Chapter Forty-One #2
‘We begin by taking vital organs from both creatures,’ Mareena continued, her tone clinical yet reverent.
‘Then, through ritual, we extract their core instincts, the very soul of their being. The final stage requires inscribing arcane glyphs to trace each species’ unique metaphysical signature.
We bind those elements using rare metals and suspend them in a clay designed to mimic a womb.
The hybrid fetus is then nourished by blood sigils until it is fully formed. ’
Alina blinked. ‘If I’m being perfectly honest, I didn’t understand a word of that.’
Mareena’s lips curved into a gentle smile, and for a fleeting moment the entire room felt a shade warmer for it. ‘It does tend to sound like nonsense until one has studied the intricacies for years. But in time, it begins to make sense. Like poetry written in a forgotten tongue.’
They came to a halt at the foot of the modest cot where Dawn lay sleeping.
Alina watched the gentle rise and fall of the witch’s chest. Subtle, fragile proof that life still lingered within her.
For a fleeting, breathless moment, Alina had feared they were too late.
The quiet relief that followed surprised her more than she cared to admit.
‘The witch possesses magic,’ Mareena said, her voice soft but edged with purpose.
Alina turned to her, brow furrowing. ‘She does.’
‘Imagine what we might accomplish with her blood.’
Alina’s body tensed, her breath caught somewhere between caution and dread. In that instant, she felt the familiar shimmer of a presence at her back. She didn’t need to turn to know that Hessa had appeared, silent as a shadow, her attention fixed upon them.
‘If I could obtain even a single vial,’ Mareena continued, her voice unchanging, ‘we could attempt to forge weapons laced with magic.’
‘Weapons?’ Alina echoed, her voice quieter now, wary.
‘You have no army, Alina,’ Mareena said, stepping closer, her tone almost coaxing. ‘But if I could infuse steel with sorcery, if we wielded weapons born of magic and paired them with your dragons… together, we would be unstoppable.’
Alina looked down at her own hands, the weight of those words settling into her bones. Curiosity prickled beneath her skin, cold and strange.
‘Don’t,’ came Hessa’s warning from behind, her voice a low whisper edged with urgency. ‘It’s not worth it, amira.'
‘But surely wielding such weapons would be perilous,’ Alina said, choosing to ignore the desert princess. ‘If they were ever to fall into the wrong hands…’
‘Everything of value carries its own danger,’ Mareena replied smoothly, her tone unwavering.
Alina’s gaze drifted once more to the witch lying still upon the cot. ‘Do you truly believe you can forge weapons imbued with magic using her blood?’
Mareena lifted one elegant shoulder in a measured shrug. ‘I do not know. But I can try.’
‘Ask her what she gains from it,’ Hessa hissed, her voice now louder, almost pressing against Alina’s ear. ‘She’ll retain the method, the pattern. The phoenixians would possess something no other kingdom could ever withstand, amira.'
‘You could defeat Saren,’ Mareena offered, her crimson eyes gleaming. ‘Perhaps even Hagan.’
Alina bit her lip, the weight of the decision coiling within her like smoke in her lungs.
‘And her?’ she asked at last, motioning towards the sleeping witch. ‘What would become of her? Would it harm her?’
‘No,’ Mareena said gently, shaking her head. ‘Just a little. Barely enough to notice.’
‘And if a little is not enough?’
Mareena’s hand found Alina’s, her grip firm and warm.
‘Then we shall find a way. You must understand that we’ve never held a witch before, not like this.
Surely it was God who placed her in your path for this reason alone.
Magic is the only force that can destroy magic.
It is the one truth we’ve always known.’
Alina glanced down at their entwined hands, then back to the sleeping witch.
‘But isn’t it wrong?’ she said. ‘To take from her without her knowing? Shouldn’t we wait until she wakes… and ask her consent?’
Mareena exhaled softly, as though the question pained her.
‘If we do that,’ she said, ‘we risk losing the chance entirely. It would only be a small amount, barely enough to notice. She need never know.’
‘Then why ask me at all?’
‘Because it would be done for you,’ Mareena replied. ‘If you do not wish it, I won’t proceed.’
‘She’s lying,’ came Hessa’s voice, low and certain, like a wind stirring the embers of doubt.
Alina’s eyes dropped once more to the hands still joined. Usually, she would have pulled away by now. Since Hessa’s death, the warmth of another’s touch had become something foreign, unwelcome. And yet… this time, she remained still.
Slowly, she raised her eyes, meeting the phoenixian’s. They were as arresting as ever, eyes the hue of flame and wine, beautiful in a way that defied reason, in a way that made resistance feel like folly.
But then, over her shoulder, she looked just for a heartbeat and found Hessa standing there.
Eyes like moonlight, bright and unwavering.
Filled with hope. Hope that Alina would choose the honourable path.
That she would refuse. That she would not allow another life, no matter how powerful, no matter how potentially dangerous to be used as a tool of war.
At last, Alina looked at Dawn. At the still form lying in quiet slumber, a body that might hold the salvation or destruction, of them all.
‘Well?’ Mareena prompted gently. ‘What do you say?’
And Alina chose.