Page 21 of Shadows of the Lost Relic (Vanguard of the Ancients #1)

Chapter 21

Caspian

I woke up to the hum of magic in the air, a deep, pulsing rhythm that throbbed in time with the ache in my head. My senses were dulled, as if I were trapped underwater, but I could feel the power of the forge still burning inside me. It was distant now, like an ember smoldering in the back of my mind, but it was there—a constant reminder of what I had done, what I had become.

The infirmary was quiet, the soft murmur of voices the only sound I could hear. I tried to move, but my body was heavy and sluggish. I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against the harsh light. My surroundings were familiar—the sterile walls, the rows of beds, the faint scent of antiseptic in the air. I had been here before, too many times to count, but this time was different.

This time, I hadn’t expected to wake up at all.

I turned my head slightly to where Lyra sat in a chair beside my bed, her expression tense as she stared at the floor. Her hair fell in waves around her face, but did little to hide the dark circles under her eyes. She looked exhausted, like she hadn’t slept in days. Guilt twisted in my gut. I had done this to her—put her through this, made her worry. And for what? A hammer I could barely control?

“Lyra,” I croaked, my voice hoarse from disuse.

Her head snapped up, and for a moment, relief washed over her features. But then she frowned, her eyes narrowing as she took in my condition. “Caspian. You’re awake.”

“Barely,” I muttered, trying to sit up. My muscles protested, and I winced, sinking back against the pillows. “How long…?”

“A few days,” she said, her voice quiet. “They had to keep you sedated. The forge’s power… it was too much.”

I swallowed hard, the memory of the forge’s energy surging through me still vivid in my mind. It had been like standing in the heart of a volcano, the heat and power threatening to consume me whole. I had thought I could control it, that I could wield the forge’s strength without losing myself.

I was wrong.

“I’m sorry,” I said, my throat tight. “I… I lost control.”

Lyra shook her head, her expression softening. “You don’t have to apologize, Caspian. You were trying to protect us. And you did. You saved us, all of us. Not just the team, but the Vanguard. The only reason it’s still standing is because of you. But you can’t keep doing this to yourself—shouldering all that power on your own.”

I clenched my fists, the frustration bubbling up inside me. “What choice do I have? The forge is a part of me now. I can’t just ignore it.”

“No,” she agreed, her voice gentle. “But you don’t have to carry it alone. We’re a team, remember? We’re supposed to help each other. And there has to be a better way. Hephaestus wouldn’t have given it to you only to burn you out. Theo and I spoke to the council. We’re going to perform the ritual I found. Help awaken Hephaestus’ power within you. Hopefully, it will give you more control.”

Her words should have comforted me. Instead, they only made me feel more inadequate. I had spent my life trying to prove that I was strong enough, that I could handle anything that was thrown at me. But the truth was, I was scared. Scared of the power inside me, scared of what it might do to the people I cared about, and scared of what it was turning me into.

I looked down at my scarred arm, the twisted, burned flesh a permanent reminder of my past. I had always tried to hide it, to pretend that it didn’t bother me. But I hated it. I hated the way it made me feel weak and broken. Now, with the forge’s power coursing through me, it was like that scar was a beacon, a constant reminder of my failures.

Lyra must have noticed where my gaze had fallen because she reached out, her fingers brushing lightly over the scarred skin. I flinched instinctively, pulling my arm away, but she didn’t let go. Instead, she took my hand in hers, her touch warm and steady.

“Caspian,” she said softly, her eyes locking onto mine. “This doesn’t define you. Your past and your scars are a part of you, but they don’t control you. You don’t hold my past against me, all the things I’ve done. You need to show yourself the same kindness you show me.”

I wanted to believe her, but it was hard. The forge’s power had awakened a darkness inside of me and no matter how much I tried to push it down, it was always there, lurking beneath the surface. She was right that I didn’t hold her past against her. She had done what she needed to so she could survive. Her time as a thief was what had brought her to the Vanguard. I could never hate her for it.

“I don’t know how to control it,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t know how to stop it from taking over.”

Lyra squeezed my hand, her gaze unwavering. “You don’t have to do it alone. Let me help you.”

