Page 123 of A Thread of Breath and Bone

“Wait!” She stands on shaky legs. “How long?” She takes another sip, and I can feel that strange magic here draining her for some reason. “How long do we have to train, to complete the Bond? The awakening? We have to go home. We can’t stay here.”

Caelus spins on his heel. He’s already beginning to disappear, as if he’s being drained of life, becoming incorporeal. “The end of this battle will happen within…” He tilts his head a moment, his blue, fiery gaze becoming an eerily solid white. “A year, as you call it. Fourteen turns of the planets. That’s all the time you have left, Light Bringer. Make it count.”

With that, his body vanishes, and Raea collapses.

I lay her trembling body on the table back at the temple, where priestesses hurry to grab what they can. Riven takes off down the mountain in search of some herbs they no longer have in stock.

“What’s wrong with her?” I growl as her body grows pale.

Carys puts a hand on me, but I shove it off. “It’s probably just the magic⁠—

“No,” the head priestess says as she lays a hand on Raea’s head. “No, the Princess needs to complete the awakening. Her body is demanding it. Her magic is too great for this feeble body. Being that close to the lifeforce flame must have brought this out of her.”

The priestess sits, her crimson robes falling away to reveal a thin, elderly Elven. Her hands are thin, the veins visible, as she runs a hand over Raea. She sweeps them back and forth, up and down, examining her as she hums. The room around us, which was frantic moments ago, settles again. The six priestesses here stop their work, stop grinding herbs, stop tending to the fire. As one, they hum, and Raea’s body calms.

Sweat beads on her brow, but she’s no longer hot to the touch. I’ve been keeping an eye on her ever since we arrived in Auralan. In fact, her magic hasn’t been felt at all. I feel mine, but it’s deeper, locked away, as if there’s a wall between it and me.

“Sit, Prince,” the head priestess says, gesturing to a chair.

I pull it over to the table and sit with my hands wrapped around Raea’s.

“She’ll wake soon.”

The humming and chanting continue.

For what feels like an hour, nothing changes. Raea’s chest rises and falls, her face pale and clammy. The priestesses chant. Carys paces. I want to demand we take her somewhere, but where?

I school my expression into something harmless, but my hands are white-knuckled where I hold Raea’s. The gods have demanded enough. They’ve taken our home, our peace, and now they’re asking her to survive a magic that is literally tearing her apart. I don’t care if it’s a cosmic game or a divine choice. If I have to burn this entire system down to keep her alive, I will.

Riven storms through the door, Finn behind him.

Finn looks around as Riven hands whatever root he has to a priestess before returning to Carys’ side. How anyone misses they’re in love is beyond me. I’ve never met a bodyguard or trainer who can’t keep their eyes off those they are put there to protect. Then again, I was supposed to be in charge of Raea, and I couldn’t keep my damn hands off her.

Memories of that first time I took her to the mats, dressed in the green gown that fit like a second skin…gods. I had tried and failed so hard to stay away—but I couldn’t. Feeling her beneath me broke something in me. It was that night I went in search of answers. Answers about magical Bonds. I knew it was more. I could feel it.

Finn steps up to the table on the other side, studying Raea’s limp form. He lets me know that the elders are pulling ancient texts from archives to study what’s going on. My disbelief prompts him to tell me that Riven was only gone so long because he took a gateway straight to the council chambers, alerting them about Raea’s condition.

“She’s safe here,” he says.

“Is there somewhere she’s not?” I ask him, looking around with clearer eyes. I thought the whole point of us coming here was to keep her safe.

Finn pulls up a chair, the priestesses still hum—lower, but still attentive, and Carys paces as Riven watches her. “Morana has spies everywhere. She’s safe in Auralan, but if news got out about…this—” He gestures toward her. “—then it's possible she’d try to attack.”

We fall into silence. The air here is thin and stale compared to what it was with Caelus. Easier to breathe and yet⁠—

Raea stirs on the table. When her eyes flutter open, the golden flames are back, but with a single blink, they’re gone. The priestess nods and steps away, tending to her duties as if nothing is amiss.

Finn steps away to give us some privacy as I help her into a sitting position, offering her some of the strange water. She gulps it down. Every sip brings color back to her skin.

“What happened?” she asks, leaning into me as she drains the rest of the water.

Carys speaks up, informing her that we have to do the awakening and soon. Her body cannot contain the depths of her magic.

Raea nods, shivering against my grasp. “Okay. So what exactly do I have to do?”

Chapter 44

Raea