He responded with a groan. Luckily, carrying him wasn’t so much of a struggle due to my hidrae abilities. I lifted him on my shoulders, tucking my hands beneath his knees. I piggybacked him outside. The tunnel felt like it’d never end. It was probably because I was so anxious. The need to quickly find someone to help him caused time to crawl. Where was the nearest healer? Godsdammit. The layout of the academy had changed due to the trials. Everything looked so different. The tunnels led to a flight of stairs. I climbed it, the steps seeming to stretch upward too much. Kaji muttered something I couldn’t make out. His body was starting to grow colder. Was he turning into a corpse?
Once I got out of the arena, I should be able to find a healer quickly. And I had to warn the fae of Lysunth, too. An angry god was about to go on a rampage, and…
My thoughts halted the moment I reached the top of the stairs. The skies had turned red, just like on that battlefield. Portals appeared all around the academy. Swarms of undead marched out, their swords raised above their heads and their vicious expressions telling of their need to slaughter. The fae were nowhere to be seen. Were they hiding? Thinking up a way to retaliate? There was one fae who had been left behind. She ran from the creatures. Her legs couldn’t carry her fast enough. A teramarth—it had wings—swooped down. It swung its sword through her head and pierced her skull.
Another teramarth turned to me, “looking” at me with its hollow eye sockets. I thought it might attack, but it continued onward with the rest of its companions, as if pretending I didn’t exist.
Cardell was doomed. We might have stood a chance on the frontlines, but Lysunth was taking us via the back. The fae had been gearing up for a celebration, not a battle for their lives. The best of the fae had just ended the Flower Trials, and like me, the champions were likely drained of energy. This was no time to fight the teramarth.
Damn Charmingface. His need for power had driven him to ruin us all.
I scanned across the destroyed buildings. The barracks where I stayed were being swarmed by teramarth. Where was I to go now?
An explosion made a large bam. Smoke plumed up toward the red sky. Soot and rot and death stank up the whole place.
The teramarth left me alone, marching on to find their victims. Lysunth wanted me on her side, still. I didn’t understand why one so evil saw something in me. How could she even think that I might be drawn to her?
I ran toward the infirmary, past the rotting soldiers. I counted five portals. They ebbed and swirled, the same black as Lysunth’s energy. The number of undead that walked out of them looked endless. I stopped in front of the infirmary. It was aflame, its roof caved in. Fire burst from its top. The solution to Kaji’s problem was supposed to be in there, but it seemed like the healers had evacuated. Either that, or they’d been killed by the teramarth.
I stared at the destroyed building. An old fae was being dragged out the front door by a group of undead. Together, they stabbed him as he begged for his life.
With that, I just couldn’t take it any more.
I lowered Kaji to the ground.
“I don’t know where to go, Kaj,” I said. He was completely knocked out and couldn’t respond. Was I going to lose him? He’d always been there for me, and thinking about him gone from my life terrified me to no end.
Gods, I felt so useless. I was supposed to be better than this. Mom always told me that I was to support my sister in her rule. I was in line for the throne in Constanria, and a potential ruler for such a large nation wasn’t allowed to give up. If my country ever fell, I had to remain strong, because I was to support it.
It was too much of a burden to carry.
Give up. Through coming to Thesnan, I’d learned just how cruel the world could be.
The adrenaline that had kept me going finally wore off.
Then I laughed.
It was a sign of me breaking. Hysteria took over. I laughed and laughed until my cheeks hurt. I swept the tears from my eyes as I clutched Kaji’s hand tightly. How had I thought I could win? What did that even mean? When faced with this much death and carnage, winning didn’t mean anything. We were all losers in the game of war.
“What’s right and wrong anymore?” I asked Kaji. He lay so still that one might mistake him for a corpse. It’d be nice to hear one of his curt remarks. They usually made things simpler. “Kaj, please wake up.”
But he didn’t move.
I never should have come here.
My laughter turned into sobs, and my sobs into silence. I gripped my stomach. It hurt. I wasn’t sure from what. I glanced upward. It was the wrong thing to do. All I saw was a broken landscape, and that merely served to highlight just how broken I was.
I drew Kaji onto my lap, my cries still shaking me.
Aereala, if you can hear me, please save Kaji. I dragged him here. If anybody should suffer punishment, it’s me. Spare the idiot. He’s got a lot more ahead of him, and all I ever seem to do is make the wrong choices. He doesn’t deserve the pain. I’ll take it in his place.
For a long while, all I heard was the rasping of the teramarth. I couldn’t sit here forever. The healers were probably somewhere nearby, if they weren’t dead already. I needed to look harder. How much time did Kaji have left? I wrapped my arms around his body and pushed myself to my feet.
