Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
ELARIYA
The next night arrived quickly.
Usually, when I was eager to do something, time moved slower than black strap molasses.
Today was different. Time sped up, and it had nothing to do with my powers.
We now had half an hour before we set off to save Wolfe.
The day went well, and we came up with a solid plan. One that gave me more hope.
Mother, Grandmother, and Emabelle had left after lunch, and I missed them already.
Having them here had been a dream. I’d always wanted all of us to visit the magical realm. It was a shame we couldn’t do more than sit and talk. I would have loved to show Emabelle around. Another time. Hopefully soon.
At least I got to have some real lessons with my grandmother.
She taught me a lot more about time magic and how to guide my powers. She didn’t like the word control.
Now Arielle and I were in the living room making protection charms to protect us on the Ghost Roads. The last thing left.
The plan was pretty much straight forward.
Kaem was going to cast a cloaking spell on us before we left Vyrenth Hollow, then we’d travel to the Citadel on the Ghost Roads. From there, he’d drop the wards protecting the building and I’d be able to use my magic.
Grandmother created an immunity spell I could cast on the group so they wouldn’t freeze. Once the spell was done, we’d go inside and retrieve Wolfe. Getting him out of the cage would be the hardest part.
Kaem warned that the cage Wolfe was being kept in blocked magic. It had binding spells woven into the glass to prevent him from getting out and anyone else breaking in.
We also couldn't portal him here in the cage because it was considered a living structure attached to the Citadel's magic.
In other words, it was one sure way to get caught.
Sadly, even Kaem couldn't change that. Our only option was to extract Wolfe from the cage.
To do that, Kaem planned to disable the bindings with some mixed magic he'd put together.
Then I’d have to make sure Wolfe stayed frozen.
"I think we’re all done here," Arielle said, her gaze roaming over the little pouches we’d filled with wormwood, bearbaine, silver sage, and ghostroot.
Wearing this would fool the wandering spirits and other unsavory beings that we were one of them.
“We’re ready to go.” Arielle clapped her hands.
"Great."
We were indeed ready. We looked like we were about to pull off a heist—which wasn’t far from the truth. Instead of our pretty dresses, we were decked in full black—pants and fitted long-sleeved shirts—and our hair was rolled into tight buns behind our heads.
Also, for the first time ever, I was carrying my own sword. It was strapped across my back.
Arielle tilted her head and looked me over with concern. “You don’t sound convinced. You okay?”
"I’m fine. I’m just… eager and nervous.”
She chuckled. “My dear friend, if you weren’t eager or nervous, something would be wrong with you.”
“So, it’s okay to worry about all the ways this can go wrong?” I was half joking. Like she’d said, something would be wrong with me if I weren’t worried.
“Yes. You are definitely allowed to be worried.” She gave me a reassuring smile. “I’m so glad you figured this out.”
I shrugged. “It was kind of an accident.”
“Please give yourself more credit than that. You know we were all out of ideas. At least now we’re moving forward instead of waiting around for the world to end.”
“Yes.” Nervously, my fingers pressed into the tops of my thighs.
Arielle rested a hand on my shoulder. “You did good coming up with this plan. And convincing everyone to get on board, too.”
“You guys didn’t need me to convince you.” I lifted my shoulders into a small shrug. “It’s Wolfe. I know you’ll do anything for him.”
“Yes. That is true. But there are limits. This is one of those instances where it treads the line of reason. And madness.” She smiled weakly. “If he were here, he would want us to stand down. He wouldn’t want us to risk getting in any kind of trouble for him.”
“And I would make him see sense.” Though I laughed, inside I was a ball of tension.
Arielle sighed and leaned against the window frame. “You’ve changed, Elariya. You’ve become stronger and more confident. This was the version of you I saw when I first met you.”
“Really?” I was like a fawn trying to make my way across thin ice.
“Yes.” Pride filled her eyes. “And I have no doubt that we’ll be able to get the ring in no time.”
“That means a lot.” I blew out a harsh breath. “I just have to get through tonight first.”
“We will.”
“You sound confident.”
“The power of positive thinking. Try it.” She giggled.
“Believe me, I am. But…” My hopes dimmed. “What if we get caught? What if I can’t control the spell and we get locked inside the Citadel. I’d be stripped of my powers. Then all would be lost.”
I’d practiced quite a bit since yesterday and felt more confident, especially after discovering how to control the reach of my powers. But I wouldn't make the mistake of thinking I'd completely mastered them.
