Search for the Extinct [Last of Elves book 2]

Three: Aura

Aura

The rumours are growing stronger. More frequent.

The quill raced across the page, in a hurry to record the knowledge before it was too late.

More and more people are reporting the pair. Now, they say that they are accompanied by two large animals. They seem to fit the descriptions of the beastkins of old.

It can’t be true.

Beastkins were wiped from the land with the elves. But the rumours are spreading, the people are talking. Soon, something will have to be done. Hopefully, it won’t be too late.

Perhaps …

No. It’s too risky, they say. I’m not ready, or I’m too young, or too weak. They keep me here in safety. The High Priestess says she understands how I feel. That she used to feel the same way. Until she finally understood what she was meant to do. Then, it all made sense.

She says I will understand someday.

I don’t want to understand.

The quill stopped, shaking with emotion. A strand of dark hair lay across the page, weak sunlight glinting off it. Gently, the quill moved it out of the way, and continued writing, calmer this time.

I want to be out. I feel suffocated within the temple. Like the stones will collapse onto me. I can’t remember the last time I went outside, even though my balcony is only just behind me.

I want more than that.

I want to sleep under the stars. I want to feel the rewarding pain from hard work. I want to run with the wind in my face, tangling my hair. I want to ride until I reach the sea. I want to see the sea.

Most of all, I want to laugh. I want to be able to speak, to sing. To talk with someone.

Again, the quill stopped, resting on the page. It lay there for a long time, until finally it moved again, transcribing the words ever so slowly.

I want to know who my father was.

The quill almost crossed the sentence out. But nothing could erase the truth.