Page 95 of Maleen

“What is it?” Killian grumbles, the first word he’s spoken since Aemon got stung.

She stares at me, her old eyes full of fear. “A fire lily.”

I shake my head. “I don’t have one. I don’t even know what that is!”

She holds the grimoire and turns it toward us to show us a drawing of an orange flower. “It’s a rare bloom that only grows in this forest.”

I pull myself out of Jesper’s hold and walk towards the flower sketch like I’m in a trance. “I’ve seen this before…” I whisper, trying to remember where. “It glows in the dark…”

She nods. “Yes, and thankfully it blooms all year round. Find the plant and you will have a flower. But there are only a handful that I know of, and none of them are within a day’s walk of here.”

“We won’t be walking, we’ll be riding, or running if we have to,” states Talyn, looking impatient to get started.

Killian says, “But we don’t know where we’re going.”

“We can split up.” Jesper twirls his blades, ready for action. “One of us will find one eventually.”

“No.” Killian’s gruff tone is final. “You are staying here to help his pain. And there’s no way our heart is going into that forest alone.”

Celeste is restless. “I can tell you where the nearest ones are, but you’ll be cutting it fine. He only has another twelve hours at most. By sunrise, we will lose him.”

I don’t hear their responses. It’s then the memory surfaces—when I was escaping the castle that fateful night, the night I lost the life I should have lived and found my twisted destiny. When I finally got the courage to open my eyes and look around as Gretchen and I fled through this forest, I remember thinking it was strange how nothing attacked us, and how dark it was, but I remember seeing a glowing orange flower as we flew by, thinking it was beautiful.

“I know where one is,” I tell her. “I can blink there and grab it and be back in moments.” I look at my mates and Killian steps forward.

“I’m coming with you,” he grumbles, stepping up to my side.

Celeste sighs in relief. “Okay, I will start prepping the potion. It will take a few hours to brew. One of you males needs to keep constantly cleaning the wound. The venom is nasty, and that black ooze will make the wound fester if it’s not wiped away. I’ll tend to him myself as soon as the potion is simmering.” She glances at me. “Be safe.”

I nod and grab Killian’s hand, pushing aside guilt and instead thinking of the surrounding forest where I saw the flower, and everything fades to black as the shadows wrap around me.

The darkness fades from sight in our new location and Killian checks we’re safe before spinning me toward him. “Stop blaming yourself for this. If any of us were closer to you, we would have done what he did. He blinked in front of you to protect our heart—you.”

“I would have done it for any of you too. I know you’re right, but I can’t help but blame myself—if I was faster, if I didn’t scream and just reacted, then we wouldn’t be in this situation. Then I wouldn’t be on the verge of losing my mate.” I sob and then choke as I try to keep my emotions at bay.

He sighs, wrapping his massive arms around me. “He’s going to be okay. Celeste seems to know what she’s doing. And once she saves him, I won’t be suspicious of the old bat anymore.”

“Why were you suspicious? I got nothing but warm motherly vibes from her.”

He shrugs. “Everyone I don’t know is suspicious.”

A choked, tearful laugh escapes me. “Right.”

I take a breath and look around the area; nothing is familiar, but is at the same time. We’re on a path and it looks smaller than I remember from my childhood, but it’s definitely the same one we rode down that night. I see a gnarled tree root that looks so much like a snake it spooked our horse until Gretchen made it jump right over. Which means… this isn’t the same place. Disappointment squeezes my chest.

“Don’t worry. It might be close. Let’s check. How big is it?” Killian peers into the darkness between trees, walking as he searches.

I cover more ground by heading in the other direction, towards the tree root. The way the shadows shift make it look like it’s moving.

“Ravina, watch out!” Killian bellows.

I’m already jumping backwards as the tree root—or should I say snake—slithers forwards and launches itself right at me. I roll and spring up onto my feet and pull shadows from every direction to hold it suspended in mid-air, as Killian runs to my position. In a heartbeat he grabs it by the tip of its tail and uses his Vopn Fö strength to whip its head against the nearest tree, crushing its skull.

Adrenaline courses like fire through my veins as I glance around and see nothing but gnarled roots, thick brush and no glowing flower. Frustration builds as I worry for Aemon. What if I can’t find it? Would the Fates be so cruel to take him away from me—from us—after everything we’ve been through?

No, I can’t think like that. I need to focus. I try to think about where I’ve seen it before and grab Killian’s hand, blinking us somewhere else. Killian raises his blade, ready for danger at any moment—but the coast seems clear here too. Yet as we look around, I don’t see the fire lily anywhere. Tears spring to my eyes. I know I’ve seen it, but what if I can’t find it in time? What if he—

“Little Warrior, look at me,” Killian hums softly. “You’re panicking and your thoughts are erratic. If you’re not careful we could get lost in the shadow realm and never find our way out.”