“I don’t think that will happen.” She folded her arms. “People only tend to find out that time magic has been used after it’s happened. Oftentimes, you can never be sure. That’s ironically when you know it’s been used.”
There was a hint of sadness in her tone that gave me pause.
“Have you experienced any instances?” I got the impression she had.
“Not directly.” Her shoulders tensed and she knitted her fingers. “My… mother’s magic protected me.”
A pang shot through me. “Your mother?”
Slowly, she nodded, and her vibrant blue eyes dimmed.
“It was the night she and all my family members were massacred. I think she knew what was coming when she hid me.” Arielle’s expression softened.
“She put me in an astral pocket. Somewhere outside of time. It wasn’t safe to portal me away.
I stayed hidden until it was all over and her magic could no longer protect me. ”
My heart shied away. “Oh, Arielle. I didn’t know that.”
“I know. Sometimes, it’s hard to talk about.”
She’d given me the general rundown of her family when I’d first arrived in Galaythia. Understandably, she left out the more painful details.
“There’s a reason people believed it was the vampires.
” She spoke in an almost mindless tone. “Yes, they’re the worst people to have dealings with, but they have an unnatural affinity for time magic.
They study it, collect records, artifacts, prophecies.
Many of them can even resist the effects of temporal spells due to their age and their nature.
There are things about the night my family died that don’t make sense.
It was like the world stopped. No one remembers going to bed that night.
Because they didn’t. There’s only one type of magic that can do that. ”
“Time,” I filled in.
She dipped her head. “It was believed the vampires stopped time for the entire night and for the entire kingdom.”
I gasped. “Blessed Mother.”
“I know. And to this day, no one can confirm it.”
“Oh, Arielle.”
She gave my shoulder a tiny squeeze. “A worry for another time, perhaps.”
“Are you okay?” I felt I should ask. She had the same lost look in her eyes as she did when she’d first told me about her family.
She nodded. “I’m fine. There are good things in my life now.
Like Bastian.” The twinkle returned to her eyes at the mention of Bastian.
I had to admit that watching them together over the last few days gave me hope that love could withstand anything.
“I guess my point in telling you about the vampires was, if it was them, they were never caught. What you’re doing tonight is minor in the grand scheme of things. So, please, don’t worry.”
“I won’t. But, um… if you ever need to talk about that night, I’m here.”
She gave me a grateful smile. “I know you are. Now let’s go get your husband back.”
That made me smile, too. “Let’s go.”
We gathered the pouches and headed to the Hollow Room, where everyone had gathered.
This was the place we went to when we needed an extra layer of secrecy and protection. Vyrenth Hollow was imbued with magic that stopped outsiders from spying on us, but it didn’t hurt to be extra careful.
The last time I’d come in here, I left with my memories intact. I’d located the ring and I couldn’t wait to see Wolfe. Then, within mere minutes of that happening, I found out he’d been imprisoned.
I had my fingers, toes, and heart crossed that tonight would be a success.
I needed him to be home and safe.
Kaem was the first to acknowledge us as we entered. “Ready to go?”
“Yes,” I answered, offering a kind smile.
Arielle and I handed everyone a pouch to place in their pockets and kept one each for ourselves. Then she moved toward Bastian, who gave her a quick hug, and I moved toward Kaem and Alaric.
“We need to stay close,” Alaric warned. “But if anything happens and we get split up, head back here.”
Everyone nodded their agreement.
He focused on me. “You, stick with me. Don’t try to portal or phase.”
“I won’t.” As great as it had been to prove that my ability to portal hadn’t been a one-time thing, I wasn’t good at it yet.
The most I’d been able to do during Grandmother’s lessons was open a portal—a significant upgrade.
But I didn’t step inside. I didn’t want to risk either going back in time or too far forward.
“Okay, let’s do this. Cloaking spell first.” Kaem nodded, spreading his arms wide.
White light burst from his palms, soft but powerful. It reminded me of the Galdrlore spells that Arielle and Garrick cast when we were trying to locate the ring.
But that’s as far as similarities went. The light transformed into a spiral that twisted around us in a wide circle, crackling like threads of lightning woven into the sky. It raced across the floor, climbing our legs and wrapping around our bodies.
I shivered as it passed through me.
Gods, it felt cold and strange, like stepping into the lake back home in the heart of winter.
"Veyrath sol'kael,” Kaem chanted.