Thirty-Two
STEVIE
My Princess is as fast as the wind, as elusive as the mist.
“Hurry! This way!” I grab Kirin’s hand and we jog after her, racing deeper into the misty cage of towering rock formations. With every footfall, the fog thickens around us, obscuring most of the landscape. Each time I fear we’ve lost her, I catch a glimpse of blue fabric, or a lock of dark hair, or the black wing of the raven perched on her shoulder, and onward we charge.
We’re so far off the path, I’d never be able to find my way back to campus alone. Just when I’m about to call off the chase and turn back, the Princess stops in her tracks, turning to face us with a sly smile. All around her, the mist vanishes, revealing a strange new sight.
“What is this place?” I ask, turning to take it all in. It seems we’ve wandered into a grove of standing stones, made from seven red sandstone slabs topped with massive stone spheres, as smooth as a drop of water. They form a perfect circle, like seven upside-down exclamation points standing guard.
“It’s definitely manmade,” Kirin says. “Some sort of ancient gateway, or maybe place of worship.”
“You’ve never been here?”
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”
“Kirin,” I whisper, afraid that anything louder will shatter the silence, the reverence of this magickal place. “I think the sword may be here.”
Before me, my Princess bows her head. And then she’s gone.
“What makes you say that?” he asks.
“Ani’s theory is the Arcana objects are buried on Academy grounds, each one hidden in the most spiritual location of its corresponding elemental landscape.” I press my hand to one of the massive rock slabs, magick tingling across my palm. “If this isn’t the most spiritual place inside the Towers of Breath and Blade, I can’t imagine what is.”
“You have a point.” Kirin steps up beside me, reaching out to touch the rock. “But I’m not sensing anything. Are you?”
“A little. This is the same thing that happened last weekend at the Cauldron. The Princess of Wands led Ani and me to that scorched cave.”
“But you guys said the wand wasn’t there.”
“No, butsomethingwas. Some leftover energy connected to the wand in some way. I’m sure of it.” I move from stone to stone, running my hands up and down the rocks, searching for some sort of indicator. “But at the Cauldron, it was Ani who felt the energy the most. Wait… Look!”
I spot an opening at the base of one of the standing stones, a dark hole about two feet in diameter, hidden behind a large boulder. Crouching down, I hold up my palm and call on my witchfire. Silver flame dances to life in my hand, illuminating the space below.
“Stairs. Let’s go.” Taking the lead, I gingerly make my way down the rough stone staircase to a large chamber beneath the stone circle. “Kirin, this is incredible!”
I lift my palms and call up more witchfire, casting the chamber in pale silver light. It’s much larger than the space Ani and I found—about the size of the Iron and Bone common room. The ceiling is about twenty feet off the ground.
“It’s down here somewhere,” I say, my voice echoing. “I can feel it. It’s like it’s calling to me or something.”
“I feel it now too.” Kirin holds up his hands, silver-blue magick crackling in the air around us like tiny sparks. “It’s definitely swords energy.”
“I know. I can practically feel it in my hands—almost like I’m holding a sword.”
“Really?” Kirin cocks his head, still staring at the magick sparking on his hands. “I wonder…”
“Wonder what?”
“Stevie, the sword that’s appearing in your nightmares—the same one that appeared in your first meditation when you met your Princesses… What if it’s the Sword of Breath and Blade?”
“But I thought it was just a magick sword from the Princess. Like a protective gift or something.”
Kirin shakes his head. “I’ve never heard of a magick sword that adjusts in size and weight to perfectly suit its handler. Do you realize the kind of magick that would require? Look, this magick here…” He waves his hands, causing the sparks to flare and cascade around him. “It’s beyond powerful. And the Princess led you here for a reason, just like the Princess of Wands led you and Ani to the caves.”
“Because Ani’s a fire mage. Wands are his affinity.”
“And swords are mine, but you’re blessed with all four. Perhaps your air magick is your strongest affinity. Maybe it’s even stronger than mine.” Kirin’s brow furrows, thoughts spinning behind his eyes. “Let’s try something.”
