Chapter 111 Nox #2
I leave Haylee with a stunned look of defeat on her face and climb the stairs to my rooms. Once there, I quickly undress and get in the shower, the warm water a welcome reprieve as I close my eyes and drag my hands down my face.
I check in with my magic again, prodding at the source of my power to make sure that I can still feel it.
That I can still wield it. It was that spelled shard of dragon stone that the council had Galen put in me that was holding my magic back, not my own body.
It was the fake medicines—tinctures the old bastard fed me—that numbed me to what was happening, not my own mind.
But the fear that I might lose myself again before I can get to Rhea remains present, and it makes my movements jittery and my thoughts chaotic.
How can I in one breath tell Rhea that Bella is alive.
That despite how we’ve come to understand the laws of magic and the rules of the Spell, she was able to live with Rhea in the tower, and then she returned home to the Shifter Kingdom.
That her name is Siyala, and that Bahira had met her.
And then in the very next breath, tell her that Cass is gone.
That me breaking the Mirror set off a chain of events that led directly to his death.
Gods, how am I supposed to look into her perfect eyes and tell her that I killed for her.
That I happily sacrificed my reputation and crown and title for her, but that I was too weak to rescue her sooner.
That I had been tricked so fucking easily by men I thought I could trust and she had paid the price for it?
Pushing away from the wall, I quickly finish my shower and dress, heading back down to the foyer where Bahira waits, a second pack in her hands.
“This is for you,” she says, handing it to me as we cut through the gathered guards and nobility still lingering.
Their gazes are heavy on us as we pass, but we keep our steps quick as we exit, descending the white stone steps before heading into the forest, and to the forge.
“You’ll be alright?” Bahira asks when we are nearly there, breaking the silence that has been weighed down with my thoughts. “I can go with you—”
“No,” I interrupt, shaking my head. “Thank you, but no. You are needed here, both to support our parents and because I know you are eager to speak with Kai.”
Bahira makes a strange noise at the shifter king’s name, clearing her throat immediately as if that will disguise how we both heard it. But I give her mercy as the forge comes into view, a familiar figure pacing in front of it.
At the sound of our steps, his head snaps up, his dark blue eyes widening in both relief and slight annoyance. “Finally!” Daje groans, opening the door to the forge and running in, leaving it open behind him.
“Rude,” Bahira mumbles as she follows. I’m the last one to step in, the scent of the burning coals powering it overwhelming.
Elora’s expression falters when we enter, doing a double take as she looks at me. “Oh gods, you’re okay! We heard you had been attacked and—” Her mouth hangs open, brows drawing in as she takes a step towards me. “Your—your magic. I can feel it again.”
I nod, pushing my hand through my hair to draw back the damp strands that lay over my forehead. “It’s back.”
Her cheeks lift with a smile, eyes bright when she asks, “Does this mean that you’re back to being you? That you can go get Rhea now?”
“Yes. As soon as we try one last attempt at fixing the Mirror.”
Elora claps, turning her joy to Daje as he comes to stand next to her. “Let’s not waste any time, then.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Bahira agrees, taking her pack off and setting it on the ground, laying her spear next to it.
“Now, this is nothing more than a hunch. I don’t know for sure that it will work, but I think with Nox’s magic fully returned, it’s worth a try.
” Undoing the buckles, she reaches in and, to my surprise, pulls out one of the dragon stones that Rhea imbued, my magic immediately perking up at the sight of it.
“Why do you have this?” I ask her, Daje and Elora drawing nearer to look at the stone.
She pulls out stone after stone, piling them on the floor until it’s obvious she grabbed every single one that was littered throughout my rooms. “In order to explain why, you’re going to have to tell them the truth.”
I pause as I look at our friends, an emotion I can’t fully identify sitting heavy on my chest. It isn’t that I don’t trust them, or even that I think Rhea would mind if they knew.
It’s that she isn’t here to tell them herself.
That I hadn’t told Cass, and now he would never know that her flame turned blue or that she is the rightful mage queen.
This is such an intimate part of who Rhea is, and with all of my missteps, I hate to add yet another to the list.
But if Bahira thinks it will work, then I have to push aside my own urge to keep everything regarding Rhea guarded as if it will do anything to help her now. “Rhea is the queen of Void Magic.”
Daje’s brows climb high on his forehead, his mouth falling open then closing again before he asks, “How do you know?”
“Of course she is!” Elora says, her smile beaming.
“We did a Flame Ceremony before the ball. Her blood produced a cobalt blue flame.”
“No one else knows except for the people in this room,” Bahira adds, her serious tone relaying that it will stay that way. “Well, and our parents.”
“We won’t say anything,” Elora says, her fingers resting over Daje’s wrist.
He glances down at the contact, a small smile flickering. “What can we do to help?”
I defer to Bahira, who has us gather the stones and lay them on the table next to the Mirror.
Once they are piled on the steel surface, Bahira picks one up, showing us how Rhea’s magic glows at the center.
“What we know of Void Magic is that it is something chosen and given by the gods, right?” she begins, earning nods from the three of us.
“And what we assume of the magic in the Mirror is that it is as ancient, as gods-given as the magic of Olymazi. What if those magics are the same? What if there is no difference between Void Magic and the magic that is in the land except for how it is wielded?”
