Page 11 of Thorn & Ash

Though she couldn’t feel much, Mona felt her cheeks burn. “Yes, I really did love it.” She couldn’t keep the sorrow out of her voice. Goddess, she missed her magic. It had been a part of her, and to be stuck here without it was like losing a piece of her own soul.

“Are all the witches like you? Is their grace the same?” Evander asked.

“No. My sister's is ivy. It's different for everyone. But for earth witches, it is usually some kind of flora.” She looked at him then, assessing his expression. A deep longing filled his eyes. He tried to mask it, but she’d already seen it stark in his gaze. “Why are you so curious about my magic? This is more than just resolving my complex situation, I can tell.”

Evander gritted his teeth, averting his gaze. Frustration creased his brow, and Mona could tell he was angry he’d revealed so much to her. “I… am fascinated by light magic.”

“Light magic? I'm only aware of the elemental magicks.” She knew of blood magic, of course, which was the darkest form of magic. Her coven had forbidden the use of it because of its addictive nature and capacity to alter a witch’s aura.

Evander huffed a sigh, looking as if he’d rather be anywhere but here. “We don't have much magic down here, but the powers that do exist are... dark. Unnatural. Demonic, even.”

Mona's gaze fell to his moonstone necklace, and he went rigid. She did notice his hand often went to the moonstone dangling at his throat. Even as a spirit, Mona could sense power from this trinket.

There was something to it, she was certain. But based on Evander’s evasiveness, he certainly wouldn’t tell her outright.

“From my experience,” she said cautiously, “it isn't always the magic that's evil. It depends entirely on the caster.”

“You do not know death magic, then,” Evander said, his voice lethal and quiet. “It is alive. It consumes everything without restraint.”

A chilled silence fell between them. Mona's eyes remained pinned on him as she longed to pick apart the secrets he was hiding.

He changed the subject. “Tell me of your home.”

Mona's brows knitted together in agitation. She didn’t want to talk about something else, but she knew she wouldn’t get much out of him right now. “I’m from the island of Krenia.”

Evander furrowed his brow. “I’ve never heard of such a place.”

“Not many have. It's quite small.”

His eyes turned wistful. “Will you tell me about it?”

Mona offered a gentle smile at the pure interest in his tone, like that of a child wanting to hear a story. “The climate is warm and breezy, the air always smelling of the sea. You can feel the power of the earth beneath your feet, like a constant thrum of energy. The village is so small that everyone knows who you are and where you came from. They are more than neighbors; they are family.”

“That sounds... quite nice.” Evander's voice was strained, but his eyes turned wistful.

“It is, but it comes with its challenges. For instance, it's hard to leave. I often dreamed of the places I was missing out on by being stuck there. And also…” She paused, her cheeks heating again.

“Also what?” Evander prompted.

Mona shook her head slightly. The logical side of her brain told her to stop talking, but she felt inexplicably safe here with Evander. Like she could tell him anything and he wouldn’t judge her for it. “I never felt like I could find a deep, passionate love like the ones I've read about in stories. Not in a village full of people who've known me since birth. It's silly, I guess, but it made me feel... lonely. Even when surrounded by people I loved, I was lonely.”

Evander went perfectly still. So still that the air around them seemed to grow tense with anticipation. For a moment, Mona feared she’d crossed another line and he would refuse to speak. But instead, he said in a soft murmur, “I feel the same way. Day after day, I am surrounded by souls eager to tell their story and lay their grief on me. But I am never truly… seen. I can never live freely. I merely exist.”

Sadness tightened Mona’s heart as she considered how lonely Evander must be. It would be far worse to live forever in eternal loneliness than to live as Mona did, with a family who loved her. Even if she had never found true love, at least she had that.

But Evander, it seemed, did not.

“Do you have a family?” Mona asked.

“Brothers,” Evander said, his voice monotonous. “Five of them. And a father.”

Judging by his impassive tone, he did not have an affectionate relationship with them. The thought made Mona’s heart twist further. “Do they live here, too?”

Evander nodded, his gaze falling to the blades of grass he twisted between his fingers.

“They don’t understand you, do they?” Mona asked.

Evander looked at her then, his glowing silver irises locked onto her. The haunted devastation in his face was answer enough.