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“Raz…I can’t…” Water shoved us both back when another hole opened up.
My magic swelled. I sent it roaring straight into Anaria’s dam, shoring up the barrier, glittering black-blue magic twining with hers. That blast didn’t evenactlike my magic, and my mouth tasted like ash, but for the moment, the dam was holding.
“Zor got everyone out and they look unharmed. Dirty, but unharmed,” I clarified. “He took Adele somewhere safe; as soon as he takes Tavion and Tristan, I’ll get us out of here.”
She whimpered, the small, broken sound nearly sending me to my knees.
She’s brave and strong, but that sound…that sound could be my undoing.
“I’m running out, Raz. I’m almost out.” Even with my help, her hands shook so badly her magic jittered, small holes tearing in the dam, water bursting through them, screaming to be free. In seconds, the water was up to our ankles. Then our knees.
I sent more of my magic toward the dam, but Zor was right, this was not what my magic was for.
This was creation.
My original power was the opposite.
And I had no idea what my new magic was made of. Something strange and slippery, cold and ancient.
Then my world blew apart in a storm of choking water. One second, the dam was intact, a wall of churning blue-green water just a few feet away.
The next, Anaria’s shield disappeared, sending stars spinning into the air, tendrils of deadly blue-black magic becoming harmless wisps of mist as the sheer weight of the pent-up river shredded the dam apart. I wrapped my magic around us, a stupid, desperate move that shouldn’t have worked.
And it didn’t.
I didn’t hear Zorander’s shout of warning behind us, didn’t feel the ground cleaving beneath our feet, only Zor’s arms going around us, yanking us out of the swirling, crushing water and into someplace else.
One second, the three of us were suffocating beneath the weight of a mighty river, the next we landed in a tangled heap, drenched and choking in a pile of dirt in the middle of the forest.
Water ravaged the riverbed, a thunderous, devouring wave that spread through the forest, pouring down into the deep cracks, flooding the forest floor, lapping at the mighty trunks. We lay panting on the hill—Tavion’s Hill—all of us filthy, muddy messes.
All I could do was stare up at the sky through the leaves, chest heaving, flat in the dirt. Anaria’s hand slipped into mine and squeezed, I squeezed back, too drained to do anything else.
“Let’s never do that again,” she murmured, and I tried to nod, but found I couldn’t even manage that.
* * *
The torrent receded as quicklyas it came, leaving wet, flattened destruction behind, burying pale green ferns and moss in a river of dirt and debris. Sitting up, I gaped at what a few minutes of flooding could wreak.
“Where is everyone?”
Zor slicked back his hair, the hardened general appearing slightly shell-shocked. If I had the energy, I would have made a joke, but I felt worse than he looked.
“That way. In a glen. Let’s hope the water didn’t make it that far.”
Anaria climbed to her feet with a groan, holding her side. I reached for her, and she pushed my hand away. “I’m fine. Just a strain.” But she was so, so pale, her hair plastered to her face, her dress in tatters. “I have to…Oh.” Her mouth dropped open.
I turned to see water pouring down into the cracks, the sound of it falling echoing up out of the depths. Enormous roots writhed as they worked back into place, trees settling with a groan that could be heard for miles. The woods were a dangerous mess, but Anaria slid down the hill, her back covered in thick clay by the time she reached the bottom.
I followed, Zor right behind, both of us jogging to catch up as she sloshed determinedly through the soggy undergrowth. “Anaria, stop for a moment. Let me look at you.” Her hand was clutched to her side, her face pale as death, but she didn’t halt, not until she reached the blackened circle where the Oracle had first appeared.
She wavered and I caught her by the arm, not bothering to asking permission before I sent a wave of healing magic through her. She would have just told me no, and I didn’t have the patience for a fight right now.
Healing and death, those were my two gifts. I’d never been able to make sense of the irony, but right now, I was glad for both. “Your ribs were broken.” I didn’t let her go this time, even when she tried to yank away.
“I know. But I have to do this before I burn out, Raz. I promised…” Her lips were bloodless. “I made a promise, and I mean to keep my word.” Tears and river water dripped down her face. “Please, let me go, I don’t want you touching me when I do this.” Her gaze lifted to the woods. “In fact, you and Zor should—”
“No.” I gripped her tighter. “You’re not sending us away. Not now, not ever again.” I brushed her cheek. Her skin was freezing cold. “We’re in this together, princess.” I tried to put as much swaggering humor into my voice as I could.
