Their stroll was not long at all. In a few moments, they were already by the Great Lauma Tree. Despite its name, it was rather small. Especially when you compare it to some of the dwelling trees. But it had this faint, otherworldly golden glow. Even after the leaves fell from its graceful branches, that glow remained. When they stopped, Anemone looked around and saw him leaning callously on the Great Lauma Tree. After patting the tree, he sat on one of its roots, signaling Anemone to get closer. She leaned into her hips, keeping her arms folded, and stared him down. His hand slapped the Lauma tree.

  “What did you mean by Vision Quest?”

  “What do you know about this tremuloides?”

  “Ok then…” Anemone sighed, “Tremuloides? If you mean the Great Lauma Tree, it’s one of the oldest things in the world. It’s been here since the Age of Celestials.”

  “What if I told you this isn’t the tree in your mythology?”

  “You’d be crazy.”

  “But technically, right? This one appeared after the Fall. It’s a younger sprout.”

  Anemone froze, “Adventitious bud? So, is this an offshoot from the original tree?”

  “What a bookworm.” He mocked, “Guess that means you understand the parallel to Titania, right?”

  Her fingers gripped her hair as she nodded negatively.

  “That can’t be. Old Tir-noNog’s tree fell. And yes. Titania founded this place as our new home. But that was after Medb’s sacrifice.”

  “And she became the new seed for this tree?”

  Anemone scowled. “Yes! That’s why the barrier is weakening. Titania must tie her life to this Great Lauma tree. It’s for the barrier.”

  “And when she dies, they place her on the tree… And then what?”

  “Then she fuses with it…. rejuvenates its power?”

  Anemone stopped speaking. Her right hand clenched her other arm, and she averted his gaze. Thinking about Titania dying was something that never crossed her mind.

  “If Titania’s life connects to the barrier, why does she leave so often?”

  “Exactly…”

  He paused with a smug look on his face. Then, he spoke with a whimsical bounce to his voice.

  “I mean, if my life kept everyone else safe—why leave the barrier?”

  She pinched her brow and huffed about. Anemone could feel her blood pulsing into her head, and she started pacing. Titania was always gone—and battle crazy—so it made little sense. To die with honor for her kingdom as a warrior was one thing. But her duty to sacrifice for the kingdom? As an additional source of strength for the barrier? That should have been paramount. Unless she did not need to be absorbed by the tree.

  “Then why send me to Albion? And what about a ceremony? Who replaces her as the monarch if she’s gone?” Anemone asked.

  “All valid questions. Now, why would anyone not have plans for such a monumental event? If my daughter (who should be fit to rule) were to replace me… I’d probably keep her in the kingdom—but that’s me.”

  L’wah shrugged, and Anemone shrank, wiping her hand down her face. For a moment, her hand hovered over her mouth. Just thinking about it made Anemone’s knees buckle. A thought crawled from the back of her mind that she would never think was the case.

  “I don’t know…”

  “I mean, the barrier is getting weak. If I wanted my people safe, I’d get to the ‘self-sacrificing’ ASAP. Preferably…not too far from everyone.”

  Her body heated. Anemone turned away almost immediately. As she stepped away, she stumbled on a nearby root. There was no way they did not have a plan for the barrier. There would be thousands at risk. Every noncombatant would perish.

  “Stop talking…”

  L’wah shook his head.

  “Gotta love family drama. You might wanna read that story about Medb and Titania in that book. Maybe that way your story doesn’t end so soon.”

  “That book?” Anemone snapped. “Why are you being so cryptic!? Which book?”

  L’wah ignored Anemone. She began biting the nail of her thumb. It had never crossed her mind that Titania wanted to die. It also never crossed her mind that she would put the kingdom at risk. As brazen as Titania was, she was also a stickler for being careful. She didn’t even want Anemone to take part in the Trials. So why would she risk the barrier falling apart? Especially if Anemone would not replace her. Then she recalled something she had overheard earlier. It was before she arrived at the nursery.

  ‘The Wingless Princess? I don’t see why not; she’s nothing like her.’

  That slender demi therianthrope with the antlers had said. Said the thing she had thought all her life but ignored. And then with hush lips she echoed a truth everyone knew.

  “Only an Anemone can bond with the tree and rejuvenate the barrier.” Said L’wah.

  Those words echoed in her mind and grew deafening. Nothing else gripped her attention now. Anemone wrapped herself in her arms, squeezing tightly. Tight enough that her fingers grazed near her shoulder blades. Near her spine. Right where she should have wings. Warmth trickled down her face as her eyes swelled red. A swirling, queasy sensation rumbled in her stomach.

