25. Chapter 25
T he gods must hate me, I thought, trying to understand what had just happened.
Orm’s kiss left me reeling and filled with a desire to hold the bear of a man closer and do it again. Then I learned he’d used the geas to save my life and failed to mention it, leaving me to worry that something was wrong with me and my emotions.
I hadn’t even digested that punch to the gut when my proximity spell warned of an imminent attack. It also detected the frightening amount of foul magic the advancing creatures possessed, and it didn’t look good. I frowned when, in answer to my warning, Orm stripped the kirbai’s tack before grabbing the creature’s muzzle. ‘If we fail, run to the fortress and show the dragon what you saw here.’
‘Do you think he understands?’ I was curious despite the danger. ‘He does, and he will fight with us. Get behind me, Nivale, and support me as much as you can.’ I burst into laughter, pulling my falchion sword.
‘No, Lord Commander. Without your wings, we are equal, and the ground is where I excel. Now, get behind me because I have some anger to vent and it’s about to get messy.’
I stumbled a bit when I saw the pride and desire mixing in Orm’s gaze as our eyes locked. For a man who did everything he could to keep me in the fortress, he is far too happy to be fighting beside me, I thought, trying to suppress the joy it brought me before I shook my head and started muttering a quick cantrip.
I felt them before I saw them. Two strigae, fast and deadly, burst into the clearing and rushed in our direction. My usual tactic, casting an arcane net to immobilise fast-moving targets, wouldn’t work with Orm here—the net latched onto anything that moved—and I couldn’t afford to lose his fighting skills.
This will be more fun anyway , I thought, trailing my hand over the sword, modifying my incantation. The runes etched onto the blade burst into blue flame. The advantage of being an elemental mage was that I could channel aetheric fire into almost anything, turning it into an arcane weapon.
Scholars often theorised the results of a conduit mage stripping the land of its magic, channelling aether until nothing was left. In theory, it was possible, but no one had ever come close to managing such a terrifying feat. Aether was like water: it flowed through the world, changing from one form to another—always there, sustaining, and renewed by, life itself. We could drain a lake of its water, but the rivers and rainfall would always refill it.
I was an elemental mage. My affinity for elements made it easy to cast basic elemental spells without the sigils or incantations that were necessary to use other forms of magic. I couldn’t use my conduit abilities without my Anchor, but my own aether reserve was more than enough for such a fight—and these strigae were about to learn that it made little difference which of my abilities I used when the frustration of my situation burned within me like the heat of the sun.
Orm was left behind as I jumped between our attackers, fingers twisting to throw up a shield sigil to protect myself. At the same time, my sword swung in a deadly figure of eight. It cut the closest attacker’s arm while I parried the other creature’s claws. The sigil burned red but withstood the hit.
‘Ani, for fuck’s sake!’ I heard from behind, but it only made me laugh.
I needed this. After what I’d just learned, my darkness, fear, worries, and unfulfilled desires demanded an outlet. I unleashed it on the monsters, lashing out with pure, unbridled violence. I lost myself in the sheer joy of combat. Fury blazed through my veins as I fought the monsters that Orm—with his heavy sword—was struggling to get a move in on.
I called upon the fire, creating a Morgenstern flail, 1 its fiery chain spitting incandescent sparks as the ball of plasma crashed into one of the strigae’s chest, setting her ablaze. The burning creature released a screech that almost made my ears bleed, and the earth shook beneath us. A massive shape, its head pushing aside the tree branches, emerged from the forest wall—a mountain troll.
What the … why is there a mountain troll here?
The race had never before allied with the Lich King, preferring to remain isolated and only trading sporadically with other races. Yet here he was, charging at Orm, his thundering strides so heavy they shook the bones in my body.
When he passed me, I understood: the pall of death lay heavy on him, and whether it was wild or foul magic that animated him, his mind and soul hadn’t returned from behind the Veil.
The fleeting glimpse of the decaying flesh was soon obscured by a set of claws slicing past my eyes. As I fell back, I saw Orm, motionless yet relaxed, with an intense focus in his eyes. I cursed, flicking out my fingers, creating another shield, this one a little different. I added a twist—an outlet for the magic that shortened its lifespan but propelled it forward at speed—and grinned as the strigae were knocked from their feet.
I looked back at Orm, another spell already primed to protect him.
