Chapter 32
A fter breakfast, it quickly became all business as Ash and Xanth discussed their plan to extract Calyx. Greyson was already waiting for us when we arrived at the charger. It didn’t take him more than a minute to notice the new marks on our hands.
A wide grin spread across his face, and before I knew it, I was pulled into another hug, followed by yet another welcome to the family.
We climbed into the charger, taking the same seats as before.
I buckled up and focused on Ash as he ran through the plan, while Xanth manually entered the coordinates to the outpost. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t help but feel a wave of anxiety as the charger took flight, but I forced myself to concentrate on Ash’s voice.
“We’re approximately two hundred and fifty miles from the central outpost located in Astern,” he began. “I’ve enchanted the charger to pass through my wards for four hours. It’ll take us about an hour and a half to get there. The charger’s equipped with the same technology as your suit. Once we activate stealth mode, it’ll blend into the surroundings, and the landing will be near silent.”
I nodded, trying to absorb every detail as he continued.
“We’ll assess the number of rippers occupying the outpost while we’re still in the air. Greyson, Xanth, and I plan to be in and out within minutes. You’ll remain safely locked inside the charger until we return. Once we have Calyx contained, you’ll need to give him a glimpse of his memories. After we’re home, we’ll worry about fully healing him.”
“Ok,” I said, nodding in understanding. “But what happens if you’re attacked?” I was genuinely concerned.
Ash exchanged a look with Greyson and Xanth. All three shared the same mischievous grin.
“They won’t know what hit them,” Greyson answered.
“As far as raw power goes, Xanth is loaded and specializes in hand-to-hand combat when we can’t rely on magic,” Ash said, motioning toward his brother.
“Xanth is a beast in a fight. Ash doesn’t even stand a chance against Xanth without his magic,” Greyson added with a chuckle.
“Oh, please. He’s good, but let’s not oversell him,” Ash called back, clearly amused as Greyson laughed louder.
Then, Ash pointed at Greyson. “Greyson is one of a kind.”
Greyson opened his hands, and electricity danced between his fingers, crackling with energy. “And Ash is a whole damn arsenal,” Greyson said, smirking as Xanth nodded in agreement.
Ash’s mouth curved into a cocky grin, and he winked at me.
I giggled and rolled my eyes at their display. The sheer confidence radiating from the three of them was comforting, easing the tension in my chest.
“Damn, I can’t believe we’ll all be back together by tonight,” Greyson said, his grin wide and infectious.
The air was charged with excitement at the prospect of bringing Calyx home.
“We’ll let Calyx adjust,” Ash continued, “and then he and I will get into Astern undetected, gather intel on Agidius, and bring Reize home.”
Greyson nodded. “Shit, you’ll have to physically restrain Calyx the second he realizes where Reize is.”
“That boy’s been chasing her like a lovesick puppy for what, three hundred years now?” Xanth laughed.
Ash turned to me, grinning. “The day I brought Calyx home and he saw Reize, he told me, ‘I’m going to marry your sister.’”
“And Reize wouldn’t give him the time of day for the first hundred years!” Xanth chuckled.
“He’s been hopelessly in love with her ever since,” Greyson added, and they all burst into laughter.
I found myself joining in, their laughter infectious.
“Remind me what Calyx’s power is?” I asked Ash.
“Calyx is also one of a kind,” Ash explained. “He harnesses the power of light. He can bend it around himself—or all of us—to make us invisible. He can also concentrate it into a weapon, like a laser.”
“Don’t forget his secret power!” Greyson added, laughing.
That sent both Ash and Xanth into fits of laughter, doubling over as they tried to catch their breath.
“What is it?” I asked, giggling.
“He turns himself into a giant ass glow stick,” Ash said.
“He wears that giant goofy grin of his like a kid in a candy shop, and then his skin goes all glowy,” Xanth added, laughter erupting from everyone in the charger.
The rest of the trip, I listened to stories about the four of them. It was lighthearted, and full of inside jokes and shared memories that gave me a deeper glimpse into their friendship. But the second the charger alerted us that we were approaching the destination, the mood shifted completely. The guys double-checked their gear in silence, their expressions now serious.