  “It’s sinking in, isn’t it?”

  An arrow pierced her gut. Her eyes slowly widened. Then they crept up from the ground over her shoulders. It took everything she had not to flail with rage when she heard L’wah speak. And as she turned, her blood ran cold. She only saw him from the corner of her eye, but it terrified her. There was a sinister grin across L’wah’s face.

  The false one of venomous-ash—the poison to your story.

  Crept into her mind again.

  Anemone asked, “What do you know?”

  “I can’t give away all my leverage like that,” he chuckled. “But! I’ll show you something interesting.”

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  His hand stretched out toward her. Anemone hesitated but slowly approached him as she kept her eyes on his hand. Once more, gold fire blazed from his hand. Just as before. And as she raised her hand over his, she instinctively pulled her hand back. When she first met him, there was a calming sensation. But his time was different. It was another sensation. Apathy.

  He gripped her hand, and the fire enveloped her body. But it was no longer gold. It was pitch black. Those very black flames from her dreams now engulfed her. She fell back. Lifeless as she leaned on the Lauma Tree. It was hard to tell what she felt, but tears continued down her cheeks—her legs grew weak—every sensation in her body numb. Not because of physical pain, but emptiness. Images filled her head, just like that night. She saw the memories that were not hers. It was from his eyes. His life and every emotion attached to it. Every smell, sound, and taste overwhelmed her as his memories rushed chaotically. A flash blinded her, and she saw a city.

  __________________________________________________________________

  After snippets of what resembled a festival, Anemone noticed how familiar everything looked. But what stuck out was the different fae that seemed to congregate in the streets. She knew they were from foreign lands because their wing shapes and clothing differed from Tir-noNog’s more form-fitting garbs.

  Most Tir-noNog fae had round-tipped wings like macro papillon, but the ones she saw also had sharp, elongated odonata-like wings. Quickly, the scene shifted again, going from joyous festivities to terror-filled shrieks in seconds. Stunning blows slammed her shoulders as a sea of fae rushed by her. Distant black flames consumed the city; fae, fleeing embers, mirrored beings from her dreams. What surprised her was the sight of a young Titania fighting the gallu.

  Anemone could hear the cries of Titania, who called out for Dagda as she stood alongside four other individuals making a defensive stand. When Anemone tried to get a view of their faces, the air froze solid. A wall of ice fractured into the earth before her, blocking everything in her line of sight. As she closed her eyes, words appeared in her mind with a voiceless echo. Sound scratched at her ears until the feeling of warm liquid dripped out of her ears. Another voice to her left pulled her attention. Her eyes flashed open. Not too far from her, someone stood a red-headed fae, whose eyes were azure. Then, a stream of intelligible moments flew by.

  Unfamiliar faces appeared before and disappeared right after. One after another, a flash of red replaced their presence. She had killed hundreds—no. Thousands. Thousands of strangers had died before her in an instant. With her own hands, she crushed their heads or ripped their limbs off. Some she crushed between her teeth. Others she set ablaze with the black embers or slew them with weapons. But every death sent throbbing pulses into her. She even saw herself for a split second pressed down into the ground, defending herself. Repeatedl,y someone died until her vision went black. A shiver ran up her spine, churning her stomach. No matter how much she blinked, nothing else appeared. Only darkness. It was just like the void beyond the walls of the fake alley she had seen before. When light slowly filled her eyes, Anemone saw herself again. This time, she was on the floor, shaking. Her eyes were as white as snow; her chest rose and fell with every gasp.

  ________________________________________________________________

  With one last blink, L’wah stood before her. His presence stretched as tall as the Lauma tree behind him. The rush of information made her convulse and fall over. Halfway caught between the vision and L’wah before her, both images switched back and forth. Twice more, L’wah and the night’s visions filled her sight.

  “I saw me… I saw TirNog—I ate them…”

  Those words weakly left her lips.

  “Of course not, kiddo. That was me.”

  Those words stopped her heart. Her eyes widened as tears rushed from them. The blood in her body went completely cold. It was as clear as day. Anemone experienced the night of the gallu attack. She tasted iron in her mouth. Evey aos-si those monsters had fed on, Anemone experienced. From the sound of their cries to the breaking of their bones, it filled her ears and stained her soul. Soon, her mind went blank again. Bouts of pain overtook every sense in her body. The pressure of her head being smashed forced a howling cry from her. Her skin burned. The feeling of cold metal forcing its way between every part of her body followed. Soon her bones snapped as well. Every inch of her experience pain like never before. Past or present? It was impossible to decipher what was real. Anemone curled into a ball, weeping.

