5

Aria stiffened a little in my grip, but the tension in her muscles quickly released. Whatever objection she’d tempered must have passed.

“My dear brother, Aria clearly doesn’t need anyone’s protection,” Cheyenne said with a laugh. “However, I relish the chance to learn more about leading our troops and honing my fighting skill. I’ll fill in for you for as long as you need me. Father now trusts me enough to sit at his table and participate in his chamber meetings in the great salon,” He gave a proud smile. “They’ve been riveting and very informative.”

A pang of jealousy stabbed me. Only months ago, I was the only Redveign heir to sit at my father’s table and be privy to his chamber meetings where vital issues relating to our kingdom were discussed. While it hurt to think I was no longer able to sit by my father’s side and weigh in on crucial matters, I couldn’t think of anything more important at present than Aria’s health and well-being. Both were being compromised by her transformation into a mage.

She looked well, but her magic was out of control, as was her ability to reason. I feared she’d do something rash and hasty, given that her focus was solely on resurrecting a dead kingdom and reviving its people.

“You have become a true leader, Cheyenne,” I said. “I can think of no one better to carry on my duties.”

“Thank you, Lex,” Cheyenne said with humility. “Keep Aria close. A partnership with Onyx Rah, when it is raised, will benefit all of us.”

“As will keeping the love of my life alive,” I said, giving him a look.

I thought the mention of this would get a rise out of Aria, but she was still too lost in her musings. She stared out the window as if she wasn’t even in the carriage with us.

“Aye,” was the only answer Cheyenne gave, with Sire driving the car. We didn’t know where his loyalties fell, exactly. I figured he was only truly loyal to himself and his ambitions.

Sire drove the car, but apparently had no need to add to our conversation, as we spent the rest of the trip to Sire’s house in relative silence.

When we arrived, Cheyenne informed us that he planned to journey on to Navarrah City and would be sending troops to protect the Tombs and relieve the soldiers there already. After agreeing that was a sound plan, I exited the vehicle with Aria.

The moment she stepped out of the car, Sire approached and mumbled something before he attacked. Magic flames hit us so hard, it was like we were being burned alive. I’d had a level of trust in Sire Vanoire, but that vanished the moment we were hit with wind and heat. The flames and intensity of his magic were powerful enough to have me believe he’d just set us ablaze the same way Aria had tried to kill Polonius.

Chapter 3

Aria

Fire burned around us, but my magic knew to protect me and Lex. It knew that we were in danger and went to work.

Sire was doing his best to attack from all sides, but my magic deflected his. It felt good, sparing with Sire and being able to protect Lex. Since he had no magic at all, I was the one who shielded us from the fire strikes and lightning bolts coming from Sire’s hands.

I didn’t know why Sire had suddenly attacked. I could only assume it was to test me or to push me as he’d done in the past. He’d brought me to the brink of death before in an attempt to extract my mage. Now that my mage was present, I fought with raw magic and power.

Like my wolf, my magic was its own entity, and it protected me. Since Lex was my wolf’s mate, my magic also protected him. Though I wasn’t able to command my magic yet, it knew to divert Sire’s strikes against us. As effective as it was in doing that, I wanted the power to direct my magic and create an offensive against him. I longed to be as powerful as Amadeus or Sire, but I also knew that magic had its limits.

“Try to turn my magic against me,” Sire commanded as if he’d heard my thoughts. “Focus on turning the magic back into the conjurer.”

Lex had his sword poised in the air, ready to kill, but it was a useless weapon against the power of magic. However, the sword’s reflection gave me an idea. I put my hands up to the flashes of heat and laser-sharp light, yet all it did was singe and burn. When I imagined mirroring the fire strike and making its exact copy, the bolt turned back on itself toward Sire Vanoire, and he had to dodge his own fire. The more I repeated the process, the fewer fire bolts he made. Suddenly, I wasn’t just reflecting his magic back, but making my own as if I’d done it my whole life. Some inner knowledge was working without my even being conscious of it. I felt my confidence increasing with each bolt I sailed back toward Sire. I decided to test my skill to see if I could change the shape and function of the bolts I was sending.

I was able to alter them some, but not enough. And as I tried to manipulate my magic, my strength started to wane. With my power abating, I could feel tension radiating from Lex.

“Leave her alone, Sire!” Lex yelled from beside me. “She’s been through too much! We aren’t in the mood for your sick mage tests.”

“She’s learning,” Sire retorted, his tone elated tone. “She’s an excellent pupil.”

“Then ease up.”

“I’m alright,” I breathed out, voicing words I was saying to myself, reassuring myself that the me I knew myself to be was still there.

On the drive to the Obsidian Valley, I had pondered the changes I felt happening within me. Remnants of myself had remained, but I was someone very altered from who I had been. Before, I was angry and determined, but with my mage and her magic came a kind of peace I’d never known. I couldn’t expect Lex to understand it, at least not right away. All he knew was the woman he loved, the woman who had been taken by a tyrant and forced to find her mage in the most harrowing of ways. Yet, it all had molded me into something greater than myself.

Despite the surge in my power and confidence, I could feel my body aching and my lungs clamoring for breath. Lex’s wolf tensed within him, and I feared Lex might shift and seriously injure the old mage. I knew Lex’s wolf more acutely now after my mage had appeared. Our wolves were eternally connected, regardless of the obstacles that stood in the way of our union. Lex was, without a doubt, my wolf's mate regardless of the political challenges we faced.

While my mind momentarily wandered, Sire regained the upper hand, and I found myself on the defensive again. I could feel Sire’s strength dissipating, but so was mine. I understood now how Amadeus must have become so weak, he fell prey to Polonius after freezing all the citizens of Brahman’s Peak.

Sire changed strategies and sent some kind of plague to me that had my skin crawling. Instead of scratching the itching patches of skin, I tried to ignore the discomfort and envision Sire with actual bugs and tiny crawling beings on him.

Little critters did bloom all over his body, but the more I conjured them, the worse my itching became. It got to the point in my magical sparing with Sire Vanoire where I could hardly stand upright.

“Enough,” I gasped as sudden fatigue overtook me, and the little creatures crawling on Sire disappeared.