Chapter 48
IZADELLA
Dread pools within me when the shaking grows stronger. A blast of magic comes from Nueena that shatters the windows around us.
Viella and Lillian throw their bodies over Vaylin and a crying Kaylena, Viella using her magic to create a protective barrier around them.
Nueena jumps off the throne and rips Inara’s crown off her head. The gold quivers before the gilded color drains from it, turning it pale as moonlight. It hovers above her hands before it breaks into four pieces, falling into her open palms.
Leon tries to stop me, but I run past him, our panic pounding into each other.
Mine is terrified of whatever is happening with the crown; Leon’s is fear for my safety as I race up the steps to get to Nueena, who clutches the jagged pieces in her trembling hands.
Magic keeps rolling off her in waves. Every plant in this room is spilling over their pots.
The crown’s endless magic rushes out of the room without anyone to control it.
Nueena looks between her mother and me. “The crown can’t handle the magic it already had, plus my own magic and the Realm Keeper’s magic from the throne. We need to get it back together. I need that magic to restore Adreania!”
She and I stare at each other for just a moment.
If we can return to my workshop, we can try to fix this.
Alvina forged the crown there, so maybe I can put it back together.
I know Nueena is thinking the same when we both bolt towards the small grove where the tree portals are, Tavien and Leon at our heels.
“Can you do it?” Nueena asks, running beside me. Hope in her words begs me to tell her yes.
I am a descendent of the Forger, but that doesn’t mean I have the ability to fix such a powerful keyed item or even forge her a new crown, especially one that needs to hold such a vast amount of magic, but we have to try.
“Let’s get to the forge. I will do whatever I can, everything within my power.”
The bundle of tree portals are just outside the throne room, and the four of us sprint into the first tree we can reach. Nueena slams her hand onto the bark and when we stumble in, the portal magic launches us forward.
“Can you make a tree portal reach closer to my cottage?” I ask Nueena, Leon’s arms wrapping around me for the journey.
“I can try but the trees are fickle when it comes to additional pathways. The Merawood Forest does not have the magic Ellova or the Verge does. I was able to form a connecting pathway to Kalvorn because it’s full of magic.”
Please let it work.
“Are you not Realm Keeper yet? Why would the forest not obey you?” Leon shouts over the whirling noise of the tree.
“The coronation has not been completed. We have one final part to the ceremony. The throne needs to accept me. The magic transfer was not completed.”
The portal shakes, a sign that a new tree is being grown above us. Tendrils of hope rise up in Leon and me.
When it finally stops spinning, we step into the forest, and through the thick trees are the burnt remains of my cottage, my home.
My heart hurts all over again at the destruction, but I cannot let what has been lost distract me from what must be reborn.
I dash into the small stone workshop, stumbling inside.
“No!” I cry, burning with agony at the sight of the cold forge. I want to fall to my knees and scream.
The cerulean fire is gone. Remnants of the stained-glass windows are crushed under our feet.
I have never seen it not burning with its mighty blue flame. My mother always said that the forge fire would never die. That it had been burning for thousands of years and would do so for thousands more.
“It must have gone out the night I put on the crown. An explosion of magic blew out the windows too,” Nueena explains, crestfallen.
Tavien steps forward. “Let me try to restart it. Nueena, take my hand.”
I hold my breath as his powers light his hand, but it’s a different type than I’ve ever seen him possess. The magic swirling around is a mix of his firefae abilities and Nueena’s, their shared powers creating something new. He blasts his magic into the forge, blowing my hair back with its impact.
For a moment the forge remains lifeless, but then bright flames erupt within it, burning brightly, more powerful than ever before.
Now, it is my turn.
Nueena hands me the Realm Keeper’s crown and the broken pieces of Inara’s. “You can do this, Della. I know you can!”
I take it with trembling hands. Her trust in me is a beautiful thing. We will see if I deserve it.
“Everyone stand back,” I demand, Leon reluctantly stepping away from me.
The fire's heat is a welcoming caress. The flames lap up my arms in greeting. My skin tingles as I stand so close to such magic within it.
I place Nyvenah’s crown in the center of the forge and arrange the four broken pieces of Inara’s, connecting it to each part of the Realm Keeper’s.