My jaw dropped. No longer was the warrior standing still. He ducked the wild swing of the troll’s arm, launching himself forward and cutting across his body with his sword. I watched as half the creature’s hand sailed past Orm’s head, falling to the ground at the kirbai’s feet as it circled around, clawing at the monster’s back. Orm rolled, and the sword licked out, carving more flesh from the troll’s arm.
He was glorious.
I wished I could stop to admire his technique; efficient, deadly, no movement was wasted or unnecessary. Where I relied on dancing steps, Orm was pure, focused power: one move, one strike—resulting in devastating ruin. I couldn’t drag my eyes away from the single combat; that is, until a striga’s claw tore through my shield and sliced into my arm. It hurt, but it helped me focus.
The next time she tried to attack, I was already weaving the aether. My incantation created thorny vines that slashed through her torso, forcing her away. As my confidence grew, everything suddenly went blurry as a torrent of foul magic assaulted my senses.
I knew there was a fourth attacker, but I had forgotten about them in the heat of battle. The ground beneath us shook—once, twice, the earth suddenly moving and nearly knocking us from our feet. That could mean only one thing: an olgoi worm 2 was heading for the surface to devour its prey—and it was aiming to make Orm and me its next meal.
‘Orm, get away from the centre!’ I shouted to him as he stood within the rapidly growing hole beneath his feet. I could fight an olgoi if I had to, but the creatures were famously hard to kill. It usually took several battle mages and soldiers with axes to fell one.
I felt conflicted despite the danger; olgoi worms weren’t evil. They could be dangerous, but as they tended to live in isolated areas and mainly fed on carrion, it was rare for anyone to encounter them. This one must have travelled from Barren Lands; I could tell its energy had been tainted by the Lich King’s magic—another testament to the fading barrier.
Orm looked at me then, before glancing at his feet as the hole he’d been standing in erupted, forced up by the giant worm as it burrowed its way to the surface. Uttering a heated curse, he threw himself to the side—but it was too late.
If I’d only warned him sooner, he might have stood a chance. A row of teeth burst from the ground, and the injured troll disappeared with hardly a sound, quickly followed by a twisting, snarling Orm. As the warrior’s legs disappeared into the yawning maw, he thrust his sword into its glistening flesh and managed to lodge it firmly to halt his fall.
He was now dangling over the gullet of the worm, relying solely on the sword to not plunge to his death. To make matters worse, the worm was trying to pull back, and its mouth locked onto the wedged sword just as Orm gained his footing. The sound of teeth scraping over his breastplate was deafening as the worm fought to move backwards.
‘Oh no, you fucking don’t!’ I swore, screaming out in my mind, hoping Vahin would answer my call. I dropped to my knees and scratched a glyph in the dirt, ignoring the strigae as they struggled to even stand. I tried snaring Orm or the worm with ropes of aether before the warrior could be swallowed completely.
‘Run, Ani. Go back to the fortress. The kirbai will take you,’ Orm grunted through gritted teeth, shaking his head when a piece of debris fell on his face.
‘No,’ I snapped, once again cursing an unfeeling fate. The only Anchor I had was too far away to help, and I needed him desperately. I knew with my distress broadcasting over our link he’d come eventually, but Orm didn’t have that much time.
‘Just run. My death will end your servitude to the Crown. You will be free, Annika. The parchment … I burned it. I’m the only one who knows the incantation. Do it for me and live free, Nivale.’
Orm’s words triggered something deep inside me. He’d burnt the damn parchment and was willing to die to set me free. I no longer cared if he held my geas or that he hid the truth from me. He’d made a mistake by not telling me, but so had I by not admitting that this grumpy, overprotective bear was mine , and I couldn’t let him die.
‘No!’
‘Please don’t make me use the geas to save you again,’ he threatened while I felt myself being pulled inexorably forward by the magical ropes as I held onto them with all the strength I had.
‘I can forgive you for using the geas when I was unconscious and dying, but not now. Now, I get to make my own choices, and I choose you. No matter what happens, we do it together .’
I saw the desperation in his eyes, the need to save me warring with what he knew to be right. As I slipped further towards the growing hole, I saw him smile as he seemingly made his decision.
He’s going to let go.
I could see it in his eyes, in his calm acceptance. As he released his grip on the sword, I whipped a string of aether that wrapped around his wrist, preventing his fall.
‘Don’t you dare give up. Hold on to the fucking sword,’ I hissed through clenched teeth, and to my relief, he listened. This lumbering bear of a man, whose gentle hand had shown me the proper way to stroke a dragon, frowned, but he listened, letting me focus on my next move.
