Chapter 33 Allies #3
Unfortunately, the mastery of the magic living inside her proved to be harder work as the days passed.
Alissa had already learned from experience that referring to the magic as a parasite was not a metaphor.
The more her power grew with practice, the more it wished to unleash itself, like a leech.
Luckily, practice has also given her awareness of how to better control it.
She still felt the pain, but not nearly as strongly as the first time.
The other day, Alissa accidentally broke a flying bird’s wing with her magic.
The poor animal was left a mess of feathers and blood as it hit the ground.
She stared at the dead animal—one more among the countless she had killed in a lifetime as a huntress.
Alissa then understood the true extent of her power, realizing she could just as easily do the same to a person.
She contemplated how simple it must be to lose one’s essence when a power this immense was literally in the palm of one’s hand.
The rules created long ago to maintain order had never made so much sense.
Mrs. Ilden had said that Alissa would only be able to wield her power when she truly understood who she was.
Alissa wasn’t sure if she had reached that goal.
All she knew was that the person she once was had died with Freyah, and she was trying to rebuild herself.
Her motivations leaned more toward bitterness than genuineness, and that concerned her.
She knew how easily this power she carried could infiltrate her mind; it was like a drug.
Meditation had become her key, her best ally, the one thing that helped her establish a clear boundary between her spirit and her power.
It was like a mental wall she had crafted herself, preventing the burning magic in her veins from spreading and corrupting her character—that was, if it wasn’t already corrupted.
But magic wasn’t her only focus. Alissa had already learned the pattern of Eldric’s exposure downtown.
They would hang him by the arm near Thayan’s statue for twelve hours, guarded by the same number of guards on the seventh day of each week.
Every time Alissa saw him, he looked less the man she knew; the light in his eyes and his gentle smile were completely gone, replaced by the pain he endured from the multiple scars covering his body.
A body that was alive, hosting a soul that seemed almost entirely gone.
Alissa wondered if it was the torture, Freyah’s death, or believing she had also been murdered that shattered him little by little.
It ached her seeing him suffer, but trying to save him with no strategy would be the death of them both.
She was in no way skilled enough to take down twelve experienced guards on her own, and she would not drag the teacher any further into her problems.
Every night before sleep, she was left on her own as Mrs. Ilden went back to spend the night at her place.
From the inside of the dark cave and the starless night outside, she couldn’t see anything.
The sound of breaking twigs and heavy footsteps approaching woke her up.
She snapped upright when the cracks became closer.
All she had was her dagger, a bag filled with books, and her magic.
She hid under the shadow of the stone wall, her back against the harsh surface, her dagger in hand to put into practice everything Eldric had taught her.
She was ready to strike when a strong, tall figure emerged.
Alissa ran yelling in the invader’s direction, but the person soon stopped her hand midair with a strong grip on her wrists.
They immobilized her with such dexterity that Alissa could very well be a child.
“It’s me,” the woman said.
The sight of the faint violet hair instantly embraced Alissa with the warmth of relief.
“Olga?” she whispered, her hands still shaking. “How did you find me?”
“I followed you from where Eldric is being held. You should be more careful. If the Iron Claws weren’t so stupid, they would have found you already.”
Since harboring fugitives of the Crown, Olga had also been hiding, learning to live in the shadows.
There was no official search for her in Heldraine—yet.
But King Luwrel was not the forgiving kind, and she had no intention of waiting to find out if she was being hunted.
She walked inside, dropping the bags she had carried all the way there.
“What are these?” Alissa asked, though the question felt redundant as she immediately recognized her bow, her quiver full of arrows, and Eldric’s sword. She gasped and murmured a prayer.
“I also thought you would like to have this.” Olga handed her a satchel. Most of the light-brown leather was stained with blood.
The delicate scent of green tea wafted from Freyah’s satchel, enveloping the dirty cavern with the power of her friend’s memory. She blinked away tears as she opened it to find several eyepatches in different styles inside. Her voice quivered when emotions insisted on erupting.
“Thank you, Olga. This means a lot to me.”
