66. Ellowyn
Chapter 66
Ellowyn
C racked landscape.
A storm overhead.
Lightning flashing, and the rumble of thunder.
Screams.
So many screams.
Were those my screams?
Winds whipping, the sky darker than ever.
A face with enchanting eyes and beautiful sun-kissed hair.
I knew him .
His mouth was moving, but I couldn’t hear him over the blood pounding in my ears and the raging storm.
I hated him, just like Peytor hated me.
“Use me, let me fill you,” a voice whispered, but I heard it clearly above the racket in my head.
I closed my eyes, blocking my sight from the one person who ignored my pleas for help, and let the voice fill me.
A familiar feeling pooled in my chest before spilling out into my hands and up my arms. I smelled the acrid scent of smoke and breathed deep, letting the embers burn my nostrils.
There was no more noise now. Only peace. Only calm. But there was a storm raging just underneath my skin. A storm that matched the tempest outside.
I opened my eyes only to be met with the panicked expression of Torin.
“Lord d’Eshu,” I monotoned and Torin took a hasty step back, his expression morphing into one of pain.
“Ell, sweet Ell. Don’t do this,” he pleaded. “There is so much you don’t know, don’t understand. Please let me explain.”
I cocked my head at him before disregarding his pleas completely.
“No,” I said simply, and my magic crackled in response.
If possible, Torin’s face fell further, moisture pooling in his eyes. But his emotions did nothing to sway me.
I was tired of games.
Tired of riddles.
Tired of not knowing and being left in the dark.
And desperately tired of this fucking hellscape that never changed and sucked me in, making me believe that Torin cared for me.
No one cared for me.
Everyone kept secrets from me.
And now I was a murderer.
With a deep breath, I sank to my knees and placed my hands on the ground, the dirt vibrating with the use of my magic.
“Destroy,” I whispered and the voice inside me preened. My Destruction Magic coiled from my hands and slid along the surface of the cracked earth, the pale sand glowing with the embers of my magic. It sped through the cracks until the entire ground was covered.
Then it sped toward the mountains.
But the magic didn’t destroy like I asked.
It simply embedded itself into the landscape.
Wordlessly, I tried to pull it back, but I suddenly had no control over it. My magic had a mind of its own.
“Torin,” I called weakly, suddenly terrified.
“I’m here, Ell,” he called from behind me, and I suddenly longed for his touch, for comfort. But he couldn’t touch me. Not when I was using my magic like this. I tried in vain again to reel my magic back, but it was pulled taut, feeding the dreamscape .
I heard a crack and saw the mountain peak split, and the ground rumbled in earnest.
Abruptly, my magic retreated into my body, and I fell with a wordless cry, exhausted and spent. Torin scooped me from the ground and laid me against his chest.
I pressed my cheek and ear to hear the rhythm of his heart, unsurprised and slightly pleased to hear it beating in time with mine. His smell overwhelmed me, and I wanted to sleep in the comfort of his arms.
He brushed a soft kiss against my ear and temple before pushing the hair back from my face.
“I am so sorry, Ellowyn,” he murmured repeatedly.
“You need to go, Children,” Fate said. Torin jumped but I remained glued to his body, unsurprised that they appeared. “It is not safe for you here any longer.”
Fate sounded tired and I picked my head up from Torin’s chest, opening my eyes to see a man standing in front of me. He was tall, with deep-black eyes that somehow looked exhausted and energized at the same time.
“No robe today, Fate?” I rasped, too tired to give a shit about his machinations.
A slow smile spread across his face.
“No, Child. No longer. But you really must go. I’ll call you both back when the time is right,” he said before turning and regarding the mountain. “I have some unfinished business with some gods tonight.”
He strode toward the mountain quicker than should be possible, and Torin and I slowly climbed to our feet.
“Is it . . . unnaturally quiet?” I asked, the air suddenly heavy with the taste of magic. I looked up at the sky and gasped.
There was no thunder, no lightning. The storm was frozen, the colored tendrils in the sky creating a kaleidoscope of colors like a beautiful painted mural.
There was a groaning and cracking in the distance and Torin’s grip on my hand tightened.
“It’s time to go, Ell. I’ll come find you, I promise.”
I wanted to believe him, but after so many failed promises, I couldn’t. I simply squeezed his hand in return and began to walk away, the white light encasing me.
“I wish I could believe you, Torin. But I can’t right now,” I said sadly.
His face broke at that, and he scrubbed his hands down his cheeks .
“I’ll prove it, Ellowyn, just . . . wait for me,” he pleaded.
The white haze enveloped my body completely and I said nothing in return.
There was nothing to say.