6

“I told you,” Lex scolded Sire.

Sire Vanoire lowered his arms and caught his own breath. “I had to see the extent of her raw magic,” he said as if doing so was absolutely vital to my existence.

“She needs to rest. She’s just been burned alive, and all you can think to do is try and fry her again?” Lex was both exasperated and incensed.

“I have my reasons for doing so,” Sire said, regaining his strength.

“We need to eat.” Lex glared at him. “You brought us to your home, and as reluctant as I am to be your guest, I must ask that you provide us food and a place to rest. Polonius backed down too easily today. We can’t expect him to relent that quickly. He will return. At any moment, he and his Crypt Claw warriors will become our biggest problem. We can’t face them starving and fatigued.”

“Of course not,” Sire Vanoire said condescendingly. “This way.”

Sire Vanoire walked to his front door, and it magically opened. Once we were inside the room, my stress dissipated with the warmth and pleasant smells of baked bread and fragrant vegetables. I was impressed with the old mage’s amount of magic, as I was still weak and disoriented from our sparring, yet he’d had enough to attack me while maintaining a warm climate in his home. In the blink of an eye, hot soup with ribbons of steam coursing out of the bowls appeared, as did a thick meat stew, billowing loaves of freshly baked bread glistening with butter, and a tall carafe of deep red wine. Not until I saw the food did I realize how hungry I was.

“Sit and eat,” Sire offered with a sweeping movement of his arm. “Polonius will not come with his forces to attack us. I believe he’ll try to woo Aria’s affection, or at the very least, obedience. He, like myself, must be curious about the extent of her enchantment. If she is as powerful as I believe she is, Aria will be a formidable foe.”

“Good. He should know to stay away from her, then,” Lex grumbled. “I certainly wouldn’t want to marry a powerful mage who wanted me dead.” He turned and glanced at me, then offered a little smile, which I appreciated.

“He’ll not want to tempt her wrath, certainly, since Polonius needs her to resurrect Onyx Rah to do his bidding,” Sire said. “I think the truer scenario might be one where he will manipulate Aria into believing that he’ll submit to her for the greater good. He’ll want to have her as his wife, which might make you think his marriage offer is legitimate. He may even try to convince you, Aria, that you’re his fated mate.”

Sire’s even mentioning such a thing sent my stomach lurching. “There is no way that I would ever agree to become Polonius’ mate!” I protested vehemently.

“Of course he knows your feelings for Lex,” Sire said. “His angle might be less of a romantic gesture and more a powerful one. The ultimate good mates with the ultimate evil, and thus, in turn, the kingdoms of Voltaire stay in balance. Polonius won’t be wooing you away from Lex, but could try and manipulate you into believing that a partnership with him would be the only way to keep him from hurting those you loved.”

This made me pause. “He would, wouldn’t he?” I knew that Polonius would try any angle, and that one would be the only approach that might actually work.

“Only time will tell. Until then, rest and eat. Tomorrow, you’ll begin your training. For now, I must go into town and make a few pressing inquiries regarding Onyx Rah and its resurrection. There are others who’ve attempted to raise the ruined city. I’m curious to see what they’ve tried. No one will bother you here tonight, including me.”

And with that strange explanation, Sire left us alone with the food. I thanked him as he walked away, then looked at Lex. For the first time in longer than I could remember, we were alone without the immediate threat of someone tearing us apart or trying to kill one of us. For the moment, we were together, safe and sound.

“Finally,” Lex breathed as he returned my gaze. “Are you really alright? Is there any pain?”

While Lex’s look of distress worried me, I breathed past it. “I believe the worst of it is over,” I said with a reassuring smile.

“Do you have any wounds or injuries?” he asked, still looking worried.

“They’re all only memories.” I smiled at him again and sat down to eat. My hunger had become the only thing I was feeling at that moment.

“We can’t keep doing this to each other,” he said, sounding serious. “We have each nearly died. I won’t live a life without you.” He gave me a hard stare.

“Perhaps our near deaths have proven that we can withstand anything,” I countered after taking a spoonful of the rich, brothy stew.

“Or that we’ve tempted fate one too many times.” Lex’s eyes slid into a glare of warning as he cut off a chunk of bread and dunked it deep into his stew.

“I’m just glad you and I are here,” I said, easing his stress with a big smile and an outstretched hand.

“I am, too,” he conceded. “I do question Sire Vanoire’s motives, though. He’s brought you to death’s door one too many times.” He grimaced, then took a hearty bite of his stew-soaked bread.

“This time, I fought him hard. The stronger I get, the less of a threat he’ll become,” I said, continuing to eat. “Now I have what I need to resurrect my kingdom and bring my people together again.”

I suddenly had a wave of warmth and pride. I had a purpose. Defending Lex and fighting beside him for the honor and autonomy of Navarrah City had first united me and him. I, however, found a greater calling in knowing my destiny was to bring my people back to their homeland and create a kingdom that could never be defeated again.

“You found your mage, for which I’m grateful, but I’m afraid until Polonius is stopped, neither of us have won,” Lex cautioned.

“I’ll learn how to use my magic and soon will be more powerful than Polonius, especially with Sire Vanoire’s help. Then we can rescue Amadeus,” I said, feeling hopeful.