Chapter 38
Edgar
It’s not easy to convince my comrades to join me in going through the portal, but with Corvus’s help, they eventually agree.
Our plan is to investigate the portal and where it leads—recon for the second assessment and what exactly they have in store for us.
We’re going to gather as much information as we can on Fernestia’s infrastructure while also trying to figure out what exactly we’re up against for the second-semester exam.
Today is the day we’ll enter.
We skip class and head directly to the tower beneath the academy.
Kai put a minor blip in my path yesterday. There’s no doubt in my heart that we’ll be fine. It’s just a recon mission. I’m a Nova, after all; I can protect them even with my abilities suppressed, though I doubt we’ll run into any trouble. I never thought I’d be thankful for a Fernestian, but I’m grateful Arthur taught me how to harness my ability to steal darkness. Without it, I’d be useless.
“Edgar,” Lucina mumbles from behind her cloak’s cowl. Her blue eyes have lost so much of the shine they once held—the blight is slowly killing her. It’s part of the reason I’m so keen to get information directly from the source.
There must be something…
“Hm?”
Our footsteps echo in the staircase as we descend into the underground tower. We’re the first heading to the portal.
“Are we going to be okay? You know… No one will get hurt, right?” Her long white hair whips with each step she takes.
I turn and raise a brow at her. “You don’t think I can protect us if anything goes awry?” I know they all witnessed my fight with Terra. How could they not have? The entire castle was shaking with the tremors of our Nova Shadows clashing.
She tightens her lips. “No, that’s not what I mean… Its just, do we even know what awaits us on the other side?”
I stop and Lucina takes a few more steps down before coming to a halt as well. She looks back at me with so much uncertainty in her eyes. I hate it.
“Fernestia. That’s what awaits us. Nothing worse than we’re currently facing here,” I say through gritted teeth. Lucina’s brows knit with worry.
I level her with an indifferent stare and continue down the steps. We remain silent for the remainder of the decline and sit on the last step, waiting quietly until the rest of the squad shows up.
Alani, Rowan, and Vinnie are the first to show. They seem uneasy, but keep better composed than Lucina. Her eyebrows are still pulled tightly together and her arms are crossed. She’s had doubts about the plan from the start, but I can’t just stop because of how she feels. This is so much more than her, or me, or our friends.
Humanity is on the line.
Vinnie pushes his glasses up his nose. “Do we have the bags to collect anything that we may come across?” His dark eyes scour the ground until he finds a small pile of satchels and smiles. “Ah, there.” Rowan follows him over and picks one up.
It was Vinnie’s plan to bring these—brilliant as ever, of course. He made a point that collecting anything that can be of use there would be beneficial. He learned as much in his survival classes with Nekane. Most of it was recon and information on the enemy. Alani shares that class with him and was just as adamant about it.
Rowan’s auburn hair flickers in the low light as he says, “When we get back, we should go to the roof again. It’s so glum down here. I’m going to need to get some sun to wash this mildew from my nose.” He waves his hands around his face for emphasis.
Vinnie nods and mutters, “Yeah, we should celebrate when we get back.”
“I wouldn’t mind grabbing some rolls too. The dining hall is on the way back up, so let’s get some on the way,” Alani chirps happily. She’s always thinking about food. She often sneaks snacks from the kitchens. The head chef even made an announcement a few weeks prior about a thief stealing from the vaults. “I can’t wait for the second-semester exam. I just want to get it over with.” She crosses her arms as if it doesn’t scare her at all.
“I don’t,” Rowan retorts, leaning against a wall with his hands behind his head. “The instructors act like we’re all going to die. It sounds pretty tough.”
Vinnie lets out a huff. “It’s not just an exam. Those who fail will either be sent to fight on the front lines at Whales of Tauh or get slaughtered here.”
Rowan swallows hard. “It’s happening so fast… What if some of us don’t pass the second exam?” He sullens and I firm my jaw at the thought of any of them dying.
