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I sat up slowly and rubbed a hand down my face. “Here’s hoping today will be successful.”
It will. Danger unto death.
“Danger unto death,” I repeated.
An hour later, as the sun was barely seen fully over the horizon, we headed for The Aaruk. The queen had been my and Amory’s ride. Emric had convinced Whit to be his ride again, John rode Malachi, and three more winged horses rode on either side of us in protection.
I spotted the area long before we landed. The Aaruk’s color was green. Which I likely should have guessed. Horses loved the space to run and graze. Yet this was far more than just saying the word “green.” The forested area did not surround this lake like it had in the other sanctuaries. Rather it sat on one end of the sanctuary while a dark green grass coated the entire other area. A massive and open barn sat over a low hill. Shelter, I supposed, for storms. It was white, the only thing not green in the area.
And then surrounding the lake were the land shifters. There were close to a dozen of them. I was getting far better at being able to notice the sheen that signified the shifters compared to regular horses. At least with the dragons, there was no mistaking that they were different. Still, with the shifters it was almost as if they were more vibrant compared to a regular horse.
Welcome to The Aaruk,Malachi said as he came up to nudge me in the chest.
“I take it you are going to come in the water with us?” I asked him while patting his head.
Of course.
Emric walked into the lake, commenting, “This lake is entirely larger. Maybe like four times as large as The Taaka was.”
John gave it all a look. “It might take longer to get our magic wrapped around it. It might take more magic.”
Take all the time you need,Malachi said to us all.
Amory gave my arm a squeeze as I turned to head into the blackened lake. “Good luck.”
I sloshed into the lake and kept going until I was almost knee level. “John and Emric, are you ready?”
“Ready to say goodbye to black lakes,” Emric said with a fist pump.
I gave him a smirk. I hoped like hell he was right. With all of these equine shifters surrounding us, I didn’t want to let them down. Add in that I felt particularly fond of Malachi, and I just—we were going to fix this. There was not another option.
I rolled my neck and brought my magic up to the surface of my skin.
I heard a nervous whinny from someone on the shore, but Malachi turned his head from where he now stood with us and must have sent them some comforting words.
“Let’s light it up, My Prince,” Emric said with a grin.
I let my magic free, saying nonchalantly, “So long as you don’t sing the sea shanty again.”
“I wish I had that much concentration and focus,” Emric mumbled. “To do both.”
Due to the sheer size of the lake, it did take multiple minutes for us to wrap our magic around and around. Had our magic been able to combine, this would have been far easier. As it was, it just took time.
“A little more,” John urged. “Almost there.”
I wanted to do this right, dammit. Malachi deserved his sanctuary clear. Dra Skor deserved their lakes clear. After this, all that remained was the lone pond, but all the sanctuaries would be fixed. I willed my magic to fix this and fix it for good, sending all the healing thoughts I could into the lake, not even knowing if it would help or not.
More than five minutes later, while John was already sweating and Emric looked about there as well, I finally said to Malachi. “All right. Talk to me.”
Regardless of if you fix this or not,Malachi started, abnormally serious. My eyes went to his as he continued,I am still proud of you. Your stars did not define you.
The ripple hit my knees first, and I took a step back to catch myself as the water went light green in color. It was somehow a sage green so light it was also clear. You could see pebbles and sticks in the bottom of the lake. And it was magnificent.
I barely had time to look at it before Malachi was nuzzling me with his big head.You did it.
I grinned. “Wounded you doubted it.”
I didn’t. Not even for a second, brother.
