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Chapter 31 - Blaze
Luella
It had been a long time. I was dizzy from the sudden flight, almost spiraling down to the ground. I managed to gain momentum, flapping my wings to push me upwards. Heat enveloped my whole body from the blaze that burst from within. A few more rounds of circling over the forest canopy, and the heat was finally subsiding.
Trying to descend more gracefully, I summoned all my strength to take a slow descent. I had no desire to splatter on the ground. As I descended, I saw the crows watching me intently.
Finally, I was back on the forest floor. I shifted back into my human, naked form. I could see that my skin was flushed red, and there were brighter red patches on my arms from the fire that came out of my wings.
It was silent. There were no gasps or questions. After all, I was dealing with ancient witch-shifters, who were also Queens of the Forest. I put on my clothes just as quietly. My body felt weak from the transformation. Therefore, it was a painstaking affair.
It had been a long time.
“It w-was painful,” I muttered, feeling my skin hum. I could swear heat still emanated from its surface.
“You are a remnant of Erishkigal’s power,” Demetria announced. Her voice suddenly took on a more human form, gleeful. Knowing.
“What if I am?” I asked.
“I do not know how yet, but you can be the balance needed to keep the Ninurta at bay,” the crow cawed. “It will still try to invade the continents, but you can be there to remind it of what it once was. Erishkigal used to be that reminder.”
“Then, are you willing to serve as my spy? I did what you asked of me, a queen from a queen.”
“I will. I will leave by dawn tomorrow.”
My heart twitched. I wished it could be me flying south by morning, to see how my husband was doing. There were days I still was unsure if it was love I was feeling or something else. It could not be lust because my thoughts always flew to his face. Our conversations. Although I would be a hypocrite if I pretended I did not think of the sex, as well.
Did he think about me?
Had I awakened something in him that would make him seek other women?
It felt hard to swallow. I wanted to be there, but I had to make sure the way was safe. Even if I loved him, I still had to avoid having both of us massacred. My mother did not raise a fool. I might not be smart with books, but I was learning to make the right decisions when it came to other things.
“When will you be back?” I asked the crow.
“It will take me almost a week to travel back and forth. I am not at my strongest. I might stay there for about that long, as well. I need time to discover what is going on in Prozeus and Rama.”
I turned to the other two.
“And the two of you would be fine with being left to take care of the forests?”
“We should be. Your brother’s wife had bled and survived when she watched the forest on her own.”
“But didn’t it take too long? She was soon rescued, wasn’t she?”
“Yes, she was. But we are ancient, and there are two of us,” Veronica declared, her chin up. She was definitely proud of her role.
Well, then. If they were confident about this task, I would leave them to it. I turned to leave them, but I remembered to ask them one more question.
“Will you visit me then when you are back, or should I return here?” I asked.
“I will come to you,” Demetria squawked.
I did not know if I could hold on for that long.
#
“We heard that there was a storm in Prozeus,” my mother said over supper.