“You probably won’t,” Tamaris’s raspy voice roars down the steps, announcing her arrival. We all glance up as she approaches. Tamaris brings a fight with her wherever she goes.
“Oh, hey, Tamaris.” Rowan rolls his eyes.
Aervin and Corvus are a step behind her yet she is just as tall as they are.
“I’ve seen how lazily you train,” she grumbles and Rowan crosses his arms.
“Not all of us are as strong as the others. Why even try? We know how it will end.” Rowan’s bleak words strike my chest.
I step up to him and clench his shirt tightly, lifting him nearly an inch off the ground. “None of you are going to die. We are all going to make it out of Alkrose together, Rowan. I don’t want to hear you talk like this again.”
Why are they already giving up without a fight? Hasn’t this been what we’ve trained for all this time? Against all odds, against the casts placed over my power.
I release my grip on Rowan, letting him sink to the floor and catch his breath. “Damn… A warning next time,” he wheezes as he stands back up.
Corvus ignores the others and looks at me. “Prepare yourselves. We will be entering the portal shortly.” His raven hair contrasts his purple cloak, not long enough to reach his shoulders but enough to pull back. Corvus steps over to the portal and the others watch as he prepares the doorway.
After a few minutes of silence, he speaks again: “Aervin. Rowan. Are you ready?” Corvus asks, glancing over his shoulder at them. They share a nervous look and approach the barred door, one on each side as they practiced, and then they whisper the names of their Shadows.
“Avantis,” Aervin whispers.
“Broktium,” Rowan murmurs.
A cloud of Shadows as dark as night engulfs their hands, sending ebony fissures up Rowan’s side of the embedded spear and veins of black splinters on Aervin’s side. The spears of Kai’s magic crumble into fine, ashy dust and they smile with relief.
“We did it,” Aervin says more to himself than any of us. The corners of my lips turn up as I step toward the portal, brushing my hands over the grooves of the delicately sculpted stones. Finally. My blood thrums with the first steps toward our revenge. Who knows what wealth of knowledge we’ll find on the other side.
Lucina steps up next to me and sighs. “Are you sure about this?” She speaks only loud enough for me to hear. I shoot her a look and when she doesn’t look away, I give her a stern nod. She shuts her eyes. “Okay. We can do this.”
Corvus reminds everyone of our order. Tamaris and Alani take the head of the group. Lucina and I walk behind them while Rowan, Vinnie, and Aervin guard the back. Corvus is to remain the gatekeeper in case a professor should stumble upon us.
“Be careful and return if anything goes wrong,” Corvus says.
I tilt my chin up in acknowledgment. “Let’s go,” I say in a low voice. Alani and Tamaris open the doors to the portal. They swing heavily and a blinding light showers over us. My heart thrums.
Sully is muted deep inside me. If it has any warnings for me, I cannot hear them.
We walk through the portal.
A cooling sensation covers my cheeks. I can’t see anything except the light—no sounds or smells either. My hand searches the space near me but I don’t find Lucina. A flicker of fear washes over me. We’ve only just entered the portal. There’s no way we’ve already been separated.
“Lucina?”
Nothing.
A bead of sweat rolls down my forehead but I keep my composure. It’s okay. Everything is fine. I stop walking and focus. Without Sully in my head, I’ve learned to use the power without asking it specifically to do things. I let out some of the darkness I’ve been collecting and try to dull the blinding light surrounding me.
Power thrums through my body and jerks the muscles in my jaw. Dark wisps of sand-like grains twirl in the air around me and lash out into the light in every direction like a wave. The grains pull the light away with them, darkening the space around me to a level I can see in.
Trees sway in the distance as a chilly wind blows through. I find myself standing on a large boulder by the sea. The mist carries the scent of salt that stings my nose, reminding me very much of Za’Afiel.
None of my comrades are in sight. I look behind me and my eyes widen with disbelief. No portal; There’s nothing.
