Chapter 37
The scent of sea salt carried on the gentle breeze, but mixed with it was something that did not belong—the warm and bitter taste of ash.
I turned my attention to the distant shoreline covered in fog.
Where should have been dull hues of blue and gray were vivid maroons and orange.
It was unmistakable—the Mages Consortium was ablaze.
I turned to Alandris to find him slack-jawed and frozen in place. “We are under attack,” he murmured in disbelief.
Jyuri cursed. “Zorinna!” And without a moment’s consideration, he teleported from the ship—presumably, straight into the fire.
“How fast can you get us back?” I called to Lorian.
“I’m afraid we are still a long way out, and the tide is not doing us any favors, either.” His voice wavered with the worry he failed to keep hidden.
Think. Think. I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth. “Can you and Mak manage the ship on your own?”
My question came as enough of a shock to shake Alandris from his stupor. “Why are you asking?”
Lorian hesitated. “Well, yes, we can manage fine.”
“Then I have an idea.” I took Alanadris’s hand in mine, meeting his gaze. “This may go incredibly poorly, but the alternative is to watch the Consortium burn. Do you trust me?”
“With my life.”
I’d only ever felt the magic used on me. I knew the sensation of it, the intention, and the result. I’d just never practiced. We might end up a few miles out in the middle of the sea, but it was a risk worth taking if it meant we had a chance to save our friends and the place we called home.
Teleportation was a branch of magic the Fae had created and mastered. With a piece of that magic now fully a part of me, I could do this. I had to do this.
An image of the Consortium moved to the front of my mind.
I focused on where I wanted us to land, down to the exact stone brick on the ground.
As the image grew clearer, the pull tugged at my chest, and instead of my natural response of fighting it, I let it guide me willingly.
This was no longer some foreign magic dragging me along.
This was my magic. It felt right—good, even.
Smoke choked my lungs the moment we reappeared.
I was still reeling from the sensation of teleporting, my stomach twisting into knots.
Thankfully, I had landed us very close to the front gate—and, more importantly, away from any current flames.
It was nearly impossible to see through the combination of smoke and fog, but I could hear a series of shouts coming from the east.
“We need to find Kaz, Zorinna, and Kaelias, and make sure all the Mages are evacuated to safety,” Alandris said as he gained his bearings.
His moment of shock had passed, his resolve now evident as he stepped into the role of Grand Arch Magus.
“We need to find a way to snuff out the fire as well. Mages more attuned to water magic should be able to help.”
“We need to split up.” I knew he wouldn’t be fond of the idea, but I hoped the dire status of our situation would push him to see reason. “You should handle the Mages while I look for our friends. There’s no time to spare.”
Alandris took a moment to weigh his options. “You must stay safe.”
“I will. I promise.”
He pressed his forehead to mine and placed a kiss on the top of my head. “Go. Stay. Safe.”
He pulled back with a frown. I knew he hadn’t wanted to agree to this plan, even knowing it was the best option, so before he could second-guess his decision, I rushed off to the back side of the Consortium.
No doubt—knowing my friends—they would have thrown themselves headfirst into danger, saving those at the far end of the castle, where the fire burned hottest.
“Kaz! Kaelias! Zorinna!” I shouted their names as I moved.
The heat was unbearable, and before long, a sheen of sweat was coating my skin. I wasn’t sure I could do much, but I attempted to smother some flames as I passed, wrapping them in shadow until they dissipated. It wasn’t a sustainable solution—I’d have to rely on Alandris for that.
As I moved to the south side of the castle, the air temperature dropped noticeably.
To my surprise, most of the castle at this end was smoldering, but not actively burning.
My attention was drawn to the center of the garden, now a sad pile of ash.
There amongst the ruined plants stood Jyuri, an unmistakable redheaded Elf hoisted over his shoulder.
“Jyuri!” I shouted. “Is Zorinna okay?”
The look I received in response was enough to freeze the blood in my veins. “She’s unconscious. I am taking her somewhere safe.”
“Wait!” I held out my hands as if I stood a chance of stopping him in his fury. “Will you come back and help us? We need you.”
He laughed as though I’d made some ridiculous request. “She is my priority. Do not try to stop me from leaving. I will not show you mercy, not for this.”
I dropped my hands to my side. The look on his face made it clear there was no use in arguing. At least Zorinna would be safe with him, and I could focus my efforts on Kaz and Kaelias.
With the perimeter secured, the only path left was straight into the inferno.
I let my shadows circle me like a barrier, protecting my body from any flying embers.
My eyes burned, watering with each blink, and with every step I took, it grew increasingly more difficult to breathe.
I didn’t have a death wish, and I would’ve turned around and attempted a different route if I hadn’t heard a pained grunt coming from the nearby corridor.
“Kaz! Kaelias!” I shouted over and over, rushing around the corner.
A muffled groan helped direct me to the source, where I finally found him. Kaz. Half pinned to the wall by a fallen wooden support, smiling like a damned idiot, as if he wasn’t moments from burning alive.
“There’s my girl,” he groaned. “Not my best look, is it?”
As soon as I got him out of this fire, I was going to kill him. “Shut up!” I bit back, tears stinging my already irritated eyes. “You’re not dying here, so shut up, you blasted fool, and use that strength to help me lift this beam.”
