AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Beth?”
“It’s not what it seems, Brother. Nothing is how it seems.”
All at once the room burned along the edges. Horrid crackles of cinders and ash peeled away the tapestries and window coverings. Dark billows of smoke bloomed around me.
“Beth!” My voice croaked from the smoke as much as emotion.
When I blinked again, my sister was gone.
Pain throbbed in my skull,an incessant pounding. Little by little, I cracked my eyes, allowing a bit of harsh light to burn through. Ash and woodsmoke filled the air, and beneath it all was a bit of mint and something harsh, like onions.
One hand rubbed down my face, and a sharp bite dug into my neck. All at once, my thoughts caught the present. I let out a groan, recalling the rotted teeth shredding my throat, the way uncertain hands had tirelessly tried to mend the wounds, then the obnoxious voices of the people I loved most in the world.
With care, I ran my fingertips along the bandages. Dried and crusted over, a sign they were able to be removed and the fetid scent would fade.
When my hand fell back to my side, it fell atop something warm, something soft.
Adira’s hand remained perched on the edge of the long sofa. She still slept on the floor—a sight that did not sit well in my clear head—but somewhere through the night, she must’ve reached for me again.
“Adira,” I said in a rasp. Her eyes beat wildly behind her lids. I hadn’t seen her in the strange dream, and she slept peacefully. Did I recall a dream without her? Perhaps her nearness was enough.
The dream had felt so immersive, but it was not a memory. Arabeth was gone before I’d come of age. I was too grown for it to be real. Still, it was a somber kind of blessing, as though my sister had managed to burrow into my mind—a place between memories and the present—and laugh with me about a woman.
Her name had not been mentioned once, yet I knew the one I spoke of was Adira Ravenwood.
It was madness, really. Mere weeks and one touch had unlocked a passion for the woman I did not understand. Like she fit into a corner of my soul I’d never known was empty until she made it whole.
She was the last blood mage, she was fated to save Magiaria, not once but twice if we were successful in ending the degeneration.
The match for her ought to be a king. No doubt the royal council would agree. Destin was a proper match for Adira, not the troublesome prince there only by marriage, not blood.
Careful not to disturb Adira’s sleep, I eased out of the furs and strode to the small cooking nook. Cy snored beneath the table, mouth open, fingers twitching, as though desperate to pick a pocket even in sleep.
Out of the lot of us, Cyland was the one who’d taken to thieving with the most ease.
I winced and tugged at the hardened herbal bandages, peeling them away from my skin. The cool water stung, and a hiss slid between my teeth when I dragged a wet cloth over the healing punctures along my ribs.
“Well, look who lives.” Gwyn said through a yawn. Her hair was tousled, and a crease still etched into her cheek from where she’d slept on the beaded arm bangles on her wrists.
I finished wiping the scabs away, and tossed the cloth into the basin. “You did not need to remain here.”
“It was mighty gracious of us caring for you in such a way, you’re right.”
I scoffed, then tugged her into my arms. “You’re aggravating.”
Gwyn, aware of the wounds on my body, tightened her hold on my waist as much as she dared. “And you frightened me.”
I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m fine, Gwyn.”
Gwyn pulled away, her eyes scanning the inky black veins cascading up my sides. “But you aren’t, Kage. You’ve been targeted, and it’s time you admit it. By taking too much degeneration on, it is as if every dark thing is seeking you out.”
“We’ve been over this?—”
“Yes,” she said sternly. “And a full blown Immorti attack, like they were pack animals, is as much of a sign as I need to convince me that you are a threat to whatever dark power is trying to rise here. And now you want to do it again by returning to the Well.”
“That is not for me.”
“But you are connected. Speak true, you plan to take on more if that is what is required.”