As the charger hovered over the outpost, Xanth touched a control on the dash, and the front window transformed into a large screen displaying the area below.
Xanth zoomed in, scanning the scene.
“Looks like Calyx’s bike is the only vehicle here, aside from a few stationed personnel trucks,” Xanth confirmed.
Ash leaned over the screen, pointing. “Land in that clearing behind the cabin.”
The charger began its descent, the hum of its engines the only sound in the air. As soon as it touched the ground, Ash, Xanth, and Greyson exchanged looks.
“We get in and grab Calyx as quickly as possible before Agidius realizes we’re here and springs whatever trap he has waiting,” Ash ordered, his voice calm but firm.
They all nodded and unbuckled their seat belts.
I reached out, grabbing Ash’s arm before he stood. “Be careful.”
Ash leaned in and kissed my lips. “You won’t even know I’m gone.”
I tried to will my nerves into submission as Xanth pressed a button on the console, and the door slid open to reveal the scorching desert air outside.
I swallowed hard, fighting the lump in my throat.
“Only you can open this door now,” Ash instructed, his tone serious. “Watch the screen, and don’t open it for anyone other than one of us.”
“Ok.” I nodded.
“Move out,” was the last thing I heard Ash say before the door slid shut behind them.
Silence filled the charger as I was left by myself to wait for their return. My legs couldn’t keep still, my foot tapping nervously against the floor, my gaze fixed on the screen, waiting for any sign of Ash or the others. Minutes stretched into what felt like an eternity.
My heart stuttered on catching sight of Ash standing outside the charger, his eyes lingering on the vehicle. Slowly, he reached out, pressing his hand against the door. I sprang to my feet, my pulse quickening as I slapped the button, the door sliding open with a soft hiss.
“What’s happening? Did you find Calyx?”
He tilted his head, his brows furrowing slightly. “He’s inside. I need you to come with me.”
We took a few steps away from the charger when Ash just stopped walking.
“Ash?” I called out. Something didn’t feel right.
In the blink of an eye, he was behind me, cold metal pressed against the side of my skull.
I froze, my blood running cold as my heart pounded violently.
“You’re not Ash,” I whispered, terror clawing at my throat.
There was no time to think, only react. I reached deep inside myself, pulling hard on the bond linking Ash and me. “Ash! Ash, help!” I screamed into the bond.
Mere seconds later, there was an earth-shattering blast as the side of the cabin exploded outward, leaving a gaping hole in its wake.
My heart leapt to see the real Ash sprinting from the wreckage. He came to a halt about twenty feet in front of us, his face twisted into fury and panic.
“What the fuck is this?” Ash roared, his gaze locked on the imposter with a lethal intensity. “Calyx,” he growled.
As soon as the name left his lips, a dozen rippers materialized from somewhere behind the cabin, surrounding the imposter and me. My heart raced, and I tried to keep my breathing steady, but fear was pulsing through my veins like wildfire.
“Calyx, let Areya go.” Ash’s voice dripped with raw power, vibrating through the air, and my knees trembled beneath me.
Xanth ran out of the cabin, positioning himself next to Ash.
I felt it then; the body behind me was no longer Ash. The shift was unmistakable as the imposter’s form twisted and morphed into Calyx, pistol still pressed firmly to my head.
“CALYX!” Ash’s voice thundered with a power that shook the earth beneath us, the sound reverberating through my bones. Ash’s eyes turned an obsidian black, darker than the deepest night, and in an instant, the twelve rippers flanking us disintegrated into dust, blown away by the wind as if they had never even existed.
My entire body trembled uncontrollably.
The sheer magnitude of what had just happened was too much for my mind to process. Ash had obliterated them without even lifting a finger.
“Fuck, Ash! What the fuck, man?” Calyx’s voice wavered with panic, his pulse hammering against my back. His hand trembled, the gun shaking slightly as genuine fear washed over him. “He only ordered me to bring her in. You can go, Ash. Get the hell out of here,” Calyx pleaded.
Ash didn’t budge, his voice low and lethal.
“Calyx, I don’t want to hurt you, but if you don’t take your fucking hands off of Areya right now, I swear to God I will incinerate you like the rest of your friends.”
