She clasped Liora’s earlobe and Cai darted forward. Adrianna dropped her sword to lunge for him.
Then, the necklace—Auntie—roused a blazing inferno. My hands stopped working, my back arched, and my spine stretched. I was powerless as the droplet set a fire to my flesh. I was being torn apart. Ripped, shredded, and burned. Someone screamed in the distance. No, not someone. Me.
Hands gripped the sides of my face as I bowed to my knees. Frazer fell with me and kept me upright as his thoughts battered against my own. The pain acted as a barrier. Nothing could pass.
The screaming stopped; my voice had collapsed. The force inside carried on raging and plundering. Blood roared in my ears and spurted out my nose and mouth. I gagged on it.
Shouting filtered in and out. The world flickered, becoming dark, but on the periphery, I saw Frazer kneeling with me, blood dripping from his nose. My mirror; we were dying. Just let it mean something. Save her. Save someone.
Then let go, Serena. Let it out. You’re free now, Auntie whispered.
I asked and ordered and begged the blinding light searing my vision and scorching my veins to go: for that wave of ice and fire to roll out and wreak destruction on Goldwyn and her gods-damned void.
The wave heeded my call. Firebolts, moon-bright lakes, and a night sky filled my vision. Somewhere far off, thunder rolled and rumbled in response. And a pure white light tinged with silver and ruby flame exploded outward, carried on the back of a star-studded shadow.
I was light; I was dark. Order and chaos entwined.
Auntie quickly channeled my magic’s fury, directing it into a stream that looked like liquid threads dancing in the wind. It had a job to do. Plunging deep into the earth, seeking lines of salt, iron, and stone it devoured them, flooding the glade until everyone else disappeared. Only Frazer and I existed. His cool forehead touched mine. Blue eyes ringed with molten silver held me steady as the world blazed on.
I felt something snap and burn. My bones? No—the salt, the iron, the stone. A blazing, mad laugh full of agony and joy rushed from me.
Then, I was falling. Drifting away on a cold current until arms caught me, pulling me up, up, up and into a dark-tinted world lined with a glorious sea of sun-sand. A desert at night. My mother’s face smiled back at me, but not the one I’d known as a child. It was her true face—sharper, stronger, and more ethereal than the one I’d known. Amethyst wings flared.
I’m dead …
A faint smile creased those warm eyes—the eyes of a woman I’d grieved for most my life. “No, my darling, your heart still beats, but it won’t for long if you don’t reach Ewa.”
I had to check. I whispered, “Are you Auntie?”
“No, I am not the guardian of the necklace. I wish I could explain about that and so many other things, but speaking like this is forbidden and there’s so little time, so you must listen. After Ewa, seek your sister, for you will need her. She waits for you across the sea, in the east where the sun shines brightest. To save these lands, and the many more that await, you must also find your mate. It is not in my power to know his location. I can only warn you not to shy away from the darkness he is wreathed in. You were born to light it up. Tell Sefra I’m sorry; that I didn’t want to lie. Remember, Ena, I love you to the moon and the stars and the shining sea.”
Her hand reached for my face. I closed my eyes, expecting and needing to feel her touch, but instead there was a massive force, pushing me back to the waking world. My mother’s face faded. No …
“Stay with me. Please,” I breathed, heartbreak sticking in my throat.
“I never left. And I never will,” she whispered.
This still felt like another goodbye. And as she disappeared, fresh pain cut me clean through as my body stirred. The magical storm flowing through my veins had died, leaving behind ash and smoke, and a memory.
Light filtered in. Frazer was there. “Siska?” he croaked.
I blinked. We were still touching foreheads. “Hi,” I rasped back.
Frazer’s face cracked in two. He rarely smiled, let alone beamed. It gave me the strength to ask, “Did it work? Is she safe?”
That beautiful smile dropped, and he rolled away.
A ring of scorched earth surrounding the glade was the only sign of what had happened. Goldwyn and Tysion were both gone. And Cai was helping a stunned Liora off the ground. Knee-wobbling relief struck, fierce and fast.
Adrianna walked over to me and held out a hand. I used her strength to stand. Mercifully, she didn’t let go.
Frazer stood without help and sheathed his fallen sword. He was a complete mess. His coloring was pasty and gray, clashing horribly with the blood staining his nostrils and upper lip. I’d no doubt I was an echo of this.
“Where’s Goldwyn and Tysion?” I said throatily.
“Gone,” Adrianna murmured. “Goldwyn got distracted. First by Tysion clawing at her leg, and then by your screams. Liora broke free when your magic …”
An awkward pause. Obviously, she wanted an explanation. I just wasn’t sure what to say; how to explain. Because to do that, I’d have to understand. And I didn’t. Never one to wait for the truth, Adrianna pressed me with a hard stare and asked, “D’you know how you finally accessed it?”
Liora spared me from answering by hobbling over. I scanned her. The blood was still ruby-bright on her collarbone and she had a small scratch on her cheek, but otherwise, she seemed fine. We moved at the same time and met in a hug. Over her shoulder, I watched as Cai collected their scattered blades.
“How are you?” I mumbled into her strawberry locks.
“Alive,” Liora breathed. “My rucksack took most of the impact from slamming into the tree.”
I broke away from Liora’s embrace when Cai moved to join us. He returned his own weapon to his hip and offered Liora her rapier, which she carefully stowed. Then he dipped down and grasped Adrianna’s blade. The one she’d dropped when lunging for him. Cai offered it back with an expression I couldn’t quite place. Adrianna took the blade with a grateful nod and slid it into her sheath.
All eyes were now on me. They wanted an explanation. I repressed a sigh and bought time by going to grab my kaskan from the ground. As I clipped it back onto my quiver strap, I relayed Auntie’s words to them—her warning. The vision of my mother, however, I kept to myself.
A stunned silence followed my explanation.
Liora spoke first. “I didn’t know it was even possible to use leylines in a person.”
In a weak attempt at a joke, Cai added, “Just one more mystery, eh?”
Ugh. How true.
Cai couldn’t resist turning to Adrianna to ask, “How did you know to come after us? Did you guess about Goldwyn?”
“No. I’m just not the type to be left behind.”
Her accompanying coy smile eased something in my chest. The violent shock left over from the battle faded. Although, Dimitri’s slitted corpse and the sickening smell of blood ensured I couldn’t forget completely. “So, what now?” I glanced skyward, aching for Wilder.
“Well, Goldwyn’s seen your power,” Adrianna remarked. As blunt as ever. “And what she saw is enough for her to be pissing her pants in joy. She’ll squeal to Morgan the first chance she gets, so we need to be gone long before then. I guess our march to Ewa begins now.”
Reading my guilt and grief, Liora said, “Then, we’ll get Wilder back.”
I grimaced as everyone else mumbled their agreement. They hadn’t heard my mother’s words, and now the potential implications were tormenting me.
Seek Sefra. Before everything else? Before we could save my … lover? Companion? I hated the idea, but my mother had broken the rules of death itself to warn me. How could I ignore her advice?
My kin’s thoughts broke through my confusion and heartache. No matter what path we take first; all of them will eventually lead us to Morgan. And to Wilder.
You heard what she said? A tiny part of me had wondered if I’d imagined her.
A pulse-pounding fear filtered through. Your pain was overwhelming. It’s not surprising that your mind was completely open to me.