by Bar Sagi
“I’m the only one.” His eyes slid over to Yasmin and she shivered.
He had the eyes of slime, greasy as oil. He looked like he could tear her to pieces and smile. “Well, well. It looks like I didn’t even have to go all the way to that boy to get you. It turns out he failed. I guess his parents will die now.” His eyes gleamed, as if he would kill them personally.
Yasmin felt her stomach twist.
“NO!” she yelled, her eyes pleading. “You can’t kill them!”
“Why does it matter to you?” He tilted his head as if enjoying watching her plead. “He betrayed you, and you’re going to come with me anyway.”
“Lucas was a dear friend of mine, and there is no way I’m going with you!” Yasmin pointed a finger at Varley and glared at him. “Leave Lucas alone!”
“Why do I care about Lucas?” Varley raised an eyebrow, scowling at her. “I came to get you, as ordered by the beast.” He made a pulling motion, and Yasmin felt herself fly into his arms. “Let’s go.”
“No!” Yasmin pulled free, calling a fireball to her hand.
She saw Varley laugh. “Go, on. This will be amusing.”
He grabbed her wrist, his face darkening. “Don’t make me laugh. I’m not that Abby girl the beast took over last year. I’m his second-in-command! Do you really think you can defeat me?!”
Yasmin tore her wrist away from him, shaking with fear.
Her thoughts scrambled. He’s not bluffing! I don’t think I can defeat him. I don’t think all of us can.
Yasmin felt a slight wind pass over her head, and hit Varley. The strength of the wind was so great he nearly fell off his feet.
Varley snarled, and made some signs in the air, cursing.
The wind vanished, and Violet fell to the ground, coughing up blood.
Gloriana ran to her. “Violet!” she exclaimed, horrified to see Violet shaking in fear.
Gloriana began drawing symbols in the air, trying to heal Violet.
Yasmin felt a fireball coming her way, and she raised her hands just in time. The fireball was huge! It was the size of a house, and it suffocated Yasmin.
“No!” Yasmin heard David yell, and he made some signs in the air.
Suddenly, the fire ball shrunk to the size of a mouse, then vanished.
Yasmin took a deep breath. She could breathe again!
“Stupid prince!” Varley snarled, pulling David toward him by magic. He grabbed David by the shirt, choking him.
David glared up at him, his eyes promising murder. “Do you really think I care about you?”
“How could you?” David said, kicking Varley. It didn’t seem to hurt him, however, because he didn’t move.
Yasmin wanted to help David, to do something. But she couldn’t move. She was exhausted, the fire Varley had conjured must have sapped her strength. “My father is dead because you betrayed him!”
That seemed to amuse Varley, because he smiled. “I suppose he is, isn’t he?”
Yasmin could hear David sobbing, and she felt like crying too. How must it feel to have your father’s best friend join the side of his killer?
“Wanna hear a secret?” Varley whispered, but his voice carried on the wind. “I suppose I should kill you all, or else it will be a bother. Besides…” he said, shaking David, who was still kicking him. “I really hate royalty.”
“Why would I want to know anything you have to tell me?” David said through gritted teeth, hitting Varley.
Yasmin tried to tell him no, to warn him he was playing right into Varley’s hands, but she knew David wouldn’t listen to her. When he got like this, David wouldn’t listen to anyone.
“Richard is alive.”
Yasmin saw David stop kicking, and saw him turn pale. She heard Gloriana gasp, and saw Varley laughing.
David started crying. “You’re lying!” he yelled, looking at Varley with tears in his eyes. “My father is dead!”
Yasmin felt shocked. “The king is alive?” She wanted to ask: His name is Richard?
“Richard is the beast’s prisoner.” Varley smirked. “He has been on the edge of death for years. It is a miracle he is still alive.”
Varley tossed David away, who lay unmoving, like a ragdoll.
Varley turned his gaze on Yasmin, but she barely felt it.
David’s father was alive?
