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Story: The Haven, the Hallow, & the Highborn (Roots of Magic #4)
Chapter Twenty-Five
T he rain lashed against me the moment I set foot on the path leading up the cliff, the wind howling in fury as it tore at my cloak, twisting it around my legs. I unfastened my cloak, letting the wind carry it away; it would’ve only held me back.
Each step forward was a fight, my boots slipping on the mud-slicked rocks, and the force of the storm slamming into me, like a wall I couldn’t breach. But I gritted my teeth, clutching the straps of the iron rods harnessed to my back as I climbed higher.
The first gust nearly threw me back. I planted my feet, steeling myself against the edge, feeling the stone beneath my fingertips, the way it bit into my skin as if reminding me to stay present, to hold on. I pushed forward, rain slicing down so hard it stung my skin, and the path narrowed, twisting upward with the weight of the wind bearing down on me.
The higher I climbed, the more treacherous the ground became. Rock and debris cascaded down from above, a deadly shower that had me flattening myself against the cliff face more than once, hoping the next stone wouldn’t knock me loose. My fingers were freezing, my muscles shaking from the cold and strain, but I forced myself onward.
A flash of lightning illuminated the cliff, the jagged stones casting long shadows, and I took a tentative step up to the next ledge.
The moment my boot touched it, the ground beneath me gave way. I cried out, clinging to the cliff face as dirt and stone crumbled down, tumbling toward the ocean below. My legs dangled, the emptiness stretching below me like a hungry maw waiting to swallow me whole. My grip slipped, rain making my hands slick. I tried to find footing against the rock but couldn’t.
Panic clawed at me. I will fall, just like my father.
I squeezed my eyes shut, the weight of the storm pressing on me, my heart racing with fear as I struggled to hold on. My strength was fading, my fingers loosening. A few seconds longer, and I knew I’d be gone.
Then a strong hand gripped my arm.
I looked up, rain blurring my vision, and saw Caelum’s furious gaze locking with mine. He hauled me up with one swift, powerful pull, steadying me on the narrow ledge.
“One moment I’m happily snuggled against you,” he barked, his voice barely audible over the storm, “and the next thing I know you’re gone. Your mother came barging into my tent to insist I go after you. Are you insane?”
I guess my mother was free to make her own choices too.
“It can’t wait,” I growled back, catching my breath.
“Why didn’t you wake me then?” he yelled over a rumble of thunder.
“Because look at this! I couldn’t risk your life. I couldn’t have you fall like my father. I love you, Caelum!”
He stared at me, bewildered. “I almost just lost you . If I hadn’t been here to...” He threw his hands up to pull at his soaking hair, shaking his head. “I once said we were rivals, and, hallows be, I love how you challenge me. But can’t you see how we’re so much stronger together? You don’t need to do this alone. Not ever again.”
I nodded my head as he pulled me into a slick hug.
“You have a plan?” he said into my ear, even as he clutched me tighter.
“Yes,” I admitted. “I don’t know if it will work, but I have to try.”
He didn’t hesitate, gripping my arms in a vice as another gust of wind almost threw us both back. “We,” he said firmly.
“You’re not going to try to force me back?” I asked, my voice choking.
“I wouldn’t dream of trying to tame a storm.”
My throat tightened and tears threatened to blur my vision even more than the rain already was.
“Together?” I asked, taking his hand in mine.
He nodded. “Always.”
We started the rest of the ascent as one, step by step, supporting each other when one of us slipped or stumbled. But the elements would not be deterred. After another close call from a landslide of rocks falling just inches from us, I thought we might have to give up.
“It’s too strong,” I cried out into the chaos, pounding my fist against the rough, rocky wall in front of me.
“Eedy,” Caelum said sharply, his voice cutting through the storm as he gripped my arm tighter, steadying me against another gust of wind. “You’ve controlled lightning. You redirected the waterfall back at the revelry. It’s all just a different type of energy. You can control this storm.”
I blinked at him, startled. “The storm isn’t just lightning or water. It’s everything all at once—it’s too wild.”
