Ididn’t understand this powerIhad, but it was time to test it.
Chapter 19
Tori
Ireached down into that deep well beneath my feet.Onthe beach,Icould once again feel the warm magic of the earth and the harsh, cold depths of the magic of the ocean.Theyseemed to clash where they met, much like the waves breaking against the shore.Ifocused on pulling energy from each of them.Theydidn’t want to play.Thegreat reservoir ignored me.Iwas no more than any other speck of dust.
Iground my teeth and tried to pull harder.Nothing.Iwas getting pissed off.Sweatformed on my brow, andIslammed my palms into the black sand of the beach.Ireached out with my mind, burrowing my fingers in likeIcould dig my way to that power.ButIcouldn’t draw it into me.Ihissed in frustration.
“Takeit easy now,Princess; no one learned how to channel the magic of the earth overnight,”Avlynlaughed as they approached me.Theymoved to set their hand on my shoulder, “Comeon, let’s—”Thepower exploded.
Assoon as their hand touched my shoulder, it was like when lightning connected to the earth.Immediately, the powerIhad been tugging at flooded over me and jumped toAvlynthroughtheir touch.Itwas too much;Ihad been pulling too hard with nowhere for the magic to go.Ifelt the ground beneath us shake and rip, and my mind was overtaken by that deep, unending power.
Ittried to wash all thatIwas away, but the golden light of my bond withAbraxasclung to my soul, preventing it from being washed away in the tide.Itgave me just enough time to focus and hold onto myself.Ifocused on the beating of my heart and that deep golden bond, andIsurvived the onslaught.Seconds, or maybe hours, passed.Butthe flood of magic ebbed, andIcould breathe again.Ifound myself lying flat on my back on the ground.Ipushed up, and my temple throbbed, and black stole into my vision as the blood rushed out of my head.AllIcould see was a blinding blue light.
Iheld it in my hands.WasIblind?Whycouldn’tIsee?IrealizedIwas peering into a great chasm that had opened in the ground.Thebeach had cracked open like the shell of an egg, and from the depths, that eerie blue light of wild magic glowed.Iscrambled back from the edge whenIheard my name.
“Um,Tori…”Ispun around to seeAvlynsitting on the beach beside me.Theywere naked, attempting to cover their small breasts asIstared at them, even though that was not whatIwas looking at.Inplace of their legs was a long, copper-colored tail, covered in small, pointed scales that shimmered like the waves of the sea.Smallfins sprouted along the side, with two long, beautifully translucent fins on the end.Theyreminded me of stained-glass windows, each panel a slightly different shade that shimmered in the noonday sun.
Imoved my gaze back up toAvlyn’s, and we just stared at each other. “Iguess you were right about your heritage.”Thatwas allIcould think to say.
“Youthink this is fucking funny,Princess!?I’ma godsdamn fish!Changeme back!”Theirtail flopped about helplessly asthey gestured frantically.Iwas still too dumbfounded to think whenIheard footsteps approaching rapidly.
“Whatthe hell happened?Areyou al—”Kaleosand the cohort had run around the great gash in the earth and joined us, but they stopped short to stare at the commander.Icouldn’t blame them.
Avlyn’scheeks turned a deep maroon as they shouted, “Wouldyou all stop fucking staring and help me?”
“Youwant us to toss you into the ocean, boss?”Kaleosasked.
“No,Ido not want to get fucking tossed in the ocean.Getme my legs back!”Withone hand still clamped over their chest, they tried to drag themselves across the sand with the other but made little progress.
“Kaleos, would you be a dear and fetchPallasandJunfrom the castle for me?”
Ashort while later,Kaleosreturned with the others.NokiandImovedAvlynpartially into the water despite their protests.Theysat there, fins and fingers drifting through the ocean waves, looking out at theBayofDragons.Theyhadn’t spoken in some time, and we hadn’t pushed.
PallasandJunboth looked at the massive glowing rift in the beach.
“Didyou do this?” my brother asked.
“Ithink so, but that’s not the half of it.”Ipointed toAvlynin the waves and sawPallas’ eyebrows shoot up.
“CanItalk to them?”Pallasasked me.
“Goahead, it’s your funeral.”Sherolled her eyes at me and approachedAvlyn.Shesquatted near the commander,andIcouldn’t hear their discussion over the waves.Thecohort still stood nearby, shifting uneasily, unsure what to do.Ihad tried to get them to leave the beach, but they refused.Juncontinued to observe the light emanating from below the earth, and then he turned to me.
“WorldBreakerindeed,” he said, with that old sarcastic glint in his eye.Iwas so happy to see it thatIdidn’t even linger on what his words meant.Beforewe could discuss it further,Pallasstomped back over.
“Tellme what happened.”
Itried to explain to her everythingIhad felt.
Sheraised her hand to her chin for a while, deep in thought, before blurting out, “Tori,Idon’t think you have any magic.”
Iwas dumbfounded. “What?Imean… seriously, what?Doyou see what has happened here?”
Shelooked at me, still rubbing her chin. “Ithink you are a conduit like you assumed, but it’s different than the dragons.Youcan truly only conduct magic; you need someone to conduct it to.That’swhy whenAvlyntouched you, the magic was unleashed.”
Istarted to argue reflexively but held back.Ithought about all the timesIconducted magic before.WithAbraxas, withJun, withOryxin the forest…Ihad always needed to be in contact with them.Theonly exception was the small flameIproduced in the cave, but even then,Ineeded my bond toAbraxas.
