45. Vera
Vera
Starke and I sprinted down the hall. The others poked their heads out of their rooms at the sound. “Odessa,” was all I said. They all darted out and rushed after us.
“What’s wrong?” I asked Maeve as we ran.
“The infection. We tried to ease her pain, but it’s spreading faster than we anticipated.”
We veered down several corridors until we came to the same healer’s wing from before. I skidded to a halt and shoved through the door, frantically looking for her familiar face.
Odessa lay on a cot against the wall, sweat dripping down her forehead. The healer, Arcadia, and Julius knelt beside the bed, hands hovering over her. I heard their whispered spells, one after another.
“What are they doing to her?” Kieran snarled, lunging forward.
Maeve put out a hand, and a wall of shadows blocked him.
“They are helping her. Look at her arm.” Her shadows dissipated, and we all crept closer.
The small slivers of bone that had appeared in the High Elders’ study were now thicker sections of solid bone, expanding in a line past the cuts.
They looked eerily like the skeletal beings we fought.
As the other three continued their spells, the line faltered, as if something was stopping it.
“Their spells,” I murmured. “They’re blocking the infection from spreading.”
Maeve nodded. “But they cannot hold this forever.”
“I thought you said we had forty-eight hours,” I insisted.
“We have never experienced a human with the infection,” she explained. “Perhaps it’s not the same for them.”
My mind spun. “What if I can’t raise the kingdom before it takes her?”
Everett appeared at my side. “This infection is magical, right?” he asked Maeve, and she nodded. “What if there was a way to suppress its magic? Not just hold it off, but make it go dormant.”
I nodded, catching on. “Like in the cells. What Mortep used to take away our magic.”
Maeve shook her head. “I don’t know of anything that can remove magic. But I…I…” She put a finger to her lips and looked off into the distance, eyes glassy. “I wonder,” she murmured.
I gripped her shoulder. “You wonder what?”
“There is a ritual,” she said carefully. “One we have record of the original demithes performing. But it’s dangerous, Vera.”
“Tell me.”
She swallowed. “Once the Fates banished Pyraeth, the originals knew they would never live to see the outside world again—not if the kingdom only resurfaced every century. So they found a way to keep themselves alive until the next one hundred years passed and they could go through the portal to search for the Lightbringer.”
My forehead scrunched. “How?”
“They would put themselves in a sort of stasis. Frozen in time, so to speak. Their bodies shut down, but they were still alive, until the spell was broken and they woke once more. It allowed them to live for centuries. But it came at a price,” Maeve said.
“They were not truly living. Eventually they gave up hope of ever finding a savior, and they put the ritual to rest so they could die and let their descendants continue the quest. But this ritual still exists. And if it froze their bodies in time, then—”
“It can freeze Odessa. And the infection,” I finished for her.
“But it could also kill her,” Everett countered.
I pointed to Odessa, whose features screwed in anguish. “It’s already killing her. This will buy me time to find that amulet.”
“What if you do this ritual, and she doesn’t wake up at the end?” he asked.
“And what if we don’t do it, and I can’t fix it in time?” I shot back. They didn’t understand. This pressure wasn’t on them. The fate of our friend wasn’t hanging over their heads.
I needed more time.
Kieran stepped forward, his presence solid and steady among the frenzy of the rest of us. “I think,” he said slowly, “that this decision is ultimately not up to any of us. We must ask Odessa what she wishes.”
I took a deep breath. “He’s right.” Crossing to the bed, I crouched at Odessa’s head. I smoothed my hand across her forehead, feeling how hot her skin was.
She leaned into my touch with a groan. “Vera,” she croaked. “It hurts.”
“I know, I know,” I said softly. Kieran appeared across from me, hovering over her with fists clenched at his sides.
“Odessa, listen. The High Elders have an idea for how to slow the infection and give me time to save you. But it—it’s dangerous.
” I glanced up at Kieran. Fates, how could I ask her to do this?
To risk her life and potentially never wake up again?
But how could I not?
