20. Esmira #2
Methrin and I had searched the temple without success.
I felt bad because my strength ebbed and he practically had to carry me the entire time.
However, the temple wasn’t large and several rooms had decaying bodies he wouldn’t allow me to see.
When we finally finished, the guards were waiting for us with horses and they’d also secured lodging for us at an inn.
We rode back to the village and Methrin released me to bathe while he went to see how Lady Velune and Lord Pelgrin were doing.
I was grateful for the chance to submerge myself in water and scrub the grit from my skin.
Even though I hadn’t physically touched the beast, I still felt dirty from fighting, not to mention the days on the boat.
“This is worse than I imagined,” Lyra admitted, releasing me .
I finished drying off and pulled a simple dress over my head.
All the clothing the Everminati wore appeared simple, yet as soon as I put on the dress, it molded to my body, the skirts shimmering as though stardust had been woven into the fabric.
It was comfortable and made me feel effortlessly beautiful.
“Are you sorry you came?” I asked, tugging the wet strands of my hair into a braid.
“Oh stop asking that, this is the most useful I’ve felt in years.”
I paused as the sudden warmth of kinship filled me. “Me too.” I hesitated, then plunged onward. “A beast had claimed the temple, Methrin called it a Destroyer and together we fought and killed it. I’m not a warrior, I’m not brave, but magic has given me something I never had before. A purpose.”
Lyra smiled at me. “Oh, Esmira.”
I wobbled and she rushed to my side again. “Magic.” I grimaced.
Lyra put her arm around me and escorted me to the door. “You need food and rest, then you’ll feel like yourself again. I want to hear everything.”
“What happened to you? How did you get away?”
Lyra opened the door and led me into a hall pooled with warm lights. In the distance came the sounds of laughter and talking, but Lyra moved in the opposite direction, speaking quietly.
“When we were attacked, I knew it was something large and angry, but it was so unexpected I wasn’t ready.
By the time the carriage fell over, I’d only managed to target it, then spread that sensation of calm around it.
I believe that’s why it left without finishing the job, but it sounds like you and Prince Methrin did. ”
I touched fingers to my throat. If the Destroyer had attacked the carriage, what had attacked me? Could it have been the shadow? My shadow?
“We did and then . . . I believe Methrin did the ritual.”
“I saw it,” Lyra breathed, awe tinging her voice. “A cloud of white descended over the temple and hovered there for a long time. Everyone went outside to watch it. I’ve never heard such reverent silence.”
“What happens now?” I asked. “Did it work, has magic returned?”
“I don’t know.” Lyra opened a door. “But I hope something happens soon. Lord Pelgrin and Lady Velune could use a healer’s magic.”
We walked into the private chamber. The spacious room had a generous fireplace and a table covered with steaming food.
My mouth watered and my stomach rumbled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since morning.
As I took a seat at the table, I noticed doors on either side of the fireplace, both of which were open.
Methrin appeared in one of the doorways, rolling up his sleeves.
His hair was damp from bathing, and I found it impossible to look away from the way his open shirt hinted at his bare chest. A chest I’d been pressed up against not so long ago.
A comfortable warmth filled me along with a yearning to be back in his arms.
When he saw us, his gaze lingered on me in a way that made me want to be devoured by his kisses. Again.
He smiled at me, a light in his eyes that sent my heart aflutter. I smiled back, wishing we were alone so I could draw his head down and kiss him.
“How are they?” Lyra asked, filling a plate with food.
Methrin shook his head, the smile fading. “Not good. I suggest we rest here for a few days to see if the magic returns to these shores. If so, we will find a healer.”
“If it does, won’t they need longer than a few days?” Lyra asked.
“Yes, and their wisdom is needed here. The temple has been desecrated, someone needs to train the new priests and priestesses and perform the rituals.”
“What about the other temples? There are four of them, correct? What if it’s the same at each one?”
“I assume it will be the same everywhere we go.” Methrin nodded. “Once all four temples are freed from the Destroyers, magic should return in its entirety. I propose that Esmira and I go on, if you are comfortable with that arrangement, Lyra.”
“But, won’t you need my magic?” Lyra asked.
“I know why you came with us,” Methrin said. “You’re very close to finding what you want, but tramping around the countryside killing Destroyers won’t help you find the answers you seek. They are where the magicians reside, in books and histories.”
Lyra’s eyes lit up.
“You don’t have to decide now,” Methrin said. “Think on it and let me know before we leave.”
Lyra smiled into her food. “I will.”
I fell into one of the beds and sleep took me before my head hit the pillow. It felt like moments later when Methrin shook me awake. “Come, you’ll want to see this.”
“What is it?” I asked, blinking against the unrelenting darkness.
Methrin wrapped a cloak around me and guided me outside.
People stood all around us, crowded around the square, looking up.
Above us, a brilliant white light shone from the sky, almost glittering with its purity, and from it white motes drifted down.
The light was so pure I could feel it, and a strange hope filled me, as if I was bigger, stronger, whole.
It was so bright, so radiant, it was as though the sun had risen again in all its splendor, glowing a pure white. The air shifted, becoming alive and I felt a sudden pressure and the need to fall to my knees, for I was not worthy of this.
I could have sworn I saw a hand as big as the domed ceiling of the temple rest upon it. White fingers. A pure white hand. My knees trembled, my body felt limp, and again came the searching, as though the light saw me.
I wanted to run, to claw out of myself and hide somewhere dark and deep.
A sudden need to create a mirror portal and escape into it came over me so violently my hands began to glow.
I needed to regain control; I needed to stop shaking yet a wetness came from my eyes.
I sagged against Methrin as then a voice came out of the light.
“One of you is not worthy. One of you carries the darkness that banished me. Find her. Kill her.”
Within a moment I knew the voice spoke about me and the urge to flee became irresistible. I spun away from Methrin and fled on bare feet.