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T he cursed water surrounding the sword seared Vahly’s fingers as she curled them around the hilt of the oaken sword. Screaming, bubbles rose from her mouth in the black pit of the chasm.

Then Lilia’s spell must have taken hold because a wave crashed into Vahly’s torso and thrust her upward, taking her breath and stealing the scream from her mouth.

She gritted her teeth as the water grew hotter.

Her wrist shook as she kept her hold on the sword.

Lilia’s spelled salt water blasted her up and out of Scar Chasm, and soon she was flying through the sea.

The cursed water hissed like snakes slithering around her grip, and tiny blisters rose on her palm, swollen spots of flesh pressed against the hilt. Her mind buzzed. Pain shattered her thoughts. The only thing that remained constant in her head was the agony and the desire to have Kyril beside her.

“My familiar. My Kyril. I need you,” she said into the water, her words garbled and lost to the sweep of the current.

The sun must have been rising because Vahly glimpsed through squinted eyes the passing views in veils of pale green as light filtered down through the water.

But the heat increased and increased, and she thrashed, dying to release her hold on the sword but knowing all was lost if she did.

Since the sword was bound to the chasm, and she to the sword, she’d only be pulled back to the chasm along with the weapon to start this nightmare all over again.

The scent of the earth rose in the water, and grimacing, retching, she turned to see she neared the rocky base of the island.

The water slid over her. Fast. Too fast. Her entire arm shook, completely out of her control except for her grip.

The one true focus. She had to keep hold of the sword no matter what.

Her hand felt incredibly swollen, especially her palm and the sides of her fingers.

She might lose every inch of flesh on her hand, but by the Source, she was not letting go of the one weapon she could use to end the war and secure every life in the world.

Sure enough, Lilia’s spell smashed her into the base of the island, and her spine bent painfully as she rolled against a rock like a fist. Shrieking and masking her pain with rage, she threw her arm forward and thrust the sword’s tip into the rock.

“Change me, earth. Change me!”

Power exploded through her, snapping joints and flooding her with a tingling chill that spread into her burning hand. She exhaled in relief as her fingers and palm left the realm of mind-numbing pain. Hand throbbing, she held on still.

The earth cupped her in molded rock and lifted her through the water as her gills shrank, a tickling along her neck, and her fins faded into nothingness. The water fell away as the earth set her on the grassy shore, high above the seaside cliffs.

A breath of clean air filled her human lungs, and Kyril burst from the sunny sky to snag her shirt and lift her into the air. He flew her all the way to the Sacred Oak, where he gently lay her just beyond its reaching roots and falling leaves.

Another familiar face appeared over her as Kyril nuzzled against her, giving her energy.

“I’m glad you’re back,” Nix said, smirking and in her human form. “I thought I was going to have to tie your handsome elf to a tree.”