“What is it?” she asked.
“There’s this ritual they can perform to put you in a deep sleep,” I said. “It will shut the infection down, but it will also shut your body down until we can wake you up again.”
Her eyes widened. “So I—I’ll die?”
Kieran lowered himself to his knees. “No, Odessa. We will not let that happen.”
“No, not die, just…freeze. Temporarily,” I amended.
“And when we wake you up, the infection will be gone and you’ll be good as new.
The Elders said their ancestors used to do this, and it worked for them.
They think it can work for you, too.” It has to work, I thought to myself.
“But there are always risks. The choice is up to you. And if you decide not to, I will do everything in my power to—”
Odessa cut me off. “I trust you, Vera. I’ve seen your magic, and I’ve seen what you can do when you put your mind to it.” Her lips lifted in a pained smile. “If this means you’ll have more time, then I’ll do it.”
Her faith made my chest ache. I nodded and took her hand. “I’m sorry, Odessa. I’m so sorry I got you involved in this.”
To my surprise, she laughed, which turned into a choke. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m the one who told you about the kingdom. And I don’t regret it. I would’ve never gotten to see that this place was real, or to see magic, if it weren’t for you.”
“We’re going to wake you up, I promise. Then I’ll show you all the magic you could ever wish for.” I squeezed her hand, then looked back at the High Elders. They nodded solemnly.
“I’ll see you soon, Odessa,” I whispered. She let go of my hand, and I stood. Kieran lingered by her a moment longer. Slowly, he pressed a cloth to her forehead, wiping away her sweat. Without a word, he backed away.
“The other amulet,” Arcadia said, holding out a hand to Maeve. She gave him the sun amulet from around her neck, and he put it on top of his phoenix one. Golden light haloed the artifacts, and a deep hum echoed through the room.
“Are you ready?” he asked Odessa, who nodded. He then turned to me. “Daughter, would you like to help?”
I blinked. “Me?”
“Your power will magnify ours. We are stronger when united.” He beckoned me closer, and I took a tentative step forward.
“Wait, what about the herbs? Or—or charms?” I asked, looking between them. I had never performed a spell without a charm.
Arcadia gave me a quizzical look. “A charm? Whatever for?”
“You know, to power the spell.”
He shook his head. “You don’t need anything else to give you power, daughter. You are the power.”
When he held out his hand, I grasped it. Magic flooded my senses, making me gasp in shock. Molten sunlight flowed through my veins and swirled in that deep well of power in my chest. He, Julius, and Maeve smiled at me. They felt it, too.
You are the power.
“Repeat after us,” Arcadia said. “Matus kuole vivida.”
The other two joined in, and the buzzing in my chest increased. “Matus kuole vivida.” I whispered, keeping my eyes on Odessa. “Matus kuole vivida.”
The air around her shimmered, and she sucked in a breath. Her back arched high off the bed, then slammed back down. I started to move toward her, but Arcadia’s grip on my hand stopped me. “It’s working, Vera. Look at her arm.”
I glanced down to see the line of gray bone fading. It was still there, but was no longer spreading or darkening.
“Matus kuole vivida,” I said, joining back in the chant. Our voices raised as the magic tightened like a bowstring around us, pressing in on my ribs.
“Matus kuole vivida!” With a final shout, Odessa went still. I didn’t dare move. My heart pumped frantically, both from adrenaline and anxiety.
Kieran moved toward her first. He held a finger to her neck, then locked eyes with me. “She has a pulse. Just barely.”
“It is done,” Arcadia said. “She’s alive, simply frozen. The infection has stopped for now.”
“How long do we have?” I asked.
He exchanged a look with the other High Elders. “I would say four days. That’s all we can promise you. This has never been attempted on a magic-less human before, and there is no way to know how her body will respond over time.”
“Four days,” I repeated, letting it sink in. “Four days to find the final amulet.”
“Four days to save her life,” Kieran echoed.
“Four days to get us home,” Everett said, holding my gaze.
I swallowed. “Let’s get to work.”