Chapter 2
Lore
This place keeps what it’s given.
No one ever leaves whole.
With my wildfire by my side, I stepped out of the newly reformed labyrinth, my boots sinking into lush, dewy grass.
Above, the sky stretched wide, impossibly vast after the labyrinth’s endless caverns.
The horizon burned with fading gold, the last remnants of day slipping below the treetops.
Stars were pricking to life in the deepening blue, scattered like jewels in a sea of dark velvet.
Beside me, Reyla tilted her head back to take in the sheer wonder of it all, and for one, solitary moment, I knew peace.
The air tasted clean, sweet. After being trapped in shadowy stone corridors and torturous games, even the scent of earth struck deep.
Sun-warmed grass. The ghost of rain in the air.
It pressed against me like I’d been asleep inside an ancient place, and it wasn’t until the light touched my skin that I could feel how cold I’d been.
Farris shook himself and snorted, his silver-tipped fur ruffling in the breeze. His tail flicked in a lazy way, but his ears remained pricked forward, his gaze on the forest.
Dorion rubbed his arms and looked down at his hands as if he expected the shadows to return and claim him. We'd come too close to losing him inside the labyrinth.
Reyla and I stared into each other's eyes, our grins sappy but true. We'd escaped. We had one talisman left to find. And then we'd be free. Finally, finally, able to live a life full of hope and love.
The idea that this could be over, that I could think about tomorrow, next week, and the week after that, stunned me.
We walked farther into the meadow with Halendor Castle looming like a smoldering carcass in the distance to our right.
Farris trotted ahead, moving through the overgrown grass, his fur mussed and still bristling with leftover tension. His ears swiveled, his nose twitching to catch every shift of the wind.
“It’s over,” I said.
Reyla's eyes glowed in the twilight. “Let's check on Evergorne.”
That it still stood, that Lord Briscalar had held things together, she meant. And find out how much time I had left before my thirtieth birthday. I wasn’t dead yet. We could have plenty of time.
“We can leave for Irridain after that,” she added.
Dorion walked with us, his tunic torn and loose, dirt streaked through his hair.
He stared out at the world like he wasn’t sure it would let him belong again, like it might still vanish if he blinked too fast. This wasn't the same man who'd been forced inside the labyrinth by his conniving father. He’d changed. I didn’t know who he was now, but whatever weight he carried, he’d earned.
As we stepped further into the meadow, our boots bent the grass, leaving the smallest trail behind. In the stillness, I could almost believe we were free.
Only now did I notice the lack of insects buzzing. No birds calling. Even the breeze seemed to hold its breath.
Farris let out a low growl that rippled through the air.
The temperature plummeted again, a cold that slid into your bones and locked your lungs.
Dorion stiffened, every line in his body snapping taut.
Reyla reached for her small blade.
Mine was already in my hand.
Prager stepped from the shadowy forest and into view, sauntering toward us like a woman strolling into a garden party, her vivid red dress clinging to her frame like she’d been painted in fresh blood.
She'd coiled her hair in tight, regal spirals on top of her head and her jewelry sparkled with her own version of starlight.
Smirking, she stopped partway across the meadow. “Did you think I’d give up that easily?”
Power radiated from her, the deep rumble you feel in your bones moments before a storm splits open the sky.
I stepped closer to Reyla and called power, infusing it into the elements around me. It rose eagerly, already trembling with the magical charge, forming a barrier between us.
Farris stood at Reyla’s other side, his fur lifted in warning, his snarl ripping across the formerly peaceful meadow.
“Where is Tallin?” Prager growled, glaring around.
“He decided to heal the labyrinth,” Reyla said with the slick smile I adored.
Prager’s gaze shot toward the archway. For a moment, she almost appeared to sag. But fury shot across her face, shoving aside any hint of dismay, and she stiffened her spine.
“The bond has been restored. We collected a lovely pendant inside,” I drawled, savoring mocking her in this, at least. “You lost.”
“Not quite.” Her lip curled, and her voice flattened. “Do you think claiming the second talisman changes anything?”
“We’ll soon hold the third, and then we’re killing you,” Reyla snapped.
“Not quite.” Prager smirked, lifting her hand. The air shimmered around her, lightning rippling across her fingers. Her charge reached me first, toppling my magical barrier, knocking me backward. Static coiled around my throat, choking off my wind.