Elora cocks her head to the side, the hair piled high on her head shifting with it. “You’re saying that you think that Rhea’s magic as Void queen is the same raw magic that we manipulate? That runs through Olymazi?”
“Yes,” Bahira answers, but then shakes her head. “And no. When I looked at the blood of those with magic under the magnifier, there were magic particles mixed within the blood cells, and they were white in color. Just like the Spell, and just like—”
“Rhea’s magic,” Elora cuts in, her expression relaying just how quickly her mind is turning over everything Bahira has said.
“Exactly. There’s still some testing I have to do, but if her magic is the same as that which flows through Olymazi, then it can be reasoned that her magic should power the Mirror.
But until she returns, all we have is the magic imbued in these stones.
” My sister points to me. “If we can break these open, do you think you can direct her magic into the Mirror?”
Fuck. “I don’t know,” I answer. Theoretically, one of our magics should cancel the other out.
Except… Rhea’s magic had always acted differently with mine.
One didn’t overpower the other; instead, they blended together.
Drawn to each other in a way I had never seen before.
At least, that was the case with her healing magic.
Still, I had never attempted to manipulate her magic other than trying to shield myself from it before.
Then again, I wasn’t going against the full brunt of her power.
“I can try.” I hold my hand out for the stone, Bahira placing it on my palm as I lift my other hand out above it.
“Because it is imbued dragon stone, the moment it breaks, it should release her power, and then all you have to do is…”
Her words trail off as she watches my magic begin to coat all sides of the stone.
It takes a moment for me to find the threads of Rhea’s magic past the layers they are locked behind, but when I do, the warmth of it immediately caresses my fingertips.
Pulling gently, like threading a sewing needle, I begin to coax the small bit of Rhea’s magic past the stone.
It doesn’t resist, instead latching on to my own power easily until there is a glowing ball of white hovering at the center of deep purple and black.
“That works,” Bahira says, her voice coated in awe. “Now just direct it towards the Mirror.” I do as she says, guiding both magics into the dragon glass. We watch as the glass ripples, white light flaring before eventually sinking in and disappearing. “Great. Let’s do it again.”
The process of extracting Rhea’s magic moves quickly, and soon, I’m down to the last stone, retrieving the magic within it and directing it into the glass.
My pulse beats at my temples, my anxiousness to leave beginning to gnaw at me, but I force myself to stay still until we can at least see if this attempt worked.
“Let’s stand it up,” Daje suggests, moving as if to grip the frame’s edge. But I call my magic out again, letting it surround the Mirror before lifting it from the table to stand at the center of the room.
Bahira snorts, standing in front of the Mirror and meeting my gaze in the glass.
I smile at her and join her on her right, Elora and Daje flanking her left.
“This is a good sign,” she says when we step closer and the Mirror begins to ripple and grow cloudy, changing its appearance just as the old one did.
“It definitely didn’t do that before,” Elora breathes.
Bahira shifts her weight from one foot to the other, her quick breaths the only tell of her nerves.
Lifting my chin, I call out for the shifter king like I had before.
The four of us watch the Mirror with bated breath, holding it tightly in our chests as the echo of my command rings out over the room.
Each second that passes is weighted, and as they drag on and the shifter king does not answer, Bahira’s shoulders begin to slump.
We try again, even Bahira calling out since her blood is also keyed to work. But the result doesn’t change. There is no answer. Putting a hand on Bahira’s shoulder, I squeeze it gently as I apologize. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”
“I know,” she answers quickly. Curtly. Not in anger at me, but frustration at the Mirror. “It’s alright. I’ll keep trying.” I draw her in for a hug, her arms squeezing my torso tightly. “Please be careful. I’d really hate to have to travel to the Mortal Kingdom to rescue you.”
I laugh quietly as I kiss the top of her head.
“Be careful here. We still don’t know who has sided with the council’s lies and who remains loyal to our family.
Treat everyone with caution.” My goodbye with Elora is quick, her demanding that I hurry as if that was not already my intent.
But when my hand reaches to shake Daje’s in parting, he shakes his head, instead straightening his posture and pushing his shoulders back.
“I want to come with you.”
I look to Elora, expecting a bit of protest considering she and Daje have appeared to grow closer, but she nods her head, her gaze just as determined as his, even if worry seeps in at the edges of her smile.
“Please,” Daje continues, his fingers closing into fists at his sides.
“It was my fault that Rhea and I were lured out, that she was taken. I promised you I would watch over her, and I failed. I couldn’t do anything to protect her or to protect Cass.
” I look away, my teeth gritting together as a shaky breath passes his lips.
“Please, let me help make this right. It’s the least I can do. The only thing I can do.”
Elora’s hand reaches out for him, her fingers threading with his before squeezing them tightly.
“We’ll be on horseback to get there as fast as possible.
It will not be an easy journey, and I have no idea what will be waiting for us.
But if you come, your sole mission is to ensure that Rhea gets home.
No matter the cost. No matter who stands in our way.
” I look back at him, my magic thrashing deep within me.
“Do you understand what that means?” I have no doubts that King Dolian has ensured that Rhea is well protected and likely behind multitudes of safeguards.
Daje will have to kill, and he will have to do it without hesitation or moral objection.
His gaze hardens as he gives me a short nod. “I understand. I will not fail you. I will not fail her. Not again.”
“Then say your goodbyes,” I tell him, turning towards the door. “Because we’re leaving right fucking now.”