Calyx’s entire body was shaking now.
Ash’s voice softened but maintained its edge of steel. “You can fight this, Calyx. I broke the sire bond. We are not your enemies; we are your friends.”
Suddenly, it felt as though everything slowed down.
Out of nowhere, Greyson came barreling out of the cabin, his clothes torn and disheveled as if he’d just walked out of a fight. His eyes were wild, and he shouted something to Ash, but words didn’t register in my mind. All I could focus on was the sudden horrifying shift in the air.
Xanth moved with a speed I hadn’t even known possible. One second, he was standing beside Ash, and the next, a dagger gleamed in the sunlight as he drove it into Ash’s back.
The world went silent.
My breath caught in my throat as Ash’s expression twisted in shock, then pain. He stumbled forward, collapsing to his knees, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think.
And then I screamed, loud, raw, and filled with a terror that clawed through my chest.
Suddenly, I was thrashing, shrieking, fighting with everything inside of me to get to him. My vision blurred with tears, my muscles aching with the frantic need to reach Ash.
Calyx had dropped his gun to his side, now using both arms to hold me back.
Xanth’s form shifted, warping into something that made my blood run cold. His body transformed before my eyes into a tall, black-haired woman wearing a vicious, predatory smile.
She was devastatingly beautiful and positively awful to look at; her features were too sharp, too cruel. Dark, cold eyes glinted with wicked intent as they locked on me. She wore a black, intricately designed low-cut corset and black leather pants that seemed to absorb the light.
“Cynthia.” I spat her name, each syllable laced with venom, like acid burning on my tongue as I faced the evil Queen of Ellington.
Her eyes roamed over me, studying me with an unnerving detachment. “Somebody’s done her homework.” Her voice was sweet, almost melodic, yet dripping with malice.
I glared at her, tears streaming uncontrollably down my heated face. I struggled to move toward her, but Calyx had a death grip on me. I shot a desperate look to Greyson, pleading with my eyes for him to do something, anything, but he stood frozen, caught between fear and uncertainty, his expression tortured.
My gaze snapped back to Ash.
His chest rose and fell with shallow, labored breaths. No ordinary dagger could keep him down. Slowly, he managed to turn his head slightly in my direction, pain etched on his face.
“Calyx, get Areya away from here,” he growled, his voice hoarse yet commanding.
“NO!” The word ripped from my throat in a savage scream. “LET ME GO! LET ME FUCKING GO!” My voice cracked as I struggled harder against Calyx’s hold, my soul feeling as though being torn apart with each passing second.
“ASH!” I sobbed his name, every syllable thick with despair as my body shook uncontrollably, the weight of helplessness crashing down on me.
“Please, Calyx …” Ash’s voice was raspy, desperate, as if it were taking everything in him just to speak.
Cynthia turned her cold gaze to Calyx, her expression one of sickening amusement.
“Oh, go ahead, Calyx. You and my granddaughter are free to leave,” she said with a dismissive wave, as though we were mere nuisances.
“I’M NOT YOUR FUCKING GRANDDAUGHTER!”
The words ripped out of me, fueled by a rage I didn’t know I possessed. Throwing all my weight toward Cynthia, every muscle was straining to break free of Calyx’s hold. Savage, guttural sounds erupted from me—feral, vicious, uncontrollable.
But Cynthia just smiled. She fucking smiled.
“You see, Areya, the poison lacing the dagger with which I stabbed your precious fated one is quite ancient and extremely hard to come by.” Her voice was light, almost conversational, but every word dripped with malice. “It’s so rare, in fact, that there is no cure for the slow and painful death it brings … except—” Her smile twisted into something purely evil. “If one possessed a certain healing power, well, I suppose that could save him.”
I bared my teeth at her, snarling like a cornered animal.
The blood beneath my skin boiled, and the rage inside me was no longer just an emotion—it was a living, breathing beast. I wanted to rip her apart, piece by piece.
“Tsk, tsk,” Cynthia tutted, eyes gleaming with cruel delight. “Such a savage one you are, Areya. Nothing like the gentle creature your mother was. I might have kept her around if she’d shown half the spine you possessed.”
