by Zora Marie
“Do you think my father will come to his senses before everyone’s dead?”
“No,” Jones said.
“Maybe,” Luxly said, “because he may have locked you up in here, but he loves you.” He wheezed again.
Kilian shushed him. “The spell I did was a patch job, so stop talking before you rip your lung back open.”
“So you do know magic?” Wulf asked.
“Yes. Though I hadn’t done any since your father outlawed it. Until today at least.”
“Kilian was training to be a member of the guild when he chose to stay here. Eadon also taught him in the healing arts. A great deal can be done without magic,” Koin said.
“Fighting Fenari is not one of them, though.” Donequen’s voice was drowned out by another booming crash and the rattle of their cell doors.
There was shouting and clashing arms somewhere above them. Koin lunged over her, covering her, as another blast shook the dungeon. Stone cracked and the ceiling caved in on the empty cell next to her. She choked and coughed on the dust that clogged the air.
“Zelia?” Donequen asked, panic lacing his words.
“I’m fine.” She breathed through the thick fabric of her shirt. “You okay Koin?”
He nodded as his gaze drifted to the stairs, where the sounds of battle had turned to eerie silence. As though nothing lived beyond the cell walls. Zelia’s stomach turned, then she heard the faint scrape of boots on stone.
The footsteps raced down the stairs. Five guards burst into sight. “Your Majesty,” one gasped, bowing low and trying not to cough. “We must get you out of here and to safety.”
Your Majesty? Zelia’s mind turned over the hidden meaning.
“My father?” Wulf asked.
“The Fenari breached the walls.” The guard's hands shook as he shoved the key in the lock. “Your father's only thought was to get to you. He charged us with his dying breath to get you to safety.”
The guards formed up around Wulf and tried to guide him out of the dungeon.
“I will not go without my friends. We need them. We cannot defeat these beasts without their help.”
“Your Majesty, we must get you to safety. We don't have time to take them with us.”
“Give me the keys.” Wulf jerked the keys from the guard’s hand and fumbled to flip them around for the right one.
“Sire.”
“Enough,” Wulf commanded, his voice dropping to a growl.
“Hm. Toughy,” Luxly teased.
Koin pulled her to her feet as Wulf slid the key in the lock. “Where’s my staff and armor?”
“Upstairs, second door on the right,” Wulf said.
Zelia gave Wulf a thankful glance as the door swung open and she headed for the stairs. A hazy fog still clouded her thoughts with each incessant throb of her head. She tried to summon her fire and the flame sputtered out with each pulse of pain, like the injury stood between her and her powers.
“Zelia?” Koin asked.
“I’m fine.” She opened the door Wulf indicated. Her armor and weapons were stacked carelessly with Donequen and Koin’s on the floor.
“What exactly is the plan?” Jones asked.
“Try not to be predictable and get yourself killed.” Donequen pressed his rune dagger into Jones’s hand. “And remember, you stick them with the pointy end.”
Jones rolled his eyes. “As though I don’t know that.”
“I’m fighting with you,” Wulf said and shot a glare at a guard who opened his mouth to protest.
“Then you’ll need this.” Koin handed him one of his spare blades. “I don’t have enough to arm all of you, so stay back.”
Koin led the way through the palace, and Zelia wondered when he’d last been there. The first pair of Fenari they came across were so busy toying with a group of guards, that they didn’t notice Koin and Donequen sneak up on them until it was too late. Zelia stayed back by Jones and silently cursed the flames that sputtered at her fingertips.
The metallic tang of blood tainted the air as they neared the castle’s main entrance, the mangled bodies of the king’s men lay strewn across the floor. Two lay atop the body of the king.
Wulf paused to go to his father, but Kilian took his arm. “There will be time to care for him later. We must win this war first.”
Civilians screamed in the distance, the shrill screams of women and children loudest among them.
“May Yargo be with us,” Jones muttered.
