Mist. Back to the mist. With every inhale, I invite this…healing?My fingers twitched.Not healing. Pacifying? Whatever. I invite this calming mist into my being. It starts at the top of my head and flows down through to my limbs.Time stretched by, and my muscles grew heavy. My breathing deepened.
And with every exhale, I expel… My mind whirred, and I felt my muscles tense all over again. A trickle of heat, of frustration that would give way to anger if I weren’t careful, started to form in my palms.
“It’s not about the words. Don’t focus on them so much as the process of pushing out that violent energy.”
Kaori’s advice bloomed in my mind. One of her many lessons I’d yet to grasp, apparently. But if it worked and made this meditation go by faster, then I was all for it. I stopped thinking about the exact words she’d chosen and instead homed in on my breathing. On the rise and fall of my chest. On welcoming gentle thoughts and eliminating my anger.
There we go. This isn’t so bad. I bet we’re already at least halfway there. Before I could stop myself, I opened my eyes and glanced at the weathered, standing clock beside the hearth.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Three lousy minutes. That was it. That was all I’d managed. Throwing my hands up, I abandoned my pose and started to pace. I eyed the door each time I passed it. I was in control now, right? I could handle some free time. Some fresh air. My feet slowed to a stop, and I shoved my hands into the pockets of my leather coat. My fingers grazed something cool, and my heart dropped.
Effie. Gently, I rolled the copper key between my forefinger and thumb. Ever since I’d been raised by Kaori’s legendary feline that fateful day, I hadn’t summoned my beast. I couldfeelthe amplified anger, as if someone had set fire to my veins. I didn’t want to hurt Effie. Ever. But she’d come of her own accord outside Midnight Jester when Darrien’s men attacked, and she’d seen exactly what I’d become.
I extracted the key and held it out before me. Effie hadn’t fled at the sight of me. Rather, she’d rushed to my side despite it all. If she didn’t fear me, then… Thinking only of my beast and the bond between us, I focused on the key and opened the beast realm door. Effie came flying out without hesitation, her joyful birdcalls echoing throughout the room. She perched on my shoulder and rammed her head into my cheek. Then, playfully nipped at my ear.
“Hey, girl.” I craned my neck toward her and scratched beneath her chin. “We good?”
A happy chirp slipped through her beak. Relief chased away the tension lingering between my shoulder blades. For days I’d been working to control the monster within me. Right now, all I wanted was to simply be me. And I didn’t want to stay cooped up in this room for a moment longer.
With a wry grin, I gestured toward the door. “C’mon. We’ve got a little time before Kaori gets back. Let’s explore.” In a matter of seconds, I’d fashioned a small, slender pick out of shadows and opened the door. The corridors of the castle were quiet, but I moved quickly and kept close to the walls. With the help of my shadows, I suppressed the sound of my footfalls, descended the marble stairs and crept toward the exit. Effie remained perched on my shoulder, somehow aware of the need to be both still and silent. Once we hit the lawns, though, she stretched her wings and took to the skies, erupting in giddy chirps that mingled with the already-present litany of beast calls.
I tracked her erratic flight pattern and grinned. One Effreft enjoying the afternoon sun wouldn’t draw that much attention. Not when every Charmer in sight had a beast of their own by their side. Hooking a right, I made a beeline for a spiraling staircase wide enough for several people to stand side by side on the steps. It wrapped around a gargantuan tree and climbed upward to a network of buildings high in the leaves.
I’d never explored Hireath before. And as I strolled about—careful not to directly interact with anyone in case Kaori caught wind of my whereabouts—I was fascinated by their way of life. Vendor stalls with fresh fruits and baubles and flowy clothing so unlike the restrictive garb in Wilheim. Charmers everywhere, bright smiles on their faces and beasts weaving between their ankles. They didn’t exchange bits either. The more I watched, the clearer it became that their society was exchange based. Dried fruits for silken thread. Promises for future wares when they didn’t have anything immediately on hand to offer. It was…bizarre.
It also explained why Leena had resorted to other means of work outside of Hireath in order to survive in our world.
Before long, my gaze traveled where it always did when I found myself in a town—to the kids. They rushed around me playing a game I didn’t know, shouting at the top of their lungs and racing across wooden bridges. They were boisterous and full of life. They had friends, beasts, families. There were no alleys housing malnourished street kids, no traces of displacement at all. They were all…loved. My chest tightened. If only I had been so lucky.
Stop griping. I shook my head just as Effie landed on my shoulder, a soft, almost-worried coo accompanying a nudge to my cheek.
“I’m okay.” Forcing a smile, I scratched the back of her head. She narrowed her eyes as if in disbelief but caved once my fingers started in earnest. Appeased, at least for now.
“Whoa, you have an Effreft? How did you manage that?” A nearby boy screeched to a halt before me, pausing in the middle of whatever game he was playing with his friends to stare at Effie. The rest of his group rushed over, each one displaying a similar look of awe. Toothy smiles beamed up at me.
Grinning, I crouched before them so they could get a closer look. “I have a really good friend who was kind enough to give her to me. Want to pet her?”
“Yes!” It was hard to tell exactly which child had answered, given they all squealed and inched closer. Small fingers delicately trailed the length of Effie’s mint-green body, and she eyed them with a mixture of delight and caution. After a few moments, she deemed them safe and hopped off my shoulder to roll on the ground before them.
“Go ahead, scratch her belly,” I said, indicating to her soft underside. “She loves that.”
“I wonder if she loves being as reckless as her owner.”
My entire body stiffened, and I bit back a groan as I slowly turned in place. Looking up at Kaori, I offered her a sheepish grin. “Hey, there.”
She folded her arms. “This doesn’t look like meditation.”
“Maybe not in the traditional sense.” I glanced back at the kids. Completely absorbed by Effie’s antics—she was now flapping her wings and chasing her tail, fully aware of the giggles she was eliciting from her new fan club—they didn’t notice Kaori. Or maybe they didn’t care.
“Not in any sense.”
“I was on my way back, I promise. I just needed—”
She turned on her heels, the end of her long coat smacking me in the face. “If you’re not back in that room before I arrive—and I’m on my way now—you’ll regret it.” Then, thrusting her hand outward, she summoned her legendary feline and slid onto her back. She stroked her silver hide and then bent her head low so her lips just barely ghosted the beast’s ear. “Run, Stella.”
Right before her feline bolted, I swore I saw the smallest of smiles.
“That’s not fair!” I shouted after her retreating form. Yet I couldn’t help but grin. I turned to my beast and signaled for her to land on my shoulder. “C’mon, Effie. We’ve got work to do.”
