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“You’ve been exploring beyond my reach lately. It delights me that you are learning to walk on your own, but that does not mean I do not feel your absence, my love.” She nuzzled my face, her warm, homely scent branching into my lungs, softening my limbs until I clung to her and reluctantly nuzzled back.
She rubbed her cheek against mine, her hands running over my hair and down my arms to exchange scents. “I sent Faelyn and Ayen not because I thought you wouldn’t be successful. I did so because I wanted you near me.”
I leaned into my mother’s touch, finding it more difficult to remain upset. Guilt pricked my chest. I’d been spending so much time with Eon, not knowing that my constant absence would trouble my mother so. I knew she worried when I wasn’t within her sight, but I didn’t ever think it would make her feel… lonely without me.
“Forgive me, mother,” I murmured, nuzzling my face under her chin, bowing my spine. “For wandering off and leaving you for too long. A little taste of freedom made me foolishly selfish.”
“You, too, will leave me one day, my love.” She stroked from my head to my back, winding her other arm around me tightly, like she wanted to draw me into her and lock me away in the safety of her rib cage. “Until then, let me fill my lungs with your sweet scent.”
I scrunched my nose. “I smell like bitter herbs and odd spices.”
A soft, muted laugh vibrated within her chest and echoed through me. My mother squeezed me in her arms one more time before releasing me, tapping under my chin. “I need you to go to the lake and bring me some srygi.”
“Srygi?” My eyes had to be sparkling now, the weight that previously sat on my chest now eased. “What are you making?”
“Srygi stew and pickled kalai.”
Saliva flooded my mouth, taste buds tingling as I rushed to swallow, nodding rapidly. “Yes! I shall bring enough to feed everyone!”
My mother laughed again, and the giggles of other females reminded me that we weren’t alone. The herb garden was a common area, after all.
“As much as you can carry, but do not snack on any on your way back. Be quick about it so you can help me season it to your liking.”
I nodded again, jumping to my feet. “Faster than a clap of thunder, mother.”
And I was gone, dashing to the lake where I knew srygi grew abundantly, almost excessively. My mouth salivated again, my limbs shaking with excitement. Keia kept up behind me, the flutter of her wings drowned by the thumps of my feet. I passed our Elders and my father making their way to where I left my mother and the other females. In my excitement and rush, I could only offer a squealed greeting and a frantic wave of both arms as I continued along.
By the time I reached the lake, I was panting.
Keia landed on the soft grass while I made my way to the water. Turning with my body partially submerged, I gave my companion a small nod before I allowed the water to pull me in.
My skin tingled, like the faintest touch caressing along my arms and shoulders, stroking through my floating hair. Down I went, the light dimming the deeper I plunged, but not hindering my sight in the slightest. My body glowed faintly, but even without it, I would have been able to see perfectly.
Since I didn’t transform into my element, my movements were slower than I’d liked. But transforming would have meant that I turned invisible, stripped of my materialistic body and left as the divine spirit I was created to be. It wasn’t necessary to gather srygi.
I scanned the dark depths, letting out a small squeal when I located a few of the plant. Soft and chewy, the plant came in various hues of purple, deep blue, green, and red; each colour had its own unique flavour, but generally they all tasted almost the same with minor differences—the purple was the sweetest, deep blue was mild, green was sour, and red was just a touch salty.
Gripping a few clusters as close to the roots as possible, I yanked with all my strength, keeping at least two strands of each cluster to allow them to regrow themselves. When my hands and mouth were full, I kicked back up to the surface to place my collection near Keia, who was picking on her feathers. I sank back to gather more green and red srygi, humming softly to myself as I tugged and floated, letting the water move me.
I wondered how my mother would make the stew this time—sweet and mild? Sour with some spice? A touch of saltiness to complement the steamed rice she’d—
A shudder rippled through me, vicious and violent like a physical hand strangling me. I gasped, my grip on the syrgi loosening until they floated around me. Iced terror flooded my veins. My gaze darted all around me, and when I found no threat, I gathered the srygi I collected and rushed to the surface, urging the water to push me faster.
I rose to high-pitched screams and the scent of smoke. Thick and heavy in the air, it burned my lungs and choked me, made me cough and hack until my eyes stung and my body trembled. My breath left me in pained wheezes, and I met Keia’s wide, panicked eyes when more terrified screams sliced through the air.
Smoke, the smell of burning…
Fire.
I jerked into action, launching out of the water and into a sprint as I raced to where the chaos and destruction blackened the crisp air and darkened the afternoon sky. People hurried with buckets of water and shouted instructions, sobs and wails and whimpers making it all a cacophony of sounds barging into my head without making any sense. It was madness. I couldn’t latch on to one word, but the terror and panic and despair cutting into my chest and squeezing my lungs were real.
Fire. How could fire this big and this destructive be here? Something of this scale—to cause so much smoke and chaos—couldn’t be an accident or a mistake.
Everyone was rushing in the direction of the herb garden—
The herb garden.
I choked on my next inhale, wide-eyed, feeling my heart plunge to the bottom of my stomach. My legs burned, dirt and desperation kicking behind me, my pulse drumming in my ears.
