by Day Leitao
“He was right. All I wanted was to see you safe. It’s weird to look back and realize it,” he looked at her, “but I’d have given my life for you.”
Karina trembled. What? Well, he had gone alone to Marisia for her, hadn’t he? But it didn’t make sense. “Why, though?”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re crazy. You want to use my feelings to save Whyland and now you’re asking about it as if it was this big mystery.”
“You said one-way love.”
“Whose love were you thinking, Karina?”
Her voice barely came out. “Mine.”
“But you left me.”
“After you refused to listen to me. Then you walked away because I kissed someone when I was angry. And I had been given a love potion.”
He looked away and back “I was upset. But I almost got you killed. How can you forgive that? After all I did.”
“I also made mistakes. At least we’re fixing them, Sian.”
He shook his head. “You didn’t do anything.” He closed his eyes then looked at her. “Come here.” He pulled her towards him in a tight embrace. “And now you’ll have to leave again, right? For good?”
“We need to save Whyland, don’t we?”
“We’re king and queen, I guess our wishes come last. But you can’t ask me to let you go.”
Karina leaned on his chest. She didn’t want to leave him either. “We have to do this, Sian. You have to do it. We’re actually lucky we’re king and queen, as it amplifies our magic.”
He ran his hands through her hair. “I know. It’s my fault. I might lose you but at least you’re alive.”
Karina stepped back. “Let’s do it quickly.” If she remained in his arms too long she would end up deciding to stay with him and let Whyland and the entire world burn down.
Sian’s eyes were misty, and a tear ran on his face. “Sorry I did it all wrong. And it was so short.”
“We’ll save your city. It will be worth it.” No, it was not worth it, it was a horrible sacrifice, but they had to make up for their mistakes. Karina held his hands. “Close your eyes and imagine these portals around us closing. See them destroyed. And put some feeling in it.”
He smiled. “Feeling?”
He let her hands go, pulled her towards him. First he brushed his lips on hers, softly. He kissed her, then stepped back and gasped, as if surprised.
Perhaps it was still the fated kisses with Liam. “Do you still feel it?”
He shook his head. “Just you. That’s all I feel. That’s all I want to feel.” He sighed.
Karina’s voice was tight. The last thing she wanted to do was leave him. “Focus on the portals.”
“And you.”
Their lips met again. Karina wanted to melt into his being, remain like that forever, with his taste, his smell, his touch. Maybe he was a little weird and not everything he did was right, but she liked him. At the end of the day, even if he made mistakes, he was making up for them.
Karina was also giving away what she most wanted and felt as if her heart was being torn from her. But the portals would close, and Whyland would be safe.
She felt as if they were both vibrating, and then that the floor and the castle were vibrating as well, as in an earthquake, getting stronger and stronger until it ended in an explosion.
Karina fell on her bed. She looked around to see if everything was standing still. Everything looked and felt normal—except her heart.
Darian felt the city tremble and embraced Cayla. When it stopped, there was silence for a while, until he felt it was safe to come out. They walked out of their hiding place and saw destruction in the city, but the sky was clear of Maris.
He’d only understand things a few days later, when Lylah returned. She sat in front of them, explaining something about a vision with Bianca’s son as king, defeating Darloom.
Cayla asked, “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want to change the course of things. Turns out I was right.”
“No,” Cayla replied. “We should have prevented Sian from opening these portals.”
Lylah shook her head. “It would only have delayed the inevitable.”
“And why didn’t you help us?” The pain was clear in her voice.
Lylah sighed. “I had another vision. It was me, dying in this attack. I always thought I’d meet my death head on, but things are different when you have people you care.” She looked at Cayla. “I wanted more time with you. And I’m not sure I would have helped. See, he had to be king.”
Cayla shook her head and didn’t seem satisfied. Darian asked, “Now Darloom is defeated, isn’t it?”
“Hardly,” Lylah replied. “But Whyland is protected. At least for now.”
“Then where’s my brother?”
Lylah looked at him for some time. “Darian, I could lie to you, say he was hiding, like he did before, but no. He’s alive, but he has to live a hero’s life.”
Darian wanted straight answers, not riddles. “Where?”
“He is wherever he needs to be. Didn’t you listen? He’s going to defeat Darloom. It hasn’t been defeated yet.”
Darian closed his eyes. “And where’s that?”
“I don’t know.”
It wasn’t the answer he wanted.
“Does he need to remain king?” Cayla asked.
“No,” Lylah said. “But we might not need guardians anymore. We could try something different.”
Cayla looked down, disappointed. Darian held her hand.
