Chapter 29 #2
I swallow it down, willing the shadows that skate the edges of my vision to vanish. The tattooed sea beast slithers to life against my stomach, and somehow I know we’ve already lost one of our precious minutes.
Focus, Ivy.
I close my eyes and picture a hawk’s nest amongst the southernmost point of the Facet Range. A platform of twigs and sticks filled with soft grasses, bark, and leaves. Sharp traces of broken, hatched life discarded around its edges.
A black-tipped yellow beak peaks above the rim of the nest just before the large bird emerges.
She spreads her brown wings to the sun, the white underside of her plumage on full display.
With a shrill, screaming “kee-ah,” she leaps, plummeting down the cliff face until a burst of wind catches under her broad wings and carries her upward.
The majestic bird soars from its haven, across the slope of the mountain, and over the now rippling current of the river.
Pride swells in my chest, my eyes popping open to see white sails hanging limp from their spars rather than billowing in the wind. None of it was real. The bitter taste of disappointment fills my mouth. I cut my eyes to Kieran to make sure he doesn’t see the failure that is written on my face.
His eyes are closed, the muscles in his arms and shoulders tense with the strain of wielding. His grip tightens around my hand, his lips pursing as he increases his focus.
The Ivy I was when I left home would never in a million years believe what is happening right now. I’m holding Kieran’s fucking hand while we try to simultaneously summon the godsdamned wind.
What the hell kind of game are the gods playing?
“Are you even trying?” Kieran spits at me through gritted teeth without opening his eyes.
“Are you?” I snap back.
A light breeze blows through the loose ends of my brown hair in response.
“Show off,” I murmur.
The beast slithers again. Another minute down.
Familiar magic scrapes its claws across my neck. Somewhere behind me, Cal grows agitated. It’s not directed at me, but I have the overwhelming urge to use it.
The glowing green strands of my power twist through the air searching for his. If anyone else can see them, they make no indication.
Magic spins in sparkling spirals, curling around Cal’s dark form, prodding and teasing gently.
A delicate knock to be let in. Cal’s emotions flood me as he opens the door to his power.
The verdant threads of my magic rush into the cerulean mass of his mixing into a shimmering viridian conglomerate of power.
A rightness settles into my bones and I know I can easily wield his elements.
I pluck a single thread and pull it into me. One lifeline to help me ensure we leave the Ruby Region today.
Kieran’s hand shakes in mine, drawing me away from Cal. There is no glow, no aura surrounding the new governor’s power. Nothing that mine can mingle with or draw from. No element that I can summon and wield besides my own.
The faint wind that Kieran has summoned increases and I hear the soldiers around us start to murmur.
“Do you feel that?”
“The gods must be on our side today, boys!”
“If this keeps up, we’ll be sailing soon!”
A sheen of sweat coats Kieran’s brow, drops gathered on his temples beginning their descent to the column of his throat. He lifts his chin to the breeze, the cloak hood sliding backward and exposing a sliver of his curly hair.
The rising sun illuminates his auburn locks in a halo of fire. The steady wind he commands adds a dancing movement to the flames, and I wonder if his true calling should have been to summon that element instead.
The sea beast swishes her mighty tail across my tender flesh. Three minutes gone, only two remain.
I drop Kieran’s hand, replacing his hood to disguise his hair. Disconnected from him, the wind slows to a barely perceptible speed.
Shit. That’s the opposite of what we need.
I pull the thread of Cal’s magic again, allowing it to fill my veins.
I focus on the air moving in and out of my lungs, on the breeze that moved the ends of my hair earlier.
His power mixes with mine, tangling together in a symphony that plays too quietly.
Our joined magic sizzles in my veins as if it’s waiting to be called to in the only language it speaks.
A realization settles into my bones as the serpent wriggles again. I can’t summon the air. If we had more time, I could try to use more of Cal’s power, but even that isn’t guaranteed to work and we only have one minute left.
But I am not powerless. The depthless well of magic hasn’t run dry, and I’m willing to try anything to get us off this dock.
With an unsure exhale, I push the unstable, raw core of my power directly into Kieran. It races across my skin, down my arm, and into where our hands are joined. His grip tightens, his eyes boring into me as I channel my power directly into him.
“What are you doing?” Kieran whispers.
“Just summon, air wielder.”
A strong burst of wind cuts across the deck as my magic weaves into the faint red threads of Kieran’s. His magic is weak, nothing like Cal’s. No wonder he couldn’t sustain it.
Shouts and heavy footsteps sound around us as the soldiers hurry to unfurl the sails, one loud voice booming over the others.
“Make ready, men! We might just leave this dock after all,” a man who must be the ship’s captain barks.
“Whatever you’re doing, keep it up.”
Kieran’s voice is low and strained as he slowly increases the wind. His power, though weak, is sustained and controlled in a way that I haven’t mastered. How many years must he have trained to accomplish this? How long has he been a part of this resistance?
The wind slows as magic rushes back into my body to soothe the ache that forms as self-doubt takes root. The sharp sting of pain replaces the power that surged through me only moments before. Time is running out, and I know the beast will signal the end of our window soon.
Cerulean washes over me in a comforting wave. The power that feels like second nature wraps me in a warm embrace that reminds me I’m not alone. Not anymore. The only thing that matters right now is getting off of this dock and across the Alloy River.
I gather our combined power, full of doubt and desperation, and push it all into the hands of a man I haven’t trusted for ten years.
The heartbeat of the sea beast pounds through my body as a strong northeastern wind billows through the waiting sails.
“Underway! Shift colors!”
The men around us rush to carry out the captain’s orders, a blur of Corinthian gray in my periphery as I lock gazes with Kieran. There’s a relief that I don’t share in the eyes that stare back at me.
“Holy gods, Ivy,” he breathes.
If Marks finds out that I can funnel my power into someone else, he won’t hesitate to use me in all the ways I’ve been so terrified of. And I’ve just handed that knowledge to a known enemy.
“If you betray me again, Kieran Rollins, I will kill you.”