Aligning the Forgotten ✓

Chapter 36: Celestine

Citlali leads the two witches to the other side of the city where even more abandoned residences sit. There's much more to this city than the bustling streets and intact buildings, there's an entire world where Lona was destructed, ruined, and built back from the ground up. Generations ago, they laid waste to their home in an attempt to establish leadership.

What's left is empty stone buildings, straw roofs that have long since molded, rubble, and most importantly, rats. What was once a stone street is now reduced to dirt and rubble, when the new city was built hundreds of years ago, the citizens scrapped what they could of the old and brought it to the new. Bringing across that piece proved Lona never completely changed, it merely gained a new look of stable citizens—as stable as they could be.

The farther out they travel, the more Celestine's body aches with chills. She constantly glances over her shoulder to ensure no one is following them, even then, she might not spot a shadow through the trees along the dirt road. She's beginning to wonder whether Citlali is taking them to die or actually helping them at all. Outsider witches aren't welcome here, most citizens will do whatever it takes to rid the city of such vermin.

Dalis sandwiches her in, walking in the back so no one attempts to strike them from behind. Citlali walks ahead, not speaking a word as with each powerful stride, the white of her hair bounces against her back. Underneath her skin, a power waits to be recognized. Celestine wonders what it is; if there's any significance why Roux would pick her—of all people.

Knowing her sister was here and communicated with this witch; that's the only reason keeping Celestine from bolting. In times like this, frequently, she wishes her power was something more useful than being a simple witch of the garden. Especially now, through all this, she hasn't allowed herself to think about whether she's immortal.

She should have reached the Age Lock by now, even Mani told her so and warned to be careful. Some witches of the garden are immortal and some aren't, they lean more towards the latter and Celestine doesn't have a strong likeness towards what her future will hold. There's a chance she'll wither away, just as her father would have if he survived that long.

For now, she tucks that thought away in her pocket and follows Citlali up what appears to be a stairway. Most of the stone is crumbled, grass and weeds are growing through the cracks, and the tree branches hang so low that Celestine has to duck her way underneath.

"She doesn't come into the city very often," Citlali informs. "She doesn't care much for company, either." She turns to them, arching a brow, and Celestine takes that as her warning.

"Who...who is she?" She asks. No sign of a residence or anything moving out here. Citlali is definitely leading them to die.

Something tugs Celestine in that direction, forcing her to keep going. It's likely the thought that she knows this is her only shot. Without the descendant, they can't find a way to save Roux, and they'll have to go back to the capital empty-handed. Celestine has nightmares about it, Roux dying instead of being saved from the king—she can't fail. Not this time, she can't allow others to fall because of her.

"Luna Carmekton is the last witch in the kingdom bearing the bloodline of the original witches. She has given up her immortality and, at this moment, is allowing herself to fade slowly into the afterlife. It'll be mere weeks before she's gone."

Citlali leads them down another flight of stairs, this one even worse than the last, and pushes back hanging vines to reveal a sealed wooden door. The structure is cut from the ground itself, if anyone were to come in this direction, they'd find only a hump of land in the shape of a rounded rooftop and that wall of vines provides enough of a shield that no one could find the door without actually looking for it.