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“I can barely control my magic, much less lead.” Claire shook her head. Besides, she had so much more to learn before she became responsible for an entire race.
“There’s more to magic than being powerful.” Toan’s words were similar to Greta’s from yesterday but Claire just twisted her lips and nodded. She didn’t quite see what Toan and Greta did, but she wouldn’t shut it down just yet.
Toan pushed open the door to the tree and held it open for Claire and Everett. Claire stepped through and took a look around. It truly was a memorial, she realized. Everything looked exactly like an Elven family still lived here. A table and chairs set for dinner, warm comfortable seating in the middle that Claire could see a family gathered around in the evening, and if she looked up, she could see different sleeping platforms.
Although there were all the furnishings of a home, everything was covered in a thick layer of dust that gave a gray tinge to all of the colors. The dust gave the inside of the tree a ghostly appearance, like it had been stopped in time and Claire was one of the first entrants. She spun a slow circle and realized that they might actually be one of the first entrants. There were no signs that Synora came back here at all. Claire’s heart ached for her loss. She would ask Toan to point her out to Claire later. Maybe there was something Claire could do for her.
Toan strode across the room, the dust swirling around his feet as he left footprints across the floor. A small bookshelf was nestled inside the tree’s trunk next to one of the couches. He traced his fingers across one of the shelves, pulling out a thick tome. Just exactly how much did Claire’s mother write down?
He blew the dust off the cover, a thick white cloud that caused Claire to sneeze as she got closer. He turned towards Claire. “You’ll need to open the book as it's spelled to you.”
“How do I do that?” Claire didn’t know any book opening spells.
Toan winced briefly and looked at Everett. “You just need to put a drop of your blood on the clasp.” His thumb traced over a brass clasp at the top of the tome.
Everett let out a soft growl as Claire rolled her eyes. It was a drop of blood not a bleeding wound. She shot him a look and he shrugged his shoulders. “I’m never going to like you hurt. None of us are. That will always be the reaction from my gryphon.”
Claire rolled her eyes again but smiled at him. She couldn’t blame him when he put it that way. She pulled the Elven dagger from its sheath and held the tip to her thumb. She pricked it with the razor sharp edge and watched a bead of blood form. Dropping the dagger back into its sheath, she placed her bloody thumb on the brass clasp. The metal heated under her thumb but Claire didn’t pull away. Finally, it popped open with a hiss. When Claire looked at the clasp, not a trace of her blood remained. It had soaked into the clasp.
Toan opened the tome and Claire looked over his shoulder to see the paper had actually been cut out and a small journal similar to the size of the one Claire had now was nestled inside. He held the tome out to her, and Claire gingerly lifted the journal out. That seemed almost too easy and when she voiced her thoughts Everett grimaced.
“Blood magic is up there close to dark magic with its power. It’s not technically forbidden but it must be carefully cast. While it seemed simple for you, anyone else trying to open that would be met with severe consequences.”
Claire’s eyes widened and she looked back at the tome with a new lens. Her mother was taking no chances it seemed. “You said there was one more in the Capital?” She looked up at her uncle.
“Yes, one more.”
The next journal retrieval went just as smoothly as the first one, hidden under some rocks on the outskirts of the Capital. Claire felt like it almost went too easily and kept waiting for something to jump out at them. Everett clearly felt the same way as he was on high alert. Even Puck wasn’t his playful self, patrolling around them in swooping circles, landing on Everett’s shoulder and chittering grumpily before taking to the air again.
Claire breathed a sigh of relief when they made it back to the Royal Tree without incident. Then Toan dropped the bomb.
“The coronation ceremony will be in three days,” Toan informed her. “We’ll go the day after tomorrow to fetch the other two journals. I will discuss skipping that day of training with Greta.”
Three days till the coronation ceremony? Claire just blinked at him and nodded blankly. He looked like he wanted to say more but another Elf called him away.
“It’ll be fine,” Everett soothed, stepping up beside her and wrapping an arm around her waist. “Remember, it’s just to tie you to the Royal Tree, you don’t have to lead.”
Yet, Claire thought.
7
“How was it?” Desmond asked as they entered the room. “Did you get the other journals?”
“Two of them,” Claire answered. “Did you know the coronation ceremony is in three days?”
Malcolm nodded. “One of the warriors mentioned it to us today during training. Did Toan tell you?”
Claire nodded and sat down on the bed, placing the journals next to her and twisting her hands nervously. “Do you think I’ll be ready?”
“What does Greta say?” Desmond asked, rubbing his wet hair with a towel.
“Well I broke one of her couches today when she asked me to move it and then she had me set it on fire.”
Desmond raised his eyebrows and barked out a laugh. Claire squeezed her eyes shut and smiled sheepishly. It was kind of funny now that she looked back at but she still felt bad for destroying an Elder’s couch.
“You’ll be fine,” Malcolm said gruffly, sitting next to her. The bed dipped and Claire fell into his side, cuddling up to her dragon gratefully.
“I hate to push,” Desmond said, throwing on a shirt and turning to them, “but with the coronation ceremony in three days we should probably take a look at those journals your mother left you.”
