"Sure." Serefina shrugged her shoulder nonchalantly. "Do you think I will bite her?" she asked sarcastically and she followed behind Torak and Raine toward the podium.
"You just want to upset her, right?" Raine elbowed Torak.
"No, I want to be with you," Torak answered her with straight face, he didn't lie when he said he wanted to be with her. Well, getting on Serefina's nerve sounded nice too.
Raine didn't argue with Torak about that.
The three of them walked toward the white podium and stopped under its stairs. From there, they could see what the function of this place was before it was destroyed.
"They used this place to burn dead bodies." Torak walked up the stairs while holding Raine's hand, followed by Serefina, who was observing their surroundings.
"Yes, they were. Among the dead bodies that were burned were the dead bodies of victims of your brother's brutality," Serefina inford them. She heard this from Lydia. Her witch friend told her everything she knew before she sent her away to follow the centaurs.
"Kace slaughtered people?" Torak raised his eyebrows questioningly toward Serefina.
More or less, though Kace would never admit it, but Torak knew how reluctant his younger brother was to end soone life. Kace and Jedrek had a great control over their beast, but in different aspect.
"I think he was forced to do so since his mate was in great danger at that ti," Serefina said.
"Understandable," Torak spoke impassively. He had no empathy for the decisions and actions Kace had taken, because he would have done the sa if he was him.
"Co here, Raine," Serefina called for Raine as she crouched down on one side of the crack that had split the podium in half. "I want you to feel this."
Serefina was putting her hands on the dirt of the podium floor and beckoned Raine to do the sa thing. Raine followed Serefina's instruction and did the sa thing while Torak was kneeling beside her.
"Concentrate," Serefina instructed and put her palm on top of Raine's hand. "Concentrate with what you want to see."
There was a small frown between Raine's eyebrows. How she knew what she wanted to see? She didn't even know what she supposed to see…
In spite of that, Raine closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. She tried to tap on her magic, or whatever it was, since she was not sure she could control this. Most of the ti, her ability would co and go without her consent.
Raine tried to concentrate to the wind that blew her hair, or the sound of the cricket around her, or Serefina's warm palms that touched her, yet nothing happened.
The guardian angel took in a deep breath, she tried to focus on the darkness that enveloped her senses.
A minute…
Two minutes…
"How is it? Do you see sothing?" Serefina asked, staring at her expectantly. However, the mont Raine opened her eyes, she knew the answer right away.
"No," Raine said softly. She stared at the dirt beneath her palms with her brows furrowed deeply.
"Or, do you feel sothing?" Serefina pressed. She wanted her to make so progress. They didn't have ti to be wasted.
"No…" Raine's voice was barely a whisper. "I don't."
Serefina clicked her tongue. There was sothing wrong. She must have missed sothing… why Raine's progress was very slow compared to Hope?
After all, Serefina had spent more ti with Raine than Hope, since Kace had taken her away to God knows where.
Raine could feel Serefina's disappointnt. She disappointed to herself too, if she had to be honest. But, then she felt the spark on top of her head and knew it was Torak, who caressed her head.
"It's okay, you can try later." Torak helped Raine to stand up and wiped the dirt from her hands.
"Right!" Serefina snapped exasperatedly. "She can try later and later and later! Let's see how many 'later' that she has before sothing really terrible happened!"
"We just arrived! All of us are tired." Torak snapped back at the witch. "She has tried her best and if she has not lived up to your expectations it doesn't an he is not progressing."
The witch seethed, but didn't say anything when she stomped her feet angrily, walking down the podium and stord toward camp site to make her own tent with only one swift movent, so the mont she arrived her tent was ready.
Raine watched in amazent. How she hoped she had that kind of magic.
"Let's go back, you must be tired." Torak helped Raine to step down the stairs of the podium.
"You shouldn't defend in front of her…" Raine mumbled, but Torak could hear her anyway. "What she said is true."
Only if Raine could tap on her power… maybe… just maybe… things would go different with Sunny or… Aeon…
The death of the shadow warrior was still fresh in her mory and soti Raine would find herself crying in the middle of the night with Torak beside her, cald her down.
Torak didn't say anything, but Raine knew he was aware about what she felt…
"I need you to be strong," Torak started as he tucked strands of Raine's hair behind her ears. "But, you will not make any progress when you feel depressed or desperate to make any good result. That's not how it works."
Raine lowered her head, she didn't know what to say, but from the corner of her eyes, she saw sothing beautiful.
Flickering in the dark night…
A firefly.
==============
Hope saw them again. The fireflies that flew freely in this place. They just arrived in Uzu mountain now and not like when the last ti they were here, there was no barrier around this area anymore.
It seed what Lydia said was true, the devil and her minions had gone from this place.
"What are you staring at?" Bree tugged Hope's hand, staring at her curiously.
"Fireflies," Hope answered softly.
But, little Bree didn't see any fireflies around them…
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