Reeve made a face between pity and agreement. “Do you remember how disruptive the bombs on Earth were to Magic?”
“Of course,” said Maeve.
Reeve nodded. “I felt them here. In this very palace. Realms away. The pathways of energy and Magic transcend space and time.”
“You think Earth’s defenses stand a chance?”
Reeve shook his head. “No,” he said. “I think their offense does.”
Maeve remembered the impact of those atomic bombs, as they were called. She’d felt their power so deep in her core, her entire nervous system wanted to lie down and die.
“You fear humans bringing their wars here,” she said, understanding.
“I do,” he admitted. “If they learned, or were given, the ability to Portal. . .I fear Aterna would be the first to be conquered in the name of salvation. Ripped of all the power these lands offer a human.”
Maeve was silent a moment. “It sounds like you may fear them more than Shadow.”
“Not more, just. . .differently.”
“Shadow wants to conquer and absorb Dread Magic,” said Maeve, her words feeling like dangerous unspoken territory. The pill was hard to swallow. “But. . .it was always Mal’s desire to create a utopia under his Magic. It is his drive to rule all seven realms. She has merely corrupted his means of achieving said goal.”
Reeve didn’t answer, but she knew he agreed.
Spinel rubbed against Maeve impatiently, dissatisfied with her current position as she leaned against the altar where Maxius lay. Reeve stood in the doorway, watching her from across the hall. She didn’t look up from her book, one hand petting Spinel absently in the late hour.
“How long are you going to just stand there?” she called, eyes still down.
“I wasn’t sure you knew I was here,” he replied.
“I can feel whenever you are near.”
At last, she looked up from her book. He was dressed casually with a loose-fitting shirt that exposed a few of the black lines of Magic permanently marked across his tanned skin.
“I want to show you something,” he said.
“I’m reading,” she said.
“You’ve read that book before.”
“The second read is always more enlightening than the first.”
“Come on,” he urged. “Or you’ll miss it.”
She chewed the inside of her cheek and caved, setting her book aside. She ran her fingers down the crystal casing holding Maxius and silently bid him goodnight. Each day, she wondered when it would be safe again for him.
When she reached Reeve, he offered her his hand. She slid her fingers over his, and before she could ask where they were going, he Obscured them. The dim crystal lights of the palace twisted and collapsed as they landed in darkness. Reeve’s fingers remained holding hers.
The grass beneath their feet was dusted with a light snow, and the breeze was frigid. Only for a moment, of course, as Reeve ensured his invisible bubble expanded to cover her. He’d dropped them high in the Dark Peaks just above Crystalmore and the Celestian Palace. They were a soft dot of light down below them.
When she looked at Reeve, his eyes were up.
“The clouds have been blacking out the sky for weeks, but there’s finally enough of a lull in the snowstorm.”
Maeve followed his gaze to the starry night. Vivid constellations dotted across the canopy. With a wave of his hand, the snow beneath them cleared like a fresh blanket had been dropped. Reeve tugged her down gently, as they sat shoulder to shoulder.
He leaned back and placed his arms behind his head, suddenly looking younger.
“Do you know them?” he asked, looking up at the constellations.
