Page 25 of Spring's Descent
“The forest was calling me,” I started, launching into my explanation before her anger escalated. “Everything was coated in a sheet of frost. Most of the plants were already dead, but I brought the rest of them back to life.”
Mother stilled, her eyes widening as she took in the hundreds of dandelions swaying softly in the early spring breeze. The surprise in her eyes caused my heart to flutter—for the seeds of hope to sprout. I felt tired and my legs were a little weak, but this proved that I wasn’t a lost cause.
The delicate dream of her acceptance was banished the moment her hard gaze fixed on me. It was a look I knew all too well. One I dreaded, because I knew what it meant.
My smile faltered as I took a step back, raising my hands slowly. “I only want to be like you. I thought practicing?—”
“Youthought,” Mother mimicked, the harshness in her voice causing me to flinch. She took a step toward me, and I quelled the urge to run. It wouldn’t do any good. She would find me, either way. And when she did, she would make my punishment that much worse. “Thinking is beyond your abilities, daughter. Your job is to do what I tell you to do.”
Dropping my gaze to her feet, I nodded. My hands were folded, my shoulders bowed as the familiar prick of tears burnedmy eyes. I couldn't let them fall. Tears were a weakness. And Motherhatedweakness.
I felt like a mouse caught in the coil of a snake as Mother circled, her venomous gaze paralyzing before she delivered the killing strike.
“Did you take your tea this morning?” She brushed a strand of my red curls back from my face, the deceptively soft touch causing me to tremble.
“Yes, Mother.”
“Look at me,” she commanded, her ice-blue eyes reading every flicker of emotion across my face. I did my best to seal it away, to withdraw into myself, but it was no use. It was like she had the ability to peer into my mind. “Did you drink all of it?”
My face fell, the tears I’d worked so hard to contain breaking free. “I spilled only a little bit.”
Her lip curled in disgust a moment before I felt the sting of her palm across my cheek. My head jerked to the side, but her fingers pinched my chin, forcing me to look up at her.
“You stupid, useless girl. Can’t even obey a simple task without messing it up.” She let my chin go, causing me to stumble back. With a long sigh, she turned to the side, her fingers massaging her temple. “It’s my own fault, really. I should have accounted for you not being able to follow a basic rule, even if it is for your own good.”
I knew better than to speak, but I couldn’t stop my frustration from bubbling over. “No, it’s not.”
Mother’s spine stiffened, the simple gesture causing my heart to race, the force of its beating almost painful. Sweat broke out across my brow as she slowly turned to face me, but I clenched my fists, needing to say what I’ve been thinking about for the past few months.
“I feel sleepy after I drink the tea. And weak, like I’m inside a bubble. Everything feels distant. The trees, the flowers, the earth, but today I sensed the forest.”
She was still looking at me with those cold eyes, her lips pinched in a harsh line, but she hadn’t silenced me yet. I let that bolster my resolve and continued.
“Don’t you see, Mother? This could be the answer to our problems. Maybe if I stop drinking it?—”
I caught the quick flick of her fingers before torturous vines erupted from the ground. Barbs dug into my skin as they wrapped around my forearms and legs, slicing into muscle as they anchored me in place. Mother was careful with her placement, the vines always in areas that could be easily hidden. Only Ruby had seen the crisscrossing scars and thought to question them.
Traitorous tears fell as cries shook my chest. I was stupid to have hoped for anything other than pain from her.
Her knuckles connected with my stomach, the blow strong enough to send me toppling to the ground, but her vines caught me, holding me up for her next hit. I bit the inside of my cheek to stifle a whimper, concentrating on the metallic taste as each strike washed over me.
“This is for your own good.” Another blow caught me in the ribs, forcing the breath from my lungs. Something cracked and the cries I’d been holding back broke free.
“Stupid. Worthless thing. Why do you make me do this?” she panted, her eyes alight with unhinged rage and unabashed glee. “You know I don’t like punishing you, but you never learn.”
She backhanded my face as her vines vanished. I crashed to the floor; my palms braced on the blood-splattered ground as she stood over me. The yellows of the dandelions were speckled in red as I coughed, each quake of my chest staining their perfect blossoms.
“You are nothing more than a burden. A mistake I wish I could undo. Look at me when I’m talking to you.”
Her boot caught me in the stomach, forcing me to roll on my side. My arms came around my middle, trying my best to protect my throbbing body as I groaned.
“You’re alone, Korae. Nobody wants you here.” Mother sank to her knees beside me, gathering my aching body to her. She cradled my head in her lap, brushing strands of hair back from my brow as she summoned currents of her earth magic to soothe some of the pain. She couldn’t heal me, but each beating was finished with her holding me, as if she wasn’t the one who had caused this.
“Shh, it will all be over soon.”
I blinked and I was no longer a child. My wounds were healed, and the bright blossoms of dandelions were replaced by a thick pine forest ending in a dramatic cliff. Its edge was a few paces away with nothing but the open sky beyond.
“You can end this,” Mother promised, appearing at my back. “It will be quick. Just one step and you can rest.”