  “MAKE ITT STOP!!!”

  L’wah stood there, unmoved by the weight of her agony. When he spoke, there was a soft coldness in his voice. It slowly pierced her ears like venom.

  “It can be overwhelming for the first time, especially when unconscious.”

  Out of nowhere, Anemone’s right eye went blank, and darkness covered her vision again.

  ___________________________________________________________________

  Then the sight of tree branches brushing her appeared gradually. They were blurry, so she could hardly tell where she was, but it was the dead of night. Her line of sight was no longer straight. Instead, it turned to see if something was behind it. An explosion of trees snapping in the distance muted the sound of someone telling her to run. Anemone jumped to her feet and screamed at the top of her lungs as she slammed against the Great Lauma Tree. Blood pumped furiously into her right eye as if it were ready to pop. Her heart raced like something from the shadows rushed by her.

  BAM!

  A boulder slammed into her right side and knocked her off her feet as if she were weightless. A voiceless scream left her gasp. Her eyes watered and rolled over, clenching her right arm. The sight before her was unreal; her right arm was present in her left eye, yet missing in her right eye. Through her right eye, she saw Acaulis preparing to strike with his left arm cloaked in black flames. It was the same color as the black blobs that oozed from her hands, only he burned about like violent, shadowy wisps.

  Her chest thumped furiously, and her breath grew shallow. When she tried to stand, her legs went numb and crumpled beneath her. Her lips trembled as Acaulis raised his hands, uttering incoherent words. His lips moved, but she heard nothing. As he brought his hand down to smite her, she blinked, and darkness stretched over her vision.

  _________________________________________________________

  Then her eyes flung open. Anemone saw L’wah kneeling before her. From her left eye, she saw L’wah holding her left hand over her right eye. Just his touch made her skin crawl. Without hesitation, she slapped his hand away.

  “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?” she screamed.

  Anemone tried to hurry to her feet, but the best she could manage was to rise to her knees and fall over. With all her strength, she gripped the soil between her fingers and pulled herself away. She crawled until her body was on top of a nearby root. L’wah stood utterly still with a calm, uncaring stare as she trembled. Her blood boiled and ran cool repeatedly, bouncing between rage and fear. Anemone slapped her left hand onto her right arm, gripping it until she pierced her skin, hoping to stop the trembling. The facial expression he had finally shifted; his face had softened. This was the first time his face showed a hint of concern.

  “You must have a strong affinity if you could see all of that.”

  “Answer me! What the MUSPELL was that?!”

  He pointed at his right eye. “This eye is fickle about the vision it shows, be it the past or future. Don’t worry, seeing all that won’t be permanent. But judging from your response, you saw one of your deaths.”

  “One of my…deaths?” Anemone gulped. “What are you going on about? That explains nothing!”

  Anemone could feel the sweat running across her body as she stared at her right arm but saw darkness. She was at a loss for words and clutched her arms protectively to her chest. With wide eyes, another scream stayed stuck in her throat. All she could do was shake her head. Her left hand’s nails practically pierced her right arm, yet the pain felt nonexistent. There was no way he was telling her the truth! How could she die? Especially in such a horrific way.

  “If it happens again, place your left hand over your right eye and focus on what you see. That intense feeling you had… We call it Phantom Link.”

  “A… Phantom?” Anemone whimpered.

  “—Link. You should be fine for now. The pain from losing that arm you experienced from that Death Flag should ground you. Don’t forget it has to be that hand.”

  Her shoulders drooped, with bloodshot eyes shuddering at what she experienced. Just uttering those words took so much out of her. Anemone met his eyes, and she could see a smirk on his face. His presence was entirely different. She was so caught up that she hadn’t realized he was not wearing an eye patch this time. Unlike the first time they met, there was life in his gaze. Focusing more, she also noticed they were different colors. One was gray, and the other was blue.

  “Until you get used to it, it will help. There will be more of those visions. Your dreams as well. They are all clues to your Vision Quest.”

  “Vision Quest? What’s that supposed to be!? Hold on!” Anemone shook her head.

  He leaned in and raised his right hand, stopping at her face. Soon, black flames began raging from his body. With his thumb, index, and middle finger raised, he glided his hand before her eyes. The word left his lips with a cold, condescending sharpness.

  “Forget the Whisper-Ars, and try not to die, bitch.”