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Large masses of molten rock erupted from the surface of the igneous sea and hovered through the scorched air. It curled around me as I hovered and bobbed in the center of the volcano.
I remembered how Conrad had pulled the water from the plants around my home in Toronto to create a giant liquid snake when he had fought Marcus, the fire mage. Mimicking him, I pulled the flowing rock into a viscous serpent that slithered around me in sweltering coils. Beneath the excruciating heat, I felt my blood harden, and my flesh solidify. Almost as surely as I knew I was breathing, I knew that with each beat of my heart, my mortality was melting away.
I was not a human girl. I never had been. For one shining moment, it seemed incredible that I had ever believed I was.
With this strange sense of peace that came with the feeling of absolute control, the magma around me began to gather. Feeling drunk on power, I blinked lazily, remembering suddenly that I was here to battle a Titan. As I came to the realization, an impossibly large wolf made entirely out of molten stone rose from the ocean of lava and stood before me. Its large jaw was dripping in fire, and its body was crusted with igneous rock.
Frira.
I slid back into position, my own swirling snake of magma twisting into hot viridian ribbons around me.
So, this was who I would battle.
This large wolf made out of magma stood three times my height. I tried to feel afraid, but I was not. I waited to feel anxious or even a sense of anticipation for the battle about to unfold; but something felt off. Off, or incredibly right. As I allowed my aura to expand and examine the wolf, I understood immediately. Just like the molten snake that coiled around me now, I could call this wolf to me if I so chose.
This Titan was made of the same things I was. It was a part of me, and I, a part of it. It called to me, but I was its master. I knew it more certainly than I knew my own name. I watched, in awe, as the wolf stepped forward.
It did not attack.
Instead, it bowed.
The Titan Frira bent a forepaw and dipped its great molten head before me.
“Why… why do you bow?” I asked. The wolf raised its mighty head. It did not speak. It only stared. Two blazing hot objects emerged from its forehead, right between its glowing red eyes. The objects floated towards me, and I marveled as they entered the bubble of reprieve, I had made for myself. The glowing red objects cooled, and I reached out to examine them.
The first object was a circlet. A thin band of silver that was to be worn over the head, with a teardrop shaped black stone pendant at the front. I looked closer and gasped as I realized that the pendant was not made of stone at all.
It was the same quality of material that Bond-Breaker had been made of. The pendant hung on its silver chain, like a window into the universe beyond, and I knew it was a formidable piece of magick.
The second item seemed to be a large raw emerald. The light of the fire that burned between Frira and I reflected back at me. I marveled at how heavy the jewel was. I looked back up at the wolf in awe.
“Thank you,” I said. It bowed again, before melting away, back into the ocean of lava it had manifested from. I hovered for a moment longer, before clutching my treasures to my chest, and setting my sights on the surface.
Amon was pacing across the edge of the mouth, waiting for me. He visibly relaxed the second he laid eyes on me. The moment my feet touched the ground he was on me, checking me over, making sure that I wasn’t injured.
“Amon, I’m fine,” I said. He didn’t seem to believe me. He titled my head left and right. He inspected my armor, and ran his fingers through my hair.
“You don’t have a scratch…” he murmured. “How is that possible?” I shrugged.
“We didn’t fight,” I explained. His eyes widened, then narrowed.
“What do you mean, you didn’t fight?” He asked.
“I don’t know, we just didn’t. Frira kind of… bowed, then gave me these.” Amon looked at me like I had grown a second, then a third head.
“I’m sorry… Frira bowed?” He asked. I nodded.
“Yeah. Then gave me these gifts.”
Amon finally looked down at the items I had been trying to show him. He took the circlet first and ran his finger reverently over the pendant.
“What is it?” I asked, and he looked up at me, his face slack with shock.
“Raven, this is Elvira’s Circlet. This is her crown. It is made of the same material as Bond-Breaker, it was lost when she was petrified,” he told me. “Aleites had it crafted for her to protect her from those who would bond her to them.”
My eyes widened. “Does that mean…” I asked, and he nodded.
“Yes,” he looked back up at me, his face as serious as the day I had met him. “It means that while you have this in your possession, you cannot be bonded. It offers you the same protection that Bond-Breaker offered me.”
