Chapter 70 Irena
IRENA
After we finally separate and clean up, Valen helps me into one of the silky robes the Sorceress provided. It’s crimson and loose-fitting—the fabric soft as flower petals against my skin and my legs are still a little wobbly.
Valen presses a kiss to my forehead before helping me to the curved door of the chamber.
I’m still flushed but the tension in my chest is lighter than it’s been in days.
I feel so good—so close to him. I wish we could spend more time cuddling, but I know that now that we’ve collected the magical essence, we have to brew the Healing Draught.
The Sorceress is waiting for us on the other side, a gleam in her sharp green eyes as she takes one look at Valen and me.
“Well now,” she says, arching a brow. “You two have been very… productive.” She gestures upward and I follow her gaze.
The glowing orb of glass—the Essence Globe—is no longer softly simmering. It’s blazing with light and energy, a swirling storm of gold, rose, and amber, shot through with flickers of emerald and pale violet.
The Sorceress snaps her fingers and the orb detaches from its bracket with a musical chime. It floats gently into her hands and she cradles it with reverence, like it’s a newborn star.
“The two of you come with me, my dear,” she says to me. “The Healing Draught won’t brew itself.”
I glance back at Valen. He nods, giving my hand a squeeze.
“Let’s go.”
The Sorceress leads us into a high-ceilinged chamber that smells of herbs, resin, and something rich and metallic—magic, I realize.
Tables line the walls, each crowded with strange, arcane tools—bronze globes… glittering glass spirals…tiny cages of silver lattice with fluttering flame wisps trapped inside. There are jars of dried herbs, flower petals, and glimmering crystal powders that shimmer with inner light.
But it’s the center table that draws my eye.
It’s made of black wood carved with ancient runes.
Directly in the middle sits a round, golden cauldron, polished so bright I can see my reflection in its surface.
Tubes of thin, transparent glass curve out from it like the arms of a jellyfish, feeding into measuring vials and glowing infusion dishes.
It looks like something between an alchemy lab and a sacred shrine.
“Now, we set the Essence Globe here,” the Sorceress says, motioning to a groove shaped to hold it. She leans over and places the globe in its cradle.
Then she picks up a mortar and pestle and begins to grind together fragrant herbs—lavender, chamomile, golden valerian—and adds a few crushed petals from the glowing honey-bath flowers.
“These will help bind the Draught to your mother’s spirit,” she explains. “And now… the incantation. You must speak it clearly, Princess—let your magic rise while you stir.”
She hands me a silver rod and gestures toward the cauldron. As the Essence Globe empties in a slow stream of liquid light, I stir clockwise, watching the mixture shimmer and swirl. The potion begins to bubble with soft golden heat.
The Sorceress intones the spell first, then nods to me.
I repeat the words, my voice trembling, then strengthening as I go:
“By flame and bloom, by blood and breath,
Unbind the chains that tether death.
Let gold be light, and light be life,
Restore what’s lost, erase the strife.”
The cauldron glows brighter with every word. The color shifts—from soft rose to burnished amber to a brilliant molten gold. The air hums with power, lifting the tiny hair on my arms and at the back of my neck.
When the final syllable leaves my lips, the brew stills. The light within it pulses like a beating heart and I know without even asking that it’s done.
The Sorceress lets out a soft sound of satisfaction.
“Well done, child! That was… impressive.”
I lower the stirring rod, still staring at the glowing, golden liquid.
“Will it work?” I whisper. “Will it heal my mother?”
“It will. Your magic is raw but potent—and your emotional connection with your man with has strengthened it. You have quite a lot of magic for one so young. I could polish that power, you know.” She tilts her head, giving me a considering look.
“If you ever decide to return here, I would be honored to train you. There’s a great deal of potential in you, Irena. ”
I hardly know what to say.
“Thank you, but… I don’t know how I’d come back. Once Valen flies me home and I return to my family, I’m not sure…”
Valen, who has been standing behind me quietly this whole time, speaks up.
“Baby, you don’t really want to go back there, do you? I mean… I know you need to heal your mother, but after that, don’t you want to come away with me?”
I stare at him.
“I… we never talked about that.”
“It’s understandable your man would want to keep you close,” the Sorceress says smoothly. “As long as he wears that collar, your life is bound to his. If you die, he will be trapped in his Drake form forever.”
I freeze.
“Wait—what?” My gaze swings to Valen. “Is that true? Is that why you came after me in the forest? Is that why you’ve been protecting me—just because you were afraid if I died you’d be stuck as your Drake?”
Valen’s jaw tightens.
“No! I mean… yes, it’s true. But that’s not the reason I—”
“Would you have come for me if there was no collar?” I demand. “Back in the forest at the witch’s hut—would you have saved me or just changed into your Drake and flown away?”
“That’s not…I mean, of course I would have come for you,” he protests.
But I don’t know if I believe him anymore.
I remember the way he held me and let me cry that night in the cave…
the way he healed me with his Drake’s power.
Was it all an act? Has he only been protecting me this whole time because of the power I hold over him?
I thought we moved past all that…maybe I was wrong.
Valen’s face twists in frustration. “Baby—”
“Maybe we should just get going,” I say, looking away, my heart suddenly aching. “I need to get back to my mother as soon as possible.”
He looks like he wants to argue. But then he just nods.
“All right,” he says stiffly. “We can go as soon as you’re ready.”
“Just let me change,” I murmur, looking down at myself. The robe is soft but too much of me is showing, and suddenly I feel exposed in a way I didn’t just moments before.
The Sorceress turns to prepare the vial of Healing Draught, and I walk away to gather my clothes, trying to pretend my heart isn’t cracking open.