The world around me ceased turning. I stopped breathing.
“You have her eyes,” she added, her voice sickeningly sweet. “What a sad and pathetic waste of life my Everleigh turned out to be.”
“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU. I’M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU. YOU’RE A MONSTER.” The words exploded from me as I violently thrashed against Calyx’s arms, my fury like a wildfire consuming everything in its path. But the fury, the rage—it wasn’t enough. My legs gave out beneath me, and Calyx held my weight, keeping me from collapsing completely.
“ASH … ASH!” I sobbed, pulling at the bond between us with every ounce of strength I had left, but it felt muted, distant, like trying to grasp something submerged underwater.
Cynthia’s cold amused eyes landed on me, seeming to relish my desperation. “Ah, another perk of the poison. His magic will soon be completely nullified.”
I was spiraling and had to do something—anything. “Please, Calyx, please help him,” I begged, my voice raw, broken. Tears blurred my vision as I glanced at Ash—my Ash—lying on the ground lifeless, his chest barely rising, every breath a struggle.
Cynthia rolled her eyes, a mocking sigh escaping her lips.
“I’m tiring of this,” she whined. “Let us get to the point, shall we? Sebastian will live, for now. His wound will heal—slowly—but the real fun begins after that. The poison coursing through his bloodstream will start to eat its way through his body. The pain will be exquisite,” she purred, practically trembling with excitement.
I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms as I stood frozen, utterly helpless.
“Then the poison will slowly consume his mind. He won’t be able to tell nightmare from reality.” Cynthia continued, her voice brimming with glee, “He’ll live his final days trapped in an infinite loop of his darkest fears. Can you imagine, all that suffering, all that despair?” A delighted, twisted chuckle bubbled from her throat. “I do love that part.”
She paused, her gaze shifting from Ash’s crumpled body to mine.
A twisted smile played on her lips. “If Sebastian isn’t healed within two weeks from now, well, he’s as good as dead. And as it turns out, we don’t really need him anymore. Not when you will be the lucky new owner of Ambrosia’s heir power.”
Ash seemed to summon every last ounce of strength in his body, fighting against the poison’s cruel grip. His voice came out broken and hoarse as he lifted his head, his eyes filled with desperation. “Calyx,” he rasped. “As my friend, please … take the charger. Get Areya to Ambrosia. I need you to do that for me.”
My heart shattered as Ash’s eyes found mine.
I already knew what he wanted me to do, but I couldn’t—I wouldn’t.
“No!” I screamed, my voice cracking as fresh tears poured down my face. “No … no, Ash!” I shook my head violently, unable to accept what was happening. “I am going to save you, Ash. I swear it! Do you hear me?” My voice was raw, barely recognizable through the sobs and the anguish. “I promise,” I cried, my hands trembling, my entire world unraveling before me.
“I love you, Areya.” His voice was barely a whisper, fragile and fleeting.
“No.” I shook my head, as if repeating the word could undo this nightmare.
“I am grateful for every second I got to spend with you, even if it wasn’t as long as we hoped it would be. I regret nothing.” His words were soft but carrying the weight of a lifetime. “Areya, you are good, you are brave, you are strong. Lead our people. They will follow you.”
An instant later, the world shifted. I felt the rush of wind and the rustling of wings as I was swept off the ground into arms that weren’t Ash’s.
Calyx held me tightly as we soared upward, away from the nightmare below.
My heart shattered, watching Ash’s body become a distant speck on the desert floor.
“Please,” I sobbed, beating my fists weakly against Calyx’s chest, my voice breaking. “You can’t leave him. Calyx, please!”
But it was no use. As Ash vanished from sight, so did my hope, the emptiness inside me growing unbearable. Half of my heart—half of my very soul—was being left behind.
My body went limp in Calyx’s arms, defeated, hollow.
I didn’t fight as we landed on a stone ledge, didn’t flinch when he waved his hand over an invisible opening to a cave. He carried me inside and laid me down on a black leather couch, my body like a shell of its former self.
Everything was gone—my mother, Ash.
All that was left were the gaping holes where my heart used to be.
