Page 52 of Healing Elixirs & Wicked Crows

The air shifted around me, and the cold hard marble of the throne room settled beneath my feet once more.I marched through the room, past our people waiting to see our queen, and came to a stop at the bottom of the dais where my mother sat.I refused to drop to my knees to tell her of our victory over the magically crazed creatures of the outer lands.

When I had finished informing her of our army’s progress, a crooked smile lifted the corners of her blood-red lips.A wicked glee flashed behind her gaze as her fingers danced along the arms of her throne.It was then she informed me about the plight of the seelie court, the curses she had laid upon their blood, and the deaths of their royal family.

“I was going to make you heir,” my mother had said, not an ounce of despair held within her voice as she spoke.“The loss of your brother was… inconvenient.”

That pain from her words sent me to my knees.It hit me so hard, it consumed me.They were gone?The two people in my life that had meant anything to me, who had shown me even a kernel of kindness, gone?I refused to believe it.

Yet, this was a memory.I shook my head trying to pull myself back.My mind grasping that thought, this was a memory.I had already been here.Witnessed this.Felt this loss only to learn far too late that they weren’t dead.Just waiting to be found, to be saved.

I turned from her and walked from the throne room without even a backward glance as I left her court.Each step I took increased the darkness clouding my mind.No, that wasn’t right.I didn’t remember any such darkness that day.A cold chill creeped along my spine, through my veins, into my very breath and being.I collapsed to my knees, curling in on myself as weakness overcame me.

My gaze faded.My body numbed.And death approached.

Fluttered and Expanded

ROSEMARY

As I breached the tree line and entered the clearing where the rune-marked stone beckoned like a beacon, my boots skidded to a halt.Before me stood a creature unlike anything I had ever seen, looming over the makeshift bushes I’d arranged to conceal Elias's prone form.Whenever I tried to focus on the creature, it blurred from view, though it seemed motionless.Much like the echo from earlier had.Its body was a swirling mass of shadows, concealing its form in a violently churning void.

I didn’t know what to do.My body refused to move even an inch.My lungs struggled to pull in breath.A limb lifted; its razor thin claws glinted beneath the golden glow of the sun.The bushes split apart, revealing Elias fully.His body so still, curled in on itself.The thing, this nightmare, reached its deadly claws toward Elias, and it was as if the world fell away.

“NO!”My voice tore through the stillness of the late afternoon as my body jolted into action.I lunged forward with my hands outstretched as if I could somehow stop the inevitable, but it was already too late.

The creature clutched Elias, lifting him effortlessly by the head.Time seemed to slow.Its gaping mouth hovered near Elias's brow as it inhaled deeply, drawing a mist from Elias into its maw.It drained him, extracting the remnants of his life.His skin turned as pale as moonlight before the monster released him.Elias's lifeless body crumpled to the ground, motionless.

With Elias forgotten at its feet, the thing made of shadows twisted until its soulless gaze bored into me.I was next.Terror coursed through my veins, rooting me to the spot, my arms still outstretched as if I could save Elias.Slowly, this monster crept toward me, its steps ominous and deliberate.It had followed us this far.There was nowhere to hide, no hope of escape.

I knew what it was now as it shifted closer and closer, shadows twisting and coiling.The echo.The one that had almost claimed me in that clearing that looked so much like home.Where Briar had been waiting with open arms and laughter.It had pursued us, biding its time until we were vulnerable.In seconds, it would consume me just as it had Elias, leaving behind nothing but a husk.

Summoning all my magic, I drew my dagger and widened my stance.I had one chance, and though doubt crept in, seeing Elias’s broken form nearby steeled my resolve.I had to try.I pleaded with the gods for strength as I gripped my dagger tightly.Gritting my teeth, I infused the blade with every ounce of my seelie light, knowing it likely wouldn’t work while watching the echo's approach.

A warmth seeped between my fingertips, featherlight and soothing, but I didn’t dare tear my gaze from the echo as it shifted and slithered toward me.I could only hope it meant my magic had heeded my call.I waited until it was within reach, then, as its clawed arms stretched toward me, I lunged forward, the air whistling past my ears as I used every ounce of my fae-given speed.At the last second, the echo twitched, almost as if it meant to dodge right, but I shifted too, following its dodge to the left and driving my blade deep into its chest, straight into its heart.

The moment my magic pierced the echo's form, something shifted.The walls in my mind, walls I hadn't even known existed, began to crack.Images flashed: a young boy with eyes as turbulent as a stormy sea, laughter by a fountain, promises whispered under starlight.Then the pain hit, white-hot and blinding, and I screamed.

A deafening screech ripped through the night, and I dropped hold of my dagger as I fell to my knees, my hands pressing against my bloodied ears as I cried out from the pain.An explosion knocked me backward as the echo ignited into roiling dark smoke that surrounded me.That screech intensified and I screamed again.Then…

Silence.

I pulled my hands from my ears, blinking down at the crimson pooled within my palms.The black smoke faded, seeping into the ground beneath me.I looked over my body, the silence so loud that my ears rang dully.

“Am… am I alive?”I whispered, the sound of my voice barely audible over the throbbing within my ears.The words tasted… odd.No, that wasn’t right.There was magic in the air.

“Princess…”

I whipped around, my gaze peering through the darkness to find Elias, his voice raspy with pain as he pulled himself up until he sat with his back pressed against the tall stone.His fingers pressed against the bandage at his side while he gritted his teeth through the pain.His hand went limp, his head lulled to his chest, and his shoulders drooped.

With a startled cry, I rushed to his side, dropping to my knees as my hands pressed against his frozen, muddied flesh.“Elias!”

Without thinking twice, I dug my hands into my pack, pulling out what I needed to save him.The echo had tricked me.It hadn’t claimed Elias like I’d seen.Not really.It probably would have if I hadn’t made it back in time.

The silence of the late afternoon died as the forest came alive.Hawks screeched, insects chirped, leaves rustled.It was as if nature herself was eager to help.Dampening a square of cloth, I pressed it to his forehead as I laid him back down.

“Hold on, Elias,” I murmured, my thumb brushing away a lock of his dark hair.“I’m here.”

I mixed the herbs and flowers together, creating an elixir that would counteract the poison’s effect while also promoting healing.I no longer had the moonbells, so I made do with other ingredients held within my pack.

The scent of lavender and mint filled the meadow as I crushed them between my fingers before grinding them with my mortar and pestle.I drizzled a drop of honey into the fine powder to sweeten the bitter taste.Then, carefully, I pulled forth the daemonacus flower, the final ingredient.