Chapter Twelve Garrick
Chapter Twelve
Garrick
I caught the woman as she crumpled into unconsciousness. She felt fragile in my arms, but she’d already proven she had both
strength and stubbornness to spare.
And power.
My side tingled from the feel of her magic. Strong Etheri could pull magic from weaker magic users, especially human mages,
but even the strongest sovereigns couldn’t combine magic like a focus. A talented focus could pull magic from stronger magic users, willing or not.
She was dangerous, and she didn’t even know it. In the right hands, she would be a formidable weapon. In the wrong hands,
she would be devastating.
And already Feylan hunted her.
I stepped through the kitchen door and into her bedroom. A glance revealed she had cleaned it, likely by hand, and unaccustomed
guilt needled me. She had spent hours on something that would have taken me seconds.
I carefully laid her on the bed. Her cheeks were pale, but her pulse was normal. Her magic was not so drained that she should
have lost consciousness, but her nails had carved angry grooves into her palms, hinting at deep pain.
I had been so caught up in healing myself—and in the feel of her magic—that I hadn’t noticed.
It wasn’t the first of my many sins, nor would it be the last, but regret sat heavily on my shoulders. I traced my thumbs
over the tiny wounds, healing them. Her hands were calloused from hard work, but her skin still felt far too breakable under
my fingers.
She wasn’t the first human I’d rescued, but she was the first one I wanted to gather close and protect. I buried the urge. Feylan would never willingly release a focus, not even to bait a trap, but that didn’t mean she was innocent, either.
She’d easily taken out half of the castle’s protection charms while making it look like an accident. Then a lua just happened to attack immediately afterward, injuring Grim.
Then she’d thrown a plate at my head while I was in the middle of a fight.
Every action she’d taken could be explained away as accidents individually, but together, they painted a damning picture,
and I had more enemies than friends.
However, after all of that, she had turned around and offered me her magic, even though it pained her. It could’ve been a
ploy to earn back my trust, but it hadn’t felt like it—but history had already proven I was a poor judge of character.
The little mage was full of contradictions, and until I knew the truth, I had to keep my distance.
Still, seeing her so limp and vulnerable made something in my chest twist in agony. She should be smiling and arguing and
so very, vibrantly alive.
Grim appeared at my side with a low growl. The jurhihoigli’s thick coat was clean and dry, so I pointed to the bed. “Watch
her while I reinforce the barrier.”
Grim whined, clearly torn between doing as I’d asked and coming with me. I touched his shoulder, which stood higher than my
waist, indicating his continued unease. “We’re not to the point where I can no longer defend myself,” I murmured. “Not yet.”
After a moment longer, Grim leapt onto the large bed and lay close to the woman. To Riela. Names were dangerous things, and the more I used hers, the more I would bind her to me—and me to her. Already I could feel
the thread connecting us, faint though it was.
Once, I would have used that to my advantage. The temptation was still there. With her full name and a tiny promise, I could bind her to me so tightly that Feylan would not be able to use her as a weapon.
But then I would be just as bound to her, and binding oneself to a focus could have unpredictable consequences—especially
once she learned how to harness her power.
Grim laid his head on her belly and a flash of bitter jealousy shocked me into moving away. Before I left the room, I traced
a simple cleaning charm on the wall and imbued it with a drop of power. It would not repay the hurt I had caused, but it was
a start.
The wood roiled with uneasiness, and the trees whispered of danger. Perhaps letting the mage explore her powers so soon had
been a mistake, but it was one already made. I would need to create new protections to keep her safe, but until then, I would
re-create and reinforce the existing magical barriers protecting the castle.
A dozen boundary stones were scattered across the island and along the bridge. Refreshing the protection charms on all of
them at once would drain me to the marrow, but unless Feylan himself showed up, the charms would stand against all enemies.
And, unfortunately, Feylan was not foolish enough to leave the safety of Roseguard Castle.
I started with the stones farthest from the castle and worked my way inward. I’d poured so much power into the land while
attempting to reopen the door to Lohka that the entire island was nearly an extension of myself.
An extension that very reluctantly gave up any of its power, even to me.
My knees hit the dirt after the ninth stone, and I still had three more to refresh. I bowed my head, put my hands on the ground,
and pulled power from the island. The land groaned in protest. My bones also groaned in protest as I climbed to my feet.
Three more and then I could rest.
I dragged myself into the castle and ended up in Riela’s bedroom. Grim lifted his head and whined. The woman had not moved. I didn’t have enough magic left to fight the castle and return to my own suite, so I staggered across the room and collapsed next to the bed.
I traced a protection charm on the floor, poured what little magic I had remaining into it, and sank into a state of healing
hibernation for only the second time in my long, long life.