He chuckled.
Slowly. Slowly, I was going to kill him.
Together, we heaved the beam off his legs, a barely manageable task with the helpful assistance of my magic.
I helped him to his feet, though he seemed to be unable to stand on his own.
His weight pressed heavily against my shoulders, making it difficult to pivot.
I’d never be able to drag him out of the castle by myself, but I had to. Failure was not an option.
“You can leave me,” Kaz whispered, his gaze fixated on the flames ahead of us.
Another large beam fell in a crash of fire like some sort of sick joke, marking the end of the most unacceptable sentence I’d ever heard uttered.
“Please, leave me. I don’t want you to die,” he begged. I’d never heard him so serious. His voice always held a humored lilt. This was different. This scared me.
“That’s not happening,” I replied adamantly. “I should still have enough magic left to get us out. Hold on tight.”
This time, I imagined a spot slightly further back from the entrance of the Consortium.
A safe distance away—somewhere I could leave Kaz while I continued my search for Kaelias.
The pull dragged me in again, and it felt like my body was collapsing in on itself.
I’d never used so much power in such a short span of time.
It was tearing me apart. But it didn’t matter, so long as we made it.
One more spell. Please, one more spell.
I gasped, sucking in sweet, fresh air as our bodies collapsed against the hard stone.
Without the smoke, I could see exactly how damaged Kaz’s legs were—twisted and ravaged with cuts and burns.
If I didn’t move him somewhere safer, he would be stuck at the mercy of the growing flames with no way out.
As if reading my thoughts, he shook his head. “This is good enough. You need to find Kaelias. I can take care of myself from here. The last I saw him, he was helping some of the Mages out of the training room.” He paused. “Did you find Rin?”
“Jyuri has her.”
He gave a tight nod of relief. “Good. Go.”
The front doors to the Consortium stood wide open.
The training hall was a short distance to the left, right before the dorms. I could be in and out within a matter of minutes if I was lucky.
And I needed luck, because apart from the area Jyuri had turned into a frozen ice storm, the castle was still burning at a rapid pace.
I passed a couple of injured Mages on my way, shouting at them to leave through the front and seek the Grand Arch Magus for help.
The closer I grew to the training room, the hotter the flames, and the thicker the smoke.
What little I could manage with my shadows was meaningless in the grand scheme of themes, so I picked up my pace.
Alandris needed to gather the Mages quickly, or the Consortium stood no chance.
What remained of the doors to the training room were flung open, muffled voices coming from inside.
I spotted a head of partially braided dark brown hair, pointed ears decorated in brass cuffs sticking out.
Kaelias was helping a Mage with an injured ankle hobble over to the exit.
His eye widened at the sight of me, but his shock was short-lived.
He immediately jerked his head in the direction of another Mage behind him who still needed assistance.
I rushed over to the Mage, a young Elven female with smears of ash staining her dark skin, and helped her to her feet. She’d suffered some minor burns on her legs but seemed otherwise fine. It was panic, fear, which had her unable to move.
“Is there anyone else inside?”
She shook her head, a delayed and jerky motion.
“I’m going to help you to the front, okay?”
This time, she nodded a bit more confidently.
Propping her arm over my shoulders, I guided her through the path I’d taken to find them.
The fire had been snuffed out in some places, and I sighed in relief.
Alandris must have found the Mages he needed.
Perhaps the worst was over, though we couldn’t assess the full extent of the damage until we completely extinguished the fire.
Once outside, I helped the Mage to the ground next to Kaz, who I noted—despite my warnings—had failed to move any farther from the front of the Consortium. She curled her knees to her chest and mouthed a tearful thank you. Kaelias did the same with the Mage he’d been assisting.
“Where is Lorian? Makatza?” he signed.
“On the ship, en route. Alandris and I returned through other means—magic,” I spoke aloud, then turned to Kaz. “Have either of you seen Alandris?”
Kaelias answered, “I saw him last with a group of Mages to the east.”
Barely giving him time to finish signing, I rushed towards Alandris’s location, only relaxing slightly when I could hear his voice loudly shouting orders.
As I turned the corner, I saw a group of around twenty Mages focusing their magic on various parts of the eastern wing of the castle.
From what I could see, they’d made significant progress in quelling the flames and were shifting towards the front now.
Alandris met my gaze with a shuddering breath. He ran to me, cupping the sides of my face in his hands. “Were you hurt anywhere?”
“No. No, and our friends are alive. Kaz, he needs medical attention.” The words flowed from my mouth too quickly, my breaths quickening.
All the fear I’d been shoving down in adrenaline came rushing back.
“I—I got any Mages I saw out. Jyuri, he has Zorinna. He said he wouldn’t come back, but he did stop most of the fire on the south end, so—”
“Nairu.” Alandris beckoned my eyes back to his. “It’ll be okay. We’re safe.”
We were the furthest thing from safe, but I let the lie soothe me anyway.
We were in the now ruins of a half-burned castle with uncounted injuries and possible casualties, and we had no idea who had set the blaze.
This inferno was no accident. It was a deliberate act of arson.
And that meant our suspected traitor was closer than we imagined.