing she could do.
Vala glided to her side, but she refused to be comforted. He knew she held him accountable for Morven's death. She disappeared, leaving him there in the open waters alone. There was no use going after her. If she did not want him to know where she was, he wouldn't be able to find her, no matter how hard he tried.
His guilt shadowed all else. He could not return to the coral forest, knowing he was responsible. Had he broken the lineage? He thought, What have I done? He wasn't sure where he should go. He could not return to his pod, nor could he seek the advice of Morven any longer. He glided toward the coral forest, pondering what he should do to make this right. He thought, If I could destroy Adaro, then maybe Willow could forgive me. He came closer to the edge of the coral forest and stared into the comfort zone he'd always known but now felt he would be cast out if he entered. He glided on the outskirts for a while and then rested on a rock pile just outside the entrance. How could I have been so reckless? I have caused so much pain to Willow and helped in the destruction of his pod's beloved Goddess of the Sea. How will anyone ever forgive me?
He sat with his head in his hands, then sat up and slowly glided to the cave on the other side of the forest, where he and Willow had often sat, looking out on the open waters. He thought, This is where I will live out my days in isolation. He could not bring any more shame upon the pod. Yes, this is where I'll stay. Willow will find another mate more worthy of her. Now that she will not have the burden of her lineage, maybe she can enjoy the coral forest as normal water people do.
"Oh, such self-loathing." Vala lifted up his head to see who had spoken. There at the edge of the cave was Llyr, facing him. "Do you really think you yielded such power that Morven could not defend herself from the grasps of the Great Sea Beast? Do you think she could not escape with Willow?"
Vala looked puzzled. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Morven could have easily fled with you and Willow, or I could have called forth the Delfin Clan to your rescue before Willow or Morven arrived. This is what Morven planned. There is much more strength now for Willow, and for Morven."
"But Morven is gone."
"Yes, but her spirit is now even greater, as you will see. There will come a day you will see it firsthand, but for now, you must return home."
"But what of Willow?" Vala asked.
"She will be away for a while, but you must continue in the ways Morven taught you. Ellura will be your teacher until Willow returns. You both have a great journey ahead."
23
Willow retreated to the cave of the ancients with tears streaming down her cheeks as she sat on the sands in the shadows of the cave. She pulled herself as far back into the cave as she could, where it was nearly dark. She dwelled on what had just happened, wondering why Morven had chosen that time to give her the final gift. But she knew Morven had planned the whole event to happen just as it had. She also knew Adaro could not enjoy the powers once belonging to Morven, as he'd planned. His hope had been to devour Morven with her powers still intact, thus giving them to him. It would have made it so much easier to capture Willow and claim her powers as well.
She also knew Adaro would not surface for a long time, knowing there would be severe consequences facing him. He had to retreat to the darkness of the sea to assess what he could do next. He knew he must have Willow's powers to rule the seas, but that would be more difficult than ever, for Willow was the Goddess of Sea, with all the power and wisdom of all the ancients. This was not something he would jump into without a well-thought-out plan.
As Willow lay on the sand in the darkness, her tears began to dry yet still stung her face. She drifted off to sleep. It was in her dreams the visions became clear to her—but this time, her body and mind remained quiet. Deep
er and deeper her entire body drifted until there was nothing; she felt and saw nothing. There was only emptiness. Everything had been drained from her body and mind; she was nothing but a shell. Her body lay there in the dark stillness. How long she was there, she didn't know. But very slowly, her thoughts resurfaced, and gradually she sensed a tingle through her toes, then her legs, then up through her body and to the rest of her being.
Willow felt rested, renewed, rejuvenated, and awakened. She knew she was more than she had ever been before. She felt energy rush through her every thought. She sat up and opened her eyes. She was still in the same spot in the back of the cave, yet it glowed with a powerful, luminous light. She wondered what was making it and suddenly realized it was emanating from herself. She was the source of light. She cast a light so brilliant it would blind the average creature.
How could this be? she thought. Where did this light come from, and why am I the one glowing? Suddenly, the winds blew into the cave, and sand swirled around her. She had felt this before and knew it was the ancients approaching. She stood up this time to greet them. It was only moments before the ancients hovered before her. She gently and slowly bowed in