Olga shifted uncomfortably where she stood. Sentimentality and vulnerability were not something she knew how to process. “That’s not why I’m here.”
“Why did you come?”
“Revenge.”
The memory of Breno’s dead body crumbling beside Freyah flashed through Alissa’s mind. She had been so caught up in her own grief that she had forgotten Olga was fighting the same corrosive feelings inside her. Even though she might not know how to demonstrate them, she languished, too.
Alissa knelt to the hard ground of the cave when guilt struck her, tears escaping even when her eyes squeezed shut. “It’s all my fault!” she cried, dropping her face to her hands. “Kill me if you must, but please, I beg of you to save Eldric and my daughter. She’s in Bryniard, you must go and—”
A sharp smack interrupted her plea, and the burn on her right cheek left an uncomfortable heat lingering. Alissa opened her mouth in shock, her palm gently rubbing the sensitive area that was left stinging by the slap.
“Pathetic,” Olga grunted.
Alissa sucked in a breath, standing at the outrageous offense. “Excuse me?”
“The people you love are either dead or about to die, and you are here crying in self-pity?” Olga bared her teeth. “I expected better from you.”
“People have died, Olga. People have died because of me!”
Olga picked up her axe, swiveling it in her hands as if it were weightless, her dark, narrow eyes intently following the movement of her weapon. “Did you not get used to enduring the pain by now?”
“What do you mean?”
Olga shrugged. “Being a woman in this world is all about functioning through the pain. There is so much suffering out there reserved only for us women. How do you still let it have control over you?”
Alissa scowled. “So you believe because I am a woman, I cannot grieve for those I love?”
“You can grieve all you want, Alissa. All I’m saying is that we are built to endure unimaginable pain.
Yet I came here, and it took you one second to kneel and beg for death.
” Olga sat down beside her with a grunt.
“What I’m saying is you can suffer, you can feel the guilt corrode your soul, but you cannot let it paralyze you.
You cannot let it be the reason for your surrender or the reason you stop fighting.
” She sighed. “Women can never afford to stop fighting, Alissa.”
Olga’s words weighed heavily on her, and for the first time, Alissa saw the woman in a new light.
Olga was a warrior not because she wanted to be but because life forced her to become one.
Alissa couldn’t stop wondering what had happened in Olga’s life to make her so unshaken by tragedy.
What could have hardened her heart so badly to shield her from such pain?
The worst part was that Olga was right. Alissa had spent weeks preparing to fight for Eldric, honing her magic, only to surrender at the first sign of threat.
Perhaps she had allowed her grief to consume more of herself than she should have.
Perhaps she would need to bury her guilt once more to succeed.
Dhalia’s survival depended on her strength and resilience, and she would shatter the world into pieces before losing the battle she had come so far to win.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Olga. I’m sorry I brought danger into your home. It was never my intention.”
“My husband’s death is not on you, Alissa. If it were, I would have killed you long ago.”
“What do you want from me?”
“You said you are forever in my debt. I came to collect a favor.” Olga’s gaze darkened, and Alissa felt a shiver even before the words were spoken. “I want the healer.”
Alissa raised her eyebrows. The painful memory of the vile general nodding the order of Freyah’s murder came to her mind. “Desi isn’t the only one to have their blood on her hands.”
“She’s the only one within reach for now.” Olga’s long nails made a funny sound against the ground as she drummed her fingers. It was clear she had been keeping a close eye on the others involved in her husband’s death. “I will come for the general when the time is right.”
Alissa nodded, her lips pursed. “Help me rescue Eldric, and Desi is yours.”
Alone with her magic and her bow, Alissa might not yet be skilled enough to take down a dozen guards on her own. However, with Olga’s help, they might have what it takes to free Eldric and escape safely.
Olga spat in her hand and extended her arm to shake Alissa’s, sealing the pact that would hopefully lead to Eldric’s liberation and, inevitably, Desi’s end.
64 DAYS UNTIL DHALIA’S DEATH DATE.
“What are you doing?” Olga asked, her nose scrunched up in disgust.