The 7th Hour
"Where do you go every night?" Kellan asked. He and Kaelith shared a tent, and Kaelith had just walked in on him and Nyla stretching, getting ready for lessons.
"Maybe he runs off to meet those girls he's always seen with," Nyla said with a scowl.
"That's defamation of character," Kaelith said, nonchalant, and went to sit on a huge rock.
"No, seriously, where do you go? Do you secretly train with the elite warriors or something?" Kellan asked.
Just then, Alya walked in, a tired mess.
"Well, look who the cat dragged in," Kaelith said with a smirk.
Alya shot him a glare.
"The Tide should be the best person to answer your question, Kellan," Kaelith said, the same smirk on his face.
"Yes!" Nyla exclaimed, springing up. "You sneak out at night too, Alya. Where do you run off to?"
Kellan looked from Alya to Kaelith. "Do you…" he began.
"Do you…" Nyla began at the same time.
"…train together?"
"…meet each other?"
"What?!" Alya and Kaelith said in unison, staring at Nyla like she'd lost her mind.
Kellan burst out laughing.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Nyla asked, defensive.
"Alya, Kaelith, and 'meet' should never be in the same sentence," Kellan said, chuckling.
"They weren't," Nyla said, confused.
Kellan sighed and smacked his forehead. "I wonder how we're twins."
"Don't flatter yourself, dummy," Nyla shot back.
Just then, a ruckus broke out somewhere in Kragmoor, and all four of them turned at once. Kaelith was the first to run towards it. Alya, Nyla, and Kellan followed.
They arrived to find a small crowd already gathering, looking down into the sheep pen.
In the corner, dark red splatters stained the soil. More than one sheep hadn't survived the night.
"Was it wolves?" Nyla asked.
"Far from it," Kaelith said, already walking toward where the leaders had gathered, near a dark, burnt patch on the bark of a tree.
Gasps erupted as it dawned on everyone.
"Darkness is here," Kaelith said.
Every eye turned to Alya, and the loud whispers began.
She felt it again. That heart-wrenching feeling from every time someone stared at her, in her classroom, the market square, the library, everywhere. That same feeling reared its ugly head.
Alya took several steps back, then turned and ran. She ran past more stares, straight to the waterfall, her heart pounding dangerously against her ribcage, her breathing coming in gasps.
It was her life all over again. It had come to haunt her.
She collapsed on top of the same cliff where they'd seen Kaelith and shut her eyes, taking several deep breaths.
The sound of the rushing water and the gentle flow of the stream slowly eased her turmoil.
She wished this fleeting peace would last. She longed for this darkness to be just another nightmare.
"Alya, I'm here."
She saw Jayden again, holding her hand back at the Priestess's place. He had believed in her.
Her eyes flew open. She stared at the water coming down heavily to meet the stream below. Even with its intensity, the meeting was soft, as if they were dancing in chaotic harmony.
The water didn't fight the fall. It simply became part of what came next, and something about that further eased the knot in her chest. Maybe this was what the Priestess had meant.
"Acceptance, Alya," she'd said. "You must accept that this is who you are. You've been fighting your own essence. That's why there's disharmony. Embody your true potential and you'll shine."
Jayden had helped her then. If he was, indeed, part of her, that meant somewhere deep down, she believed in herself too.
She stood, took her stance, and began the move she'd been failing at for days. She closed her eyes and tried. The first attempt slipped away from her, same as always. She gritted her teeth and tried again. The second attempt failed too, her energy scattering the moment it left her hands.
The thought of the stares in the crowd, the murmurs, the red splatters in the pen made her wince. She shook her head vigorously and took a deep breath then tried again.
Her energy surged, right from her core, through her entirety, and out of her fingers, exploding out of her hands, alongside a loud, piercing scream straight from her throat.
The wind slowed, the waterfall stalled. Bubbles and debris floated all around her.
She landed it. Perfectly.
"You did it."
"Jayden?"
She turned and saw Kaelith at the foot of the boulder, a small smile on his face.
She sighed. "You taught me well." She managed a small smile herself, then turned and started down the boulder.
"Just don't wander off on your own next time."
Alya stopped and turned. She knew exactly what he meant. The darkness was after her after all.
A boy came sprinting up the path, breathless. "Thoren wants to see both of you."
Alya's heart missed a beat. She shared a stare with Kaelith who gave her a slight nod.
They followed him to the leader's tent. Inside, the leaders of every group were already gathered, with Thoren standing at the center of them.
"Don't be scared, child," Thoren said.
Alya stepped in and stood in front of them. Thoren walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing down his face to meet hers.
"I know everything is still new to you. I know you're finding it hard to fit in. Most of all, I know you're giving us everything you have, and we see it. We see your dedication and how much you've improved already. We're proud of you and your progress."
He stood and stepped back, his eyes sweeping around the tent before coming back to her.
"Alya, the darkness is moving faster than we envisioned. Our soldiers at the front have sent word. The barrier is failing, and the Rot is getting closer. Last night, a wraith slipped in and attacked our sheep. We all know who it was really coming for."
Alya saw Kaelith move to stand beside her, a frown on his face.
"Are you sending us away?"
Alya's eyes widened.