Calyx sat at the opposite end of the couch, his head bowed into his arms. It was the same couch I had sat on with Ash, what now felt like a lifetime ago. My arms wrapped around my trembling body as wave after wave of staggering pain crashed over me. The ache consumed me—my heart, my head—every part of me screaming under the unbearable weight of my loss.
I heard Calyx exhale deeply, and in that moment, I hated him. I hated him for taking me away from Ash, for not helping him. Just this morning, I’d had everything, more than I ever thought possible. I had a love that was monumental, more remarkable than any I could ever have dreamed of, and more profound than any love story I had ever read.
I squeezed my eyes shut as agony impaled me, tearing through every fiber of my being. Desperately, I searched for the bond inside of me, the once-glowing thread connecting me to Ash. But it was dark, and I couldn’t sense him on the other end.
Ash, my beautiful Ash. I could still picture him, the way his emerald eyes looked at me, the sound of his laugh, the curve of his smile. I remembered how safe I had felt in his arms, how his very presence brought me peace. He couldn’t be gone.
No. He wasn’t gone—not yet.
In that one brief moment, clarity pierced through the fog of grief. I made a decision. My breathing steadied, coming under control with each deep inhale. I wasn’t going to let Ash go. I had made him a promise that I’d save him, and nothing—not Cynthia, not fate—was going to stop me. I didn’t know how yet, but I knew that I was going to be the end of Cynthia.
Pushing through the ache in my body, I forced myself to move, dragging my body inch by inch across the couch, fighting against the pain. When I was close enough, I rallied every ounce of strength left in me and threw myself at Calyx.
I slammed down the dam that had been holding back my magic.
Like a tsunami, my power surged through me, flooding into Calyx. In an instant, I found the darkness—the vile demon lurking inside him, feeding on his light. Calyx’s power was light. I could feel its warmth, its goodness. That insufferable grin he always wore flashed in my mind, and in that second, I shattered the darkness inside him into nothingness.
And then, everything began to fade.
***
His hands were on my shoulders, shaking me.
“Areya, dammit. Areya, I need you to wake up.” Calyx’s voice pulled me back to reality, his hands gripping me tightly.
I forced my swollen eyes open, finding his blurry face hovering over mine.
“Hey! Areya!” He lightly slapped my cheek. “Areya!” My body jerked awake at the sharpness of his voice. I looked around, still in the cave with Calyx. And then the crushing realization hit me: Ash was gone. I gasped, my hand flying to my chest as though that would stop the pain from ripping me apart. But Calyx … he was here.
“Calyx,” I demanded, my voice barely holding together.
He dropped his head into his hands, broken.
“Calyx, what do you remember?” I urged.
“Everything,” he whispered, turning toward me, his ocean-blue eyes meeting mine, swollen and bloodshot, his face streaked with tears and regret.
His expression was hollow, filled with unimaginable pain.
I remembered how Ash had felt the moment I broke his curse. How full of loathing, how heavy with grief. Calyx had to be suffering under that same crushing weight now, the horror of remembering every terrible thing he had done over the last sixteen years. And worse, he had just left his best friend to die. His body shook and he dropped his head back into his hands. His knees trembled, and his entire frame seemed to buckle under the weight of guilt and sorrow.
Seeing him like that—Ash’s best friend, destroyed—made my heart crack even further.
I put my hand on his back, my voice gentle. “It’s ok, Calyx. It’s going to be ok.”
He only shook his head, broken and lost, tears falling freely.
“Breathe, Calyx,” I whispered.
He turned, looking into my eyes, and I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around him. He leaned into me, his face buried in my shoulder, and I held him as he sobbed, his body shaking with the weight of his grief and guilt.
He mumbled things I couldn’t understand, but I held him anyway, staying with him until his cries quieted, fading into soft sniffles, and only then did I slightly pull away.
“I know it hurts, Calyx. Ash went through this too, and I’m here for you, just like I was there for him. Do you understand?”
He nodded, still sniffling, his face pale and exhausted.
“What happened to you … that wasn’t your fault. The things you did under the curse—that wasn’t you. Agidius and Cynthia did this to you.”