“He’s not coming. He sent us.” Donequen touched his amulet as he headed for the broken doors, remnants of splintered wood scattered among the bodies.
The city was a ghost town before them, not a living soul in sight. Bodies sprawled over rubble dotted the streets. Buildings had gaping holes in their fronts where doors might have once been.
“Any luck with your magic?” Donequen asked.
Zelia reached for her inner flames, fire flared around them and she cringed as they sputtered out. “I don’t know what it is about this head injury, but…” She sighed. “I think I can still use Fenari magic though.” She pulled energy towards her as she drew the symbol for a shield and one bloomed to life.
“Stay close then. I’m not losing you again.” Koin drew his own shield.
“You won’t.”
Koin gave her a pained glance.
“What?”
“That's what Leena said.”
“Oh.” She swallowed. “I’m not Aunt Leena, but I will be careful.”
They turned a corner as they neared the outer gate and paused at the sight of ten Fenari. If two killed that group of Hyperian warriors and took Terik, how are the three of us supposed to kill ten? She stomped down on the thread of fear that wound its way through her.
Civilians screamed as they were herded towards a portal. At the sight of them, a woman broke free and ran toward them. Zelia drew a rune, trying to shield the woman. Half the rune hung stagnant in the air as a blast shredded the woman. Zelia stood frozen to the spot as an infant the woman held fell to the ground with a sickening thud.
“We need to draw them away from the civilians,” Donequen said, his voice a thready whisper.
“Over here!” Koin shouted and threw an unfamiliar rune at the Fenari.
Eight of the Fenari turned towards them and began drawing runes. Crap. Zelia expanded her shield to encompass Koin and Donequen too, then siphoned off every bit of energy she could from what the Fenari already pulled in.
The Fenaris’ rune burned through her shield as if it wasn’t there.
Next thing she knew, she was sprawled in the slushy snow, her ears ringing. Koin’s form was fuzzy above her as he glanced down at her. His lips moved, but she couldn’t make out what he said over the ringing.
She flexed her fingers and toes, checking that everything was alright. “Raven, if you can hear me and aren’t too hurt, we could use some help.”
Her heart sank as there was no answer from Raven. Her thoughts were slow and hazy as she forced herself to her feet. She summoned fire to burn a Fenari that was attacking Koin, but the moment it flared to life on the blue flesh, it sputtered out. The Fenari hissed in pain, but didn’t even falter.
Two of the four turned towards her and their eyes narrowed. No. She summoned flames again. They flickered and died. No. The throbbing in her head grew with her rising panic. Each attempt grew smaller and died quicker.
A new rune burned through Koin’s shield over them. “Zelia,” Koin warned, but he was too late.
A blast of raw energy from the second Fenari slammed into her and sent her tumbling across the snowy field once more. Zelia’s chest ached as she sucked in a breath. The cold air burned her lungs. Snow sprayed her face as Koin flipped back to his feet and put himself between her and the Fenari.
No. Her throat closed up. I can’t lo—
Zelia watched in horror as another blast slammed into Koin. His sword slipped from his fingers as his body flew past her, the emerald glow of his energy form faded to no
thing.
No. Rage burned through her veins hotter than flames as she forced herself to her feet. Inky blood spread from a Fenari a few feet from her, melting the snow. She forced herself to not look back at Koin’s body as she unleashed her inner fire. The flames engulfed her. She didn’t just summon fire, she became a living flame. Her pain evaporated like the snow all around her, swallowed by her need for vengeance.
“Zelia?” Concern laced Wulf’s tone.
“Stay back,” she snarled.
She drew a shield breaking rune and pulled every thread of power she could into it as she stalked towards the Fenari now focused on Donequen. He was deflecting their blasts with guild magic, but he was flagging, she could see it in his eyes and the way he moved.
One of the Fenari glanced at her as her rune slammed into their shield, but it was too late. The ground shook as the shield shattered and even as she stumbled, the world erupted in flames.