‘Trust me,’ I said, digging my fingers into the soft forest ground. This time, I didn’t reach for the aether but simply let it flow through me like a river. I whispered an incantation, gently shaping the primaeval power into a depthless void, knowing that I risked catastrophe with no one to stabilise me.
Magic funnelled through me like an endless vortex, an unholy amount of power penetrating the ground. A wave of frost spread from my fingers, all the warmth in the earth pulled into my spell. The magic delved deep beneath me, freezing everything in its path and destroying the strigae.
I felt the searing pain of frostbitten fingers that almost stripped me of my sanity, but I kept going. I needed to stop the olgoi from retreating underground and taking Orm with it. I opened myself to the wild, primal magic of the land itself, allowing it to course through me.
In an instant, the ground froze solid. I heard the kirbai snort anxiously in the background as it danced away. My eyes were on the olgoi, though, whose movements slowed before they stopped altogether, a thin sheen of ice moving up its body. I tore my hands from the ground when the ice came too close to Orm’s body.
I watched the commander pull his arms free. He is safe , I thought, sitting on my heels. He is safe . That was all I could think of. My teeth clattered, and my entire body shook from the cold, slowly shutting down. I had saved him, but I was losing control.
Nothing I did seemed to affect the onslaught of magic pouring through my body. I was in danger of joining the giant worm in becoming a permanent feature of the forest. My vision blurred, but I could still make out Orm’s form as he forced himself free from the olgoi’s maw. He used his sword to break its jaw and clambered free, rushing to my side.
‘Ani!’
‘S-s-t … s-stay a … w …way,’ I bit out through clattering teeth, trying to protect him from the deadly cold. This was the fate of an unanchored conduit mage, and I knew it. My kind could cast spells at any time, but using our conduit abilities to channel the raw power of the aether without an Anchor nearby was almost always catastrophic.
Wisps of fog gathered around me, freezing the air in my lungs as I fought to detach myself from the wild magic. The air turned opaque, then utterly white, as it froze around me, encasing me in ice. Orm struck it with his sword, but I was too far gone to tell him to let me die before the spell I’d used turned into a never-ending winter.
I felt the ice shudder under his relentless attacks, but somehow, Orm’s proximity helped. I gathered what strength I had left to end the disastrous situation. With my fingers shaking violently, I traced a sigil, redirecting a single thread of aether into heat, hoping I wouldn’t create something worse than the blizzard that was killing me.
A deafening crack rang out as fire erupted from my chest, an agonised scream following straight after as I collapsed into unconsciousness. The shiver that awoke me shook me to the core, but the warm, muscular arms that held me tight drove it away, and I smiled, enjoying the wonderful dream.
‘Stay with me, Nivale. Please. Open your eyes. You said we’d do this together, remember? You said it yourself, so don’t you dare die now.’ The insistence in the voice persuaded me to pry my eyelids open.
I was plastered against Orm’s bare chest. My hands tucked firmly under his arms while the rest of his clothes were wrapped around us like a protective cocoon.
‘There you are, that’s my brave girl. Stay awake for me, Ani,’ he murmured, rubbing my back as he held me. Despite my sluggish thoughts, being called a brave girl by Orm amused me. I wished I had the strength for a witty retort, but he was warm, and I could forgive him any ridiculous thing he wanted to say in the moment. I tried to tell him that, but my head felt too heavy, and I lolled, my cold nose bumping against his hairy chest.
‘Warmmm,’ I slurred, and his eyes lit up as if my words were a wonderful gift.
‘And you are ice cold. Even your lips are blue. You should have run, Nivale,’ he grumbled, and I tried to shake my head.
‘No, you didn’t use it … m-my hero. My Ursus,’ I stuttered, my teeth chattering.
‘I will use it next time if you don’t listen. Never hurt or sacrifice yourself for me again. When I tell you to run, run.’
Each moment in his embrace strengthened me, almost as if Orm was pushing his warmth into my frozen flesh. I squirmed a little, and he looked down at me with such tenderness that I blurted out the only thought I had in my head. ‘If I’m hurt, you should kiss it better.’
Orm’s pupils widened, but before I could retract my foolish statement, he bent down.
His lips touched mine in a featherlight caress, testing my resolve, and when I didn’t push him away, Orm deepened the kiss. His lips were soft, and his tongue darted out, asking to be let in. With a soft moan, I responded. Warmth spread through me faster than a forest fire.
