“Aslendrix?” She doesn’t answer. “Even if he can’t beat you. He’s still bringing a war to Kirrasia over power. Your power.”
“Yes.”
“Is my magic… broken? It’s like you’re not quite with me anymore. An echo of what it was before, but I feel his. Eager, within me.”
“Do you want that back? All I gave you?”
There it is. The question that’s plagued me. Lost without it. Easier to run from it. But standing before the Goddess, there isn’t another answer in my heart.
I nod.
“And so, it shall be.”
There’s no pain this time. Instead, her presence is like a warmth, infusing every part of my body, and the empty spot, the well at the hollow part of my chest, feels full again.
I gasp in a deep breath, almost choking on my own air, and look around.
The light is gone. The night remains, invading what was left of the day, but only a few stars are visible in the sky with no sign of Aslendrix. Yet, I can feel her now. Whatever happened to her magic within me in Nehandun, it’s been repaired.
thirty-eight
. . .
Ever
Iexpect the night to return to day after our little conversation, but we are left in the dark.
I step off the stone and look around for the Maker.
“Ever?” Lyle rushes to me. “Are you okay? What happened?”
My head swims with information, but more than that, the well at the centre of my chest feels… the rubble of stone now whole. I look down and grab the spot where my necklace should be, but my hand comes up empty.
I look up at Lyle, then spy Kalan stalking us.
“I thought I’d get my necklace back, I…” My forefinger rubs over the scar at my throat, but then I notice how warm the ring on my finger is, how the colours, even in the dark, seem to sparkle as if there is a never-ending depth to their colour.
“Why is it night, Ever?” Lyle asks.
“I think it’s because I needed to speak to Aslendrix.”
“Our Goddess?” She gasps.
“Yes. We had a little chat. She restored my magic. Well, her side of it.” I search for the threads of gold that signal Novandia’spower, and Aslendrix’s explanation about how they repel against her magic. Understanding the balance and differences within their magic, and what I’m capable of with both, is still new.
I look at Kalan.
“What now?” he asks.
“Fancy taking us through the forest again?”
“It’s night now. It’s not a safe place after dark,” Kalan states.
“But you’re a Shepherd?”
“It’s been a very long time, Ever. I don’t even know?—”
“They recognised me because of the brooch and its connection with you after all these years. We’ll be safe. And if not, well, I guess I’d better figure out how to use my magic again.”