Darian and Cayla went outside. He took her hand. “Are you sad? I know you’ve always wanted to be queen, you prepared for it all your life.”
Cayla looked away. “I might have to reinvent myself. Or discover who I am.”
“It might be good. Maybe instead of thinking you are who you were told since you’re a child, you can… I don’t know.”
“Find myself.”
Darian kissed her forehead. “We’ll find it together. I didn’t want to be in the army either, you know?”
“But you were good at it.”
“Maybe I can be good at other things.”
Cayla smiled. “I’m pretty sure you’re amazing.”
Darian laughed, but then his thoughts returned to his brother, his future, his and Cayla’s future. So many questions.
She caressed his face. “I’m sorry you can no longer return to your city.”
Indeed. And that hurt. He’d found out about his past and his identity only to lose it right after. Yes, the portals to Marisia had been shut—but so had the portals to the magical cities. “At least I’m here with you. We know that’s where I belong.”
Cayla smiled, then got serious and thoughtful. “You’re still worried about your brother.”
“A little. I mean, your mother wouldn’t lie—I think. But…”
“Maybe he’s also finding himself,” she said.
“Maybe.”
Karina ended up telling Zoe everything. Her friend already knew a bit, and the difference from a bit to a lot wasn’t that much. Plus her friend had covered for her by going to the summer camp in Karina’s place. The idea had indeed been perfect. And perfect for Zoe too because she’d met someone and fallen in love.
Zoe insisted, “Are you sure you won’t see him again? There’s no way?”
Karina shrugged. “I don’t understand these things well myself, and the people who could have explained them to me are far away. Plus, who knows, maybe opening a portal there could put them at risk again.”
Karina felt a hollowness in her chest, and it wasn’t just Sian. She remembered those moments in the Light Gardens, when she thought maybe she could be a guardian, even not knowing well what a guardian was. She remembered the thrill at jumping straight to danger, of doing something meaningful, finding her path. Maybe she could find something similar.
Zoe was thoughtful. “You know, if there are many portals to many worlds, and people travel to them, there must be someone he
re, in this dimension. Maybe you could find them, maybe they could help you open the portals.”
The idea made sense, and yet, what were the odds of finding anyone? Still, it was a tiny seed in her mind. She glanced at the book Sian had sent her. It hadn’t been pulled back to its original dimension. Maybe… Maybe there would be a way.
The explosion pulled Sian back, away from Karina. He opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings. He should be shocked, but somehow he wasn’t. That was not Whyland, but Marisia. His promise must have bound him to this word.
His lips still tasted his last kiss, and the one before last. He could taste the kiss she’d given him before, and feel all the ecstasy, elation, and so much love. The disgust and discomfort he felt when he got the glimpse of that kiss with Liam had been hers. He regretted his reaction. Perhaps all of this could have been avoided. But then, so much could have been avoided if he’d done things differently.
He remembered the last time he’d been on these plains, and with horror realized that he’d not only been willing to die, he’d been welcoming death. Guilt, emptiness, who knew? He was different now, and willing to open his safe, from where pain sprang, but also power. He’d learned he had magic, and more, he had love.
For so long he’d believed his greatest wish was to become king of Whyland, when in fact he’d gotten it all wrong. In his desire to see himself as king by Karina’s side, being king wasn’t the part that mattered. But he couldn’t have known it when he locked parts of himself away. And it was cowardice. Planning to be king was much less scary than looking inside himself. But the path of least fear is not the path of least pain. At least he learned from his mistakes—not that it would help him much in Marisia.
Perhaps one day he’d find a way back home. Meanwhile, he’d better get used to worms and winged friends. He walked towards the mountain. If Maris hunted based on fear, he was invisible—and ready for a tough climb.
Epilogue
Karina followed the man in front of her through an underground tunnel. He opened a metal door and she found herself in a tall circular room with metallic walls. A teleporting tower, except that this looked a lot more high-tech than anything she’d seen, with some kind of electric panels on its walls. Not sure what the tech was for, since she’d teleported into ruins before, but whatever.
The man moved to some controls on the corner. “We have the information, we have the sketches, we tried everything, but something’s missing.”
Karina smiled. “You need magic.”
About the Author
Day Leitao was born in Brazil and lives in Montreal, Canada. She likes to create worlds and characters. As a long-time Star Wars fan, she podcasts at Lords of the Sith.
Learn more about her at dayleitao.com
Don’t forget to sign up for news, updates, and a free novella at dayleitao.com/sign-up/ You’ll get The Spell Speakers, a prequel novella where you’ll learn more about Darian, Cayla, and Sian’s past.