Ear piercing screams echoed in the boom of the shield.
She willed the fire to consume the Fenari who’d taken Koin from her. Had taken the uncle who’d always been there for her. Who had risked his life by trying to find her when everyone thought her dead.
As their screams and magic faded, she stumbled back towards Koin. Tears streamed on her cheeks as her flames ebbed away and she fell to her knees beside him. She swayed and collapsed beside him. She was faintly aware of his chest rising and falling beneath her as darkness claimed her once again.
32
Zelia woke in a dim room with a splitting headache. Her body ached all over, muscles twitching here and there.
“Koin! She’s awake.”
Koin? She shot up. But he was… no he’d been breathing. She blinked through her blurred vision as a familiar figure appeared in the doorway.
“Easy.”
Zelia’s breath caught at the sound of Koin’s voice. “But you were—”
“Kilian and Jones healed me.” The straw stuffed cot dipped as he sat beside her. “How do you feel?”
She threw her arms around him, then remembered he’d gotten hurt protecting her. “Don’t do that to me again,” she scolded as she leaned back from him.
Koin chuckled. “Are you going to answer my question or not?”
“I’m fine, just exhausted.” She sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. “Where are we?”
“Kilian’s chambers. Wulf had his men bring us here after he and Donequen took care of the last two Fenari. Come, you need to get up and move.”
Zelia nodded absently and let Koin help her pull on and lace her boots.
Shelves lined the walls in the next room. Every shelf was full of books and jars. Wulf paused on his second pass across the room as he noticed her presence.
“I’m fine,” she muttered before he could ask.
Wulf nodded and stared at the cot where Kilian and Jones tended to Luxly. They tied off a wrap around Luxly’s chest and carefully laid him back on the cot.
“He’ll live,” Jones said, “if he doesn’t do anything stupid again.” Jone shot his friend a glare.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Luxly wheezed.
There was a note of relief in Wulf’s exhale. “Good, because I’ll kick your butt if you do.”
“You wish,” Luxly said.
As the boys bickered, Zelia turned over everything that had happened. “Raven,” she whispered.
“She’s fine,” Koin said. “Jones spotted her making a sweep of the perimeter after you passed out.”
“She seemed to be favoring her side,” Jone said.
“So I went out to check on her. She has a couple fractured ribs, but she’ll be fine. You should take it easy on the way home though.”
“Raven?” Zelia’s heart beat in her throat as she waited for a response.
“Hello dear. I’m so sorry I didn’t get to you in time to help. I’d put myself in a stasis to help with healing and avoid fighting the humans. By the time I got out, the fighting was over.”
“...he’s right and you should probably stretch,” Donequen said. “Yalif insisted you weren’t doing it enough.”
Zelia blinked at Donequen, and realized she’d missed part of the conversation as she spoke with Raven.
“What exactly happened with Xander?” Wulf asked. “We didn’t hear much past them being killed.”
“Yargo helped us kill him and in the process, Xander made me explode. Afterwards, I ended up in this body. I still don’t really know why he was growing this second body for me, but it was…” She cringed and shrugged.
“She was basically a walking skeleton when Zivu retrieved her,” Donequen said.
“A few of us were injured in the process, but we managed to come away with my other body being the only… death on our side.”
“So, this isn’t your body?”
“No, it is. It’s just not the same one I spent the last several hundred years connected to. It’s complicated.”
“I can tell.”
“So, when are you officially swearing in as King?” Luxly asked.
“Tonight. We’ll do a formal ceremony for the public once the city is more secure. Besides,” Wulf’s gaze shifted to Donequen, “I have a special oath to make.”
What’s that about?
“Come on.” Koin linked his elbow with hers. “Lets go track down something to eat.”
33
The guards across the courtyard stared at Koin as he sat somewhere above and behind her. She could feel Koin watching her as she sat on the bench beneath him. He had been studying her movements all afternoon and it was beginning to chafe on her nerves. As much as she loved Koin, sometimes his attention to detail was a bit too much.
