Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Threads can be strengthened, or even created, through bonded magic.
Fractured, coral light smeared in streaks across the rough cave wall as dawn broke.
I glanced around the softly illuminated cave, eyeing the vines of blue flowers that ran along the stone walls.
I didn’t remember seeing them last night, though perhaps this was Bayne’s new power manifesting in its own way.
I ran my fingers over Bayne’s chest as it rose and fell. His features were still a mask of deep sleep. I traced the whorls of black ink that covered his chest, hiding the eight-pointed star that marked him as a Bellator.
After sailing to Lotrennia, I’d realized quickly the center of his inked sun was the coastline of his home. And spinning out from its center, ferns and vines unfurled wildly, looking so much like the rays of the brilliant power he harnessed. The power of the sun itself. Soleia.
He stirred under my touch, grumbling sleepily. I nipped his chin in reply, his long stubble scratching against my teeth. His brilliant eyes fluttered open as he ran his fingers along my cheek. He leaned in, taking my mouth in his and planting a luxurious, sleepy kiss on me.
I melted into him, savoring the warm hardness of his smooth body and wrapping my arms around his perfect form. He pulled away, his lips tilting up in a grin of true contentment.
“I have something for you,” he said, sudden eagerness pulsing through the connection.
Pink rushed to my cheeks as he pulled out a rough gray rock, the size of my palm, wrapped in a bow of green ribbon.
I tugged the ribbon loose, and the rough rock fell open to reveal an orange and white crystal center. Inside the geode sat a folded piece of white silk. I flipped the folds over and plucked up the amber oval resting in its center.
My thumb smoothed over the hard, translucent resin, carved into an oval that connected to a thin, braided chain.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed, marveling at the amber glowing in the dimness of dawn.
“Open it,” he murmured into my ear.
I flickered my eyes to his as my fingers slipped along the edge of the pendant, finding a barely perceptible clasp.
I flipped it open, and the oval split, revealing flat, tightly curling spirals of what looked to be some type of shell.
Fossilized remains of a creature, I realized.
I marveled at the fossil that looked so much like the ferns draping the land of Lotrennia.
“We call them tendrilytes. No one has ever seen one living, but they’re all over Lotrennia, if you know where to dig for them.” The corner of his mouth tilted up as he threw me a wink.
Warmth flooded my chest as the thoughtfulness hit me. The remains inside, a little bit of me, and the likeness of the ferns, a little bit of him. I blinked away a small drop of liquid forming in the corner of my eye.
“It’s an amplifier,” Bayne said softly.
I raised my eyes to him in question. All of the amplifiers, even the Bones of the Bellators, were destroyed when used properly.
“You won’t destroy it,” he said with an air of confidence. “I promise.”
My lips parted, the question already forming, and he shook his head.
“Trust me.”
And I did. I closed the pendant and held it against my chest. “Thank you,” I whispered as he pulled it over my head. The amber glowed against my olive skin in the early morning light.
We sat there for a few minutes before I finally took a deep breath and divulged the maelstrom of shit that had unfolded during his absence.
Bayne, Aelius bless him, met it with calm confidence.
Even when I confessed to the bargain with the queen, despite the alarm that soared down our connection, he simply ran his rough hands down my arm, squeezing me closer.
“Nis was right in that this was dangerous. But I agree, you didn’t have much of a choice,” he murmured. “Even if Vander had killed her, his death sentence would have meant the Rising’s…”
Relief swelled in my chest at his understanding. He shifted, so he faced me. “And Antares… We’ll find a way to deal with her.”
“Your turn,” I murmured against his lips. “What did you see at the Waters of Ascendiel? Or is it a secret?” I teased.
He kissed me slowly, as if not wanting to rush this quiet, rare time we had together, before we returned to Ayla, where the weight of our burdens awaited.
He pulled away, smoothing a strand of loose hair away from my face. His face tightened, his brows narrowing slightly, as if in deliberation.
“I saw a vision of a battle, here in Lotrennia.” His eyes drifted to my forehead briefly as he paused.
“The ashen? Daimos?” I asked, sitting up onto my elbow.
Bayne shook his head, his forehead creased.
“Something worse. Something I don’t fully understand,” he murmured.
I opened my mouth to probe further.
“We all need to prepare. We need to be at our strongest.” Bayne’s eyes had taken on a glassy effect as he stared at the ceiling of the cave.
My stomach twisted.
“I know you’ve struggled with the Transcindiel…” The words dripped with hesitation as they left his lips.
A weight pressed against my chest, and an unspoken strain pushed against our connection.
“You think I should focus my efforts on the transformation,” I said quietly for him. “Forget about the death of the Lady of Tomorrow for now.”
He murmured his confirmation.
Unease settled in my stomach. Something about her death reeked of evil. Could I let this go?
And the ashen transformations… I’d been trying. The question of why I’d been failing continued to nag at me, an accusatory finger pointing at my own insecurities, at my own selfish fear of losing the man I loved.
I knew so deeply in my heart that Bayne loved me.
My failures had nothing to do with saving Lida and turning her back into an elf.
I knew that when I finally transformed Lida, Bayne’s last love, the reason he’d gone to Kayj in the first place, that he’d stay with me.
He might still love Lida, always love her in some way, but there was something deeper between Bayne and I.
Wasn’t there? Wasn’t that what this connection was between us?
Yet that same, shameful thought crouched at the back of my consciousness. That maybe I didn’t want to change her. That I was so selfish, I couldn’t allow someone else near his light.
Bayne’s palm flipped up as little bits of fire and light danced above his hand. Beautiful, white flames dipped and swirled together. We lay there, watching the light ebb and flow in fascinating patterns.
“Try it,” he murmured into my hair as my mind drifted to my own powers.
My body tensed. I didn’t have this level of control. I could summon the Obscura easily now, but it was a blast of raw power. Directing a small bit of concentrated power like this…
Bayne’s reassuring warmth slipped into that connection of ours, and my heart calmed.
“Try,” he said again, brushing soothing strokes of his hand through my hair.
I flipped my hand over, summoning a small bit of Obscura to rise above the luminous star at the center of my palm. The blue of my veins turned midnight black as I let darkness pool at the surface. It flowed to my palm, slow and steady. I released a breath as I allowed a bit of it to escape.
A small, steady black tendril of power winked into existence above my hand. It hovered, unmoving, like a teardrop of black sky suspended in midair. Bayne slid a cautious curiosity down our connection, enough for me to release more.
Darkness exploded in the small space. I let out a cry, terror seizing my chest at the loss of control, uncertain if it was Bayne’s fear or my own, when white light swept through the cave, smothering the shadows.
He let out a low whistle as I clamped my fist shut.
“Too much,” I said, shakily.
“Maybe a bit,” he murmured with a breathy chuckle.
I let out a low, shaky laugh. But that one bit of power… We’d have to find more time to train together in the coming days. I opened my mouth to say as much when Kresida’s demanding voice barked from outside the cave.
“Her Majesty requires an audience, Captain,” the War Slayer called.
My stomach twisted at her undetected approach as her words hauled us back to our weighted reality.