She felt herself get dragged by magic again to Varley, but she didn’t fight until she felt him touch her arm.
Then Yasmin snapped awake, the spell he had put over her gone. She started kicking Varley, punching him, anything to get away.
Varley tried grabbing her shoulder, but she moved. Instead, he grabbed her necklace and pulled so hard, he almost choked her.
Yasmin tried to pull herself away, and she did.
Yasmin fell back on the grass, gasping. She looked at Varley, who also seemed bewildered that she had managed to escape. Yasmin looked at him again, and panicked. Her necklace was in his hand.
Yasmin felt a slight stab of pain in her neck and winced as she stood up. Maybe she didn’t have a chance of beating Varley, but she had to try.
Yasmin felt a rush of power course through her veins, making her scream and drop to her knees.
What was going on? Why was everything hurting so much? She wondered.
She rolled around on the grass, unaware that a small tornado had appeared on the hillside, and it was moving away from them. All she could think about was the never-ending pain in her body. She just wanted to end, to stop living.
Rain stared pouring down on everyone. It turned into hail, and then to snow. A second later the sun came out again, melting everything, shining so bright that everyone closed their eyes.
Varley inched away from Yasmin, fear on his face as he dropped the necklace to the ground.
***
David, meanwhile, stared at Yasmin with horror. “Yasmin!” he shouted, trying to get closer to her. “Yasmin!”
“No, David!” Gloriana shouted, making a protective barrier around them.
If Yasmin had lost control of her powers, she could easily destroy the town. “All of her power rushed into her at once when the necklace was pulled off her! She is dying! And she is unable to control herself. If you get close to her, then you’ll die too!”
“I don’t care!” David yelled, walking toward Yasmin and falling as the ground started to shake. “I have to help her!”
Lava started pouring from the cracks, and David did his best to avoid them.
He watched Yasmin writhing on the ground in agony and felt like crying. Why did she have to suffer? Why?
“Ahhh!” Yasmin screamed, the sound lost in her volume of pain. She couldn’t move, couldn’t think. It was like being tossed in Lava and being burned inside out.
“Yasmin!” David shouted, reaching her. He picked her up in his arms, not letting go even when she was picked up in the air by winds. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth open in a soundless scream.
“Please, Yasmin, don’t die!” he pleaded, wrapping his arms around her neck. “You can’t die! I never got the chance to tell you…” He sobbed, unable to speak anymore.
***
Yasmin was vaguely aware of something or someone holding her, trying to help her. She heard a familiar voice and nearly cried.
“David,” she said, her head falling.
“Yasmin!” David cried as they fell to the ground. “No!” He hugged her even tighter and cried, tears running down his face. “You can’t die! I want to die! I want to die instead… Yasmin, I love you! Please…” He sobbed, unable to continue.
Yasmin could hear David yelling something, but with all the pain, she was unable to process it. What was he saying?
“Yasmin, don’t die,” she heard, and the pain subsided a bit as she tried to hear more, to focus on him. “I love you, ple
ase…”
Yasmin felt shocked. Had she heard right? Was her mind playing tricks? Had David Really said that? But he had acted like he hated her for the past six months! So, why?
“David, don’t lie,” she mumbled, opening her eyes. She saw David’s face above her, filled with tears. “It’s mean.”
David touched his forehead to hers. “I’m not lying! Please, please don’t die!”
Yasmin felt the pain subside as her body grew used to all the magic. She reached up and brushed away the tears the kept flowing down his face. The last six months vanished, and all she could see was the face of the man she loved, telling her he loved her too.
Yasmin saw someone knock David out of the way, where he fell, unconscious.
“Shut up, princeling,” Varley snarled, looking down at Yasmin with disdain. “So, you’ve finally gotten all your powers, huh? You’ve caused quite a disaster over here, mage.” He spat the last word at her.
