“Get up, Zimri,” Olympia’s voice cut sharply into my mind. “I am not done with you yet.”
“What could you possibly want with me now?” I weakly shot back, a twinge of anger returning.
“For starters, I want you to save Athala,” the goddess ordered.
“She’s dead!” I yelled as loud as I could. “Katrina sucked her life force!”
“Did she now?” Olympia replied. “Did I not tell you that even a tod-spell can be undone? All it takes is a spark.”
A spark? I looked at the glass sword in my hand. It still hummed with trapped electricity occasionally arcing across the blade. Could it be so simple?
“Hurry now,” the goddess encouraged.
Hope gave me a new burst of energy and I stumbled forward to Athala’s cold, blue body. Instinctively, I pressed the tip against her heart. Lightning flashed from the blade and Athala’s whole body seized, rising her back several centimeters off the broken floor. Power drained, she dropped back down and I waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And—
Her chest suddenly heaved as she sucked in a deep breath. Athala’s eyes opened wide and she sat up coughing.
“Zimri?” she said weakly.
I wrapped her in my arms, hugging her tight to my chest. Then I kissed her deeply, not caring about the consequences for the moment. Perhaps too confused to protest, Athala kissed back and melted into me.
“Are we dead?” she finally asked.
“No,” I beamed at her, tears flowing. “You were, for a bit, but we’re not dead. We won.”
“We…what?”
“We won.”
Athala broke down, sobbing and hugged me fiercely. Then I broke and wept, hugging her back as we bawled together in the ruined hall of the once mighty Sorceress of the Eisenberge.
We had won.
Chapter 46-Zimri and Athala
Zimri
It took us over a month to get home, arriving in Schwarztor in late summer. Killing Katrina broke the spell on her soldiers, which created chaos throughout the Eisenberge as angry men took revenge on their officers, many of whom tried to establish order. With every institution directly tied to the Sorceress, her death created anarchy almost everywhere.
Thankfully we were found by a group of recently freed soldiers who got us off the island to Masala and from there contacted Titan in the only bastion of sanity. Titan, Adler, and a few others took us to Miner’s Home where we spent the next month recovering. I had suffered a severe concussion, five broken ribs, a broken arm, and lost a lot of blood, again. Ariadne was frightfully sick and week from her long captivity and wasn’t strong enough to travel all the way home. Athala too was weak, but that was from having been dead.
The Eisenberge was still in chaos when we felt strong enough to travel but with winter coming, we didn’t dare get stuck. Taking the Branden Fluss all the way to Black Falls, the trip back took three days and was significantly less eventful that the trip up. From there, we traveled the mountain passage down to the Shachor and sailed to Schwarztor, much to the astonishment of the city. There were feasts and celebrations, but we were all still too weak to participate. I didn’t find Shala, which confirmed my fear that she had been executed or worse for helping me.
The king arrived in just a few days later and was overjoyed to be reunited with his daughter. He was less enthused about properly meeting Athala and ordered her arrested on the spot. I intervened, pointing out that I could never have rescued Ariadne without her help and that she’d already died, so her crime had been paid for. Sennacheriv didn’t like it but relented on the condition that as soon as she was well enough, Athala leave the kingdom and never return. I’m not sure if Athala liked that arrangement; she seemed almost to prefer execution but accepted it nonetheless.
So now I was back in Castle Zahav awaiting my royal wedding to Ariadne that would officially make me crown prince. To celebrate, I left the castle and sat on one of the bluffs looking over the Saline Sea.
“Hey Z,” a soft voice cut into my reverie. Looking up, I saw Ariadne coming towards me.
“Where’s your guard?” I asked. “I’m surprised the king let you out of his sight for a moment.”
“It took some convincing but that castle was starting to feel like a prison.” She shuddered at the word. “I’ve had enough of cells for a lifetime.”
Glancing over at the golden palace, I snorted. “It looks like we’re doomed to spend the rest of our lives in that prison.”
“So it would seem,” she agreed with a heavy sigh. “Are you okay?”
“Surviving,” I said. “I know I should be happy; we killed the Sorceress and you’re safe and sound and miraculously, we made it back alive. The poets will be singing our tale until the end of time.”
“If you’d ever tell it,” Ariadne cut in.
“Do you feel like talking about what happened?” I asked pointedly.
“No.” Ariadne tucked her knees under her chin and stared out into the sea. “You still have nightmares about it?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I think I always will.”
She looked at me and traced a finger across one of the scars on my cheek. “Your scars are more than skin deep,” she commented.
“So are yours,” I turned to face her. She was looking much better than when Athala and I had pulled her from the rubble of the crumbling Eisenpalast. Her hair’s luster had returned and she’d gained back much of her weight. But she was still frail and her eyes had a haunted expression. She smiled a lot less too.
“Mine is one long, continuous scar from one horrifying nightmare,” she said. “But you experienced so much tragedy and pain, I can’t imagine.”
I swallowed hard, thinking of Helga, Rolf, and Warin, as well as the dozens of others that Athala and I had mourned. “A lot of people died along the way,” I admitted.
“I didn’t ask for this,” she said.
