Chapter 12
ASTRA
My body is still feeling light, still buzzing from Marlak’s touch, my skin still tingling.
If I close my eyes, I can still feel him pulsing inside me like a magnificent flame, igniting a long-buried fire.
He made me forget all the troubles looming upon us, made me even forget the constant dread in my chest, and yet now it returns like a persistent shadow.
But how can I ignore that he’s about to face the Witch King alone, having to use the magic he hates the most?
We walk to the edge of the island, hand in hand, our steps light, even if my heart feels heavy, and stop by the rocky shoreline.
Marlak inhales a shaky breath as he stares at the brilliant river reflecting the sky and the mountains surrounding it.
When he turns to me, his jaw is set. “You want to see my magic.”
It’s not a question. Not an accusation either, and yet the unease in his tone shatters my hope that this would be easy.
I try to lighten up the mood and smile. “Not really. I’ll show you my magic, and then you can show me yours—if you feel like it.” And I really hope he does.
A thin wall of ice emerges in front of me.
“Like this?” Marlak smirks.
Both he and I know this is not the magic he needs, but I tease him. “Show off! Why do you always have to outmagic me?”
“I’m trying to get even. After your display just now, I’m humbled. I aspire to one day reach your level.”
I frown. “You sound sarcastic, you know?”
He pulls me and kisses my lips. “Not at all. Just incredibly, unbelievably lucky.”
The fiery look in his eyes ignites something in my entire body, and if it were any other day, perhaps I would want to go back to the bedroom and stay there until we both turn to dust.
Fiery. If I look at him, it’s everywhere—fire. In his countenance, his power, his magic. Deep within, I feel fire coursing to me, a magnificent, beautiful magic.
And I need to let it flow, except that I have no idea how to do it. If I seek deep inside me, I can feel it, feel it as the source of Marlak’s magic, except that it’s like the roots of an ancient tree, buried so deep that they’re beyond my reach.
But if his water magic is a manifestation of fire, maybe that’s the answer. I imagine a ball of water in my hand, and don’t conjure it, just imagine it. It feels safe, easy, and yet I tell the magic: reveal yourself.
Like a scared, hurt animal, it steps from beneath the shadow, its pace uneasy. It’s safe, I tell it. And then I imagine it: a flame in my hand.
To my surprise, it becomes reality, flickering on my palm.
My hand has a flame, brilliant like real fire, warm, but not hot. I can’t believe my eyes. For some reason, I thought it would tickle, but the feeling is more like a hum. Beside me, Marlak tenses, his shoulders raised, his eyes wide.
“How does it work?” I ask, hoping that focusing on the description of the magic will keep him here, in this moment, and not open that door into his painful past. “It’s not hot.”
He stares at it as if it was a disgusting insect. “Your magic will never burn you, but if it sets something on fire, then that flame is real and could hurt you.”
The flickering flame dances in my hand as I mull his words. He should have known it wasn’t his own fire that killed his family, if it burned him, and yet it’s true that it started with his magic…
I look at him. “What about you and I? Technically, this is your magic.”
“I don’t know. I never heard of anyone who could borrow magic, in fact, so the rules are a mystery to me.”
His eyes are set on the flame, slowly changing from disgust to something akin to curiosity, his breathing slow and measured. He rests a hand on my shoulder and the other under my palm, as if to feel the magic, the flame.
I don’t know if I should say anything, perhaps some soothing words, or just let the shared silence between us speak for itself. Can the memory of us two together be enough to calm him, to make him see fire magic differently?
Even though he’s touching me, no feelings come to me. No terror, no memories. I don’t know if he’s blocking them or if I can only enter his mind when he’s overwhelmed, overcome with dread.
After a long while, he looks at me. “I used to love my magic, wife.” His voice is low, uneven. “Or how special it made me feel. Powerful, maybe. Unique, definitely. I found the fire fascinating, beautiful.”
“It is beautiful.”
“In your hand, it’s magnificent.”
I can feel the frantic pulse in his wrist, since it’s touching my skin.
When I think he’ll tell me to quit, that he’ll be fine tomorrow, he moves his hand away from mine, carrying a flame in his palm that grows and grows like a small bonfire, so that he has to stretch his arm or else it will engulf his head.
He lets out a bitter chuckle. “In my hand, it’s destructive, untamed.”