“We’ll be headed home soon enough.”
“It’s not that, but are you sure you should be flying so far already?”
“I’ll be fine. I know you’re in a hurry to get home to Linithion.”
Zelia sighed and looked back to where Koin sat perched on the wall behind her. At least that explained why the guards were staring. Zelia wasn’t even sure she would have been able to get up there in her old body. He was staring up at the sky now and she wondered if he was thinking about Aunt Leena. After a moment, he jumped down and came to sit beside her.
“I’m here whenever you want to talk.”
She stared at the little brazier Wulf had ordered to be set out. Apparently he was to swear an oath not to attack or punish those with magic unless they commit a crime. It made sense to ask such of him, though she didn’t feel it was necessary. She lit the brazier with a thought. The men nearby jumped at the sudden appearance of the flames and one of them broke from the group. She hadn’t realized Donequen had been chatting with the guards until he sat on her other side.
“So, I was talking with Kilian earlier.”
“About?” Zelia asked, when Donequen said nothing more.
“Magic and potential guild members.”
“Really? But magic has been outlawed here.”
“Perhaps, but that doesn’t stop magic users from being born.”
“Apparently Luxly and Jones had both performed magic by accident and Kilian has been teaching them how to control it in secret.”
Koin shook his head. “That explains why he stayed after Eadwine outlawed magic. Kilian always had a way of sensing magic in others. He had been training to become a member of the guild before he decided to part ways with Vainoff.”
“I figured as much, which is why I asked if he would still be interested in joining. But he insists that he’s too old and rickety to join now. Then he suggested we talk to Jones and Luxly. He even said he’d vouch for their characters.”
“What are the three of you scheming about?” Wulf asked with a hint of amusement in his tone.
“Just waiting on you.” Koin said.
Wulf gave them a knowing look, but nodded all the same. “I’ve decided to lift the ban on magic altogether.”
“Good. If your people need help learning to control their magic
, please do not hesitate to ask,” Koin said.
“I will, though something tells me that Kilian never really stopped.”
“I hadn’t used magic since your father banned it. Though I admit that I did teach others to control their own magic to keep them out of trouble.”
“I thought only humans related to Yargo had magic,” Wulf said.
“No, Yargo’s descendants are just the most famous. Anyone related to someone from Hyperia can have magic.”
“Or the old gods,” Koin added. “The Wolfblood packs were started by a few of the shapeshifters from Fregnar’s realm, though most of them don’t have abilities outside of shifting.”
Wulf raised an eyebrow at that. “Shall we begin?”
“Of course,” Donequen stood and pulled a silver dagger from his belt. “Linithion sent their ceremonial dagger with us.”
Zelia sighed as she uncrossed her legs and stretched them before forcing herself to her feet. Wulf quirked an eyebrow at her when she finally straightened.
“If you don’t stop looking at me that way, I’m going to poke your shoulder.”
“Hey…” He shifted the arm he held in a sling away from her. “At least I’m not hobbling around like an old man.”
“Let’s see how you move after sleeping on that shoulder for a night,” Kilian said.
Wulf waved Kilian off with his good hand and they all gathered around the brazier.
Donequen held the ceremonial dagger out to Zelia. “You rank the highest here, so…”
“Of course.” Zelia sighed as she took the blade from the scabbard and drew a shallow cut across her forearm. “I call upon the old and new gods to give witness to the oaths given here today.” She tipped her arm over the fire and the flames turned blue as her blood dripped onto the coals.
Wulf stared at her across the fire, as though asking if she was causing them to burn blue and she gave a slight shake of her head. She could have made them burn blue, but she had no reason to make the ceremony a spectacle. Perhaps if they had done this in front of all the people, and not in this private courtyard with just a few guards watching. She handed the dagger across to him.
