The Wishing Tree - Book Two [Completed]

Enough - Part 37

We manage to make it from the valley to the edge of the cliffs of Merical. We need to debrief Rocco, Riven and Clara, but we can't do that with these flower masks which prevent any speech. Mason finds a clearing and we remove our masks and he starts explaining everything to them.

"I don't know if I can heal the tree if we tear it wide open," Clara says, frowning.

"Was there something I said that made it sound like a choice?" Mason asks.

"I can only do what I can do," Clara says, giving both of us a helpless look.

"I don't care if it kills you; you'll find a way to heal that damn tree once we have all the Journeyers," Mason doesn't wait for her response, but puts his mask back on his face and walks off.

Clara looks at me and raises her eyebrows. "What's his problem?"

"The Life Line Keeper showed him some old footage from the Third Realm and I think that's what's bothering him," I say, starting to put the flower back on, but Clara's hand stays my movement.

She's still and her black eyes burn through me as she looks at me. "Footage of you and him?" she asks.

"Yeah. He showed Mason how the bonding ceremony went awry," I say and cock my head. "You said you knew him then, right?" I ask. "Who were you to him?"

Clara swallows and there's something wild in her eyes. She drops my arm and jogs after Mason. She's only a few feet from him when a steam bomb goes off, thrusting her body into the air with incredible force. For a moment, everything is quiet as though it's all happening in slow motion; then, the screams start. As she comes back down, Riven catches her gently, but her screams are already reverberating around the area, making tears spring to my eyes. I remember that feeling of being burned and I rush to her side. Rocco is ahead, in the distance, pulling Mason back to help heal Clara.

Rocco pushes Mason forward and says, "Fix her."

Mason crouches down at her side and he watches her writhing and screaming in pain.

"Mason!" I grab his hand and place it on the piece of skin I can see bubbling at her side. "She's in pain. Do something. Help her."

He snatches his hand back and his green eyes are a violent, brutal shade that I've never seen before. He sits back on his heels, not touching her, making no move to heal her. His arms rest lightly against his knees, carefully balanced.

I shake my head at him in disgust and place my hands on her side, closing my eyes, visualizing what I saw Mason do before. I deliberately think about pulling the magic out of Mason and funneling it into Clara to heal her side. Rocco and Riven try to keep her down and keep her still as I find each burn and repair it as well as I can. Not once does Mason place even a finger on her body.

When I'm done, I yank Mason to his feet and drag him away from a recovering Clara. "What the hell was that all about?" I ask. I look down and my hands are glowing. I need to cool down. I take some deep breaths before looking at him again and saying, "Answer me. We need her."

"She was the one who did the bonding mark," Mason says, giving me a bored look that I know he doesn't feel. He's just so much better than me at reigning in his emotions.

I shake my head. "That's what this is about? It was centrums ago – isn't that what you told me? That we're different people now? Isn't that what you said when you thought it might have been my fault? You can't say that to me and then punish her."

"She's known for all those centrums, Hannah – every time our souls ran into each other she could have admitted what she'd done. She could have told me that our result wasn't true."

"Oh yeah? And what would you have done?"

"I would have torn this damn realm apart looking for you. That's what I would have done. I would have found you; it would all be different. I would be different!" Mason bursts out in a gust of anger.

That stops me short and I stare at him for a moment. "Oh, Mason," I whisper, stunned.

"Just leave it, Queenie." He starts to turn away.

I watch him walk away for a moment and part of me wants to let him off the hook. I don't know what it's like to be him, what it's like to remember so much and to have those memories used against you. But, I need all of us to be a team, and so that means I have to push him.

"So, that back there, that was the first time you ever punished her for what happened?" I called after him.

That stops him short and he half turns back. "No, it wasn't."

"Don't you think you've all suffered enough?" I ask.

He looks at me for a long moment and I wish I had the ability to read his thoughts. "You don't know how it ripped me apart back then. It tore my soul open, to feel so wrong about someone. It made me doubt every interaction I had with another person up until I met Ryan. It ruined me."

I move closer to him and take his hands in mine, lacing the fingers of one of our hands together and I look up at him. "But, you don't have to stay ruined. You don't have to be that man anymore, Mason. You're better than that; you're better than what I saw back there." With my free hand, I place it on his chest. "In here," I say, raising my hand to his head, "and in here, you're a good man."

He leans forward and kisses my forehead and then he unlaces our fingers to envelope me into a hug. I lean my ear against his chest, hearing his familiar heartbeat, wishing that healing his soul was as easy as repairing bubbling skin. Around his side, I glimpse Rocco, Riven, and Clara walking towards us. Clara is limping slightly, but otherwise, she looks okay.

Mason turns and looks at her, assessing her. "Come here," he says to her, crooking his finger.

She raises her chin and steps towards him. He leans down and places his hands on the part of her leg that still seems to be troubling her. As his hands glow, he looks up at her and says, "Were we the only ones you tricked?"

"No," she says through clenched teeth. I wonder if he's not being overly careful with his healing.

"I'll never forgive you," he says, meeting her dark eyes.

She nods her head, sighs and looks away. "Which is exactly why I never told you. You punished me enough when you didn't know."

"Enough is your opinion. I'm not sure anything will ever feel like enough," he says, standing up and walking away, leaving the rest of us to follow.

Author's Note:

Is Mason right to hold a grudge against Clara? Are you surprised about her role in his past?

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