Page 16

niara

The autowagon Keeran had borrowed from the innkeeper rattled beneath us as we sped along the winding road leading away from the town of Belward.

I was piloting. Keeran sat beside me, hunched over, his breathing labored.

Each jolt of the vehicle made him wince.

Fire danced just beneath the surface of his skin, like tiny lightning storms of orange bursting beneath the deep brown.

“It can’t be much farther,” I said, casting him worried glances while steering the wagon around the twists in the bumpy road.

The innkeeper had advised us that the Temple of Ignis, located just outside of Belward and along the winding Nyxa River, had been submerged twenty solars ago by a dam built by the Rootborn.

That had sparked a bloody conflict between the two Fae groups.

After all of the bloodshed and battles, the temple was still underwater, beneath Lake Mynnitunqa, which had since spawned legends of ghostly apparitions seen by visitors.

Pilgrims would travel from far and wide to purify themselves in the waters of Lake Mynnitunqa, which were believed by many to have curative properties.

As the other temples were too far to reach by mid-afternoon, and Keeran was deteriorating rapidly after seeming to rally the day before, we made the decision to head for the lake.

For a Water Mage, accessing a submerged temple should be child’s play.

I fidgeted with the seaglass gem around my neck constantly as the miles passed, hoping I could pull off the relatively simple enchantment.

Overhead, Morros crossed the sky rapidly. The Day Seven eclipse, when both he and Ignis finally caught their beloved sun Lyra for a brief moment, only to have her race off again, was nearly upon us. We had less than half an hour to make it to the temple.

We rounded another bend, and suddenly the lake sprawled before us—vast and glittering under the dual suns. In any other circumstance, I might have found it beautiful. Now, it was just another obstacle.

I brought the autowagon to a stop at the shore. The waters stretched out, deceptively peaceful. Somewhere beneath those depths lay our destination—and Keeran’s only chance at breaking the curse.

“How deep is it?” I asked, helping him from the vehicle. He was sweating profusely now, his shirt stuck to his skin.

“One hundred and fifty feet at its deepest point.” Dread seeped through our bond. “My cursed form can withstand the water for only short periods of time. And Ember Fae do not swim.”

The flames licking through his veins sparked again in several places. He would not be able to keep this shape for much longer.

I knelt at the water’s edge, my heart hammering.

“What we need is a bubble. Essentially a shell that will let us walk down to the temple protected from both the water and the pressure.” The cage that had held Keeran was an example.

I couldn’t hope to create one with the restrictive properties of the cage, but a simple shell should be easy enough.

“Can you manage that?” Genuine curiosity and not doubt filled his voice.

I nodded, hoping to project more confidence than I felt. “It’s a basic water manipulation. All acolytes learn it.”

I didn’t mention I’d never successfully performed it.

I closed my eyes, clutching the seaglass gem around my neck. Morros’s power was distant, but present, and slowly filled the gemstone. I visualized the water before me parting to form a protective dome around us. I pushed my will outward, commanding the lake to bend to my desires.

Nothing happened.

I tried again, focusing harder, sweat beading on my forehead. The water rippled slightly, then settled back into stillness. My cheeks burned with humiliation.

“I just need to—” I reached deeper, channeling everything I had.

A small dome began to form, rising a few inches from the surface—then it collapsed with a splash.

Keeran placed a burning hand on my shoulder. “Niara?— ”

“I can do this!” I snapped, more at myself than him. I’d never been good enough, had barely mastered the simplest water manipulations. Now, when it mattered most, my failure would cost us everything.

The distant sound of engines made us both turn. On the road behind us, a convoy of vehicles approached, the distinctive blue of Water Mage transports visible even at this distance.

“They’ve tracked us,” I whispered. I’d hoped we’d have more time.

Amal and the wardens had broken the rule about land travel by day during the Holy Convergence. I wondered how he had spun that while keeping his own true reasons for capturing the beast a secret. Maybe the urgency of Keeran’s recapture was enough to force the other Archons to give their assent.

Keeran gazed at me, a sad smile bending his lips. “Niara, my love, we are out of time.”

keeran

I’d heard the Water Mages approaching from a mile away and had been mentally preparing myself for the battle.

Now that they’re close, I sense three dozen soldiers.

They must have called in reinforcements, because I know they wouldn’t have left their high priestess unguarded while they chased me.

Hopefully, the strongest wardens are still on the flotilla.

However, that doesn’t mean that one against three dozen is going to be easy.

My human form is becoming an impossibility to hold, and so I let it go entirely, transforming into the beast. Since I’ve been away from the volcano for so many days, I’m far from full strength. But I will do whatever I must in order to protect my mate.

Keep trying , I tell her in my mind, the only way we can communicate when I’m in this form. I’ll hold them off.

“You can barely stand!”

Then I’ll fall fighting.

She nods, tears welling in her eyes, and turns back to the water, kneeling again. Her expression of frustration shreds my heart.

I suspect the reason she’s having problems with her water magic is because she’s not yet learned to use her fire. I’m not even certain how it would work. Having affinities for both types of magic is unheard of, but this is our only chance. And I’m confident she can do it. I have faith in my mate.

The wardens burst from the tree line, with Amal in the lead. “Move away from the beast, Niara!” he calls, and I let out a roar full of all the fiery anger that has been building for this man over the past week.

How dare he so much as speak my mate’s name!

Keep trying, my love , I tell Niara. I believe in you.

I pray to Solara for strength. It was the mother sun who breathed life into the volcano to create the Ember Fae.

Overhead, she shines mightily, heating the air and the sand.

I soak in the warmth and use the small power boost to transform the sand before me into shards of obsidian to block the path of the oncoming attackers.

They toss their magefrost spears at me, but I bat them away easily.

Some of the spears fall short of their target and shatter the obsidian barrier.

Ignis’s power comes to life within me. The Fire Moon is not yet visible in the early afternoon light, but I feel him there in the sky all the same. His power channels through me.

But over the din of battle cries, a female voice is chanting.

She is beyond my vision, but I catch snatches of words spoken clumsily in Old Ember, our ancient tongue.

This must be the traitorous priestess, the one who wants control of their Order.

She is casting a spell to drain me of Ignis’s power, and I can feel it starting to take hold.

The attackers reach me, and my mate grows more desperate. She’s trying to keep her feelings hidden, but our bond won’t allow it. Her fear and shame, disappointment and anger burst within me. I must hold my ground to give her the time she needs to figure this out.

Help my mate , I call out to Ignis mentally. I cannot lose her when I have only just found her. My family is in disgrace with you, but please have mercy. I have only ever been your servant.

I pull more from the moon’s power and slash out at another opponent, who leaps over the obsidian barrier to try to get me. I will fight as long as I can in order to protect her.

Amal appears behind the wardens, expression grim. Being high warden means a greater level of power and more sophisticated training than the others. He raises a hand and water from the lake streams over me in an arc. It forms a cyclone in midair that descends upon me from above .

The ground assaults, I’ve been able to parry, but this I cannot. The water hits my skin like razors, and I cry out. Niara’s distress blooms within me as the ribbons and blades of water cut into my tough hide

“Keeran!” she screams as I fall to the ground.