I knew I should stop, but after nearly dying, I felt alive and wanted to revel in the emotions the experience had awakened. I felt the magic in my soul reaching out, surrounding Orm’s spirit, caressing it while I kissed him, too, knowing I had sealed my fate.
He would rather die than put me in danger—would rather sacrifice himself to protect my freedom. He was perfect, and I wanted him. The shadow of an old, half-remembered emotion surfaced, a brief glimpse of a man flickering in my mind—Talmund, my paladin mage.
If he had known the words to my geas, there would have been no hesitation. Tal would have shouted them to the heavens to save my life, even knowing it would break my heart. But Orm had learned that I would always choose freedom.
‘Thank you,’ I whispered between kisses.
Orm wasn’t a mage, though he possessed what we called the seed of darkness , a potent kernel of wild magic that allowed him to connect with his dragon. The speed of my recovery told me that my magic, with its unique quest to be joined, recognised it and wanted to complete the bond.
It would be all too easy to whisper the Anchoring Oath, let the tendrils of aether dive into his chest and make him mine, but I wouldn’t endanger his life by taking such a reckless step. Until I could feel my past, I would not take another Anchor.
Before I irrevocably entwined my spirit and Orm’s, I pulled away, panting heavily, my lips still tingling from the kiss. I liked the taste of him on my tongue, and I had to fight not to lean forward and kiss him again. Orm must have taken my internal struggle as a sign of regret because he stiffened and tried pulling back further.
‘If I crossed a line, I apologise. I thought you …’ He stopped, shaking his head. ‘I could muddy the waters with excuses, but the raw truth is, I wanted to kiss you too much to hear the voice of reason. I understand if you …’ Orm had saved my life, yet he looked so remorseful for kissing me. I would have laughed if he hadn’t been deadly serious.
‘Does that mean you don’t want to do it again?’ I teased when he paused. When his brows drew together in confusion, I reached towards his face and smoothed his frown with my thumb. ‘I knew what I was asking for. My magic recognised you as a potential Anchor, and that saved my life even if it took me a moment to stabilise it.’ His eyes widened, something akin to hope flashing in them.
‘You don’t regret it?’
‘You kept me from freezing to death. I’m warm now, or rather, I’m warm enough not to die, and I enjoyed the experience. Don’t apologise for following my wishes. Next time I try to turn myself into an icicle, you are welcome to kiss me to your heart’s content,’ I offered, trying to relieve the tension.
The intensity of his gaze became almost frightening. ‘I didn’t kiss you to warm you up. I did it because I want you so fucking much that I can’t think of anything else. Don’t give me permission because I will use it, and one day, you may find me throwing you naked into an icy stream just so that I can kiss you again.’
‘Orm … you don’t need a stream.’
‘Fuck! Don’t tempt me, Nivale. Just don’t. You need a proper mage, not a dragon rider who can offer nothing in exchange. I was close to begging to Anchor you, but with the greater Vella breaking through the Barrier—first the spectrae, now an olgoi worm—I can’t allow my selfishness to damn this kingdom.’
A sudden roar from above made us both look up. ‘I think Vahin is pissed at finding we were in trouble,’ I mused because the feelings his words awakened were too raw to think about right now.
Orm smirked, shaking his head. ‘If my dragon is here, it means we are still in trouble. You’d better brace yourself. If you think I’m an overprotective bastard, just wait until you experience a dragon’s wrath.’
‘Little Flame!’ Vahin’s voice roared, enhanced by the boom of his precipitous landing. His claws dug into the frozen ground with ease, preventing his large catlike body from slipping as he turned in our direction. I looked Vahin in the eye and gasped at the change I saw. My intelligent, compassionate dragon was gone, replaced with savage fury. For the first time since meeting him, I felt a tinge of fear.
‘I almost lost you. I felt fingers of ice grasping my heart, and there was nothing I could do,’ Vahin boomed as he circled me, unable to calm down. I reached out, stroking his head.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said, feeling a furnace burning under his skin as if he was trying to expel the last hint of ice in my veins. ‘I’m fine, Vahin, I promise. Orm saved me.’
The dragon turned his head towards Orm, and as his pupils narrowed to mere slits, Orm gasped in response. Whatever Vahin projected during their silent conversation left the commander’s face full of anger and worry.
‘We need to return to the fortress. Vahin spotted a large group of remnant undead wandering towards Zalesie, and the dragons I left near the Rift reported a forest fire. I have to deal with it as soon as we get you to a healer.’