Another nod, his gaze falling to the floor.
“Ok,” I said, nodding to reassure both of us. But just as I thought he was starting to regain control, his face crumpled again, and a new wave of tears spilled from his eyes.
“Dammit, Calyx,” I said. “You were kind to me, even under the curse. You were good. I sensed it then, just like I sense it now.”
He rubbed his hands over his face, trying to hide his anguish, and then his eyes fell on the mark on my hand. “You two are really fated?”
I gave him a sad smile and nodded. “Yes.”
“I’m so sorry, Areya,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “Oh, God … what we did to you …”
“I know, Calyx, and I forgive you. I forgave Ash, and I forgive you too. None of this was your fault. And you know what? It led me to Ash, which is the best thing that ever happened to me.”
He took a deep breath, his sobs slowing as his breathing steadied, and I watched as the storm inside him began to calm.
“Ash cares about you very much, and so do I,” I added.
Calyx stared ahead, his expression shifting from sorrow to something more resolute. He was pulling himself together, the weight of his role settling back into place. He nodded slowly.
“Ok. Ok, Areya, what do we do now?” Ash’s second-in-command was looking to me for guidance.
“I need your help,” I said, my voice steady and determined.
“Anything,” he replied without hesitation.
“I need you to tell me exactly what happened back there at the cabin.”
Calyx took a deep breath before he began explaining. “When Agidius discovered you and Ash were missing on the morning he came to the cabin, he lost his fucking mind. He went on a killing rampage, murdering a couple hundred of his own men in his rage.”
I cringed at the image.
“When Cynthia discovered that Agidius had let you slip through his fingers again, she came straight for me. She knew Ash would come back for me, so she set her trap. That woman, she’s got heir power, and that shit’s no joke. You saw how Ash vaporized those men with his mind?”
I nodded, remembering the shock of watching a dozen men dissolve into dust.
“She warded the outpost to alert her whenever someone came or went. I was stuck in that house with her for three days. When the charger landed, she transformed me into Ash and took my form herself. She had those other rippers hiding on the property, ready to take you the moment I captured you. Ash, Greyson, and Xanth took the bait and went after me, not realizing Cynthia had taken my form. I went to the charger disguised as Ash, and when you saw me, you came right out …”
Fear flickered over his face.
“Shit. Xanth … Did you see Xanth come out of that cabin?”
I shook my head.
“No, I didn’t, and when Greyson came out, he looked as if he’d been in a fight.”
“Damn it. I bet Cynthia put a fucking poison dagger into him, too.”
At least he thought Xanth was still alive. “Where will she take Ash?” I asked.
“She’ll bring him to the castle, then wait for you to come after him.”
“Ok, that’s something we can work with. Do you think she will take Xanth, too?”
“No, she wouldn’t bother.”
“All right, good.” I paused. “Calyx …?”
He turned to look at me.
“Do you realize they have Reize too?” I asked hesitantly.
His eyes went wide, anger exploding across his face. “Fucking bastard. I’m going to kill that lunatic, that fucking son of a bitch …”
“Calyx!” I snapped, pulling him out of his spiraling rage. His attention jerked back to me. “We’ll get her out of there, but I need you to calm down and focus.”
He took a shaky breath, his knees bouncing as he tried to hold himself together.
“Ok,” he muttered.
“Do you think between you, Greyson, Xanth, and I … that we have a chance at getting in and out of that castle?”
Calyx’s knees stopped bouncing as he considered my question. “I don’t know, Areya. I mean, Cynthia and Agidius both have heir power. Agidius has kept his power guarded, so I’m not sure exactly what he’s capable of, but Cynthia—she’s an evil bitch who can disguise herself as anyone and hide anywhere.
I stared at him, my eyes wide and desperate.
He sighed. “Xanth’s strong but he doesn’t have a fraction of the power Ash has. Greyson is a force to be reckoned with, though. I can keep us mostly unseen …”
“Oh! You have your laser eyes!”
Calyx gave me a look. “I don’t shoot lasers out of my eyes, Areya. What the fuck?”
“Oh, well, don’t you make death lasers or something?”
“Something like that.” He shook his head, staring at me as if I was half insane.
