Myhhena started, “But, Protectress—”
I held up a hand. “You said I summoned you?”
She curtsied once more, her leafy form rustling. “Yes, Protectress. My sisters and I exist to do your bidding.”
“Then I demand you release my companion at once.”
Myhhena hissed through her teeth. The leaves swirled around her as she advanced toward me. Her eyes glowed bright green as she protested, “But Protectress, it’s not safe! He’s a—”
“Enough!” I yelled. My voice rang with authority as I spoke, and I barely recognized myself. “Did you not say you exist to do my bidding?”
She nodded once, her lips in a tight line. “Yes, milady.”
“Then you shall do as I ask at once.”
Myhhena sighed, the sound long-suffering. “As you wish, Protectress.”
The leaves around her hands blew as the tree holding Xander suddenly snapped its branches back. He tumbled to the ground, a curse slipping out of him as he fell face-first into a pile of mud.
“Dammit all,” Xander muttered as he pushed himself to his feet, brushing off leaves and dirt from his tunic. “That wasnotpleasant.”
The leafy female simply crossed her arms and scowled in Xander’s direction. For a being whose corporeal form was made entirely of foliage, she had an imposing presence. “You should thank the Protectress,male. If it was up to me, I would have left you to rot in the forest’s embrace.”
Xander’s only response was to snarl at the female.
Myhhena’s response was… harsh. Not that I didn’t appreciate that someone else wasfinallyseeing Xander for the vexing creature he was. It was just that insulting him felt like something that belonged to me.
A strange sense of protectiveness surged up within me as I stepped in between the two of them.
My voice rang through the forest. “That’s enough. Myhhena, while I appreciate your… help, I think there’s been some kind of mistake. I didn’t summon you.”
“Yes, you did,” the leafy female insisted.
Huffing, I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “How?”
She stared at me, the leaves that made up her body shaking in the wind. “Do you not know who you are?”
Narrowing my eyes, I shook my head. “I am nobody.”
Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say, because all of a sudden, Myhhena’s leaves scattered. Just as quickly as the female had appeared, she was gone.
In her place, a brisk wind blew through the forest. I stood still as the leaves swirled around me in a cyclone. I could hear Xander calling my name, but the only thing I could see was bright green.
Then Myhhena’s voice echoed in my mind.
You are Aileana. Daughter of Uhna. Granddaughter of Niona. You are the last Protectress of the Woods.
“But what does that mean?” I pleaded with her as my heart pounded faster in my chest. Myhhena’s words were resonating with a part of myself that, until a few days ago, had laid dormant for my entire life. Even now, it was buried under years of pain and punishment. I whispered, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
One day, you will understand.
Frustration leaked into my voice as I stared at the swirling leaves. “Can you tell me anything at all? You claim to know who I am, but who are you?”
I am Myhhena. Spirit of the Woods. The eldest of the Twelve. Thelrena sent me to guide you. I am—
The spirit stopped talking abruptly. My heart pounded in my chest once, then twice, before her voice returned. It was more harried than before, a sense of urgency tinging every word as she hissed in my mind.
Protectress, you must leave now. Run as fast as you can. The Red Shadow approaches. You must leave. Take your… companion and flee. I will come to you again. Now, run!