Usually I wouldn't update this quickly, but in honor of my birthday I'm going to.
Our time for rest passes too quickly. Brady and I do not mention the dream to any of our friends; he takes cues from me not to. Most of the time Ren notices there is something different about us, but thankfully, he does not comment.
"Volcano time," Connor remarks one day at breakfast, his voice low.
Adne shoves her elbow to his ribs. "Unlike the rest of us, there are three people here who haven't been to a volcano."
I look at my plate without replying. I have. I've seen all the sites already. The thoughts just come, unknown to me but known to my subconscious, if that makes any sense. Because it certainly confuses the hell out of me.
"Do you think there'll be Lyulf there?"
Shay's eyes are locked on me when he answers Sabine. "Probably. Guardians would have come back at the same time. Whether or not they'll attack us is another matter, since we're returning the pieces, not taking them."
"The Scion has to break the pieces, and the Chosen Three have to place whichever corresponds, together," Brady mutters, not touching any of his food.
Ren glances between the two of us. "Then we will. Won't we?" His gaze fixes on me.
I push away from the table with a growl. "I'm not hungry. See you back at the rooms." Without waiting for a response, I turn and head for the elevator. My blood is screaming for a fight, but there might not be a fight. And if there is, will it be just the previous Guardians, or will the Netherworld have some cruel joke to play on me… again?
"Aquamarines are always so hard to find, you know that?"
My head snaps up at the now-familiar voice. The old Ren stands before me, smirking. "I haven't gone anywhere in the past four days," I remind him, puzzled.
"Not what I meant. But do you ever notice that real aqua gems are hardly ever sold where people say they are, like jasmine flowers don't really get used in half the stuff that smells like jasmine?"
Without meaning to, I flinch. "Me and Jazz," I observe, unfortunately seeing where this is going.
He sits down beside me. "You two have been best friends since the beginning, and you're letting a Nether servant come between you? Take your mother for instance. She came back for her pack before she went after the rest of the pieces. Sure, Shay didn't like it, and I nearly tried to kill her against my will, but she only thought of the friends and family she left behind. You have just one of your packmates with you – is that really enough?" At his words, something tugs under my skin, calling me back to those I abandoned. "Go back to Vail. Save the others. Then you can worry about resealing the Rift. Okay?"
"How will I get there?" I query, not wanting to tell the others about this… solo mission.
Another crooked smile plays at his lips. "Ask the earth," he whispers, ruffling my hair before fading.
Shaking my head in exasperation, I smooth out my hair and tie it into a ponytail. Ask the earth? Whatever you say, Ren. I head onto the balcony, feeling the wind pick up and brush against my skin, almost adding to that incessant tug. I sigh and close my eyes. Feeling for the magic my father supposedly gave me, I reach down to find the earth itself – Haldis, I tell myself. "Please let this work," I murmur, calling in a favor to get to Vail A.S.A.P.
Just like that (faster than I thought, actually), snow crunches under my feet. I shift to block out the cold mountain air and begin to search for signs of my friends.