“The plan didn’t include a free path,” I point out to him.
“You two, quit bickering. We take the win. We continue as planned. Any questions?”
“No,” I quickly answer Calix. He scrutinises me. Just for a moment. “Okay?”
“I am. You?”
“I will be if you get your arse moving. Don’t slack on me now, Hart.”
In that moment, I couldn’t love Calix more.
When we reach The Ember and still haven’t been pursued or seen any sign of Warriors or watch parties, my anxiety runs into overdrive. Something is wrong. We shouldn’t have been able to do this.
And then, as if tempting fate with the thought, we see why.
We crest a slight hill, and between The Court and us, spilling out over the Ember and across to the training rings, is what looks like the whole Kirrian army.
On one side, I’m relieved. They’re here, so Kyra’s fears about bringing them into the fight are quashed. But the bigger question remains as to why now? We haven’t warned them.
So why are they here? And if they see us…
I jump from Nettle and reach out instinctively, pulling power to me, holding the image of Micah and Capella in my mind and then throwing out my magic. It’s not quite the same flow as before. It’s not like a body of water with streams gathering strength, but I cling to that analogy, so as not to get lost in the vastness of how this magic now feels.
The well I used to think of as the source of my magic is still in tatters. But the energy is there, and my power cloaks everyone I see, and as soon as it does, the horses react.
“You all need to dismount. Now!” I shout the command. Nettle rests behind me, unaffected as he’s clear of the shield of invisibility I’ve cast over everyone. I watch as they do as I say, and the horses trot eagerly to where Nettle waits.
“Want to explain what just happened?” Kalan strides over to me with a gruff look on his face.
I peek up at him and to the others, now all wearing similar scrutiny aimed at me.
“My magic is back, or part of it is. I didn’t have time for a meeting, so I did what I needed to make sure we don’t bring the whole army down on us. We might have planned for a small battalion of Warriors, but we didn’t account for the whole army.”
“What did you do?” Kyra asks, looking around at us all and where the horses now stand.
“I made us invisible.”
“Wait, if you can—” Calix starts, but I interrupt him.
“Then maybe I can use any of the other gifts we found when we were training.” It’s a viable theory now I’m back in Kirrasia.
“You can do that? Pull magic from the air without touch?” Kyra asks, disbelief tainting her words.
All Kirrians can use their core magic without touch. But that isn’t the source of their greatest strength. Touch provides possibility, opportunity, and new gifts. That’s what makes the magic so special.
“I’m not ready to risk touch with my power right now, Kyra.” I look at Ten, though, as it’s his touch, our connection, that I’m most worried about. His jaw is locked, and I can already sense his unease.
It’s the first time that Lyle’s seen me use magic, and she has a similar look on her face to the one I remember having when I watched her throw a ball of light from her hand.
Stars, that was a lifetime ago.
“How long can you keep us covered?” Calix asks.
“No idea. Never done this.”
“But you can feel your power, your magic? It isn’t exhaustive?” Kyra checks.
“It doesn’t feel the same as it did before, Kyra. It’s like, this is a new part of my magic. The old part is still missing in a way. This… it’s easier. Like it wants to please me.” As though it wants to be set loose, but I don’t voice that part. “All that time trainingand complaining about not being shown how to wield or use my power, well, that’s gone.”
