26. Chapter 24
Chapter 24
What can the void devour? Anything. There are only a handful of beings that I have met who have no fear of losing themselves to the Unending Sea, and dragons are not one of them. Even Vyran would have been lost to it after a long enough time.
~Maeve Arden, The Future of Magic and Dragons
The Shade
The void is just as exhausting as before. When I’d first entered Maeve’s mind, it had been peaceful. It’d been soothing and soft and tempted me to stay longer. Now, it’s back to being the weight that I remember in the real world.
And there is no one to wrap me in shadows and protect me. I keep swimming because time is running out. How long have I been here? Hours? Days? Weeks? Time isn’t something that makes sense here, but I know Maeve doesn’t have long now. The faint bit of power I sense is getting weaker.
So, I do the only thing I can. I keep swimming. I keep pushing, even though every piece of me believes the void is going to win. Every piece but the one that promised that I’d do anything to keep Maeve safe. I couldn’t keep her from bearing the weight of the Painted Crown. I couldn’t keep her family or friends safe. I couldn’t keep my curse from becoming hers, but I can keep her safe.
I have to.
My body is exhausted, and I pour my magic into the shadows surrounding my body, protecting me in a shell of darkness much like Maeve did. Inch by inch, foot by foot, I make my way through the darkness to the last island of power I can make out.
When I haul myself out onto another beach, I recognize just how different this island is. Unlike the previous ones, this one isn’t stable. Waves of the void roll over the black sand, and each wave takes some of the sand away when it rolls back into the void. Slowly but surely, this island is disappearing, and I know exactly what that means.
That’s my time limit. This is the last island. This is Maeve’s true mental landscape right now, and if it all goes into the void, she’ll be lost to me.
I look out at the island and recognize it for exactly what it is. A broken version of her old one. A forest, but one that’s been burned. The shadows are there, but they’re weak, almost like they aren’t worried about protecting it any longer.
“Maeve, come talk to me,” I call out.
No response, just like before. I know she’s watching. You can’t help but watch while someone is in your mental landscape like this. I watched every step she took in mine. I move away from the beach and try to ignore the fact that I hear the waves moving faster.
When I get to the forest, I run my hand over a burned piece of wood. It crumbles to ash, and the soft wind carries it away. I’d thought that my mental landscape had been destroyed, but it was nothing compared to this.
The forest is barely there. Then I hear words that sound so much like Maeve, but they seem distant and barely carried on the wind. Maybe Maeve is thinking them rather than saying them. Ruin will come, but there are shades of ruin. Will everything be burned away, or will it be a flame that purges the land and allows for new growth?
Haunting words. Words that definitely didn’t come from her. Maeve came into my mental landscape and healed me. Twice. But my powers are not meant for that. I can’t heal. Even the shadows inside the cloak cannot repair what was done here.
But Maeve can heal it. If I can convince her to want to, she could pour the same power into herself that she poured into me. After the previous two attempts, I know that will be harder than it sounds, but it’s the only answer. Only Maeve can heal herself, and only I can convince her to do it.
And logic won’t make it happen.
I run my fingers over an unburned branch, my nails scraping at the bark. I let out a soft sigh. I pick my way through the forest. Ash is still in the air from the fire, and I wonder just how long ago this happened. Just like Maeve used to do, I run my hands over the branches I pass. I feel her. Underneath the rough bark, I sense the woman. She is everywhere and everything.
This place isn’t made by her mind. It is her mind. And I have an idea.