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“Of course, you can,” Mom assured her. “Just reach out and take it.”
Evanore took a deep breath. At first, it didn’t look like anything had happened. The room remained dark, as if the clouds had moved before the sun. The darkness tugged my clothes, nipped at my ankles.
Mom was still a glowing beacon in the midst of it.
Slowly—so slowly, it was almost impossible to see at first—the darkness started to retreat. Evanore’s face changed. Her dark hair grew two or three shades lighter. Her skin shimmered lightly. When she let out a breath, she sagged against the couch, and when she opened her eyes again, they were a bright green, not the dark brown she’d walked in with.
“Oh,” she exhaled in a breathy voice.
Mom smiled. “Welcome back, Evanore.”
Evanore beamed. “Thank you so much!” She pulled my mom in a hug, and Mom laughed as tears streamed down Evanore’s cheeks.
Finally, after a long time, Evanore let go. She stood.
“Can I bring my daughters to you?” she asked.
“Of course,” Mom said. “You can bring anyone you want. We’re here to restore the light, and anyone is welcome.”
Evanore nodded and looked at me with so much love and light spilling out of her, she was a sight to behold.
She left the room, with Zita shutting the door behind her.
“There are four more, waiting,” she said.
“Send them in,” Mom told her.
“Don’t you want to rest?” I asked, worried.
She already looked a little pale.
She shook her head. “There are only a few servants here, and we’ll take care of them as soon as we can. The sooner we rid the castle of darkness, the easier it will be once the Palgians start coming.”
I nodded. She was right, there was only one way to do this.
The handful of servants working lined up, and we worked together, helping them. How many of them usually worked here? I imagined a whole lot more than just the few who came. How many of those asked to leave hadn’t wanted to be free of Conjurite magic?
What if most of the Conjurites didn’t want this, and our attempts would be in vain?
We managed to do more than half of the servants before we took a break. The moment the last of the group was gone, Mom fell back against the couch.
“Mom!” I cried out.
“Vanya!” Zita’s voice joined mine. “Are you okay?”
“I’m just exhausted,” Mom said in a thin voice. “That took a lot more out of me than I expected. Some of them are old, and the darkness had a very strong hold on them.”
I glanced at the time. It had been nearly six hours since we’d started, and Mom was exhausted. She would have to rest before she helped the others. I wasn’t nearly as strong as she was—it would take me longer, and I would have to rest longer, too.
My heart sank. How were we going to do this? How could we help the people if it took this much out of us, if it took this long for such a small group?
The ten people we’d helped in Jasfin hadn’t been nearly as powerful or as old, and they hadn’t been in their own kingdom, rooted in the darkness like they were here.
Mom glanced at me, and although neither of us said it, in her eyes, I could see she worried about the same thing.
“Send another one in,” Mom said weakly.
“I’ll do one,” I replied.
