I manage to force my eyes open to find Ludo too close for me to focus on.
“How bad is it?” I croak out.
He stands up on his larger hind feet and stretches his hands as high as he can reach to show me that it’s worse than we thought it’d be. Not that I needed his answer. The throb of agony coursing through me is all the answer I needed.
Placing my hands flat onto the ground, I push myself up onto my feet with mangled cries of pain and exhaustion. I stumble through my home, catching myself on the nearby branches and tables to attempt to keep myself upright. By the time I reach the doorway to my home, sweat is dripping off my forehead, down my temples, and coating my body.
Tears spring to my eyes at the ruined mess of my garden. The stream has swollen and flooded the eastern sector, while the tracks of loose soil and debris have swept through the rest of the area.
Ludo taps his back foot and runs in a circle, begging me to transform him into a more helpful beast.
“I am too weak to harness the aether.” I choke back a sob, my reality crashing down on me. In my weakened state, this will take me months to clear out.
At least Rami is safe.
I have to concentrate to move my feet beneath me. The pain radiates up my leg with each step, attempting to force me back to the ground. But I grit my teeth and fight. The process is slowly growing faster, each step building my confidence. Until my feet entangle themselves.
The ground rises up quickly to meet me, my body landing with a loudoomph. All the air rushes from my lungs in one blow, strangling the cry of agony as it tears from my throat.
My fate is hopeless. The need to remain in this spot crawls up my spine, begging me to give up. If only I had given in to his advances, perhaps he would not have cursed me to this existence. Because this life is no life.
I dig my fingers into the cool, wet dirt. Mother Earth’s strength tickles my fingertips, reminding me of her power.
I was true to myself and should never feel pity. He made his choice, and drug me into his wicked game without my consent. Living a lie would have been a far worse fate, though perhaps a shorter curse than this one.
“Mother Earth, hear your son’s plea. Lend me enough strength to heal your wounds.”
Heat so hot it’s on the precipice of too much, starts at my fingertips and works its way up my arms and then to my entire body. Every cell comes alive with the tingle of Her power. The ache of Her land becomes my aches alongside Her strength.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
The push to standing is only marginally easier with Mother Earth’s aid. But the power that has cursed me threatens to force Her strength from me.
I move as quickly as I can, collecting the strewn Agastache plants in hopes of salvaging as many as I can.
But it is not meant to be. My strength wanes as I bury the third plant. Each plant salvaged adds to my resolve, and yet it’s still not enough. I only manage half a row when I feel the familiar tug of the sun rising low in my spine. Lacking the strength to return to my bedroll, I remain amongst my flowers. The glimpse of their array of colors is a balm to my overworked body.
Only to be repeated the next day.
And the next.
Worry for Rami lies forgotten, buried beneath the Herculean task I must accomplish.
Besides, he belongs among the world. He should live with those who can give him a future. He does not need to waste away here with me.
Chapter 31
Rami's POV
The scratch of my pencil on paper echoes through my small bedroom as I frantically scribble out the last of my math homework. The only sound in the otherwise silent space. A pen would be quieter, but I don’t care what anyone thinks; doing math in pen is sacrilegious.
“Rami?” Grandma Julia’s soft voice precedes a delicate knock on my closed bedroom door.
“Come in,” I answer.
The faint creak of the old hinges announces her entrance, but I don’t look up from my work. She waits patiently until I set down my pencil and meet her gaze.
“I was going to run to the store. I’d appreciate some company if you’re done with your work.”
