The Lost World Of Victa

Chapter 21: Lots of Secrets

School goes by slowly but before I know it ET is over. 

"Kyler, go home ahead of me, okay?" I smile. 

"Okay, and I'll tell Beth where you are." He pats me on the back.

"You call my mom, 'Beth?'" I say, raising my eyebrow.

"Yeah...? That's her name. She said it's okay."

"Oh. Ok. That's cool. Hey, will you take my backpack?"

He nods, and I hand it to him. Kyler leaves, giving me a big thumbs up, and I walk over to Leta. 

"Where does Trace want me to meet him?" I ask her, realizing that I didn't get a lot of details earlier.

"He's coming here. He'll be here any minute. He just didn't want to run into Jameson or Kyler," she explains, "You can take a seat if you want."

I nod and sit down. I'm so nervous that I don't even notice when someone taps me on the shoulder. I look up and see Trace, smiling at me.

"Lily, come on. I have someplace I want to show you," He says, extending a hand towards me. 

I grab his hand, and he leads me outside of the school. 

"Where are we going?" I ask, curious as to why we're headed to the center of town.

"You know the tree in the center of town?" He asks.

I nod.

"Well, back when the children of Salin Nyghtski colonized this world, they brought a relic from our old world. The relic was a sapling from the Arbor, a tree that held the spirit of every ruler of Skyen since it's beginning. Back in Skyen, when a ruler died, they would be buried underneath the tree, and the Arbor would absorb part of their soul. After millennia, when we fled, we took a sapling of the Arbor and planted in the capital. The sapling is a full-grown tree now, almost as amazing as the Arbor, and it's called the Bratus. Every time one of Salin's children colonized a new town, they took a leaf from the Bratus and planted it in the center of town, so that Skyen's magic would be everywhere," Trace explains and I gasp.

"That's incredible," I say as we reach the tree in the center of Warcaster. I can feel the magic coming from it, and I stroke on of the leaves. It's incredible. I close my eyes and try to imagine the previous rulers of SKyen. I try to picture Salin and George from my vision. I can see her galaxy curls and his waterfall eyes. 

I stumble backward, accidentally pulling a leaf off the tree. Trace catches me before I fall to the ground.

"Lillian, will you tell me what's going on? I know you responded to the tree, just like it responded to you. You both looked like you were reaching towards each other," He says, turning me around to face him. 

"I...I can't. I want to. I want to tell you everything. And Kyler. And maybe even Jameson. But I can't. I'm sorry," I sigh, averting my eyes.

"If you can't tell me, I have no choice. Laverna believes that the rogue mage who injured Brenden is the child of the prophecy, the one destined to defeat her. And she'll kill to make sure that happens. Morris told me it was you, Lillian. Laverna doesn't know yet, but..." 

But he can't stop her forever. 

"Fine, but we to go somewhere without prying ears," I say. I need time to come up with something.

"The magic of this tree protects us. That's why I brought you here. You can speak freely, and only we can hear it."

"What about the previous rulers...?"

"If you need protecting, they'll protect you." He smiles, half-heartedly.

"I...I um...Okay. Okay, I'll tell you, but you have to promise me something."