Chapter 26
‘My brother will look for you when you cross over to the Old World.
Be ready.’
— Unsent correspondence from Paulyr Moros
Airess
They dismounted their horses quickly and sprinted to the docks.
Airess’s legs pumped beneath her, her muscles burning and her shoulder throbbing as she ran by Taryn’s side.
She knew he wasn’t doing so well, his face was losing color by the second as they headed straight towards their new beginning–or demise.
Commoners shouted at them as they rushed by, their heavy footfalls already fading behind them as they scanned for a boat to hijack. It wasn’t their best plan, but it was the only one with two guards on their tail. Luckily, this time, the guards weren’t Shadow Wielders.
“This one!” Taryn yelled as he pointed to a small sailboat. He began to untie the boat from the dock, motioning for Airess to hop on. An arrow flew by, Taryn narrowly avoiding it as he ducked.
As Airess jumped onto the boat, another shot flew by.
The arrow grazed Taryn’s unscathed side as he landed on the boat.
Thankfully, they missed, but more blood soaked the fabric of his shirt.
Taryn waved his arms, guiding a mass of water and flooding the dock, washing away everyone, including the guards, into the sea.
Before Airess could protest his methods of escape, the boat jolted forward.
Airess stared at him in awe, not fully realizing the strength of Taryn’s Waterborne Magick until now.
Taryn had both arms splayed out behind him.
He moved them in a rotative motion, propelling the boat forward with his water Magick.
A wake spread behind the boat as they picked up speed, and in that moment, Airess saw a determination within Taryn that she had never seen before.
The wind rustled his brown curls and blood-soaked clothes.
Despite everything they just went through, he stood tall amongst the sea.
In the corner of her eyes, she saw a blot of white amongst the treeline.
Airess squinted, and her eyebrows rose as she recognized the familiar owl perched on a branch.
Its cloudy grey eyes blinked as it watched her ride away.
Airess stared at it, not able to explain the pit in her stomach at the sight of it.
It flapped away as soon as she made eye contact with it, leaving Airess bewildered.
The boat began to pick up speed as Taryn wielded it forward. Airess sat up, the air around them blowing her hair and clothing so violently she had to hold her dress bunched in her fist. She glanced back at Taryn. He looked like he could pass out at any moment, his face pallid.
“Are you all right?” Airess yelled over the roaring winds.
“Besides the stab wound, I’m doing just fine,” Taryn retorted sarcastically.
Airess bit her lip while she watched him. She knew Taryn was too stubborn to announce his pain, but she didn’t know how much Eryx had done to his mind with the Oathmark before she had killed him.
She thought about her kill, and how she should feel remorse. But no guilt came. Airess did what had to be done, and she portrayed a strength she hadn’t known she was capable of.
In fact, she would do it again to any other enemy that desired to hurt Taryn. Maybe because Taryn was her only ally, and now friend. Or maybe it was something more, something she hadn’t admitted to herself, or put into words yet.
Whatever it was, she realized she would do anything for him.
She would break the rules for him.
Kill for him.
She would even die for him.
That last thought sobered her from her adrenaline rushed haze after the manor. Memories flashed behind her eyes, how it felt to drive the blade into Eryx's neck, feeling the warm blood splatter all over her. She thought she would feel regret, feel some sort of shame because of her actions.
But she didn’t. This new world, the real world, had begun to shape her. Airess decided she needed this. It was time to obtain a certain ruthlessness within herself. Her utter lack of it throughout her life had driven her to be docile, pliable.
As they sailed out to the horizon, she would never again be weak. Never again would she be quiet. Never again would she shy away from necessary violence. Airess would do whatever it took to survive, from this moment on.
Taryn wielded the water around them in silence for the next hour. Finally, he let up, dropping his arms in exhaustion and falling to his knees.
Airess rushed to him, steadying his body by placing both hands on his biceps, his tunic soaked in blood and sweat. He breathed heavily, and when he tilted his face up to look at her through his dark lashes, she could have sworn she saw death lingering behind his eyes.
Her stomach dropped.
“Taryn, I need to check on your wounds.”
He grunted in reply, slumping against a bench in approval. She lifted the hem of his shirt up, nudging him softly to lift his arms. She brought the tunic over his head and discarded it on the floor.