I’m impressed with his power, with the amount of fire he’s producing without even trying, but I’m also happy that he finally connected with his main magic. “That’s what you’ll need.”
His eyes are focused on his fire, an eyebrow raised, an eerie expression of curiosity mixed with disbelief and some disgust. “I know.”
At least he used his fire, and I try to think about it as a victory. “Marlak, whenever you need to use your fire magic again, I hope you’ll remember us, remember this moment.”
He looks at me and smirks, still holding that gigantic fire. “Frankly, I’d rather remember how you got that magic.”
“That works too, you know?” I smile, happy to see him relaxed and back in his teasing mood even when using his fire.
The height of his flame increases all of a sudden, getting as tall as the tallest trees in the island, then Marlak shoots a fire blast into the air, over the river where it won’t burn anything.
“I did it,” he says. “Did you see it?” His chuckle is relieved and happy and warms my heart.
“Yes! It was amazing. Do you want to try it again?”
He puts his hand over mine, quenching my flame, and shakes his head. “Destructive fire is easy. I can manage it.” He closes his eyes. “I won’t say… I won’t say it doesn’t bring some memories, but all I’ll need is a second.”
I feel a heavy weight in my stomach and whisper, “Thirty, actually.”
He sets his dark eyes on me, confidence written on them. “No more than a minute, and then it’s done. A minute to let my magic be as destructive as it wants to be. Let it consume the Witch King and all his ghouls. I can do it, Astra. There’s no reason to fear.”
“I trust you.”
He pulls me close, nuzzling my hair with his nose. “Then it will be fine. The tough part will be getting there on time to return before the sun sets, but with the help of the giants, we’ll manage it. It will be fine, Astra.”
My chest feels tight, so tight, squeezing my heart. I want to trust him, I want to hope, and yet I hate that he has to do something so dangerous.
“What if I came with you?” I suggest. It’s a thought that has been in my mind for a while. “We could double your fire.”
The corners of his eyes tighten. “I know you’re powerful, but you’re also the Witch King’s descendant, and we don’t know what he could do with you.
Even if we ignore this fact, there’s another problem.
If you’re there, I’ll be too careful. I’ll want to make sure the fire doesn’t hurt you, that nobody hurts you.
I’ll want to make sure you’re safe. I won’t…
” His voice is strangled. “I’ll be careful, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to… ”
“I understand.” And indeed I do. “It was just an idea. I’ll stay here, and I will stay. I won’t go anywhere.”
He frowns. “Are you even capable of doing that?”
“I’m a fast learner.”
His relaxed chuckle lights my heart. “You’re an incredible learner, wife. From zero to master in a matter of minutes.” He pinches my nose. “So use your incredible learning skills, and stay put. Just once, so I can focus on what I have to do.”
“You need to give me more credit. You went to the castle and I waited even when you didn’t return with Azur.” True that for a moment I wanted to transcend to the castle, but it was just a moment and I don’t need to mention it.
“I knew you’d feel me through your bond and you’d know I was safe. Didn’t you feel it?”
“I guess,” I mumble.
He takes my hand and kisses it. “I’m glad you waited, and it’s one more reason I love you, among a million others.
Tomorrow is the beginning of the end. Then we’ll deal with Zorwal—and rescue your sister.
Our sisters. I still trust that I can… get her…
That once he’s gone, he won’t poison her mind anymore, and.
..” He’s struggling for words, perhaps struggling to find an answer, a justification.
I don’t think he fully accepted what happened to his sister.
“You’ll figure it out.”
He holds me close and takes a long, deep breath. “We will.”
I rest my face against his chest and he leans his chin on top of my head.
For a second, it’s like in the dream we shared, when he mentioned the Pit of Death.
We still don’t know if such a place exists, or what it means.
What I know is that I want to hold on to this moment, to the feel of his arms around me.
More than anything, I want to trust that tomorrow will indeed be the beginning of the end.
TARLIA
Irelax my shoulder and the muscles in my face, ensuring my expression is neutral, showing no fear, no guilt. I suppose not everything I learned in the tower was useless.
Zorwal is holding the light, his face eerie with only one point of light coming from under it.
“You wanted to see me?” I ask, my voice casual.
His smirk is way too satisfied for my taste. “Not really. Do you think I expected you to be snooping on me? The answer’s obviously no. And yet…” His eyes take a glint that would be joyful on any other person. “What a gift.”