“But… how?” I whisper, grabbing my arms to prevent the dreadful trembling that takes hold of my body. “No, this is all wrong. We were supposed to come in together and—” I cut off my train of thought as I stare at the forest before me. There’s no doubt we are in the lands of Fernestia. The very trees look grimmer than any I’ve ever seen, with their long, spindly black branches, but it is the stench of blood in the air that taints the ground here.
I shudder. I have to find them. I won’t let this mission go awry.
I clench my fists and stride into the dead forest ahead.
I walk for what feels like hours.
The sky feigns night here, but I have an inkling that it is truly daytime as it is at Alkrose. Is there magic in these lands keeping the sun away? I can’t help but notice the underbrush reciprocating the bleak deadness of the trees. Sun-deprived.
It’s not until I change direction that I hear a sharp snap in the brush ahead. I instinctively squat and ready myself.
“Hello?” a familiar voice whispers.
I diminish the darkness in my palm as I recognize Rowan’s voice. I follow the sound and emerge from a black thicket of branches.
“Rowan? Where is everyone else?” I ask calmly so as not to spook him.
His auburn hair flashes as he whirls toward me and a grim frown crosses his lips. I swallow hard, hesitant to ask again as I’m not sure I want the answer.
“Edgar, we didn’t enter the same places.” His voice is panicked. “I… I was alone and there were people. I ran until everything became quiet. But I heard… I heard Lucina scream and I didn’t do anything. I don’t want to be here anymore. I want to go back to Alkrose.” His eyes are wild and filled with raw, contagious fear.
I flinch at the mention of Lucina screaming and take a wide step toward Rowan. “Where did you hear her scream?” I ask sternly.
Rowan’s eyes fill with horror. “That way.” He raises a trembling finger. His clothes are dirty and drenched from dew.
I grasp both of his arms and squeeze tightly to reassure him. We can’t lose our heads. We have to focus and remember why we’re here. “Rowan, we’re going to be okay.” He nods slowly at my words, like he desperately needs to hear them. “We have to find Lucina and the others. We need to stay calm and collected, okay?” Another slow nod. I smile to show him that I’m not afraid, even though a pit has formed in the center of my stomach. An eerie feeling wells from deep within me.
Rowan takes a steadying breath. “You’re right.” His brown eyes brighten with more determination. “Come on—I’ll lead the way.” He strides off with his fists clenched at his sides. I walk beside him as we head in the direction of the scream.
We walk in silence for a long while. The darkness of this place makes time seem irrelevant. It’s difficult to tell which direction we’re heading in but Rowan is certain that he’s leading us the right way.
The forest finally breaks and we arrive at a vast field that extends farther than the eye can see. I glance up to the sky and am met with a sea of dark, angry clouds. I frown. I was hoping to see the stars. Of all the things in the world that changed around me, they always remained the same, but even they don’t dare shine here.
My attention returns to the field as Rowan wades through the tall wheat. Their golden ears transform the ground into a gilded ocean.
Then, there is a wave of light. A million fireflies rise as Rowan steps through the field. Suddenly, I’m six years old again, Terra beside me.
I gazed down into my palm at the lone glowing insect that hummed quietly in my hand.
“Terra, why do they fly?” I asked. The glow in my palm fluttered as if it could fade at any moment.
Terra narrowed her eyes in thought. After a few moments, she smiled as she gazed at the stars. “They fly because their time is limited. Because their light is too pure for just the ground. They need to share their joy with the world around them while they can.”
I cupped my hands gently together as I watched the firefly flicker out into darkness. “And why do they have to die?” I whispered low enough that I wasn’t sure she heard it.
Her lips smoothed into a thin line. “Because they gave all they had to show us their light. They must rest—as we all do.”
I blink at the warm memory.
A crooked smile forms on my lips as I stare across the field. Their beauty only lasts moments before the insects find a new place to rest.
“You were wrong, Terra.” My distant smile fades into a frown. “They die because they are fucking bugs.”