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Sila continued, “I teach our young Shadows, then assign the young Celestials and Elementals with their respective teachers. You’ll have to help me recruit Francis by the way, he’s adept with fire; very controlled.”
“I’ve learned that.”
“So you have. And so areyou, Soren says.”
Thessa blushed. Trying to rid the feeling, she asked, “And Jussal?”
“He’s essentially the founder of all this.” Sila looked across the encampment with pride. “My home. Well, we pack up at first light for the Blood Moon move, but it’s home nonetheless.”
She quieted, unsure how Sila made a home for herself wherever she went. Thessa had been shuffled around her entire existence and never once felt comfortable enough to call someplace home.
When river mist tickled her toes, Thessa gripped the gravel. Sila helped her remove the oversized gown she wore, before pulling off her own dress. Thessa tried not to stare at the fang shaped scars across Sila’s abdomen, at least not long enough for her to notice.
Thessa refocused on the white and blue ribbons of water rushing past while Sila guided her in. Once they were chest deep, Thessa scrubbed her face clean. Then she dropped her head back, letting her hair drift with the current. The water wasalmostloud enough to block out her thoughts about all the venomous lies she’d been told.
“You okay?” Sila cut across her thoughts.
Thessa turned to face her and sighed. “Is there a reason lying comes so easily to him?”
While finger-combing her golden hair, Sila said, “As a council member, I can say the secrets we keep are not ours to share. But if you’re asking me as his stepmother … he’s nothing but a babbling fool around you. He would’ve lost his mind completely if the sea took you. Truthfully, I’m surprised he didn’t strangle Echidna.”
“He really likes that serpent?”
Sila smiled, then gestured for Thessa to spin. “They have an interesting relationship.”
A smooth stone pressed into the grooves of her back, wedging into places she didn’t know existed. Thessa curved into Sila’s magical touch. “Your body has been through a lot in the last day.”
“No thanks tohim,” Thessa countered. “I’m not sure why it took a near death experience to learn I’m trustworthy.”
The stone lifted off her back as Sila said, “Me either.”
She spun around. “Am I foolish for trusting him?”For falling for him,she wanted to say. She scanned Sila’s face for the truth.
Sila swallowed before answering, “It’s bold of any female to trust a male wholeheartedly.” She glanced down toward her scars and added, “This I’ve learned.”
41
LECTURE NOTES FROM GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTIONS:
The woodlands that make up a better part of Greenshire hold trees unique to the region. Not only are the trunks 2-3x the circumference of a typical tree, but the leaves remain green all year round.
Thessa shrunk in her seat. Rather than dining in shifts, the entire camp was present and bustling around the braziers. Hundreds squeezed around wooden tables, while the children found seats around the fire.
Jussal was in the middle of telling her how the tables and chairs here were made on sight. Woodworkers were responsible for rebuilding the dining space at each encampment, rather than carrying everything to a new location. Before the move, everything would be burned.
Instead of the usual frog stew or simple salad of nettles and ferns, tonight’s feast was celebratory. She’d smelt the rabbits smoking from the river.
Jussal went on to tell her that almost half the camp had joined in on today’s hunt, making the meal possible this evening—the night of the Blood Moon.
Thessa was seated at the table reserved for council, which she hated. It sat slightly higher due to the landscape, and tonight, hundreds of eyes lingered on her.
Sila nudged her to say, “Word’s spread about your powers. Half the camp’s fascinated, and the others deny it to be true.”
“But it is true,” Thessa said.
“Well, they haven’t seen it with their own eyes.”
“You haven’t either.”