42. Chapter 42
“What the fu—“
I quickly turned. My magic tremored in response as my eyes witnessed the unthinkable. His deep hazel eyes looked to mine, searching for an anchor, but all the while he was falling to the ground.
I heard a scream. Was it mine? All I could see and think about was the bright red blood escaping Sury’s veins. My knees crashed violently onto the ground beside him as I tried desperately to figure out how to remove the arrow from his jugular without causing more harm.
“Fyom! It’s Sury!” Phe’s voice rang out but felt so far away. In the distance I heard shouting and metal clanging together. The taste of Wielding misted the air, but my mind never sought to care, because all I could focus on was the light leaving Sury’s eyes.
“No, no, no!” I repeated over and over. Why was he such an easy target? Was it because he was a Veik, so fragile without having magic to protect him? Or was it because of his proximity to me? “You’re not leaving me, Sury Anmathios! I forbid it, you bastard!”
A loud crash came from my left. I barely had time to register that Fyom had shifted to his knees beside me and now Wielded his green-tinted shield around us as arrows flew in our direction.
He mumbled incoherent sentences under his breath as he quickly looked inside of his satchel for anything to help.
“Tell me what to do,” I said, urgency laced in my voice. “What can I do?”
Fyom grunted as another arrow hit his shield and bounced to the ground. He looked up from where he knelt. “Uriah! The ranger! Get the ranger! I can’t shield and Heal at the same time.”
“On it, Pa,” was all I heard as Uriah’s feet shifted toward the skirmish. Screams erupted left and right, but I knew none of them belonged to Phe or Peiro.
“My queen.” Fyom’s coaxing voice brought a small sense of calm to ease my panic. “His heartbeat is weakening. In order for me to try and Heal him, we’ll need to remove the arrow as gently as we can.”
My head snapped from Sury to Fyom, his green eyes shining bright. “Try? No, you will Heal him.“ My lip trembled uncontrollably. “As your queen, I command it, Fyom.” Tears formed and began their cascade down my face.
Fyom was just about to respond as his eyes widened.
Before I had time to move, his hand shot out and his Wielding glowed around his fingers.
I heard a sickening crunch, then a thud close behind me.
I turned my head to find a man dressed in brown with a sword in his hand on the ground; his head was turned at an unusual angle, but his eyes were left open for all to see that they were red.
I gasped in horror. Red eyes. I had never seen a Wielder with such a color.
“Graevicks, I’m afraid.” Fyom swallowed and jumped to his feet as another Graevick ran out of the bushes.
I just about screamed for Uriah to help his father, knowing Fyom’s heart was that of a Healer, preferring peace where he could, but was surprised to find his hand now covered in another’s blood.
He yanked back his arm, hand still clasped around the hilt of the sword that had taken the life of his attacker.
I was in silent awe as I witnessed Fyom move fluidly across the field. The green of his shield flared as he warped it around himself to block another attacker’s pursuit. Uriah joined him, both taking on the attacker in an easy match.
In the distance I saw Phe engaged with a Graevick, holding her own.
Pride swelled as I watched just how far she had come and knew she could handle what was in front of her.
Peiro had already claimed three lives at his feet and was ready to claim another.
A sharp sting radiated on my cheek, ripping apart the skin, forcing me to cry out in pain.
I saw a woman around my age move with a Wielded whip of thorns and just about advanced for more before Phe took on the attack for me.
A gurgling sound came at my knees. I turned to find Sury trying to speak but I quickly shook my head.
“No, save your energy. Please.” I shushed him and stroked back his hair.
I couldn’t leave him here. I just couldn’t.
Sury’s eyes widened a fraction and I soon found out that he was trying to warn me.
Something cold bit my neck as rough hands yanked me backward.
Red eyes peered down in my face, full of hate.
“No one comes here uninvited, swine.” I moved out of the man’s hold but wasn’t fast enough, and a sharp sting cut at my flesh.
I cupped my hands at the side of my neck, feeling the blood slowly pooling.
The man attacked again, swiping at me with the long dagger in his hand.
I pivoted on my feet and twirled just out of his reach.
“You’re going to have to do better than that if you want a piece of this pig.
