Trace wanted to be as far away from that plant as he could. It upset him, deeply, to be able to manipulate reality.
Maybe because Anaisa had once accused him of being manipulative. Maybe because he had been manipulative, albeit at the behest of a blackmailer.
What if that blackmailer knew that, in the presence of this tree, Trace could change reality itself? How much use would Trace be then?
Far too much use. Far too valuable for anyone intended to rule the world to let go.
If Oakdown found out about this, he'd find some way to make it permanent. Maybe if Trace was forced to take a stone from the tree, it would enhance his power. Make him like that permanently. Make it so that no one would ever be able to trust their own eyes and ears around him, because he could simply change things.
It was too terrible a fate to contemplate for long.
