Chapter 41 #2
“She wasn’t a Chamber member prior to her becoming the head of the Guard Order,” Lyle starts. “The Guards are more secretive. That’s the way of their Order. And with fewer than Warriors, Naturals, or Elementals, succession is less clear.”
“She has her sights on power. We know that,” Ten adds.
“Yes, but what part in this gives her that? Fenix’s plan was to have me and him rule. Where does Kamari sit in that?” I turn it over. “She was with Fenix on his ship. Does she know the Usher’s plan?” I pace back and forth, looking for what I cannot see.
“Heads up!” Ten shouts. “Calix is on the way back. He’s not alone.”
“Who?” I ask.
“Kyra. But behind them, a dozen or so Warriors and our best friends, Ascella, Ravi and Azur.”
“Doesn’t look like you’ll be sitting on the sidelines for long, kiddo.”
“Don’t—” Lyle snaps at Kalan but bites her tongue and walks off, back across the training ring.
Kalan looks after her, and I feel the betrayal still healing in my own heart—for both of them. But we need to get through this before we can work on any more forgiveness. To his credit, Kalan follows her and hands her weapons from our stash.
She’s killed for me before.
I hold onto that thought as I cross the sand, Ten right by my side. His tension is set along his jaw and his stiff shoulders, radiating from every angle of him. He’s worried, and I can’t blame him.
I pick up the two long-bladed daggers Ten chose for me and add them to the sheaths at my thighs. I can use my magic. Protect them all.
“Incoming!” Calix shouts as he reaches the edge of the training circle where we’ve gathered.
“Kyra, you shouldn’t be here. You should be—”
“Safe? Not sure where that is anymore, Ever,” she interrupts me. “The Court’s in disarray. Just like before, only worse. People are doubting the Warriors after what happened last time the alarm sounded and are standing up to their authority.”
“It’s starting.” I look at Ten, then at my friends. “All of you. Inside. I’ll keep you safe.”
“No. We stand with you, Ever. Not behind you as a shield,” Raiden answers.
“It’s a pretty fucking good shield,” Calix adds, looking directly at Kyra.
She just shakes her head and picks up a sword herself.
“Well, we’ll find out just how good.”
Calix and Ten take point, me between them, and Kalan to my left.
Lyle, Raiden, Capella, and Kyra spread out.
Ascella’s the first to reach us, using her speed to her advantage. The Warriors she brought along flank her on both sides, with Ravi and Azur in the mix.
“You don’t have to do this, Ascella. We’re not here to fight you.”
“Lay down your weapons. Aten Ciro, you are banished and will be taken into custody. As will your… friends, for conspiring with you, the prisoner, and another banished Kirrian.” The spokesperson nods past me to Lyle.
“That’s not going to happen.” Calix draws his sword, and he and Ten shift their stance together.
“Awfully confident for a couple of trainees. You think you can overthrow us?” The Warrior chuckles.
“Yes.” They both answer in unison, and despite the situation, I smile.
The Warriors are the first to move, surging forward in two groups and Ten and Calix waste no time in challenging them. For a few seconds, I simply watch as they clash blades, and then, I pull on my magic, on the barrier that I need to weave together and protect them all with.
I picture the golden threads, and the air around us grows thick with energy, the hum settling like a cloak.
The next swing of the blade from one of the attackers does nothing. Sliding off, just like with Ascella. She grunts, her frustration turning to anger as she realises we’re protected.
Until a deep rumble of thunder sounds over our heads.
The light in the sky becomes a watery yellow as the dimming sun is stripped away, and the sky is suddenly cleaved in two by a black void.
I recognise it at once.
The Usher is here.
He did this to me once before. When I took Selina’s power, he used his warped magic to neutralise me, and he did it to Fenix, and he’s here.
The black scar above us grows, and the noise of people running, scared and confused, reaches us even here.
I wait for the same sensation to run over me, but here, in Kirrasia, it’s Aslendrix’s power that feels like it’s draining out of me, running away, as if the stream of energy is coursing in the opposite direction.
As the Goddess’s power dissipates, what was granted to me by Novandia, when the Usher offered me up, answers, as if now unchecked by her balance of power.
I am not without magic. Just without balance.
And that terrifies me.
“What the hell was that?”
Everyone has stopped—even the Warriors.
“Ever?” Lyle checks on me.
“The Usher. He’s taking away Aslendrix’s power. Neutralising us.”
“How in Zuns?”
