Page 104 of Sent To A Fantasy World and Now All the Men Want Me 7

Stars danced in the clear sky above us. Not a cloud in sight. We walked back through the woods and found the stone path leading back to the castle. I breathed in the cool night air and tried to process what I’d seen. Phantasia had been shown Armin. Shown the life they could have together.

Just like I’d seen Onyx. My heart’s desire, the willow had told me, showing the happy future I desperately wanted for us.

“You wield the power to make it so.”

But how?

A question that hovered in the back of my mind after I reunited with my men at the castle and scarfed down a late dinner of steamed rice and strips of smoked salmon. They asked what happened at the willow, but I couldn’t form the words. My mind needed time to sit with it before I could tell them.

Only once we were in our room later that evening did I finally open up to them about the strange visions.

“You saw the five saints that came before you?” Briar asked, handing me a steaming cup of honey milk tea from the platter he’d brought from the kitchen. He and I sat at the small table near the lit hearth. The heat of the flames were comforting.

I nodded. “Their faces were all blurred, but they had blue flames in their fingers.”

I shared what each of the saints had said. Combat. Prophecy and illusions. Seduction. Green magic.

“Seduction?” Rowan sat on the window bench, scratching Oreo’s ears as the pup curled up beside him. “As in, using it as a ploy against an enemy?”

“Like a weapon.” Briar stood from the table and slowly paced across the rug. Much like me on the verge of a ramble, I sensed his whirlwind of emotions as he silently deliberated whatever was running through that handsome head of his.

“Specs?” Rowan watched him pace. “You’re gonna wear out the floor.”

“What if…” Briar flipped around and changed direction. He brought a hand to his chin and rubbed. “It would make sense, but without proper analysis of the former saints, it’s only a theory.”

“Physician?” Maddox was in bed, shirtless and resting against the headboard. Candlelight flickered over his toned abs and numerous scars. “We haven’t the ability to read your thoughts. Use your words.”

“Right.” Briar offered us a sheepish smile before stopping in place. “From the information I’ve gathered on Hallowed Saints, they each share certain powers. Purification is, of course, one of them. The ability to destroy dark miasma, chase away darkness, and neutralize poisons. However, after what Evan shared with us, I have a theory… what if each saint also has a power unique to them?”

I paused with the teacup at my lips. A unique power?

“Combat,” Briar added, his excitement building as he further explained. “The saint who spoke that word must’ve been quite the exceptional warrior on top of his saintly gifts. Prophecy and illusions as well. Imagine being able to predict your enemy’s movements.”

“That would certainly help turn the tide in a war,” Maddox said, brow furrowing. His blue eyes flickered to me, and that frown deepened. “They were revealing their specialty in the battles they fought.”

I nearly spilled my tea. “Vera said destruction and curses. So much darker compared to the others.”

“Perhaps because, like your father said in the memory from the elixir, she chose dark instead of light,” Briar suggested, returning to the table and sitting beside me. “Her power became corrupted by that darkness.”

“What do you think mine is?” I asked, peering at my teacup. A knot formed in my chest when recalling that tingle in my fingertips and the boiling anger in my veins the other times my powers had stirred. What if my special gift would be dark too?

“Your baking.” Lake sat on the couch, legs pulled up with him on the cushion.

“Surely not.” I breathed out a rough laugh. “Baking muffins can’t be my superpower. I want a do-over.”

Briar chuckled and reached over to squeeze my hand. “I wouldn’t dismiss it so easily, love. Think for a moment. Even when your powers were dormant, your food still lifted all our spirits. More than that, the knights spoke of how eating one of your meals at the end of a long, tiresome day of training helped ease their aches and stresses.”

“It’s true, Ev,” Callum said. He stood in front of the tall window, his trousers hanging low on his hips. Scars covered him like they did Maddox, traveling from his ribs and up to the side of his neck. Wounds that nearly took him from me. “After the Fenrir attack when I was in the medical ward, you cooked for me, remember?”

I nodded, throat tight.

“At the time I didn’t think much of it, but it made me feel better,” he continued, his brown eyes soft as they met mine. “Not only my mood either, but my bodily aches. Perhaps that is your gift. Healing those around you with the food you prepare with love.”

“With your powers no longer dormant, imagine if you were to harness those healing properties,” Briar said. “Food or drink that restores energy better than any tonic. The ability to heal both physical and mental wounds. The possibilities are endless.”

“Or to manipulate someone,” Rowan suggested. “Like a power of persuasion. One drink of that coffee you make or a bite of a muffin and the person does whatever you tell them to. That could come in handy during war.”

“He’s not going to war,” Maddox snapped. “Not while I still live and breathe.”