57
Valen
Everything spins again, and I’m back in the clearing. The remains of the tree cottage are still smoking, and there are remnants of Aphelian’s minions scattered throughout the clearing. After a quick once-over, it appears that everyone is still in one piece—more or less. Several of Kopic’s guards are tending to their wounded, while Wren, Delkin, and Benj huddle not far away, surveying the scene. To the left, Daroose is tending to his kelpies.
The tug of the magic crushes my chest, making it hard to breathe. I do as she asked. I open myself to it, give myself over and surrender completely. The Dream is beginning to tear. Tania is tethered to that place, which means I am, too.
Until it’s gone.
The pressure builds until I’m sure I can’t stand it anymore. Her face flashes inside my head, and her voice rings in my ears. She’s the true other half of me. The ache in my chest goes far deeper than the magic. It’s soul-deep. If I lose her, then it will never go away.
Was this how Delkin felt? All day, every day? Did the loss of my mother haunt him? If the pain is this bad and I haven’t lost her yet, how will I survive it?
I have no intention of finding out.
Tania wants me to step up, to be strong—and she’s right. I am what’s best for the Winter Fae. But, as Gensted said, that also means doing what’s best for me. I just didn’t know how to do it until now.
“If you do this, there’s no coming back.” Bojan appears before me.
I stare. “How—how are you here?”
“That ring you gave Tania? It’s one I gave your mother when she was a child. Tania is wearing it on a chain, beneath her shirt. I’ve been with her all along.” She looks to me, then frowns. “I know what you want to do. You’ll be sacrificing all that makes you…you.”
“No. I’m not.” I think of Tania. Of her laugh and her eyes and of the way she lights me up inside. “The thing that makes me who I am is her. That’s the one thing I refuse to live without.”
Bojan nods. She whispers something in my ear, then pulls away. “So be it.”
I push back against the tug. The destruction of the Dream has started, but instead of giving myself over to it, I fight. I pull against the link, searching for Tania. When I find her, there’s a burst of surprise. Of longing and remorse. Then there’s a roar. The sound splits the air and threatens to crack my skull in two. Determination washes over me, and I pull even harder. Something builds. An energy unlike anything Derriga has ever seen.
When the shaking started, I saw a small glass vial fall from Aphelian’s hand. I picked it up. Clutching it in my hand, I focus on Tania. I yank on the link, and something overhead crackles. It’s a boom far too resonant to be lightning or thunder. Wonderful. I’ve broken the world.
Then I’m flying through the air…
The air is colder. It smells different. I flex my fingers and force my eyes open. I’m on my back in the snow—back in the clearing.
Or what’s left of it.
The trees are all knocked down, the snow chased from their branches. The collection of boulders that used to sit to my right is now shattered—nothing more than pebbles and debris.
She’s here…a few feet from me, lying in the snow. There’s a growing pool of blood beneath her, staining the pristine white a stark, macabre color.
“Tania?” I stagger to her. I’m bleeding now, too. I grab my gut, wincing against a sudden burst of pain.
“How—” She coughs, taking several gasping breaths. “The Dream closed our link. Severed it. I was trapped… Valen, what did you do?”
I say nothing, letting my finger trail across her cheek. It’s foolish, and when I recover my senses, I know I’ve finally gone too far. Everyone in the clearing is watching us. Nothing’s been said, but they’re not blind. Our secret is out.
And it’s about fucking time.
“What did you do?” she repeats, panic welling between us.
I cringe against another spike of pain, huffing with effort as I hold out my hand and open my palm. In the center is the vial I found—and it’s no longer empty.
She’s different. Hollower than she’d been moments ago. I was able to pull the druid magic from her and redirect it into the tear.
She flexes her fingers. “I’m warmer now. I feel you again in the link—but not your magic.” Her eyes widen. “No…”
I take her hand and place the tear into her palm. It’s covered in my blood. Or maybe it’s hers. It’s all the same to me.
“I don’t regret it, Tania.”
She stumbles away, horrified. Delkin comes limping into the center of the clearing, and a moment later, Benj. The others follow.
“What happened?” Delkin asks. His head is bleeding, and there’s a bruise forming on his left cheek, but other than that, he seems fine. “Something has…changed.”
I stand a bit straighter. “We did it. We trapped Aphelian.”
Benj looks from me to Tania, brow furrowed. “I don’t understand. How could you—”
“We trapped her in the Dream,” she says. Her voice shakes a little. “I was going to destroy it. I had to stay in order for it to work.” She turns to me, complete shock etched on her face. “I was fine with that. I accepted it.”
“I didn’t,” I say. “So I dragged her out and destroyed the Dream myself.”
“You…” Benj pales. “How—”
Delkin shakes his head. “That’s not possible.”
“I—” Something like remorse filters through the link. Not regret. Loss, but…more concern. It’s okay, Tania…
“No,” she repeats. “Valen, your magic…”
Delkin pales. “You sacrificed your magic?”
“It’s more complicated than that, but yes.” Without the Winter magic, there will be no problem with her Autumn power. As the others make their way into the clearing, I stand my ground. “Bojan warned me—”
“Wait.” Delkin throws up his hand. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the older Fae so flustered. “Bojan was here?”
“It’s a long story, but yes. She warned me that destroying the Dream would take my magic. It would also come with a price.”
“A price,” Delkin repeats.
“There’s a chance it might one day recover. Fae magic comes and goes—as we know. But because I destroyed the Dream—the birthplace of the druids—I’m technically allergic to druid magic now.”
“ Allergic? What does that mean?”
“It means,” I say softly, catching Tania’s gaze, “that should my magic ever be replenished, I won’t have access to it in proximity to a druid. Punishment, of sorts.”
“Punishment?” Benj glares at me. “For saving countless lives?”
“What if we do for you what you did for us?” Wren takes my hand. She and Suveo have joined us. “Give you some of our magic. Another transfer!”
I cover her hand with mine. I don’t agree with her tactics, and I still feel justified in mistrusting her, but I understand her now. She’s proven herself. “I’m grateful that you’d be willing to do that for me, but the loss of my power is different from yours. It can’t be fixed like that. This is a magical punishment. The Dream’s way of holding me accountable.”
“How do you know?” Benj challenges. His face is ashen.
“Bojan told me.”
“But how—”
“A small fact lost to history—Bojan was half druid, like Tania.”
“And this is why we don’t involve ourselves with humans.” Suveo snorts. “You destroyed a piece of yourself for this…” He squares his shoulders and nods to me. “For this hero .”
I offer the Summer monarch an appreciative smile. “Oh, one other thing. So we’re all clear…” Turning, I face the small crowd. “Tania is much more than an advisor and a friend. She is mine . It’s something that should have been declared a long time ago.”