Taryn smirked grimly, “This is not exactly how I imagined you taking my clothes off for the first time.”
Her cheeks burned scarlet at his words. Airess smiled softly. Taryn was such a flirt. She kept her eyes low, ripping his shirt into pieces and began to change the wrapping on his stab wound.
“In your dreams,” she said playfully, trying her best to keep her cool and not stumble over her words.
Airess couldn’t help it. Taryn was a beautiful Fae male, and she was just a halfling with no prior experience with romance…
or sex, for that matter. She assumed he must have had experience with both.
Her blood boiled at the thought–an ugly feeling bubbling deep within her. The stinging feeling of jealousy.
He reached out and tucked a tendril of her silver hair behind her pointed ear. She met his eyes.
“Yes, in my dreams,” he breathed out. “Because I’m not going to make it much longer. I think something is wrong with my mind.”
Airess frowned, shaking her head. “Quit talking like that. We are so close. How long did you say earlier, just a few more hours? Finlan’s Passage isn’t that large. We can do this.”
Taryn nodded, silver eyes drifting to her bloody shoulder. He picked up the remnants of his tunic now lying on the boat deck and tore one last sliver of fabric.
“My turn,” he said gruffly, sweeping her thick sheet of hair behind her back. He peeled away her already torn sleeve and frowned at her mangled flesh.
“I should have killed him.”
Airess whipped her head up as he began to wrap her arm. “You don’t mean that. He is your best friend.”
Taryn let out a bitter scoff as he tied off the fabric, not deigning to respond. He braced himself, grunting as he came to a stand. Airess rushed to help him up, steadying him. Once he gathered his balance, he continued to propel the boat onward, bringing them closer to the end of their journey.
After another hour of sailing, a sheer wall of energy came into view. It was a translucent gray that swirled around in a dome-like shape, coming up from the sea and extending up to the sky further than they could see. Taryn ceased wielding, the boat idling forward slowly as they approached it.
“What is that?” Airess asked, squinting to get a better view. Taryn put a hand over his brow as he looked, his mouth parting slightly. “I’ve seen that–we’ve seen that dreamwalking, remember? Only it was that turquoise color in the dreamworld.”
“My Gods,” Airess whispered. The barrier came closer and closer until they were finally feet away. As they approached, Airess braced herself. She didn’t know what that was or what it would do to them. She shielded her face instinctively with her forearm as they passed through it.
Time warped as they passed through the translucent wall. For a split second, Airess heard no sound at all. She couldn’t see anything besides a gray static, as if she were enveloped in a pool of energy. They passed slowly, until finally their boat was on the other side.
Electricity surged through her, starting at her and racing down to her toes. The feeling intensified, her body infusing with an energy she had never felt before.
It was exhilarating, every pore on her body awakening to it. One quick glance to her right and she could see Taryn was feeling the same thing–his teeth gritted as he was hunched over, both hands on his knees for stability.
Finally, it was over. Airess toppled over and sat on the boat floor, the sun beating onto her. She shifted in front of Taryn, sweeping a strand of hair out of his eyes, “Are you okay?”
His eyes met hers with an intensity– a power she hadn’t seen within him before. It was so powerful, she recoiled.
“I feel…I physically feel better. My mind's still a little slow,” he explained. Taryn stretched out an arm and examined it. Airess knew exactly how he felt–her entire body feeling stronger, more powerful, than it ever had before.
Taryn stood, leaning on the boat railing for support and punched a gust of wind from his fist that sent him stumbling backward. The boat swayed in response as Airess gripped the railing.
“What was that? You could have flipped this entire boat!”
Taryn only examined his hand, his expression shifting as realization dawned on him. “That energy surge… did you feel it? It felt like Magick. My abilities are stronger.”
Magick?
She looked down to her palm and contemplated.
Airess tilted her head before lifting her hand to try–
“Airess!” Taryn exclaimed as he limped towards her. He grabbed her wrist, pointing it away from the boat. “The last thing we need is this boat being burnt to a crisp if you try out your Magick. It would make for a hell of a journey the rest of the way to Rune.”
“Oh,” Airess said, “I’m sorry. You’re right. Gods.”
Taryn laughed, his head tilted back with that pearly grin. Airess noticed each crease that surrounded his eyes and mouth, memorizing them. The sight of it caused her to crack a smile. His laugh was her weakness.