strong smell of sea salt hung in the air like a damp towel. High, rolling dunes lay before us and I realized we’d have to scale them to get to our destination. Something itched at the back of my mind but I brushed it off.
The sun had baked the sand to a sweltering temperature that quickly burned the bottom of my feet. Feverish, stagnant air hovered just above the dunes; making it hard to breathe. If I hadn’t known any better, I would’ve sworn we were in the middle of the Sahara desert. I heard the crashing waves of the ocean, but all I could see around me was sand and more sand.
“Why was Willow meeting Liam way out here?” I asked as we crawled over another dune.
“She said he’s practicing for the games!” Phoebe exclaimed. “He’s competing in the trident throwing competition! He’s going to be-”
Her words were muted by an onslaught of images and I stopped in my tracks. I glanced around at the sand dunes, peeked up at the sand, and it finally dawned on me where I was.
“My vision!” I perked up with excitement. Carmen and Phoebe turned to face me with bewildered faces. I started gesturing wildly with my hands. “I had a vision about this! Liam was throwing a trident at different targets on the beach, and there were some other guys with him, and…. I don’t remember seeing any girls, but I must have just seen it before we got there!”
“You had a vision of Liam practicing?” Carmen asked. “Aren’t your visions usually stuffed full of death and destruction?”
“That’s what I thought.” I shrugged happily. “But I’m definitely not complaining.”
“Did ya’ll hear that? I think I hear Willow.” Phoebe cocked her head to the side and listened intently. She smiled and took off down the dune at full speed. “Willow!”
Carmen and I scrambled up and over the dune after her. Willow was making her way towards Phoebe when we finally caught up to her.
“You guys are right on time!” Willow beamed up at us and gave us all big hugs. “I just got here, too!”
“Hey Willow.” I held her back as Carmen and Phoebe walked on to give us privacy. “Can I talk to you a sec?”
“Sure, what’s up?” She fell in step with me and I suddenly wished I’d prepared what I was going to say beforehand.
“I really wanted you to be my Apothecary,” I blurted out, “but the sea overrode my decision and made me choose Avery. I don’t even know Avery!”
“I completely understand,” she accepted my apology with grace. Her blue eyes gleamed as she continued. “I could tell by the look on your face that something was off, but Avery will be excellent on your Council. I’ve known her for a long time.”
“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, and I still don’t understand what happened. I just started talking, but I had absolutely no control over what I was saying. It was the weirdest thing.”
“I have a feeling there are things you don’t know about, which is why the sea intervened,” she surmised with a loving grin and a wink. “You have to trust that, as do I. My path will lead me down another road - one that could be just as important. I just don’t know what that is yet.”
“I have a feeling you’re right.” I grinned and felt a weight lift off my shoulders. “You are destined for great things, Willow Brooks.”
“There they are!” Phoebe motioned to us from up ahead and pointed off to her right. As we caught up to them and crested the last dune, a sprawling
The sun had baked the sand to a sweltering temperature that quickly burned the bottom of my feet. Feverish, stagnant air hovered just above the dunes; making it hard to breathe. If I hadn’t known any better, I would’ve sworn we were in the middle of the Sahara desert. I heard the crashing waves of the ocean, but all I could see around me was sand and more sand.
“Why was Willow meeting Liam way out here?” I asked as we crawled over another dune.
“She said he’s practicing for the games!” Phoebe exclaimed. “He’s competing in the trident throwing competition! He’s going to be-”
Her words were muted by an onslaught of images and I stopped in my tracks. I glanced around at the sand dunes, peeked up at the sand, and it finally dawned on me where I was.
“My vision!” I perked up with excitement. Carmen and Phoebe turned to face me with bewildered faces. I started gesturing wildly with my hands. “I had a vision about this! Liam was throwing a trident at different targets on the beach, and there were some other guys with him, and…. I don’t remember seeing any girls, but I must have just seen it before we got there!”
“You had a vision of Liam practicing?” Carmen asked. “Aren’t your visions usually stuffed full of death and destruction?”
“That’s what I thought.” I shrugged happily. “But I’m definitely not complaining.”
“Did ya’ll hear that? I think I hear Willow.” Phoebe cocked her head to the side and listened intently. She smiled and took off down the dune at full speed. “Willow!”
Carmen and I scrambled up and over the dune after her. Willow was making her way towards Phoebe when we finally caught up to her.
“You guys are right on time!” Willow beamed up at us and gave us all big hugs. “I just got here, too!”
“Hey Willow.” I held her back as Carmen and Phoebe walked on to give us privacy. “Can I talk to you a sec?”
“Sure, what’s up?” She fell in step with me and I suddenly wished I’d prepared what I was going to say beforehand.
“I really wanted you to be my Apothecary,” I blurted out, “but the sea overrode my decision and made me choose Avery. I don’t even know Avery!”
“I completely understand,” she accepted my apology with grace. Her blue eyes gleamed as she continued. “I could tell by the look on your face that something was off, but Avery will be excellent on your Council. I’ve known her for a long time.”
“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, and I still don’t understand what happened. I just started talking, but I had absolutely no control over what I was saying. It was the weirdest thing.”
“I have a feeling there are things you don’t know about, which is why the sea intervened,” she surmised with a loving grin and a wink. “You have to trust that, as do I. My path will lead me down another road - one that could be just as important. I just don’t know what that is yet.”
“I have a feeling you’re right.” I grinned and felt a weight lift off my shoulders. “You are destined for great things, Willow Brooks.”
“There they are!” Phoebe motioned to us from up ahead and pointed off to her right. As we caught up to them and crested the last dune, a sprawling
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