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“Then we will be prepared,” he said after a moment.
“He might use our bond to force me to retrieve the ones I banished.”
“You’ve proven your capability with magic. There is always a loophole. A way out. We’ll find a way to sever that bond.”
Tenah let herself believe his words. The Kandar Isles had preached for decades the irreversible nature of dabbling in dark magic. Had slaughtered countless tainted souls that might have been salvageable. Yet the Void had given her what she needed, just as Cirel had claimed it would. It had given her the magic to heal Chaos. Surely, the bond between her and Cirel could be reversed too.
But did she have a right to sever their connection after she was responsible for his Corruption?
“I made him. Did you know that?” A warm breeze tossed her hair over a shoulder. “You were gone a lot, and I was alone with magic I didn’t understand. I found Cirel. I created a rift to draw him in. I took him from his home in Adra. I Corrupted him when he mentioned wanting to leave. Ames tried to alter that memory to make it seem like I was a victim, but I was always the enemy.”
The truth had come out during her healing rest and had resounded through her bones until it became a part of her. One she wasn’t afraid of, for she could no longer be weighed down by her childhood mistakes. She had grown since then.
Her father patted her knee. “Chaos is a huge burden. You may think you introduced him to this magic, but from what I witnessed in Adra’s throne room, he was already fated for it, born from hate and war. I’m sorry for using you like I did, Tenah. You are much more than a pawn.”
Tenah squeezed her hands on the stone wall until they blanched. “I could heal him.”
“You could try,” her father agreed. “It’s not certain that would stop war.”
She leaned against his arm, her heart already settling into her decision. Cirel was suffering, and she would be his guide out of the darkness.
Tenah tucked the thought of Adra’s king away, soaking in the horizon. She’d traced over the coast of Aranma a million times, but maps hadn’t done it justice.
“So…a Bogland hunter, huh?” her father asked.
“Can we not?” She peeled off his shoulder, cheeks flushed bright red.
But she couldn’t help a peek back at Renton, assuring herself that he wasn’t another fabrication made by Chaos or her mind-meddling friend.
Her family wasn’t orthodox, but she wasn’t going to let anything take away this future.
