Silver: The Lost Royal

22 | The Mistress of Louriville

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Fran ~ a term for an ex-wielder. Fran-Golder, Fran-Sapphirian
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"STOP," Elowen forced out, and Marigold's eyes flashed with concern.

They had been walking on the side of a road leading out of Emerfield, with gray skies looming above them, and had yet to see a single car pass by. The crunching of gravel with their every step and the occasional rustle of leaves in the nearby trees punctuated the surrounding silence.

"Is something wrong?" Marigold asked, with eyes moving over every inch of Elowen.

"We can't just leave." Elowen had her misty gaze trained on the gravel beneath their feet.

David sighed before he spoke with a tender hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Dear, I know this is hard and I can't expect you to be so willing-"

"No, it's not that, it's Karyn. We can't leave her."

"She has the Wielders now," he said.

"But not me and my sight. I know what I saw Dad, and Karyn has to know it too."

He was about to rebuff again, despite Elowen's pleading eyes now piercing through him, but his wife beat him to it.

"Elowen's right. For how long will we keep running?"

"We have no choice," he said.

"No, we always did. We just chose to run. But now Karyn needs us. She needs all the help she can get. We have to go back. For Joe and Christina," Marigold said, her sharp blue eyes piercing his.

He ran a hand along his face, feeling the roughness of his newly formed stubble, and knew he had no choice but to accept. He cherished both his wife and daughter and had the same level of affection for Karyn, whom he saw as his own daughter. Despite how he tried, he couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that chastised him for leaving Karyn behind.

"You're right," he said, and Elowen let out a sigh of relief before her brows came together.

"How can we get to her? I'm hoping you both know better than me."

David shared a look with his wife and knew she shared the same thought.

"We get back to the Mansion and start from there," Marigold said.

♛ ♛ ♛

THE blue truck was a stark contrast to the massive black gate in front of it. The purring of the engine floated the air around them and mixed with the labored breathing of Marcela who sat to Karyn's right.

Karyn had asked The Emeraldine repeatedly how she could be of help. All of which Marcela had smiled and said there was nothing Karyn could do now. She knew that, but she didn't like the helplessness that watching Marcela in pain brought.

A high groaning sound forced her head up to see the gate being pulled open. When it was wide enough, Gema set the car in motion and nodded to the man by the gate. She had taken over driving after Jamie and Marcela emerged from the forest.

They drove on a path lined with tall trees that cast dappled shadows across the windshield until they gave way to a large clearing with perfectly trimmed grass. The trees that stood did so in perfect alignment and order. Not a single leaf stood out of place.

When they made a turn around a fountain, Karyn watched in awe as the water drifted down in a soothing motion, sprouting from the lips of a woman frozen in gray and time. The truck continued straight after the curve, and as she averted her gaze from the fountain behind them, her eyes widened at the humongous building up ahead.