Her words sent a wave of warmth through me, easing the cold knot of fear that had settled in my chest. She had been there for me before, even when I didn’t deserve it. And now, more than ever, I needed her. I needed to trust her, to let her in.

“Okay,” I said, my voice trembling. “But… where do we even start?”

Lyra smiled, a small, reassuring smile that made my heart ache. “Theo and Evan have been gathering everything we need. And I’ve been going over the ritual to make sure I don’t mess it up. We can do it. It’s pretty simple, really. There is just a lot of risk involved.”

I swallowed hard, her words hitting me like a hammer to the chest.

I hated putting the team at risk again. I was supposed to be the one who helped them stay out of danger, not lead them into it. Looking at Lyra, though, there wasn’t any arguing with her. She had that same look of determination she’d worn when the triplets were putting her through her tests.

“Alright,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I’ll try.”

She nodded, her grip on my hand tightening. “We’ll do this together. You’re not alone, Caspian.”

Her words, simple as they were, filled me with a sense of resolve I hadn’t felt in a long time. For the first time since I had taken up the hammer, I felt a glimmer of hope. I wasn’t alone in this fight. I had her.

The days that followed were a blur of pain, frustration, and slow progress. The medics had given me the all-clear to leave the infirmary, but they had warned me to take it easy, to let my body recover from the strain of wielding the forge’s power before we tried the ritual. Easier said than done. There was still a lot of recovery work to be done around the base, and I needed to help fix it. I knew I hadn’t done all the damage, but the fact I was responsible for any of it was eating me up inside.

I was also chafing at always having someone around me. I was so used to being on my own in my workshop, left to oversee my work. But Lyra and the triplets must have come up with some kind of schedule. Lyra was spending a lot of time in the workshop with me. More than she had before all of this, even. And one of the triplets was often in the training room when I had physical therapy. Part of me knew they were doing it because they cared about me, but a larger part was getting frustrated that they didn’t trust me not to lose control again.

They were probably right to be worried.

I could still feel the heat of the forge inside me. The fight had burned most of it out, but that was the thing about divine fire. It never really went away. It just needed the right catalyst to ignite it again.

When Lyra came into the workshop and told me she had everything gathered for the ritual, I was relieved. I knew there was a lot of risk involved, and I still had some doubts about it, but it was better than all this waiting. I just wanted it all to be over, one way or the other. We were going to have to go off base. Morwen might be allowing us to do this, but she wasn’t going to let us put more people at risk. I had always appreciated her desire to keep us safe, even when we were doing dangerous work.

There were sacred sites where these sorts of rituals were better done, anyway, places where magic had been funneled through earth and stone for centuries. Places that were protected, but that also protected those outside from what happened there. There was a lot of discussion about where to go. There were a few places close to us in America, but given the god we were calling on, we decided to take one of the transports to the island Vulcano in Sicily. There was another forge of Hephaestus there, more active than the one I used, the one I still wasn’t sure had survived. But there were also caves in the old mines that would be better for the ritual.

The atmosphere in the transport was tense. It felt like we were on our way to a dangerous mission. Evan was checking and rechecking the supplies, Theo was flying. Kane had a yo-yo. Gods above knew where he had found it. The red string was concerning, but even Kane wouldn’t be so casual with a string of fate.

Lyra was watching me, although I didn’t miss the way her eyes would slide to Kane every now and again. At first I thought it was the movement of the yo-yo that was drawing her eye. But the indulgent smile she kept trying to hide said differently. That was an interesting development. I wasn’t as na?ve as most people thought. I spent a lot of time alone, but I knew how to read people, and something had happened between them.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

There wasn’t long enough to think about it, or let my anxiety build too high. Far too soon, Theo was bringing the transport in for a landing. The air that blasted in when we lowered the rear ramp was hot, and for a moment, I was thrown back into the forge, terrified not only for my life, but for Lyra’s as well.

Slender fingers tangled with mine, pulling me back to the present. Looking down, I could see Lyra, my hand in hers as she grinned up at me. “It’s going to be fine. Better than fine. You’ll see. You just have to trust me.”

And Olympus help me, I did.