Whatever I had out here, it had kept me sane in this life I had been born into. With my eyes closed, I tilted my head back and the unity I had warmed my skin. My feet lifted from the ground, and I rested suspended under the stars. I called to no power, I asked for nothing, I pulled no energy, I only accepted the harmony. The breeze stilled, and I knew the animals that had been nearby would flee, leaving the area around me completely void of life other than mine. Not even Annabelle came out here or near this area.

Time was of no importance and neither was anything else. It was in this serenity that my pain, heartbreak, sadness didn’t exist. There was no ache in my chest. This was my void. My time of worship when I gave what I was to the earth and allowed it to control me.

When the night began to close, I opened my eyes, and slowly, I was lowered back to the ground beneath me. With a deep breath, I released the pain of yesterday, the rejection of hours ago, and the sadness that came with the life I led. I had lost a dear friend and that was my excuse for my weakness around Rathe. It wouldn’t happen again.

I moved to leave my circle when my gaze lifted to meet my mother’s bright green eyes glowing in the pre-dawn as she watched me. She was several feet away, her long red hair flowing free down her back. With the breeze catching the silky strands and the moonlight on her pale skin, she appeared every bit of the magical being she was. Nothing about her was ordinary.

I said nothing to her as I walked closer, waiting on her to say something. Explain her presence. This was not her time of day. She liked her sleep. She was out here for a reason. She sensed my joining with the earth but that wasn’t unusual. I’d done this since I was a child. If she wanted to taunt me or criticize me for not doing what she wanted then she’d have waited until another time. Her rest wouldn’t have been interrupted for me.

She was nervous, and I wondered why. The glow in her eyes was a show of sorcery. She was on guard and ready to cast at any moment. I didn’t feel any danger around us. I saw no reason for her to be so edgy and alert.

“You need to leave here,” she called out to me.

“What?” I asked, unsure I heard her correctly.