“So, tame it,” he countered, his blue eyes fierce as he gained confidence in his idea. “You don’t need to create the storm, it’s already here. Use it. Every gust of wind, every drop of rain. Your gift isn’t controlling lightning, it’s controlling a source of energy. Harness it.”
For a moment, his words clashed with the panic racing at me, the focus I always put on what I couldn’t do. But then I felt the surge of power thrumming in the storm, the energy pouring down all around us.
Hallows be, he’s right. It was just another force waiting to be directed, like the lightning I had caught countless times in my hands. Like the waterfall in Velarune or the pure magic I’d tugged from the ley line itself.
I closed my eyes, blocking out the rain stinging my face and the roar of the wind. I reached for the storm, stretching my magic outward like fingers, threading through the frenzy. At first, it resisted, wild and ferocious, but as I focused, the energy bent to my will. It wasn’t about fighting it.
It was about guiding it.
The rain directly around us slowed, the torrent softening to a gentle mist. The howling wind calmed to a soft whisper. Even the thunder quieted, rolling in the distance as the storm parted around us, clearing a path up the cliffside.
I opened my eyes to see Caelum staring at me, tendrils of his damp hair dripping down his face. “Well done, Tempest.” His voice was laced with awe.
“Thank you,” I said breathlessly, a small smile tugging at my lips.
With the storm under my command, the climb became manageable. Step by step, we ascended, the path illuminated by the occasional flicker of lightning far away. The rain slid harmlessly around us, and the wind no longer threatened to throw us back.
At last, we reached the tree, lightning cracking across the sky in wild bursts, illuminating the branches twisting overhead. My magic faltered then, giving out like a well run dry. The storm encased us once more, pounding down harder than ever as if it were furious that we’d made it to the top.
I moved swiftly, ignoring the fatigue in my limbs, and started placing the iron rods around the inside of the tree. Each one hummed when it touched the earth, crackling with a power that was ancient and angry. Caelum watched, his face a mixture of awe and trepidation as I fixed the fourth rod into place.
I stretched my hands forward, drawing on the magic and coaxing it up from the ground. The currents surged beneath the surface—two distinct streams, one overflowing with untamed energy toward the fae realm, the other sluggishly trickling toward Eyre. At the heart of it all stood the tree, the fork where the magic divided, the key to restoring balance.
Channeling the magic through the iron rods, I willed the chaotic flow to stabilize, to return what rightfully belonged to Eyre. The magic obeyed, shifting and pouring through the conduits with newfound purpose. As the current gathered strength, the iron hummed with life, pulling the magic along on its own.
The air around us pulsed with raw energy, vibrating in waves that rattled the ground beneath our feet. The rods began to glow, their light interweaving with the storm’s flickering lightning. I stole a glance at Caelum, and for a fleeting moment, triumph sparked between us. He grinned, caught up in the raw, exhilarating thrill of the moment.
It was working. The magic roared beneath us, rushing down the cliffside in a steady, unbroken stream toward Eyre, its purity and strength unmatched. For the first time in many rings, our kingdom’s ley lines were fully restored.
But the triumph was short-lived.
The rods began to tremble violently, their glow intensifying as cracks webbed through the earth around them. A sharp, ominous groan split the air. Before I could react, the rods wrenched free, flung outward with an explosive force. They clattered to the ground as the magic surged out of control, too vast and feral for iron to contain.
With the balance shattered, the flow wrenched away from Eyre, tumbling back toward Velarune, wild and unyielding once more.
“It needs something stronger than iron to regulate it,” Caelum said, his hands clutched to his head as he stared at the rods, helpless. “I don’t know, maybe steel could work...or?—”
“No, Caelum,” I interrupted, feeling the realization settle over me like a rolling thunder. “Not something.”
His eyes widened, searching mine in confusion. “Eedy?”
I took a deep breath, steadying my resolve. “Some one .”
The truth rose in me with the force of a crashing wave. The fae had been right. I was made of the storm clouds, the wind, and the rain, thunder and lightning. I was everything wild, everything untamed. The magic would not overwhelm me because it was me.
I was mage. I was magic.
It was just another type of energy that needed to be guided.