“You…” Yasmin glared at Varley as she got up, her legs trembling from all the magic. She stared down at her hand. It was vibrating, as if she’d had too much coffee to drink. “Leave David alone!”
“David will die after I capture you.” Varley grinned, showing yellow teeth. “Isn’t it fitting, to watch the person you love die, while being unable to help?”
“NO!” Yasmin whisper-yelled, standing ready to fight. “You will have to kill me first!”
“You talk big.” Varley tried to pull her toward him with magic, but she swiped her hand, and he was knocked back instead.
Varley lay on his knees, looking at her in shock. “How…”
“I won’t let you hurt David!” Yasmin gathered her magic power in one hand. Even though all that power made her head spin, she tried to gather as much as possible to use in a spell.
Yasmin remembered Gloriana teaching her the basics of Rune magic months ago. Even though Yasmin had refused to do magic anymore, she had still learned theories.
There was a spell intended to drain someone’s power for a limited time, called the power drainer. Yasmin had never done it, but it had looked hard. She knew the theory, though.
Yasmin knelt on the ground, drawing symbols in the air. Symbols of power, of her, of the spell. Slowly but surely the spell came alive under her fingers. The magic began to hum, eager to get working.
Yasmin saw Varley chanting his own spell. There was no time, she had to take his power! Controlling the wind, she blew the spell on him. The air glowed bright blue, and Yasmin jumped back.
Varley hollered in pain as his magic evaporated into the air. It would come back eventually, but that would take a while.
Yasmin sat down, too tired to move. She felt exhausted, the magic inside her draining all her energy.
Varley glared at Yasmin. “You’ll pay for this. Someday, all of Atlantis will burn, and the beast will be the last one standing.”
He reached into his jacket and took out a knife. Yasmin’s eyes widened, but she didn’t have the chance to be scared, because Varley stabbed himself in the heart.
She could have sworn she heard him say something before he died, but it got blown away by the wind.
Varley collapsed on the hill, his blood staining the grass.
Yasmin looked away, not wanting to see someone dying right before her eyes.
She couldn’t believe it was over, and they had won. But at what price?
Chapter 25
After the battle
Yasmin tried to stand up, but her knees wobbled and she collapsed in shock. Her body began vibrating again, and she glanced down at her shaking hand, horrified. What was going on?
“Gloriana!” She looked at Gloriana, who also looked scared. “What’s happening?”
“Your necklace!” Gloriana pointed to the necklace, which lay a few feet away. “Your body can’t contain this much magic on its own! You have to put it on, or else you’ll die!”
“I’ll… die?” Yasmin tried to get up again, but her knees were shaking too much. She looked at David in panic. “I can’t move!”
David began to stir as Gloriana rushed toward Yasmin and handed her the necklace.
Yasmin tried to put it on, but her hands were trembling, so Gloriana had to help her. “Thank you.” She sighed with relief as she felt her power flow away.
“Yasmin?” David rubbed his head, still in pain. “Are you okay?”
Yasmin blushed, remembering what he had said to her. “Yeah, thanks,” she mumbled, unable to meet David’s eyes. “David?”
“Yeah?” he asked, inching closer to her.
She felt happy, but also confused and hurt. If he had really loved her, why had he acted this way? But then again, if he hated her, why would he risk dying?
“Do you really love me?” Yasmin had to know. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she had to know.
David took her hand, and she was very aware of his blue green eyes of hers. “Yasmin, I love you.” He said clearly, and instead of clearing things up, that just opened up more questions. “And I will never let you go.”
The look in David’s eyes took her breath away, but she had to ask. “If you’ve loved me all this time, then why have you acted this horrible to me?” she asked, taking her hand away from his. “Why didn’t you end your engagement?” She gasped as a horrible thought came to her. “Unless… do you love Violet too?”
Gloriana watch all of this awkwardly from the side, shaking her head. She didn’t know the prince that well, but it had been obvious that Yasmin had never really moved on. Maybe now they could be happy together.