She struck again, aiming for Reyla.
My wildfire dove, and the spell blazed above her, the magic missing her only to scorch across the ground behind her, hissing with toxic heat.
I reached, yanking the wind into a twisting spiral and infused it with power.
It answered in a roar, and I lifted it, spiraling it through the air, channeling it into a predator born to hunt.
Stones, dried grass, sticks, rocks, and roots.
I churned everything loose around me into the mass.
My storm growled, eager to rip through her throat.
I thrust the mass toward her, and it barreled forward in seething fury.
But when it should hit, when it should destroy her, it bent away from her, coiling up and over her to reform behind and tear through the woods.
Branches ignited and bark ripped free. The booming explosion echoed through the forest.
His hands licked with fire, Dorion flung a blaze at her, but Prager didn’t even blink. The fire hit a shimmer of resistant air around her and flared uselessly to her sides. Grass behind her sizzled, ignited by his magic.
Prager smirked through it all. “Try again, would you? I'm having so much fun.”
My stomach sank as I pulled from the earth around us and bound it with power. I could shape it, weaponize it, but it didn’t matter if nothing got through. Her defense was flawless. No one could remain impervious forever, but we weren’t wearing her down fast enough.
“Behind me, Reyla,” I snarled, my voice cracking with the fear she'd be hurt.
She remained beside me, shooting me a lifted eyebrow look that told me to behave. Her stubbornness had once made me burn with frustration, but now I understood. It wasn’t pride. She refused to let me trade my life for hers.
The wind slackened. My hands trembled. I ground my teeth together and tried to think past the ache in my chest, the terror snapping hard at my spine.
Reyla spread her fingers wide, magic already humming beneath her skin. I felt it stir. Nullification, then, plus something older, darker, twining underneath. The labyrinth had learned how to read us, but Reyla had learned more about herself while there. Would it be enough?
The shadows around her shifted, restless to do her bidding.
She reached deeper. Past where normal magic ended and into the space that slumbered beneath. Her hands shook, but this was the pressure building inside her, the weight of what she was trying to do. We couldn't defeat Prager until we could take down that shield. If Reyla could nullify the spell…
Farris shifted uneasily, his sharp gaze flicking between her and Prager, a growl rumbling in his chest.
Reyla glared at Prager and moved first. Magic surged up from inside her, a knot of purpose turned to a blazing fury.
When she sent it out, it roared across the open area like a tide breaking.
Shadows surged along with it, answering her call, rushing toward Prager.
Reaching her, they coiled as if sniffing for weaknesses, hunting something hidden, only to fuse and strike.
For the first time, Prager’s shield didn’t deflect the spell. It cracked in small, hairline fractures around her like lightning frozen in glass.
The force of Reyla’s strike pushed Prager back a step, her heels digging into the grass.
Her smirk faltered. Her hand twitched toward something, probably casting again, maybe trying to reinforce the spell above her.
Reyla muttered something and blinked fast, staring around.
I wasn't sure what was wrong, but I didn't have time to find out.
I drew in bits of loose objects from the area around us and infused them with ice, forming a spear I sent hurtling toward Prager.
Dorion's fire was right with me, twisting and turning through mine to make the combination even more powerful.
Reyla's eyes flared wide, and she gave a jerky nod.
“It's yours,” I swore she whispered. “Everything I have is yours if you'll help me.”
What?
Her body twitched, and she launched another shadowy mass at the fracture. It seeped in past the barrier like a stain across wet fabric.
The shield fell, collapsing onto the grass, leaving the wizard exposed.
Prager reeled backward, her spine arching, a guttural cry ripping up her throat. She struggled to reform the protective dome, but it flickered and twitched, unable to obey her command.
“Kill her now,” Reyla snapped. “While she’s vulnerable. Do it!” She didn’t look at me. She was watching Prager like her life and mine depended on it.
I yanked at the world around us, building a weapon that would finally end this. Dorion circled wide and formed another fireball between his palms.
Prager roared, her anger directed at Reyla. Her hands twisted, and she barreled magic toward my wife.
I flung myself toward Wildfire, churning the mass I’d formed into a shield to protect the woman I loved.
I didn’t reach her in time.
Prager’s blast hit. As Reyla cried out in pain, I lunged to grab her, to pull her down, to shield her body with my own.