Frost Legacy: Ascension

Chapter 2

Trudging through a forest should have been an easy task for a group of shifters, but this forest, where the plants moved, proved more difficult. Our steps were slowing. More than once, we had to find ways around new obstacles, and frustrations slipped past several sets of lips in huffs of air and mumbled words. Gwen and her mother, Lilly, refused our assistance when the passages became treacherous. They assured us that Supernatural hunters could handle themselves in any situation, but Gwen's lolling head told the true story. They were tiring fast and if we didn't break from the tree line soon, we'd be spending another dangerous night under the migrating canopy.

"How much farther?" The complete exhaustion in Gwen's lyrical voice halted our progress for another water break.

"We're not far." Austin passed Gwen his canteen after realizing she'd drained her own. "We'll reach the edge of Queen Mauve's territory in a few more miles.

More of our group dropped their packs and settled into clusters while we waited for Lilly and Gwen's breathing to slow. I walked a few paces ahead and breathed deeply. The sensation that I belonged to this land had intensified since my partial awakening and I wanted to engulf myself in my surroundings. Nature called out to me with a pulsing tingle which crept to my fingertips as I drew closer to a leafy green plant with red buds. Every fiber in my being wanted to skim the silky teardrop shaped leaf, no matter what consequences the action might hold.

Where the others saw danger, I saw enchantment even in the miniscule things around us. If I stared at a certain spot for too long, my eyesight zoomed in, magnifying the objects within the vicinity to a crispness I'd only witnessed when using a microscope in biology class a couple of years ago. My wolf sight was keener than a human's eyesight, but nothing in comparison to what I now witnessed. I wondered if Ryn, Allie, and Austin experienced the same or if it was my own uniqueness. Whatever it was, I wanted more.

The need to touch the plant in front of me surpassed the point of return and my eyes zeroed in on a thrumming beat within the slightly purple veins. The shortening distance sent my heart into overdrive as it pounded against my ribcage in a frenzied beat. A small sigh fluttered from my mouth when my fingertips finally traced the outer edge and an unseen weight lifted from my soul.

"Kitra?" Ryn's panicked voice startled me from my entranced state. "Let the leaf go and move over to me slowly." He held out a shaky hand for me to grasp.

Clarity broke through my foggy brain and I realized I'd pressed the leaf to my cheek. I let it go and my body locked into place. I didn't want to leave. Why was Ryn always telling me to leave the comfort Faerie's nature gave me?

"I'm fine, Ryn." My arms crossed over my chest when I gave him my best death glare. "Nothing perilous happened. Maybe I'm getting more in tune with Faerie since my awakening." My hand inched for the leaf again.

"Kitra." Austin inched forward. "That's a Siren plant. It lures you in; filling you with the need to be around it before it strikes. Please back over to us."

Caden frowned at Austin's insight and stepped towards me. Twisted yellow vines covered with small bumpy protrusions slithered from underneath the base towards my ankles. I leapt away at the same time as a pair of hands yanked me backwards. The vines released a hissing noise and rose into the air, speeding towards the tree canopy while blocking our path.

"Um...guys?" I pointed at the living wall. "How do we get past that?"

"We don't." Allie lifted her bag over her shoulder. "We backtrack and go around. Fighting a Siren plant only leads to its belly being full."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Zander kicked the tree trunk next to him. One of the lower branches swung forward, clopping him in the head before we could warn him. He dropped like a bag of rocks, and the others slipped away from the branches reach.