“I know and I don’t think they died for you,” I said. “They died to be free and end an 85-year evil. I think their sacrifice was worth it and despite everything, the world is a better place for it.”
“I know,” Ariadne nodded. “But we must bear the price and it is a costly price.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I don’t think I really rescued you, or came back myself,” I added, thinking of my conversation with Athala that last night. “I think the old us died in those mountains.”
“I know what you mean,” she said. “How do I pick up the pieces of my life after this?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been asking myself the same question,” I commiserated. Looking back to the castle, I sighed. “I guess it doesn’t really matter. Everyone else has decided how we move on.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness out of my voice.
“Our prison,” she nodded.
“After everything we’ve been through, it all seems so pointless,” I said angrily. “The politics, the games, the partying, the posturing; all of it. I’ve watched people die and these people are far more worried about their own petty positions. I can’t handle it!”
“Perhaps that’s why we need you,” Ariadne suggested.
“No, you need someone who wants to be king,” I said. “All I see is a prison. Is this my reward? To be chained to that throne for the rest of my days? I wish you could rule and we wouldn’t have to worry about this.”
“But I can’t,” Ariadne said. She looked at me softly. “It isn’t just being king that has you up here, is it?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Athala’s leaving today, isn’t she?” Ariadne asked, a twinge of sadness in her voice.
“I…”
“You love her, don’t you?”
For a moment, I considered lying but decided against it. Ariadne deserved the truth. “I’m sorry Ari, but I do. After everything we’ve been through together, she’s a part of me and always will be. I love her and always will love her. I’m sorry; you deserve better than
this.”
“There is nothing to be sorry for,” she said. “You’ve given enough; more than enough. You should not be shackled to a throne you do not want and a wife you cannot love.”
“Ari, I—”
“Go,” she said, eyes sad but with a hint of that old kindness. “You still might catch her.”
“But what about you?”
“I’ll be fine, or as fine as I could be,” she said. “Now go, you deserve to be happy.”
“So do you.”
“I don’t think I could be happy with a husband in love with another,” she replied. “Now go! I’ll cover for you.”
I hugged her and stood. “Thank you,” I said.
“No,” Ari shook her head. “I will forever be thanking you.”
Athala
I stood on the dock, getting ready to board a ship and go on the ocean. It should’ve exhilarated me. In fact, everything about Alkilion should’ve exhilarated me. It was incredible, everything I’d ever been told and so much more.
But all I felt was empty sadness. Since returning to Alkilion, Zimri and I had barely seen each other. I was always kept under a watchful guard and Zimri was sequestered in the palace, away from me. I think King Sennacheriv suspected there was something more than comradery between us and didn’t want anything interfering with his daughter’s marriage.
I had known this was going to happen, of course, as much as everything in me hoped it wouldn’t. Zimri would chose to rule his people because they needed him far more than I did. Zimri would do the right thing by his people because that’s who he was. Just this once, though, I wished he wouldn’t.
But here I was, lingering by the ship that would carry me away from him forever hoping he would come to say good-bye; hoping he wouldn’t. I felt more alone than ever before in my lonely life. My heart ached and not just from the pain of being brought back to life. I was hollow and empty inside, as if the best part of me had been ripped away.
Why hadn’t he just let me stay dead in the Eisenpalast? I would’ve died knowing he loved me and not have to endure this. Now, I didn’t know what to do with my life. My whole purpose had been to serve Katrina and then it had been to kill her. Now that she was gone, I didn’t know who I was or what I was to do? It would’ve been so much better if I had just died there.
“My lady, we must go soon,” the captain told me, shaking me into action. “Will you please board?”
Sighing, I nodded, stepping towards the gangplank.
“WAIT!” a voice shouted and we both turned to see a figure dashing towards us. “WAIT!” he called again.
My heart skipped a beat. There was no way it could possibly be…
Zimri pounded down the pier, skidding to a stop in front of me, doubling over to catch his breath.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded far more sharply than I should have.
Zimri straightened and smile that old, impish smile of his. Then, he grabbed me in his arms, pulling me into him and pressing his lips to mine in a deep, passionate kiss.
My mind went blank as I melted into him dropping my bag and wrapping my arms around him, kissing him back with the ferocity of a dragon.
“What are you doing here?” I asked breathlessly when we broke. “What about your fiancé?”
“What fiancé?” he asked with a grin. “As far as I’m concerned, she’s right here.”
“But Ariadne—”
“I can’t marry her and I can’t be king,” he cut me off. “Not without you. You are part of my being, Athala, and I can’t, I won’t live without you. I love you, Athala, I love you more than you can imagine.”
I smiled back at him. “Oh, I think I can imagine quite a bit,” I said. “After all, I love you more than you will ever know.”
He beamed at me, wrapping his arms around me. “So where are we going?” he asked.
“Ashkenaz, for now,” I said. “Captain, do you have room for one more?”
“Sure, why not?” the captain tried to sound gruff, but the corners of his mouth were twitching. “Welcome aboard, sir.”
Arm in arm, Zimri and I boarded the ship together as the sun set across the water. I had no idea what we’d do or where we’d end up. All I knew is that we’d be there together and that was all we needed.
The End
The Sorceress's Apprentice Page 32
