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Claire looked around at the trees and nodded. Now, in the daylight, the Forest seemed friendly but one could only see about thirty yards in each direction before the trees blocked the view. For an ill-equipped traveler, it would be easy to lose your way.
Synora continued, seemingly sick of the silence as well. “I never got to make this journey to the Academy. My siblings attended before the Royals and Elders recalled all Elves to the Capital.”
“When were they recalled?”
“Right after the Elven Councilmember, Lorna, and the Fae Councilmember walked out of the Council in protest. They were worried about the witches’ retaliation so in the dead of night, an Elven and an Fae contingent retrieved all of the Elven and Fae students from the Academy. My brothers chattered for days about the excitement of it all until the border village was massacred.”
Synora stopped and sighed, grief fleeting over her face as she remembered her family. Claire squeezed her shoulder briefly and received a small smile.
“I hope that when all of this settles and you find who is using the dark magic that you open the Forest,” Synora confessed. “I know there are many of us who would like to attend the Academy and travel the Realm to find our Animas.”
“Our Animas?” Claire was unfamiliar with the term although she remembered reading the word in her mother’s journals.
“The Elven version of the witches’ Soul Flames.” Synora said. “What your Triad is to you, I imagine,” she smiled.
AnimaClaire rolled the word around in her mind. It was a pretty term and the more she repeated it, the more the word settled deeply in her bones. She was conscious of the weight of a small pouch of herbs in her front pocket. Greta had stopped them on their way up the Royal Tree last night and had pressed the pouch into Claire’s hands. She had said it was what they had talked about earlier and then gave a cackle when Claire’s cheeks heated. Inside the pouch was a few pinches of herbs for birth control and a small pouch that had a note pinned to the outside of it that said to take when Claire was ready to bond with her men. Actually, it said that a lot less politely but that seemed to just be the Elder’s way.
“Do you think you’ll find them outside the Forest?” It made sense. Claire had found hers outside the Forest but for some reason she thought that the Elves might want to only be with other Elves.
Synora nodded. “I don’t know how much you were taught about the times before the Great War but it was common for Elves to find their Animas outside of the Forest as well as within it. Many of us who haven’t found ours yet believe they live outside the forest. I’m certain mine does and with my luck she’s probably a witch.”
“What do you mean by that?” Claire knew some terrible witches like Vivian but Holly was a witch and so was Desmond technically. Speaking of her friend, she was anxious to see all of them and her pace quickened slightly.
Synora matched her speed. “You have to remember that among the Elves, especially our older generations, they believe that witches were responsible for the entirety of the Great War. There’s been a bad taste in their mouths ever since. That’s why Toan asked your Triad to keep a lower profile.”
Claire remembered that conversation but admittedly hadn’t paid much attention to it or bothered to ask why. She bit her lip. She should have pried deeper and maybe helped set the record straight. That could be a big obstacle in bringing the Elves out of the Forest.
Synora must have read her mind. “Most of the younger generation doesn’t think that way. Or at least not to the extreme of what the Elders do. Although we love the Forest, we are growing tired of the same trees every day. We’ve held out hope that one day it will be different. You provided us that hope yesterday.”
She looked so wistful in that moment that Claire couldn’t help but empathize. She had felt that way about Windshire but had never allowed herself to dream of more. Synora had or maybe she had started when Claire arrived. Claire was dangling hope within their grasp. She just hoped she could deliver.
14
It was mid-afternoon by the time they arrived at the Academy’s portal. Claire stayed in the trees with her Triad while the Elven warriors fanned out to scout around the clearing. Aeris appeared on the opposite side of the clearing and motioned it was all clear.
As she stepped into the clearing, Claire looked around, remembering the first time they had stepped through the gate. The richly colored trees that stood guard around the clearing were as vibrant as Claire remembered although the magic in the clearing lacked themorefeeling that it had at first. Claire didn’t know if that was because she had gotten used to it or if her magic had grown? Would it feel the same when she stepped back through?
“We’ll camp here for three weeks. If we don’t hear word from you by then, we will have to return to the Capital to relieve the patrols there.”
“Can you activate the gate if needed?” Desmond asked.
Aeris nodded. “All Elven commanders can.” Claire’s eyebrows shot up. They could? So why didn’t they just leave? Even as she asked the question, Claire realized the answer. The gates were likely checked by the Council regularly and monitored for activity. The less attention they drew to themselves, the safer the Elves had been in the last twenty years.
Synora turned to Claire. “Do you remember my family tree’s signature?”
She nodded. Claire didn’t think she was ever going to forget the layers of grief that hung from Synora’s tree.
“Good. Use that to communicate when you need us. I’ll be listening,” Synora said with a pained look that she quickly hid. If Claire had to guess, she would guess that Synora didn’t spend a lot of time connected to her family tree with the memories and grief that lay in the connection. She surprised Synora by wrapping her up in a tight hug. The Elven warrior’s arms hung at her side for a few moments before she gingerly wrapped them around Claire.
“Thank you,” Claire whispered in her ear. “Take care of yourselves.” She pulled back and looked at Synora. “We don’t know if that dark magic user is still out there.”
Synora nodded, mouth tight but eyes shining with emotion. She had only known the Elf for a short period of time but Claire knew she was going to be a good friend.
“It’s time,” Malcolm touched her back.
Claire turned and picked up Puck, placing him on her shoulder, like she did the first time she opened the gate. Puck purred and brushed his cheek against her face, remembering the same thing. She walked to the gate and closed her eyes, calling up her magic as she did. The glowing Energy signatures seemed to burn brighter behind her eyelids. If she focused hard, she could ‘see’ the Energy signatures of the Elves around her as well as ghostly outlines of the trees. Even in the darkness, she could see.
Puck chirped and brought her focus back to the gate. Claire focused on the glowing runes and let her fingers fill with her magic. She traced the runes in the air in front of her, letting each fill up with magic until the five runes glowed in the air in front of her. She pushed each into the gate, one by one, letting the trees that formed the gate absorb the magic until the air between them shimmered.
