Page 17 of Healing Elixirs & Wicked Crows

From the front room, I grabbed my pack and pulled my cloak from the door peg.I threw it over my shoulders until it concealed my pack.I stood in the doorway for long minutes, memorizing every detail of our sanctuary.The way morning light fell across Briar's peaceful face, the herbs drying in neat bundles by the window, the worn quilt our mother had stitched with such care— that Magdalyn had one day brought to us out of the blue.This cottage had been our refuge, our haven from a world that wanted us dead.Leaving felt like betrayal.

But staying would be the greater betrayal.I pressed my palm to the doorframe, whispering the protection spell I'd renewed every day for over a century.The wood hummed with accumulated magic, decades of love and care layered into its very grain.

I'm not abandoning you, I told Briar silently.I'm fighting for you.

Only then did I step outside, carrying the cottage's peace with me like armor against what lay ahead.

The earth knew my grief, had absorbed my tears for a century.Now I asked it to hold my hope instead.I placed an open palm along the bark."In my absence through the wood, please protect what's mine if you could.Your tender care is what I need, my call to you I hope you heed.Shift and conceal what belongs to me, let no eyes beyond this point see."

I felt a soft pulse of magic in answer as what little seelie magic I could harness responded.As if the trees agreed, an audible exhale thrummed as magic thickened and hummed in the space between us.

A few more beats of silence passed, and then I stood and entered the forest.

A Map of Scars

ELIAS

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?I swear we’ve passed this tree at least three times now," Rosemary asked as we trudged along the path that led through the borderlands and into fae territory.She paused, looking at the ever-darkening trees surrounding us, the foliage above so thick that barely any sunlight trickled to the moist ground beneath our feet.Every step we took, the atmosphere changed, charged more and more with magic that seemed to sizzle within the air around us.

I couldn't keep my annoyance at bay as a I heaved a heavy sigh."Yes.For the tenth time, I’m absolutely positive that we’re going the right way," I informed her."The forest plays tricks on the untrained mind."

I walked a few feet ahead of her, turning to watch as she took in the land before us.Like me, she could feel the magic in her veins as strongly as I could, the wildness of it as it danced across our skin.I breathed easier within its hold.

It was a magic that called out only to fae.Wild and possessive.Unpredictable.And powerful.In many ways, the pure essence of fae magic reminded me of the woman with me.She was definitely unpredictable.

Our journey had only just begun and she’d already scolded my pace half a dozen times, accusing me of not taking her quest seriously enough.There really is no hope for my boots at this point.Yet, by now, we’d already stopped three times for her to examine… a plant.They looked identical to me, but Rosemary's keen eyes spotted differences in each petal, flower, and stem.She would ask if I knew what she had discovered, her fingers brushing the plant with a reverence that captivated me.Her face lit up with wonder as she softly explained the plant's uses, harvesting a small portion for later.

"When you came of age, for your ceremony, what was your magical affinity?"I asked, trying to distract her mind.She needed to be focused on the path ahead.

"I don't know."She shrugged, her boots shuffling on the dirt-trodden path.We would need to move deeper into the wood and off the beaten path soon.There were plenty of darker souls who would prey upon weary travelers too foolish to know better than to travel these paths.

"What do you mean: you don't know?"I asked, pulling two apples from my pack and handing one to her.She eyed it carefully, even bringing it to her nose to give it a sniff, before she sank her teeth into it.I swallowed deeply as I watched her lips slide against the shiny red skin.When her gaze met mine, I smiled."It's not enchanted.Remember?"I held up the back of my hand for her inspection, showing her the tattoo that matched her own."I can't harm you."

Already, the path had become thick with overgrowth, an indication that we needed to step off it soon.She took another bite of apple, licking the juices from her lower lip before she replied.I’d become so fascinated with her mouth that I'd almost forgotten my question.

"I was too young to have a ceremony or to learn how to develop my magic when..."her words trailed off, and a faraway look passed over her face.

I waited, enveloped by the forest's whispers as we ate in silence.Finally, she backed away and started walking.I climbed to my feet and hurried after her.

"Princess," I called out to her, watching as her back straightened and her fists clenched at her sides.

She turned and snarled at me, "For the last time, do not call me that!I’m no princess."

I smirked, but I didn't correct her.She had no idea who I was, but I knew her.Instead, I let an apologetic expression form on my face."Sorry.It's just that you remind me of someone I once knew."

The words were out before I could stop them, too close to the truth.She was looking at me with such warmth, such faith that I might actually be worth saving, and it took everything I had not to confess everything right then.

Tell her who you really are,a voice in my head whispered.Tell her about the bond, about what your mother did, about why you're really here.

But I couldn't.Because if she knew the truth, she'd never trust me to get her to the flower.She'd never let me help save her sister.And she'd never forgive me for what I planned to do.

No, the plan had to stay intact.Let her care for me, let myself fall deeper in love with her every day, and then walk away before she discovered what I really was.It was better this way.Cleaner.

Even if it was slowly killing me.

I walked past her, our shoulders brushing as I took the lead.I turned from the trail, choosing now to travel an uncharted path through the woods for our safety.

"Shouldn't we be going straight?"she asked, remaining in place with her arms folded over her chest.