Three: Swiftly to the Vale

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"It's impossible to go through life unscathed. Nor should you want to. By the hurts we accumulate, we measure both our follies and our accomplishments."

  - Christopher Paolini, Inheritance

THREE: SWIFTLY TO THE VALE

My mom never told me the exact details of my father. It still held a wound for her, never fully healed, but never fully open, either. From what I collected, she still loved him, very much, but something happened. I knew that he didn't leave her, and they didn't divorce, but a tragic accident somehow took him away from her barely before I was born. I never met my father.

"Ivyport?" I murmured, almost in a trancelike sort of way.

"Your mother-"

"I know. Went to Ivyport."

"Your father..."

"Him too. Went to Ivyport." And somehow died, I silently added. I assumed that Ezra must have known if he even bothered to mention the father that I never had. "And I'll be safe?"

"I...cannot make any promises. But yes, you will be trained and your powers will be under control. You will at least be safe from yourself."

Safe from yourself. Something about what he said scared me. More than any monster or dagger or power could. What kind of magic are we cursed with that we must have assurances of safety against ourselves?

"We should go," he said abruptly, interrupting my thoughts a little hastily.

"Okay." I followed behind him as his eyes flashed in that strange way ― suddenly outlined in pure gold, and then back to its dry copper. Suddenly, all that he was was a silvery silhouette against the air. Invisibility? He weaved his way through people, being careful not to leave anything more than a whisper of wind, motioning for me to follow silently. I followed, doing my best to not to brush anything.

We got on one train and the next, and before I knew it, were out of Los Angeles and in the outskirts, where the metro would soon disappear entirely.

Two more hours passed and we had thankfully navigated through the Los Angeles Metro uneventfully. Haste, rather than caution, was our newest strength, and it suited us.

The Metro was similar enough to the East Coast Metro that I had experienced briefly before on a few trips with my mom. I never used the Metro in California, not when most people used cars those days, but it served our purpose fine ― sneaking onto the trains without a ticket and without anyone ever knowing. It was strangely thrilling ― and a bit liberating ― to know that we were hidden from the eyes of the world.

Whether it was pure luck, Ezra's skill, or a combination of both, the next three hours passed by, again, thankfully uneventful. This time, as we got off at a station, he lead me to the stairs that would merge with a street. We were near.

"Once we find the correct spot, I can jump us to Ivyport." Jump. Jump?

I nodded at Ezra as he closed his eyes, then led us through streets until we came to where many foothills lay.

"How close do we have to be to get there? I assume you're using magic."

Ezra paused to let me catch up. "It depends on the strength of the spot, not the distance. Ivyport is in the Sierra Foothills."

"Sierra Mountains?" How could it be that far away?

"Yes. There should be a considerably concentrated spot around here somewhere..." He closed his eyes again and almost seemed to listen.

Girl of Dark Flames | DISCONTINUEDWhere stories live. Discover now