“Well, I see no better time than the present, no?” I said as I stood from the chair.
“Sit down then,” she demanded.
I raised a brow at her.
“Your body will be limp as your conscious leaves it. It is better if you are sitting.” She tilted her head to the side in a challenge, and I nearly laughed.
“You’re doing this now?” Jace growled.
“We’re running out of time, handsome.” I sent him a wave of love down the bond, and a tiny sense of calm washed over him.
He turned to Veli. “How does she come back?”
“For her to return, she must have the will and desire to come back to her body.”
I leaned back in the chair, and my stare met Veli’s. “Do your worst, witch.” I gave her a wink.
She shook her head at me. “Always causing trouble.”
Her once violet eyes glowed in their new hue of pink as she mumbled ancient words from the gods, aiming her taloned finger in my direction. The force of the power draped over me instantly.
As the magic took over, I thought of the day in the forest when Nox and I had been under attack by the centaurs—how they freed us when they watched the willow tree protect me as my blood spilled into its soil.
My mind was no longer my own, and the vision of the war chamber melted away into a twisting, morphing haze of the haunted woods.
I stood deep within the Sylis Forest. The tree’s canopy above blocked out the moonlight, and the area was cast in a foggy mist. Moss covered the twisted roots of the trees from where they protruded from the ground, and the sound of buzzing insects filled the air.
I lifted my hands to my face, surprise taking over me as it appeared as if I was wholly there, just as Idina had when she appeared in my room.
I followed the sound of conversations, carefully navigating my way through the forest, stepping over the twisted roots, scattered rocks, and crunchy fallen leaves, only to find that no sound came from my steps. It was as if I were a ghost.
I peered around the corner of a large oak tree to see the herd of centaurs gathered among huts and a small fire. My eyes wandered over each of them, first immediately recognizing Agdronis, the centaur who had tried to kill me, and then finally, my gaze landed on Bruhn.
I steadied my breathing as I forced myself to walk up to the herd, fully aware that they wouldn’t take something like this lightly.
Agdronis immediately spotted me and nocked an arrow into his bow, alerting the others. They all scattered and turned to face me as I calmly continued to approach them.
I put my hands up. “I’m not here to harm you. You know me.”
The centaurs were chirping their alerting calls, as Bruhn’s gaze locked on mine. My steps halted as my hands remained up in surrender. A scowl crawled across his face and he moved to gallop toward me.
The others followed, all with arrows nocked. If I was truly here…I might’ve actually been nervous, but the comforting thought that they couldn't harm me in this form made me nearly crack a grin.
“What are you doing back here?” he demanded.
“I come to you weaponless and seek your aid.”
“Have we not helped you enough by allowing you to leave my forest once, Elianna Valderre?”
A wicked smirk crept up my face. “Seeing how you know my name, then you also must know that this is trulymyforest, not yours, Bruhn.”
“But do you sit upon the Islan throne? Last we heard, you do not.”
“And that’s why I’m here,” I admitted as I gradually lowered my arms to my sides. The other centaurs pulled their arrows back tighter, and I slowed my movements.
He laughed at me. Not even a chuckle, but a full-on laugh, which only aggravated me. “And why would we do such a thing? This is not our war.”
“It has become a war of the realm. For a Valderre no longer sits on that throne, and she seeks to destroy the very last of the bloodline.” I paused for a moment as his eyes roamed over me, somewhat softening.
