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"Don't Macey me. There's a reason this all set in motion when I showed up. And why the marks are appearing on my back and not on anyone else's."
"That's not how this works," Flint protested.
"Isn't it?" She met his eyes and was floored by the compassion and concern that lingered there. Her men certainly weren't thinking with their heads right now. They were thinking with their hearts.
"I could take it, I think," Amber piped up. "It's probably similar enough to my storm magic. But I think Macey's right, I think it needs to be her."
Macey nodded her thanks. It was good having a friend fully on her side through all this. Amber wasn't going to make decisions based on her romantic attachment to Macey, because there wasn't one. She'd logic these things out, before agreeing with whichever party made the most sense.
"I agree with Amber," Izban added.
"Of course you do. It's not your girlfriend being put in danger," Flint burst in.
"Girlfriend?" Macey raised an eyebrow at him. Now definitely wasn't the right time to be having this conversation, but she really couldn't help it. She liked the way the word sounded when he said it.
"Girlfriend doesn't even begin to sum up what you are to me," he announced.
"And do you have a word that would sum me up?" she teased.
"I don't think anything could," he answered softly, taking her hand from Cam's face, and placing it on his own. "I know a lot of things about it though. I know I love you, Macey, and I know that I couldn't live with myself if anything bad happened to you."
"I feel the same way," Macey said honestly, before looking over at Cam. "About all of you. But that doesn't mean I'm not doing this. We all know I'm the logical choice to take on Air. So that's what we're going to do."
Flint started to protest, but Macey held up her hand to stop him.
"Please, Macey," Cam tried begging.
"No. I'm doing this. I have to do this. Think about what the alternative is," she implored them, hoping that would make the difference.
"Fine."
"I'm glad to hear you've decided," the sìth man said, popping up out of nowhere and making Macey jump.
"You couldn't have knocked?" Izban demanded.
The man looked at his hands. "With what?" He seemed genuinely perplexed, and Macey had to admit he had a point. Though given his appearance out of thin air, she had some questions about why they even had doors if they weren't going to use them.
"I'm ready," Macey said. "Tell me what you want me to do."
10
The room was cold without the others in it. Though in reality, it was probably exactly the same temperature as before, the only difference was that she didn't have the protection of the other Wardens around her.
They were on the other side of the strange metal door though, so she didn't feel their absence quite as much. If Macey really wanted, she could back out of the entire thing at any point. Flint or Cam would take her place in an instant.
Which was the main reason she wasn't saying a word to them about how scared she was. If she didn't take on Air, then she might never get the mark on her back, and while she didn't know what the importance of those was, there must be one. And she didn't want to take the risk of not having the full set. Working out how she got her own mark would be the last step, she was sure. Maybe it would happen when her own magic was completely unblocked. While the lock her father had put on her powers was almost gone, she could still feel the remnants of it holding her back.
And she hated it. She still didn't understand why he'd done that. Unless it was to teach her some humility. He'd vastly underestimated the things she'd get up to on earth if that was the case. Months imprisoned had taught her all the humility she could possibly need.
Taking a deep breath, Macey recited the words the sìth had taught her already in her head. Now wasn't the time to risk anything like getting them wrong. Not when there was so much at stake.
"Gairm èadhar airson a dhol a-steach dhomh," she said softly, hoping she'd gotten her pronunciation right.
The clouds making up the walls around her began to swirl like crazy, almost like the wind had caught them. It must be Air. After all, it couldn't be Cam. He wouldn't risk anything that could harm her.
Macey's hair whipped around her face as she was lifted off the ground by an unseen force. Breathing in and out as slowly as she could, Macey tried not to panic. She had no idea what would happen if she did.
"Do not panic, Warden." It was the same male voice that had spoken to her before, while her brothers had been unconscious. But there was something odd about it towards the end. "I'm not going to hurt you."
