Page 234 of Keldori By Daybreak

“It’s not the same.”

“You were fine doing the same to Gams!”

“Because she was never real to begin with!”

A hand reached for my ankle, and I looked down to see Ciarán grabbing at my leg.

“Trust yourself,” he said in my head. “Do what you need to do. Do not yield where you don’t need to.”

A splash sounded behind me and I turned to see Una dragging a very angry and very wet baron onto the ice. Tamora thrashed, trying to free her armored leg from Una’s teeth, and red firelight flared in her fists.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” I said.

“Wren!”

I spun on my heel and marched towards the Baron. Una dropped Tamora’s leg and made room for me to approach. I grabbed Tamora by the collar of her leather chest plate and dragged her across the ice towards the shore.

The armies were approaching, but they seemed more cautious than threatening. I stopped to face them, still with Tamora in my grip. She kicked out, trying to free herself, but she was choking on seawater.

I dropped her and faced the armies where they hesitated. “Armies” didn’t quite describe all the people gathered there however. While some wore leather and metal armor pieces, many were in nothing more than thick coats and boots. I wondered how many had come to the Rift out of curiosity more than anything.

“Keldori is open!” I announced. Iseult snarled something behind me. “But it doesn’t have what you want. Go home.”

“It has Skal,” Tamora hissed. “And it will all be mine!”

“It has nothing,” I told her. “Keldori doesn’t need it, so I pulled it through the Rift and now you have no need for Keldori.”

“You idiot,” Tamora cackled. Red light flared in her fist. “You’ve given me what I want. Endless Skal is endless power. You think you’re a god, little Saergrim? Wait until you see the god I become!”

“Endless Skal is only endless power if your power comes from Skal,” I said. “And yours doesn’t. It comes from others needing the Skal you have. Now that they have just as much as you, you’re nothing.”

She looked like a drowned rat. Her curls were heavy with water and her monocle was gone. Her leg that had been in Una’s mouth sat at a sickening angle. Her eyes widened as she realized supply and demand only worked in her favor when there was more demand than supply.

“Go back to your Barony. If you come to Keldori, I’ll make sure you wish you hadn’t.” I turned to the gathered soldiers where they’d squeezed on the ice bridge I’d made to cross with Ciarán. “Anyone who wants to come to Keldori is free to do so. Anyone who comes to cause us harm will be dealt with.”

I turned back to the Rift, back towards my friends, my mother, and my home.

Red flames erupted around me, and heat enveloped me in a vortex of fire that should have burned. That was probably Tamora’s intention. She wasn’t much of a fighter, and her favorite bodyguard was lying dead on the ice, so she’d had to wait for me to turn my back to her.

But her skalfire only warmed my skin and lightly singed my hair and clothes. Pulling all that magick from Keldori had done something to me, though it remained to be seen if it was permanent or not.

When the flames died, I slowly pivoted back to face her. Rage and frustration distorted her face, and she procured her favorite scimitar of glowing red.

It wasn’t a weapon designed for throwing, but with a broken leg, she did what she could, and, to be fair, it was an excellent throw. It burst into harmless sparks against my chest, and the force of it made me stagger back and left a scorch mark on my crewneck sweater. That was the extent of the damage.

“The god you become, huh?” I asked. “Tell your boats I want them out of my bay.”

I walked back to the Rift.

I’d made it home. I’d done the impossible to save Ciarán. I’d reversed the flow of magick between Skalterra and Keldori, ensuring my home’s safety. I was with my mom again.

And Gams was still dead on the ice in a bloodstained dress.

I had failed.

48. Study of Moralities

It took Darragh’s Watch one week to return to Keel Watch Harbor. In the meantime, we filled the hours with waiting and watching.