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“Or by life itself. It’s like what Mom described,” I say. “She was part of everything and everything was part of her.”
“Maybe the forge doesn’t need a spark from within.”
“Maybe it needs a spark from everything.”
My eyes drift back to the open doors, leading to the world beyond. Maybe, just maybe, that’s what I need too.
23
Farron
Is it wrong to be at peace? Wrong to sit before this fire and enjoy its warmth and feel contentment listening to the voices of my family around me, the satisfaction of fullness in my belly? Is it wrong to feel all these things when the realms below us are suffering?
This sensation reminds me of the days when Rosalina first arrived at Castletree, her determination catching through wildfire. It had felt like I was finally waking up.
Rosalina broke our curses, and though it seems impossible, I know she’ll succeed here as well.
We’ve gathered around a roaring fire in our new camp on this isle that Kel and Dayton established. They found a building that must have been a center for textiles and have piled blankets and pillows all around.
Our dinner was a bit more filling tonight, with Jack more than eager to show us all the bounty of the Above. Fish caught from isle ponds, bright pink mushrooms sweet as candy, wild vegetables in shades of purple and teal, and tiny gemlike berries that crackle and pop on the tongue.
Airaleth is not short of wonders.
Rosalina sits beside me, legs crossed and prodding the food around her plate. She’s been lost in thought all evening. Disappointment over not being able to read the books? Or trying to analyze what the glowing links in the mural could mean for us?
Regardless of the language barrier, I’m not convinced that knowledge is lost forever. Aurelia once created a spell of universal language in the realms. Maybe she’d teach it to me. Or we can wrangle Jack to create a cipher.
“How are the two most beautiful people in all the realms?” Dayton sits cross-legged before us. The firelight casts his form in a stunning silhouette, turning the edges of his hair gold.
“Oh, you know.” Rosalina sighs. “Trying to contemplate whether I’ll ever be as strong as my mother and be able to connect to every single part of the Vale.”
“Like you connected to the sirens?” Dayton asks. He notices Rosalina’s untouched dinner and grabs it, shoving a spoonful of greens into his mouth. “Or the Deep Guard?”
“It’s more than that,” Rosalina says. “My mother felt the Vale like a second heartbeat. I think…I think until I can do that, I won’t be able to face Sira.”
“You’ve only started to regain your magic,” I remind her. “Who knows what the potential and limits are? It’ll take time to learn these things.”
Rosalina sighs, and her head falls into her hands. “We don’t have time.”
Dayton swallows, then reaches forward and nudges her under her chin. “Do you have time to take a walk with me?”
“It’s too dark, Day,” she says.
From the folds of his tunic, Dayton pulls out three translucent pears, which Jack has since told us are called fulgeo.
Dayton breaks one apart with his large hands and pulls a little worm out, slurping it up. The roots of his hair pulse, then glow until his entire head looks like melted gold. I resist the urge to run my fingers through it.
“Quite the look, huh? But it’ll be enough to light our way.” He cracks open another fulgeo. The little worm wriggles out of the hole. “Open up, Blossom.”
Rosalina grimaces before parting her lips. Dayton lays the little white worm on her tongue, and she swallows with a slurp. “Slimy yet satisfying.”
I can’t help but grin. We may be surrounded by mysteries, but at least one thing is certain.
Rosalina and Dayton can find joy anywhere. And as long as they’re around, so can I.
24
Rosalina
