Page 40 of When Ashes Fall

“I have no idea, but there must be something on eternals who can communicate with animals and the dead. Some demigods could speak to animals, but they were born with the ability; I wasn’t.”

“Do you think you’re part demigod?”

“I don’t know. I never met my father. My mother said he was a priest, but she could have—and most likely did—lied about that.”

Being part demigod might explain why I got through my Needing without any sexual release and why it didn’t take as long as it did for the other casters. The explanation fit, but I didn’t like it.

I wanted to believe the Needing had been as bad for me as it was for other casters and that I’d gotten through it on sheer will and determination. I wanted to believe I was truly different from the rest of my kind, and not because I was only half caster, but because I chose to be.

It was the only damn choice I’d made in ten years!

“Maybe, if you are only part caster and part demigod, your abilities wouldn’t have manifested since birth,” Gizzi suggested. “Maybe they only came out after you reached maturity.”

“Maybe,” I reluctantly agreed.

“Did you see anything about demigods communicating with the dead?”

“No.”

“Shit.”

“You keep saying exactly what I’m feeling.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page. What do you think is going on?” he asked.

“I have no idea. That’s why I’m hoping the library can help.”

Gizzi sat back on his haunches as Zephyr buzzed into the room.

“Oh goody, more!” Zephyr clapped his hands when he spotted the new potion brewing. “This stuff is working miracles.”

“You can’t give it to the same plants today that you did yesterday.”

He held up one hand and placed the other over his heart as he grinned at me. “I swear I won’t give it to the same plants. I plan on going outside the castle today.”

My heart yearned to go with him, but I knew Knox wouldn’t allow it. “There are some roses inside the meeting lodge that really need help. They’ve been overlooked.”

“I’m on it.” Zephyr floated over to me, grasped my cheeks, and planted a kiss on my forehead. “You’re a genius.”

I chuckled as he released me. “I’m not a genius. I just know how to work with plants and create potions. That’s part of being a caster.”

“I guess that’s true, but you’re sharing your gifts with us, and for that, you’re a genius.”

“I can’t argue with that… or at least I won’t.”

I’d be more of a genius if I could figure out how to escape Wildwood, but I was still coming up with nothing.

“Do you know where the cemetery is?” I asked Zephyr.

He flew over to settle on one of the counters. His crossed legs swung back and forth as he watched me. “Of course I do. Why?”

“We discovered a headstone while I was harvesting mushrooms today. It belongs to a young boy, and I was wondering if his family was in the cemetery.”

“It’s on the far edge of town, near the woods. It’s a beautiful place with a view of the forest and hundreds of flowering trees… or at least they used to flower.”

“They will again one day.”

“Especially if we keep using your potions on them.”