Ascella surges forward with her blade drawn, but at least she’s slower now, and Ten blocks, knocking her back.
Now it’s an even field. No magic. Just weapons.
The fight ensues, with a clash of blades. The Warriors are less certain, and it shows in their movements.
One of them slips past Kalan, forcing me to draw my blade. I swing upwards and bat his attack away before Kalan runs him through.
In that moment, I realise, seeing his body crumple to the ground, that this is the battle in my vision—the vision I shared with Ascella.
My arms drop, and I stagger back, just in time for Ascella to catch sight of me and charge forward.
“You!” she shouts.
“Ever, watch yourself!” Calix yells, unable to extract himself from his own duel.
“I don’t want to do this, Ascella,” I plead to her.
“You are a poison. A Fifth should never have the magic you have.”
“Please.” I raise my blades, drawing the second to defend against each of her blows. They’re fast, but nothing like Crimson, who trained me—she ensured that I would be able to defend myself, and I do.
The pull to use my power on her is right under my skin, waiting, as if it hears the taunts and responds to the challenge she’s setting down.
But I refuse to become the thing she’s accusing me of.
If I touch her and take her magic, I’m afraid I won’t be able to pull back.
The surge when I took Selina’s magic is a dark stain in my memory I don’t wish to relive.
“This is it, you know. The vision I saw when you touched me. I told you you’d bring death, but I swear, I’ll stick you with this blade before you get the chance.”
She swings left then right, not as agile without her powers, but she doesn’t land a hit.
“There’s no way you got this good at fighting without help. You couldn’t even hold a blade when you left,” she roars at me.
“What do you assume I’ve been doing since I’ve been gone—reading? I’ve been fighting for my fucking life!” My patience snaps, and with the next swing, I put a lot more power into it and clip a lock of Ascella’s golden hair.
My magic glistens inside of me, as if growing with my anger, and I am proud of my use of it.
Ascella’s eyes narrow, her face reddening as she rounds on me. Her blade is longer, and she’s faster. It’s only a matter of time before she finds her mark. Calix and Ten were right, and my choice of weapon sucks.
My magic burns inside my chest, desperate to break free of the shackles I’ve placed around it, but still I keep it locked tight. I won’t give in. I won’t return to that dark place.
Ascella pauses, and I glance to my left to see everyone sparring. Only, there are blood and bodies on the ground.
She comes at me again. She raises the sword over her head, and I lift my arm to block the blow, dropping one blade to reinforce my grip. But she knocks the remaining blade out of my hand and then pulls her arms back, ready to stab forward and deliver her winning strike.
I see it happening in slow motion.
Huh.
I’ve been so concerned with not becoming the monster she thinks I am that I’m not going to be able to do any of the things I set out to do.
As the thought flashes through my mind, my blade spins and drops dead, and I’m barged out of the way—a heavy body crashing into me to knock me to the ground.
All I see is Ten, standing in my place, a sword in his hand aimed and thrust into Ascella’s stomach. It’s over in a blink, and time returns to normal.
Ascella falls to the ground and topples to the side.
The sword she was so convinced I’d use to kill her with, protruding horribly from her abdomen.
“Ten?” I question and scramble to my knees. A quick look tells me nobody else is injured, at least not from our side, and the rest of the party retreats.
“Why didn’t you fight her—fight her properly?” Ten barks at me, and I sit back down, shocked at his words. His face shifts in an instant, and he shoves his hands through his hair, as if ready to pull it out.
“I don’t want to be the villain. I don’t want to let that side of me out.”
“Promise me you’ll fight with everything you have. I can’t do this without you, Ever. I thought that was fucking clear.” He pulls me up, ignoring the fizzing of energy as our palms meet. He doesn’t let go and drapes an arm lazily around my shoulder and buries his head in my hair.
“Stop. Don’t.”
“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t face, Ever. There’s not much I won’t do to see you safe. And a little discomfort after the fact is my price.”
“She was your friend.”
“She was a trainee who tried to kill you.”
I take a breath. She really was going to kill me. “Do you know what we did?”
“Yes. And I don’t care. I’d do it again.”
“No. I mean, it’s the first time I’ve seen a vision that hasn’t come true. I mean, there isn’t going to be another fight between Ascella and me. It was a little different, but we both had a blade. Did we change the future?” I pull out of his grasp, a strange hope rising in my chest.
“Possibilities.” Ten smirks. “I’ve always said that. What we see isn’t set. You need to remember that. Remember this.” He grips me so tight.
“Possibilities.”