Page 143 of Journey to the Elderoak
He took a deep breath. “It was decades ago. My…” He paused and ran his fingers through his hair. “I was in love with someone. His name was Finnick. We had taken a trip to another town when we were ambushed by a group of rogue soldiers. Finnick wasn’t much of a fighter and a soldier had a knife to his throat. I killed them.”
“All of them?” she whispered.
“Each and every one. My magic erupted so quickly, they barely had a chance to act before they all had vines speared through their throats.”
She gaped at him. “Does the great tribulation always involve someone you care about being in danger?”
“Not necessarily, but there’s usually some type of peril. Whether it’s a loved one, yourself or even your home. A moment of desperation.”
They sat for a moment before Ava dared to ask, “What happened to Finnick?”
Raine looked at her. She had never seen him so sad. “He died. Thirty years ago. A week before we were to marry, he was traveling back to Mosshaven after spending time in another town with his family. He was ambushed by soldiers again. But this time I wasn’t there to save him.”
A lump formed in Ava’s throat. “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.” He gave her a sad smile and turned away.
Ava grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Was he your soulbond?”
“No,” he said. “But I loved him.”
“Would you ever settle down again?”
“If I found the right person…probably. Definitely.” He turned to her again. “But for now, I’m having fun. Get up. Let’s try one more time with your magic.”
They stood and she faced him.
“Hold out your hand and close your eyes. Imagine that light deep down in your belly. Watch it glow and slowlyvisualize it making its way through your body, to your hand.”
“You know, you’re not fun in training. Serious Raine takes over,” she lamented.
“I’ll be fun when you can do something. Stop complaining and make a damn flower, little frog.”
She huffed and closed her eyes, holding out her palm, and visualized the light like he instructed. Ten minutes of nothing.
Sensing her frustration, Raine said, “Let’s end today’s session. We’ll try again tomorrow.”
“Why haven’t you shown me your powers since we started training?” she asked as they walked back to the castle from the training rings, passing through the herb garden outside the entrance.
“I’ll show you mine when you show me yours,” he crooned.
“You always make everything sound so dirty.”
“It’s what makes me so charming.”
They wandered back inside, preparing to meet everyone else for dinner.
Since Ava recovered from her assassination attempt, Raine had been training her with magic after lunch while she continued combat and weapons in the mornings. Those sessions were much easier now that she was in her fae form. She was faster, more agile and had better vision which had allowed her to take Casimir down a handful of times, eliciting a sense of triumph at her improvement. She’d even completed the obstacle course again, a piece of cake compared to before.
“So, who’s the most powerful out of all of you?” she asked.
“That’s a hard question. If you’re asking about raw magic, probably both Cas and me, though I have much better control. He’s the best out of us at combat fighting and prefers it over magic. If he would use his astral powers every once and a while, he’d be unstoppable.”
“Why doesn’t he use them?”
“It reminds him too much of his sister’s death. And of his father.”
“That man is an asshole.”
