Chapter 4 #2
I remembered a time when he was the person I spoke to least. I’d even worried he wouldn’t approve of my relationship with Wolfe, given I was the daughter of the man who’d killed his father. But look at us. This was the second time Alaric had given me strength.
“Okay.” I rasped and glanced ahead. “I can do it.”
“Then let’s go.”
Alaric stepped forward, and veins of pale blue crystal threaded through the ground beneath our feet. It glowed softly with every step we took. I was already fascinated. Seeing that took it up a notch.
The place felt old. As old as memory. Maybe it was.
As we walked further, the air flickered around us. More stone structures came into view ahead, appearing the closer we got.
“The place can sense you,” Alaric explained, his gaze darting from side to side. “Start searching for something that feels familiar to you.”
Similar magic called to each other. I just had to reach out and feel it.
The ball of nerves swirling in my gut grew, but I steadied my mind, taking it back to the other day when I went to the dragon caves.
There’d been a pulse in the air that felt like it was reaching back for me.
I searched for that sensation now.
We took a few more steps forward. The crackle in the air became a steady heartbeat and the blue veins in the earth hummed.
Then something hot stirred deep within my chest, and I knew that what I was looking for was right in front of me.
I stopped. Alaric did, too, watching me carefully, and intrigued.
A stone dais materialized before us, solidifying from the ripples in the air. Then the pulse grew. I expected some magnificent sword to appear next. Nothing came.
My breath caught and I was almost too afraid to move. “What now, Alaric?” I chanced glancing up at him. “I can sense it, but it’s not there.”
His expression softened. “I’m not entirely sure. But if it were me, I’d touch the stone and feel for the weapon. Remember it’s not theoretically here yet. Not here in this moment. You may need to touch it.”
That could be it. On a deep breath, I stepped closer and extended my hand.
Carefully, I swiped my hand through the air and gasped when steel grazed my palm. It was a blade. A sword. I glanced back at Alaric. He noticed, too, although we still couldn’t see it.
“Can you feel it?” He searched the air around my hand.
“Yes.”
“Feel for the hilt and see what happens.”
I did, moving my hand up the blade, careful not to cut myself. Finally, I reached the hilt and wrapped my fingers around it, tightening my grip. Not a breath passed before a slender sword manifested in my hand.
The blade was narrow and sleek. Elegant. The silver steel shimmered with faint threads of blue light and delicate runes curled along the fuller.
It was nothing like the heavy blades carried by the Bloodsworn. This looked as though it had been crafted for a mage rather than a warrior. Someone like me.
Alaric gave a hearty laugh. “Gods be good. The plan worked.”
I glanced back at him and smiled the first real smile in days.
“Go on, take it. Lift it up and own it.”
With a tug, I lifted the sword and held it aloft in the air.
The dais disappeared, as did the blue threads on the ground and the stone pillars around us.
I gazed back at the sword, intrigued. I was even holding it with ease, as if I’d done so all my life.
“This was one hell of an idea, Alaric.”
“It came from thinking with my back against the wall.” He motioned back to the sword. “Do you feel its power or any magic coming from it?”
“Yes. I do.” It was humming with it, and now that he’d asked, I noticed it even more.
“I thought so. In Vaelthorne, our swords are seen as extensions of us and our magic, no matter what you are. Living magic is imbued in all swords when they are forged or given to us, so they connect with our souls.”
“Really?” I couldn’t help my surprise.
“Indeed.” He pulled his sword from the scabbard. “We also name them. This is Blackmyre, wielder of shadows and illusions.”
I gasped. “Illusions?”
“One of my most effective powers. I can create nightmares. If I will it, when my sword cuts an opponent, they experience their worst nightmares.”
“Amazing. The sword reflects your magic.”
He dipped his head. “The best part is, it can be used in situations where you can’t use magic, like if you’re injured or burned out. And more importantly, if you find yourself in places where your magic may be blocked. Like in the Interstice.”
The spatial realm where I’d encountered the demon Erethis. None of my magic worked there.
“How can it work there?”
“Swords and certain magical objects, like the ring, are exempt from such matters. The magic is infused from the moment you are bonded. It’s not active magic. It doesn’t flow from the Fray and can’t be summoned through a Galdrlore spell. It simply reacts according to your will.”
Which made having a weapon like this perfect for me.
I couldn’t believe this was the first time I was learning this. I’d read so much about the magical realm, I thought I knew a lot. But there was always more.
I studied the sword as it glistened in the sunlight. “At some point in the future, I get this beautiful sword and connect with it.”
“You do.”
The whole idea blew my mind.
“Ask it for its name.” Alaric smiled. “You should be able it.”
I gazed in wonder and tapped into that connection I’d sensed. Something soft whispered to me. Not to my mind. My heart.
“Yuilandria,” I said. That was its name.
Alaric looked even more impressed. “Excellent.”
I grinned, but then a dark thought crossed my mind. “I only hope me receiving this beautiful sword in the future doesn’t mean we have worse things on the horizon.”
“Try not to think like that. I see it as proof you were prepared. That’s always a good thing.”
“I guess so.”
“How about you try and tap into the sword’s magic. Let’s see what you imbued it with.”
I tried to sense the magic and was pleasantly surprised to find I could distinguish every enchantment woven into the blade. “It slows time in a person. And…” Gods, I could feel it. “It can also siphon vitality... aging whoever it strikes.”
Alaric’s smile widened. “Those are some seriously amazing abilities. Anything else?”
I closed my eyes a moment and reached for it one more time. It felt like being connected deeper.
“It will always find me.” I opened my eyes to find Alaric nodding.
“Perfect. Looks like you went with strategy. It reflects your best magic to keep you safe. A strike with the blade will either slow a target or drain them, and if you get separated, the sword will find you.”
The magic hummed around the sword, and something inside me strengthened. It felt like the threads of my powers were continuously knitting together. Getting stronger.
“I feel better,” I said.
“Good. This may not be like the training you’d get from Magdalena, but it will help, too.”
He was right. I could feel it. “I’m ready.”
“Excellent. Now let me show you how to use that thing.”
Excitement brightened his face as he reopened the portal.
We stepped inside, and I felt less helpless than I did before.
This might be a small thing, but it was a step in the right direction.
Something that might help Wolfe.
At least… I hoped so.