The Blood of Amietta

XVIII. A Journey Awaits

"No!" Arabelle exclaims. "You have a responsibility to find your mother, Mila. She's family– you at least owe it to her to let her explain."

My face grows stony. "I don't owe her anything," I bark.

Arabelle looks surprised at my outburst.

I sigh. I don't like fighting with her– it doesn't feel right.

"Look. I know you don't like Noelani– I'm not asking you to join us. I just wanted to let you know."

She nods. "I think you're making a mistake," she says.

"I know." I pause, debating if I should ask my next question. "You could come with us," I suggest.

To my surprise, she doesn't say no right away.

"I need to think about it," she says, eying me skeptically.

I nod, feeling relieved– there's hope, at least. "Okay."

"Mila, just... be careful trusting Noelani," she says softly. "Royals are selfish creatures."

She looks at me and I can tell that she wants to say more, but she doesn't.

"What about Cormak?" I ask. "He's a prince and you get along with him just fine."

Arabelle shakes her head. "That's different. He's spent years on his own in Tsulona. He's no more royal than you or me."

"So did Noelani," I remind her.

Arabelle scoffs. "And she spent her time ruling over Moonwake like a tyrant."

I frown, feeling myself grow defensive. "Noelani cared about the people of Moonwake," I tell her. "When she found out about my powers she could have just trained me to break the seal without any warning, but she prepared the town instead. She jumped through hoops for that corrupt Council– a Council she created in the first place to give the town a better sense of security. How could any of that be considered selfish?"

"She was acting out of guilt," Arabelle argues. "Noelani felt responsible because the town was trapped because of her."

"If it's anyone's fault it's Ettiana's," I snap.

"No, Mila. It's not."

I scowl at Arabelle, but she refuses to meet my gaze. Something tells me that this has to do with the memories she still claims to be missing. Arabelle really hasn't been herself since the seal broke, but until she decides to come clean, there's little I can do about it.

"Okay," I say shortly, leaving it at that. "I'm tired. I'm going to head to bed."

She sighs, revealing to me her own guilt. "Mila–"

"Goodnight, Arabelle."

_____

The next morning, Cormak roots through his bag, pulling out a small square of corta paper. We've already prepared a small breakfast and cleaned up our camping spot, so it's now or never, I guess.

I conjure a needle, mentally preparing myself to prick myself with it. I just had to be a bloodsorcerer. Why couldn't it have been watersorcerer. That sounds much cleaner. And less painful.

"Where should we go?" I ask. I doubt it would be very smart to write "Armenta" on the paper and just hope for the best.

"I'm not sure," Mak says.

"How about Caister?" Arabelle asks.

I frown, not particularly fond of the idea. Caister is my home village, a small merchant town located near the center of Nirasus. It's a good location– close enough to anywhere we'd want to go. However, my family home, Roselak, is located on the outskirts of town. A risk that I'm not willing to take.