My metal magic bursts through my fingertips, forging each of the shards of her future crown to Inara’s.
Both crowns melt and form a solid gold ball, merging together.
I shift my hands, hollowing the gold into a hoop.
I swirl up a high point in the center and two more on each side, slightly shorter as it goes down.
I think of all that is Nueena.
Her love for her garden flows through me and the gold swirls into flowers and leaves. I want to create a crown just for her. The glittering florals twine together. I leave a space open in the center.
“Give me your Zemra stone!”
She hands it to me, and I set the crystal. With the two crowns forged together, the vast well that is normally filled with magic is becoming barren. The new crown vibrates with irritation at the loss of its wearer, of its unending magic that is flooding out of it and into Ellova.
“Nueena, it’s your turn. I need to key this to you. It needs your magic.”
I have never keyed an item to a fae before, nor did my mother. It was too risky. It takes great magic and can have devastating consequences if done incorrectly, as keyed magic binds the item.
The weight of all presses down on me, but determination quickly rises, the metal eager for magic, greedy for it.
Any fear I cannot do this is smothered with Leon’s belief in me, his awe in my abilities.
My jewelsmith powers sing in my veins, a sensation I’ve missed so very much.
I hold the crown deep into the forge, flames licking at my skin, and hold one hand out to Nueena. She places her hand in mine, Tavien at her side, holding her. I’m overwhelmed by the magic she has.
More power than any fae has had before.
My mortal body is a conduit for Nueena’s magic as it blasts through me like lightning, down my arm, and into the waiting crown burning in the flames.
Stars blind my vision for a moment, my body swaying. It’s too much for the mortal part of my body, burning me from the inside. Every part of me lights up in pain, but I focus on what I need to do.
Now it is time for my magic to do its part.
A metallic taste fills my mouth. My power swirls around the crown, locking it in place with Nueena’s power.
She calls back all the magic the crown has lost. It builds and builds.
The workshop trembles, the shattered colored glass rising around us as an ocean of magic floods into Nueena, through me, and into the crown.
I fear I might faint from the pain and the vastness of her lost magic I'm drowning in, about to become completely overwhelmed with it. The torrent of insurmountable magic blackens my vision.
I must finish this.
No matter the pain.
Strong arms and my Zemra’s strawberry scent wrap around me, healing magic whirling through me, soothing me. Leon’s healing powers restore all the damage being done to my body, our shared magic through our bond. The pain eases.
Nueena’s magic pours into the crown, building and building.
The forge cannot take all the magic. The pressure within it crushes me. Too much magic is funneled in. The flames darken, rising higher and higher, but I need to keep it all contained for a few seconds longer. The well within the crown fills fast, siphoning in all it can.
The force of it all is about to explode!
“Leon, stay away!” I beg but he just tightens his hold on me. I let go of Nueena’s hand and shove her with all my strength towards Tavien. “Take cover!”
He catches her, launching both of them to the floor, covering her with his own body and a protective shield right before the forge erupts in a fireball. The heat of it blasts me back, and I fight to stay upward as the last of the magic swirls into the crown.
The violet fire burns brightly one last time before shrinking down to those cheery blue flames I have always known. The enchantment to key the crown to Nueena vibrates through me before it snaps into place.
Shocked elation descends upon me. I did it! Oh, Ellova’s grave.
The enchantment is complete.
Tavien rolls off Nueena, who pushes away his chest to once again be at my side. “Oh, Della! Are you all right?’”
I nod. The crown heats quickly, angry to find itself still in my care and not with the one it has been keyed to. I thrust it to her with my burning hands and turn to Leon.
I may be immune to fire, but Leon is not.
His shirt has been incinerated, every inch of exposed skin covered in angry red burns. I stare in horror at him, my panic flooding our bond, but he lets out a little laugh.
“Well, I guess we don’t share every part of our magic with each other. Could have used that fire immunity.”
My poor love.
I know he can heal himself, but I hate to see him harmed. He winces but waves his hand over his skin and handsome face. The scorched skin fades back to unblemished perfection.
He leans down and kisses me, before turning me around to face Nueena. “Did it work?” he asks her.