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“Stay here. Let me see what I can do.” Raz and I scrambled over the ferny edge and slid down the muddy bank, the stones digging into my bruised feet. Here, the river was deep enough I couldn’t cross on foot, the water running so fast the surface was churning white foam.
Zorander caught up to us. “The cracks have almost reached the riverbank.” Zor might not remember much, but his keen eyes took stock of the situation in a second. “You’re planning to use your magic to dam up the water?”
“If I can, yes, that’s the plan.” I tried to work out how to wade across, but the water was too deep. “I need to be in the center of the river for this to be effective.”
“There.” He pointed to where the river rounded a sharp bend. The three of us raced along the edge, my bare feet aching by the time we arrived at the steep curve. “A shield should hold the flow back for a few minutes.”
“Will a few minutes be long enough?”
“Raz, head back and monitor the progress. The second you have them in sight, signal us. Once they’re out of the hole, I’ll get us both out of here and Anaria can release the water.” Raziel flew back into the forest, the trees swallowing him up.
“The bank’s high enough to contain most of the water, but not all.”
“There’s only one problem.” My eyes lifted to his as Raziel’s shout echoed out of the trees. Whether anguish or victory, I couldn’t tell over the roar of the rushing water. “I’ve never cast a spell, not like this.” I eyed the sheer force of the water barreling down the chute.
Magic flowed into me through the ground, but the amount of power it would take to dam up that river was incalculable.
Gods, this was a bad idea.
“Build a wall of magic, stretching from that bank”—Zor pointed—“to this one. Then keep feeding power into it until I tell you to stop.” He stepped away, running his hand down my arm.
I nodded, hoping I had enough magic.
I couldn’t fail, not when three—five—lives hung in the balance.
“I’ll be right beside you. Remember, keep the wall steady, and say my name when you can’t hold it together any longer.” Something flickered deep in his eyes as he held my stare. “I will get you clear.”
I tried to smile. “Promise?”
“Always, Anaria.Always.” He moved behind me, setting his hands on my shoulders, his warm breath washing over the back of my neck.
The next few minutes stretched out impossibly long. The only sounds from the forest were the horrible cracking of the roots and the groaning of the ground splitting apart. The sun beat down on us mercilessly, the water roared and roared, sweat dripping down my spine, the tattered, filthy dress plastered to my body.
Zorander’s hands never moved, not even when another deep crack echoed from deep in the trees and the entire edge of the bank cleaved open, a hole deep enough I could not see the bottom. Zor murmured in my ear. “Get ready. You can do this.” His hands squeezed, just once, his unwavering presence right behind me enough to give me courage.
The crack crept toward the river, then down into the rocks, then the river itself. Zor pressed his lips to my ear. “Now, Anaria. Do it now.”
I threw my magic across that expanse like a frail rope bridge, the raging river instantly building up and up and up against the shimmering barrier, higher than I thought possible, until I felt dwarfed by the wall of bluish-green water.
My magic buckled from the strain, and I shoved right back twice as fiercely.
I would not allow my friends to drown, not in a hole in the ground.Push, push, push. I would not allow the Oracle to beat us, and fuck her for even trying. I dug deeper, clawing at the magic, throwing more and more against the weight of the straining water.
Something popped in my right side, a bolt of pain searing down my side, but I kept casting, building my dam, the water twice my height. I would keep this river dammed up through sheer fucking spite if I had to, if only to defy a monster. Warm liquid trickled from my nose into my mouth. Blood.
“Come on, Anaria. Keep going. Keep feeding magic into the dam.”
I could hardly breath, only stealing quick, furtive gasps between yanking up magic, trying to keep my footing on the wet rocks, and wiping dripping blood away on the shoulder of my dress. This was a battle of wills. Me against the river. Me against the Oracle.
Me against the entire fucking world.
Part of me wanted to stop. Wanted this to end so I could collapse and breathe and just fucking stop.
I didn’t. I couldn’t, not until everyone was safe.
For a time, the magic roaring into my body from where my feet were planted in the muddy riverbed matched the amount of magic roaring out of me. Then the tide turned, forcing me to dig deeper and deeper to find enough to maintain the dam, much less make it taller to control the rising waters.
My arms shook from the sheer strain of feeding magic into this wall, which grew thicker and taller by the second. So fucking high. So fucking much water. Enough to wipe away an entire city.
