Ever So Lightly- Book 1

20

After a few minutes of riding in silence, the darkness of night pressing in from every direction, Zephyr could see Saria starting to fidget. The normalcy of her friends behavior brought a small wave of relief and Zephyr felt a bit of a smile tug at the corners of her lips.

"I'm not really sure where to start," Zephyr broke the silence. Saria sagged with relief at the words.

"That's okay," the redhead responded with a slight grin. "Start with whatever you need to get out, I'm all ears." She paused and her grin broadened. "For now at least, I have a lot to tell you too, so take advantage of my silence while you still can."

Zephyr let out a small but genuine laugh. A small breeze sent a chill through her despite the thick cloak she wore. She stilled at the touch of the wind, her laughter stopping abruptly. An involuntary, "Oh," escaped her. Saria gave her a confused look.

"Maybe I do know where to start," Zephyr said, nervousness causing her to clench the reins tighter in her fists. What would her friend think of her newfound Gift? Not giving herself any more time to overthink the answer to that question, Zephyr focused her concentration on the breeze that was still sliding past them. The now familiar, almost comfortable tingling started up within her. Within moments, she felt her power wrestle control of the air surrounding her.

Saria gasped as the breeze that had been coming at them from their right sides now swirled in circles around her body, lifting and twisting her moonlit curls. Reaching forward, she felt the air pass through her fingers. It felt just like a normal breeze at first touch, but a sense of awareness, an unnatural control cause the hairs on Saria's arms to stand up. Goosebumps covered her and a shiver that wasn't related to the chilly air shook through her shoulders. She turned to Zephyr, gaping. Zephyr felt a moment of dread. What if Saria was afraid of her Gift?

A beaming smile from Saria dissipated Zephyr's worries. Irritation with herself gnawed at her mind. Of course Saria would never turn on her.

"You're Gifted!" Saria squealed as quietly as Saria was capable of. Bennet turned back toward the girls, put a finger to his lips and shushed her. Saria stuck her tongue out at him. His laughter gave Zephyr the impression that this was the response he had been hoping for. "You're Gifted," Saria repeated, prompting Zephyr to explain.

"It happened when... we were attacked," Zephyr skirted around the circumstances of Agitha's death. She bolstered herself to continue. "I was so scared, so angry. I wanted to hurt those soldiers for what they did. I think that's what triggered it. I had no other way to hurt them." She paused for a long moment. Saria held back her questions, waiting for Zephyr to go on.

"I killed them." Her words were soft as she gave voice to another subject she had kept buried deep until that moment. "I just wanted to hurt them, but I killed them. And the worst part is..." Zephyr paused, breaking eye contact with her friend. "I wish it hurt me more. I wish I could regret it more. But after what they did to...to her, I don't regret it. It doesn't help that I know they would have killed me, and probably Jasper and Bennet too."

Saria reached over and grasped Zephyr's hand.

"I don't know that I would have reacted any differently," Saria said, sympathy blanketing her words. She chuckled before continuing. "Well, I guess I would have, since I don't have an amazing Gift like you do." Zephyr welcomed the lighthearted words, but they didn't do much to lessen her rising guilt.

After a moment Zephyr responded seriously. "I never want to do it again."

"Do what?" Saria asked, just before comprehension overtook her features. "Zephyr, people die in war. Good people do things they would never do otherwise. And this might not be an all out war, but it sure seems to be headed in that direction." Saria cast a glance back toward Faron, the smoke rising in the sky high enough to entirely block the moon Terminas from view. Shaking her head, Zephyr waited for Saria to look back at her.

"I know, but I don't want to do it again. I'm not saying that I won't, but I don't want to. That might not make a difference, but I hope it does."

Zephyr's gaze turned forward. The second moon, Vaden, was directly ahead, illuminating the pale, undisturbed snow that stretched out in every direction. The girls rode on in silence for several minutes. Having fallen behind a bit while Zephyr demonstrated her Gift, they spurred their mounts forward in an attempt to close the distance between themselves and the rest of their group. Fatigue pulled at both of them. The bitter cold was the only thing that kept Zephyr awake and remotely alert.

Sudden movement ahead pulled both girls from the depths of their thoughts. Zephyr could barely make out one of the men as he broke from the group and ran toward them.

"Bennet?" Zephyr called out at the approaching figure.

"Zephyr, stop!" Bennet's response was frantic. Zephyr stilled. A chill that had nothing to do with the weather sank into her bones. Looking past the man, she saw that the rest of the group had stopped at the edge of a small valley between two hills. An unnaturally dark valley.

Zephyr urged Bells forward. She galloped past Bennet, who reached out to grab her reins and just missed.

"No, Zephyr, please!" Zephyr had never expected to hear the emotions she was now hearing in Bennet's voice. Fear. Hurt. Anger. So much wretched anger. Saria had joined in the attempts to call her back. Zephyr's pulse throbbed in her ears, blocking out all other sound as she approached the valley. Pulling up on the reins, she launched out of the saddle before Bells had come to a full stop and sprinted forward.

No no no. Jasper was running toward her now to stop her. Zephyr threw out an arm and with it a blast of wind in Jasper's direction. The wall of air knocked him backwards. Zephyr kept running.

She knew what she was running toward. Somehow, she knew. She hated, hated that she knew, that she kept running anyway. As if getting their faster could stop what had already happened.

Zephyr reached the valley and stopped. Her friends came up behind her moments later. Moments too late. Moments. Would moments have made a difference?

The air went completely still. So unnaturally still. Zephyr slowly knelt down. The light of Vaden alone illuminated the blood red snow as her knees sank deep into it.