I ran over everything in my mind, what we had to work with, trying to piece together a plan.
“What about you, Areya? Any hidden talents we don’t know about?” he asked.
“I … I can break the curse,” I started. “And uh, do you know anything about the power from the Kingdom of Titan?”
“Elemental magic, Um … earth, water, fire, air, that type of thing? Wait, why?” he asked, confusion written on his face.
“It just so happens I may be a princess of Titan.” I half-heartedly smiled, shrugging.
“You’re what ?” He blinked.
“It’s complicated.”
“Ok …” He shook his head, giving me an odd disbelieving look. “Have you ever used elemental magic before?
“No, but if I’m a descendant, I could wield some type of power, right?” I asked.
“Well, yeah, I suppose.”
“Ok, and Cynthia, when she said she was my grandmother?”
“She didn’t seem like she was lying,” he said.
“Ok, great! So, I’m also an heir to the Kingdom of Ellington?” I asked hopefully.
“What the fuck, Areya?” Calyx stared at me. “Queen of Ambrosia and heir to every other throne?”
“I guess?”
He ran his hand through his hair the same way Ash did when he was nervous, and my heart melted at the familiar gesture.
“I’ve only ever used my healing magic, and just one time, I used the mental power to move something. I haven’t had a chance to train yet, but technically, I should be able to use the other powers, right?” My voice was uncertain but hopeful.
Calyx studied me, considering. “I guess. I mean, you could have an entire arsenal up your sleeve.”
Perfect.
“What was Ellington’s power?” I asked.
“Transformation,” he replied.
“So, what could that mean for me?”
“It means you’re probably a shifter.”
“Like Cynthia?” I asked a little too hopefully.
“No, she can shift herself and anyone else into anything or anyone she likes. You’d most likely be limited to one form. Probably, an animal form.”
My eyes widened. That could definitely be useful.
“Is there anything else I could do with the healing power other than … heal?” I pressed.
“Yeah, well, the ‘healing power’ isn’t technically healing; it’s a form of harnessing energy.”
I gave him a blank look, completely lost.
“Ok, so past kings have done some crazy shit with it. They could give life—or rather, imbue energy—into inanimate objects and command them to their will. They could also absorb energy, essentially erasing a life force,” he explained.
I thought about how Ash had made those men disappear. “Shit. Agidius has that power?”
“Exactly.”
I sighed. “Well, what could I do with my limited power?”
“Most healers I’ve known have been able to manipulate energy to teleport.”
“Teleport?” My heart leapt.
“Yeah, but it takes practice if you want to end up in one piece, and you have to have been to the place you want to teleport to—and the distance is limited,” Calyx added.
“But it’s something …” My mind raced through everything Calyx had told me, piecing together what we had to work with. “Ok, Calyx, here’s my plan.”
His eyes met mine.
“We have less than two weeks to save Ash. We need to go back and find Greyson and Xanth because they are out there somewhere, possibly hurt. I need the three of you to train me—to help me figure out my magic—anything at all that can give us an edge.”
Calyx interrupted me, his face hard with concern.
“Areya, it can take months … shit, years to train that kind of power. We only have days.”
“I don’t care,” I snapped. “I’m bringing Ash home, which means doing whatever it takes, at whatever cost.”
He hesitated, but eventually, he nodded.
“Just try, Calyx. Promise me you’ll try and train me,” I pleaded.
“Yeah, ok.” Another hand slid through his hair. “I mean, technically, you are my queen now—you outrank me—so I’ll try my best as long as you promise to be careful, Areya.”
The weight of that title—queen—settled uncomfortably on my shoulders, but I stood tall, trying to project an air of confidence I didn’t quite feel.
“Ok, so we bring ourselves together, train, and strategize. We form a kick-ass plan and then bring Ash and Reize home.” I forced as much conviction in my voice as I could.
Calyx studied me, his expression unreadable.
If he didn’t agree to help me, what would I do? “We have to bring them home, Calyx,” I said again, softer this time, more like a plea. A couple of long seconds passed, and then, finally, that familiar Calyx grin broke through, lighting up his face.
“Hell yeah, we do.”