Starborn Legacy (A Starborn Series prequel)

Chapter five

It had only been three days since Audrey agreed to walk away from her life, and she already regretted the decision.

"How much longer are we going to be out here?" she whined as she batted an overgrown fern out of her path. "We've been walking for days and you still haven't told me where we're going."

Several paces ahead, Welkin paused their long, brisk strides and waited for her to catch up. "Yes, I have. In fact, I've told you several times that we're going somewhere where we can safely nurture your abilities." They plucked a small twig from their daughter's ponytail and flicked it into the brush. "I understand that the journey is a long one, but trust me when I say it will be worth the effort."

"That's easy for you to say — you don't get tired!" Audrey said, watching Welkin's retreating back as they pressed effortlessly onward into the forest. She adjusted the straps of her pack in an effort to redistribute some of the weight digging into her shoulders. It had taken her hours to figure out how to distill her entire life down to what she could carry in a single backpack — a task made even trickier once she realized how little overlap there was between what she wanted to bring and what she needed to bring. Now, even after begrudgingly paring down her belongings to the bare minimum, she still felt like she was carrying an entire person around on her back. "There has to be a better way to get to wherever we're going — preferably one that doesn't involve endless hiking and living out of a tent."

Welkin stopped again. They turned to give their daughter a withering look. "I was under the impression that you enjoyed camping and being outdoors."

This made Audrey bristle. Hearing Welkin guess at what she did or didn't like only reminded her of how little they actually knew each other. She was acutely aware that this strange excursion was the most time the two of them had ever spent alone together. The many uninterrupted hours, without another soul to distract them, had done nothing to bring them closer. The air between them was still tense and awkward, their conversation still filled with uncomfortable extended silences. After all these years, they simply didn't know how to be with each other, and that made Audrey mad.

"Camping's different, and you know it," Audrey said, matching Welkin's glare with one of her own. "Besides, why do we have to be in the middle of nowhere to work on my abilities?"

"You know why," Welkin answered with thinly veiled frustration. "Your abilities are still unpredictable. It's safer for both yourself and others for us to work in seclusion."

It took every ounce of willpower Audrey had not to call Welkin out on their bullshit. Sure, her unchecked powers had had some... unnerving consequences. But she wasn't an atom bomb with a delicate fuse. She may not have known Welkin very well, but Audrey could always tell when people were holding out on her. There was definitely something that Welkin wasn't telling her.

Still, ever since setting Hedy's letter ablaze through sheer rage alone, Audrey was making an effort to keep her emotions in check. Though she would never admit it out loud, she was afraid of this awakening part of herself that she still didn't understand. So, rather than risking inadvertently starting a wildfire, she took a deep breath and unlatched her pack's hip belt and sternum strap.

"What are you doing?" Welkin balked. Their golden eyes followed Audrey's pack as she slid it off her shoulders and dropped it unceremoniously at her feet.

"Taking a break," she said. She made herself comfortable at the base of a massive old tree and leaned against it. The rough bark of its trunk felt better on her back than the weight of her pack, and that was saying something. "I may be half-Star, but I'm also half-human, and we actually do get tired."

For a tense moment, she thought Welkin was going to put up a fight. Their chest puffed up like a disgruntled bird, and their mouth pinched as if they were biting their tongue. They peered skyward and considered the sunlight streaming through the branches high above. "Very well. I suppose we have enough time for a brief rest."