‘I’ll go with you,’ I said, but both dragon and his rider looked at me as if I’d lost my mind.
I stood my ground; remnants were slow and mindless undead creatures, something akin to the university’s first-year challenge to battle mage standards. ‘Look. You can’t be in two places at once, and I can lead the ground forces or simply support them if they have a decent officer. How about you deal with the forest fire while the soldiers and I head to Zalesie?’
Orm shook his head. ‘The fire could be natural, and I won’t waste my time on it unless it threatens someone’s community. We will fly towards Zalesie tomorrow and exterminate the remnants. Those creatures move slowly and are unlikely to be much of a threat to the town.’
He pointed to Vahin’s back. ‘Get on, Nivale. Right now, we’re flying to the fortress; my kirbai can find his own way home. We both need rest, and I have to make some plans because this event has completely changed our situation. You will go on patrol when the healers allow you to go. That is the rule for all my soldiers.’
‘Come on, Little Flame. Your hunting trip is over for today,’ Vahin said, a grumpy tone in his voice, and I turned, slapping my palm against his neck.
‘My hunting trip eliminated two strigae, an undead mountain troll, and a bloody olgoi worm who would otherwise have been free to make new tunnels and drag down unsuspecting travellers or even people in the villages if they got too close. So don’t you dare treat me like a wayward child because we all know it was an excellent decision.’
Orm gathered our belongings and secured them to the dragon’s back, setting the kirbai free before he joined me. We flew in silence; I was sulking at the censure in Vahin’s tone, and both males must have realised how I felt because, for a long time, not a word was spoken.
When we spotted the fortress in the distance, Orm whispered in my ear. ‘You are an impressive fighter and saved me, again. You can more than hold your own, but you must forgive Vahin. You nearly died, and that worries him. Whilst I could at least fight alongside you, he couldn’t, and that’s grating on him a lot.’
‘You almost died as well, yet he didn’t yell at you ,’ I said, refusing to let go of my grudge.
‘I wasn’t the one who gave his life meaning again. I love him like a brother, but he has had many riders and likely will have many more, while you … You are his miracle, his only tether to a consciousness buried under the sands of passing time. Don’t blame him for lashing out when he almost lost you.’
I didn’t reply to that, but I did let myself relax and enjoy the ride.
‘I am sorry, Little Flame. Orm is right, losing you would be like losing my soul. But he is also wrong—I won’t have another rider. Orm is the last one.’ Vahin said in my mind, and I welcomed the gentleness that had returned to his voice, even if his words troubled me.
My peace didn’t last long, though.
As soon as Vahin descended, I saw Alaric rushing towards the landing area. The mage looked frantic and furious, grasping a piece of paper in his hand.
Looks like someone found my letter.
Purple magic curled around him like smoke, and if anything, showcased how close Alaric was to losing control. What was supposed to be a minor excursion to clear my head had turned into a complete disaster. I wondered how many people I had enraged today and whether I should start carving notches on my headboard.
‘Annika, how courteous of you to leave us this drivel . “Please tell Alaric I’m sorry?” How very kind of you,’ he seethed with worry. ‘Hrae! What were you thinking? You want to sort things out? Fine! Tomorrow, you will spend the day in my workshop. It is time we start synchronising our magic. Be there at dawn.’ I saw his nostrils flare as his hand tightened, crumpling the letter into a tattered mess.
‘Ari … I’m sorry,’ I tried to say, but he shook his head while his eyes filled with crimson and pain.
‘You’re sorry ? How do you think I felt when Vahin roared you were dying in a blizzard at the height of summer? You ripped out my heart. No, Annika, being sorry is not enough. I thought I’d lost you—I thought all I’d be left with was your body, and I was ready to bring you back just to hold you in my arms and say goodbye. No, you will have to try much harder to earn my forgiveness.’
He turned on his heel and marched back towards the castle. Alaric’s outburst left me speechless, and I looked at Orm, searching for an answer. ‘He’ll be alright. Just give him time. Go get some rest, Ani,’ he said with a sigh, and bent to kiss my forehead. The sweet gesture disarmed me completely, and, feeling utterly defeated, I dragged myself to my room.
1. Morgenstern — otherwise known as a Morning Star flail; a mace with a chain ending with a spiky ball.
2. Olgoi worm — a blind earthworm with rows of serrated teeth, famous for drilling tunnels in the dirt and rocks. They rarely hunt sentient beings, but during starvation periods, they may move to the surface and hunt for warm-blooded prey.