” I smiled as I summoned my Celestial Wielding and formed the sun’s rays into the little darts I’ve enjoyed forming.
“Sun Wielder?” The man’s eyes darted from hatred to shock and back to anger. “Oh, how she would love to get her hands on someone of the royal line.”
“But I thought we weren’t welcome?” I hurled the darts forward, each one finding their mark in the Graevick’s chest. They screamed as the holes flared with light, burning them on the inside and scalding their inner organs.
More Graevicks ran toward me, yelling garbled things. There were too many for me to take on with sword and sun-filled darts. Think, Ora. Think. You’re the damn queen, for giants’ sake.
Should you choose this path, remember what comes with it.
I heard the voice speak into my ear. It had been there for days now, cautioning me on the illicitus, ever since I had brought Peiro back from the brink of death.
At first I thought it was just my imagination, hearing the strange woman’s voice, but it was becoming more prominent and her warnings more clear.
I didn’t have time to think of the dangers she whispered about as the Graevicks ran closer.
One threw out their Waterus, but I blocked it with my Firus and formed a steam that forced them to stumble back, all screeching in pain.
But it didn’t stop them; even with welts on their faces, they still ran toward me.
My eyes flew side to side, seeing everyone locked in their own battle.
So be it—I’d deal with the damn consequences later.
Without further thought, I dove deep into my Wielding.
I pushed back the four circles of the elements, passed the spirit of Healing, the celestials.
No, what I needed was forbidden, even if I knew it would save me.
My hands glowed green and gold, a sign that I knew meant life was now in my grasp. The stories only focused on death and her curse, not the implications of Wielding life. What would happen if it was used in a way that it wasn’t crafted to be—or as a weapon to help a kingdom?
Well, this was me thinking of my people. My kingdom.
May Ythos grant us mercy.
I lifted my arms out in front of me, my hands splaying wide, as the steady glow of greens and golds rapidly twirled in my hands. The image was so similar to the golden ribbons of magic I’d known for so long. There was no sound but for the hum deep under my skin and inside my veins.
The call to Wield life was becoming familiar. The deep, belting sound of a woman’s voice, wavering a breathy chord, filled my mind. As the sound poured, energy burned warm in my hands. The feeling of silken threads twined around my fingers and the green pulsed brighter and more vibrant.
“May the gift of Ythos grant you life,” I whispered to myself and gently blew against the wild magic in my hands, mimicking a faux push into the air.
If they could have seen my magic, the Graevicks would have stopped and observed the strangeness of what many had never seen, and yet they pushed forward.
The strands broke into three paths, each directed to the Graevicks who tore in my direction.
Once the green and gold strands touched their bodies, they froze in their steps.
Silent screams sculpted their faces as their backs tensed and their limbs stretched wide, forcing them to drop their weapons.
The pour felt soft and sweet at first, like the gentle embrace of a lover.
My body steadily grew warm as each nerve ending fired in response to what I called my magic to do.
The pour grew hotter. A bitter taste coated my mouth the more I pushed the Wielding of life into their chests.
My eyes began to grow heavy as I slowly felt the fatigue settle into my bones, but I didn’t let up as I watched the redness in the Graevicks’ eyes begin to fade.
Their faces behind their coverings turned flushed before waning, and deep lines of wrinkles formed around their brows and cheeks.
The dark pieces of hair that weren’t covered were next to lose their luster, eventually turning into a shade of white that rivaled Fyom’s.
I poured life into them. Something coveted and sacred was now being used against them to advance their years right before their eyes. They withered into husks and each one fell to their knees before landing on their faces.
You knew the consequences, the woman’s voice whispered across my mind.
Yes, I whispered back, unwavering.
Yet you did it anyway?
Yes. And I will do it again if it means protecting my people. The ones that I love.
Hmm. Even if your life becomes forfeit in the process?
Even if my life becomes forfeit.
Something hummed like it approved of my response. When you find the key, you will know what to do.
I didn’t have time to think of that as another Graevick, this time a woman barreled toward me with fire magic.
Ropes of Firus twirled above her head in a deathly vortex, setting my Wielding on alert.
I didn’t think as I pushed my magic into her, forcing her to rapidly live her life to the point she no longer remained.