“What’s going on?” Violet had woken up, and he was looking at David and Yasmin in confusion. “Did we win?”
Gloriana looked at Violet in a mixture of horror and pity. “Oh, Violet, no.” She wanted to reassure her, but she didn’t know how.
Violet’s eyes widened as she realized what was going on. She looked at Yasmin and David, who were in their own little world, and felt tears come to her eyes. She had tried so hard. But in the end, David had chosen Yasmin.
“Yasmin, I can’t explain this in a way that makes me sound good.” David looked ashamed of himself, unable to meet Yasmin’s eyes. “Maybe it’s better if I just tell you the whole story.”
Yasmin began to feel suspicious, but she nodded, a confused look on her face.
“When my father died, my whole world turned upside down. My mother turned from this loving scientist to a dictator who ran the kingdom and did her best. I became terrified of my mother, so scared of her that I could never refuse her.
“When I was seven, my mother introduced me to Violet, my fiancée. I never really gave her a chance, because she was in a way connected to my mother. I suppose that was unfair to her, too.
“When I came to Israel, I felt free for the first time in my life. When I met you, I wasn’t even supposed to really see you as anything but a tool. But I slowly fell in love with you, and I promised myself I would protect you.
“But when we got to Atlantis, it was the same old story again. I didn’t have the courage to face my mother, and I watched you become so hurt because of me. I couldn’t bear it.
“So I decided that the best thing to do was to pretend to hate you. It killed me, I hated it. I hated seeing the hurt on your face as you saw me with Violet. But I foolishly thought that it was for the best.
“But…” David looked pained. “When I saw you dying, I realized how stupid I had been. I can’t bear to be like this anymore, Yasmin. I want to be with you.”
Yasmin rocked back on her heels, feeling very annoyed. “Are you telling me you broke my heart because of your mother?” She felt like hitting him. “Are you kidding me?”
David looked down, ashamed, but then looked her in the eyes. “I promise you, I will tell my mother I want to break off the engagement. So please, take me back.”
Yas
min looked at his pleading eyes, and was tempted to say yes. But then she remembered all that had happened the entire time she had been in Atlantis, and she shook her head.
Yasmin saw David’s face fall and felt tears coming to her eyes. “David, it’s too late.” She tried to explain, but those words weren’t enough. “You left me alone. I thought that you would be there for me, I trusted you, but you abandoned me.”
“But…” David said, reaching for her hand. He looked like his heart was breaking. “Yasmin, please!”
Yasmin shook her head, tears flowing freely down her face. “I can’t forget, David. How horribly you acted. How you left me all alone, in a world that didn’t want me. Every time I see your face, I don’t know what to believe anymore. I don’t want this. I need to be with someone I can trust.”
Yasmin brushed away her tears and looked around. Where was Violet? Gloriana stood at the bottom of the hill, but Violet was nowhere to be seen.
“Gloriana?” she called, running downhill to meet her. David’s face came to her mind but she shooed it away. She was going to focus on helping Atlantis now, no matter what. “Where’s Violet?”
Gloriana looked at her, startled. “Violet left.” Was all she would say, no matter how much Yasmin pestered her. “We should leave too.”
Gloriana waved her hands across the runes, and a portal appeared.
Yasmin thought of the palace, and stepped through.
She blinked away the afternoon sun. Yasmin was in the throne room, which was empty now. She felt tears welling up again, but pushed them back. She would be okay. She had survived heartbreak before.
But this time was different. This time she knew why everything was happening. This time she knew the full story. And this time it had been her choice.
A servant opened the doors to the throne room, surprising Yasmin. She apologized to the servant and left, just wanting to be alone.
Because she was looking down, Yasmin didn’t notice when someone almost bumped into her. She heard a familiar voice say, “Sorry!” And looked up, surprised.
“Violet?” Yasmin felt shocked, then guilty. “I… What are you doing here?” She wanted to add so many things, but for some reason she couldn’t say them.