Ignoring Caelum’s protests, I tossed the rods from the tree, letting them clatter to the ground outside. I stepped into the hollow space, placing my hands on the rough, living wood, feeling the pulse of the magic surging beneath my palms. Like the old gods before, this tree would consume me in exchange for the desire in my heart. It had given me life when I was too weak to survive on my own; now I needed to return the favor. Solimir had warned me. It needed me to bring the magic back into balance.
Yes, I could do this.
“Eedy, no!” Caelum yelled, lunging toward me. “ No! Was this the plan all along?”
“The plan was always to do what needed to be done to restore the magic,” I said, my lip quivering.
“No. No . I’d rather live in a world without magic. Hate me all you want for asking it. Stare daggers into me for days. Just don’t go, Eedy. Stay with me.”
“No, Caelum,” I shouted, my resolve hardening. “The fae will strip this land of magic and leave it barren. Do you think once they hold all the magic they will stop there? They will find a way over our borders, and then they will come for the land, for our people. Their greed will never be contained if we let them have this.”
His expression shattered. “Eada, please.” His use of my full name was like a mountain dropped onto my heart, and I thought I’d collapse with the weight of it. “Just when I’ve found you, you’re going to leave me alone again?”
Standing in this hollow tree, my father’s face flashed in my mind, and I finally understood. He’d loved me too much to risk my life one moment longer when he’d slipped. Letting go had been his greatest act of love.
I looked back at Caelum, my heart breaking, my voice faltering. “A wise man once told me that sometimes we must leave the ones we love to save them. I’ll still be with you. I swear it.”
“How? You can’t possibly know that.” He reached for me again, but I backed away into the tree. Despair shuddered across his face. “ Please don’t do this.”
“Do you not know me by now?” I asked, my voice steady, even as fear threatened to consume me. “That nothing will stop me from doing what I know is right.”
He swallowed, his face hollow with grief, and I saw the fight leave him, his eyes misty with a terrible understanding. He knew this was the only way, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
And it didn’t make him any less desperate.
“The price is too high, Eada,” he whispered, hands bracketing the entrance to the tree, chest heaving from the frantic breaths he was consuming. “Can you not see it? Isn’t it as plain as day that I love you too?”
The anguish in his voice spurred me to action. I stepped forward and pulled him to me, one last time, feeling his lips slide across mine in a mix of rain and tears. His hands knotted in my hair, securing me in place, as if he relied on me to breathe. I let my mouth part for him, deepening the kiss, and a groan escaped him. I wished with all my heart it was a sound made from the fevered anticipation of more, but it was not. It was from a scorching pain inside of him that would not be silenced.
Pulling away, I whispered, “And I wouldn’t be the witch you love if I didn’t do this. I don’t know if I can come back, but if I can, I will.”
He thumbed my lower lip, his eyes pinched tight against the onslaught of rain. “I’ll wait for you. Forever. Longer . Tell me to and I will.”
My breath hitched. “Caelum, I have no idea what will happen when?—”
His thumb moved higher, pressing against my rambling mouth. “Tell me to, Tempest.” He leaned his forehead against mine, as if he was suddenly very tired. “Your prince commands it.”
I couldn’t ask this of him. It was selfish. Unreasonable. Still, my heart couldn’t help itself.
“You highborn fool ,” I choked out, running my palms along his wet cheeks as scorching tears spilled down mine. “Wait for me.”
He nodded, loosening his vise-like grip on me, his lips in a tight line, his words all dried up.
“Come back here during the summer solstice,” I said, desperation edging my voice as the magic called me away. “The magic will be at its peak. If I can find a way back, it will be on that day.”
As I ducked deeper into the hollow, the narrow opening began to close, sealing me within the embrace of the tree. The storm raged, soaking Caelum to the bone. It seemed to have little effect on him, his hand pressed against the outer bark walls of the tree, helplessly watching as it pulled me in.
The last thing I saw before the darkness closed around me was Caelum kneeling in the mud, one hand clawing at his chest, his chin dripping with rainwater as it trembled .
In that moment, I didn’t know the strength of my own heart. Not until I had to rip it out myself and leave it behind with him.