A flash of light answered me. I blinked, and right after, I was no longer on soot-covered ground. I opened my eyes to a separate realm, one with dozens of frightened faces looking at me, shrouded in a shade of blue. I looked up, and in this realm, the sky was covered with specks of blue—like stars, but too dim. The land was empty, however. No grass. No trees. Not even dirt. It felt like I was standing on nothing at all.
The first person I recognized was Nemreth. He had both his arms spread out. White wisps of light poured from his palms. Aland was doing the same thing, and both appeared deep in concentration. The light that poured from their hands meandered through the air, dissipating into their surroundings. It looked like the magic was blending with the environment itself. Where was Cendri? The arrogant blond twat was usually with them. He wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
I grew curious over what Nemreth and Aland were doing, but I had to save Kaji. He was my priority.
“A healer,” I said. There were so many fae here. Most of the academy seemed to be hiding in this realm. “My friend, Kaji, has been injured by Lysunth herself, and I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He’s weak. Somebody, please. Help me save him.”
The crowd huddled closer with each other. Their chatter seemed even louder in this realm. I couldn’t make out the words exactly, but the whispers bothered me nevertheless.
“Please!” I shouted, taking a step closer. Did they still doubt me because I was dragon-kind? You’d think they’d get past that after the teramarth invasion. After all, we were facing death together. Maybe our differences were too hard to put aside.
I began losing hope when I met the hesitance of the fae. Was Kaji really going to die because the fae couldn’t see past their own prejudice?
This wasn’t fair at all.
I was growing bitter when a team of four fae stepped out from the crowd. The man in front had his hand slightly raised. There was no resolve in his action, but at least it seemed like he was trying to help.
“Set him down in front of me,” the man said. “We’re all healers, and we’re not going to turn down a sick patient. Our supplies are low and we’ve given most of our soul beads to Lord Nemreth and Aland, so we might not be at full capability. Still, we’ll figure something out.”
I squeezed Kaji to my chest. He was too precious to let go.
“We can’t heal him if you hold on to him so tightly,” the healer said.
I conceded, seeing no point of clutching Kaji so tight if it meant I might lose him. I took a few steps forward and knelt, Kaji still cradled in my arms.
As gently as I could, I rested his body next to the healers.
“Tell me what happened to him,” the healer said.
“Lysunth had her magic wrapped around him. She did something… I don’t know what.” I bit my lip. “I was hoping someone like you would know.”
“Lysunth?” the healer asked. “The goddess who sent the teramarth?”
I nodded, hating the troubled look on the healer’s face. What if they couldn’t do anything? What if the worst happened and Kaji had to go?
“This will be difficult. Impossible, even.” The healer stroked his chin.
“I’ll do anything to save him. Name your price.”
“It’s not about what you have to offer. It’s my confidence in my abilities. We’re facing a god here. One with dark, powerful, unknown magic. Even the fae king at his full power struggled to fight Lysunth. What are we but mere healers?”
“I don’t want to hear this.” I lowered one knee to the ground, then the other. I shed my dignity, not caring for it. What good was pride if my friend died? I bent my head to the floor, folding myself into a deep bow. Lowering myself like this was unbecoming for a princess, but it was easy to stomach the indignity when I had Kaji as my reason to fight.
I bent to the floor.
And I begged.
This should have humiliated me, but I sensed none of that.
The healer sighed. “Some things are painful to hear, princess. But they must be said. Your friend here may not survive the night.”
“Kaji’s usually strong,” I said, peering up. “He doesn’t get sick, and he survives the toughest of duels. He can’t go like that.” Kaji groaned, whipping his head away from me as I made my proclamation. He was still moving, at least, an indication that he hadn’t left me for Aleaham yet.
The healer bent down and placed a hand on Kaji’s arm. With a grave look, he said to me, “Rest, princess. Hide with the rest of the others. We’ll do our best to take care of him.”
“Rest? There has to be something I can do.” The helplessness was eating me up.
“There is none. You’re of no use now.”
“But Kaj—”
“Leave us to do our job.”
“If he dies, it will be my fault.” I shouldn’t have let Kaji walk down the tunnel with me. It was a silly mistake. If not for me, he’d still be safe in Constanria.
“Sometimes we have to make difficult decisions, and we have to live with them. Please go, princess. We need to focus. And there is nothing you can do.”
Thirty-One
The worst feeling was when a loved one was dying, and you had to witness it idly, powerless. I was beginning to grow too familiar with that feeling. I sat amongst the rest of the fae as I watched the healers struggle over Kaji, their bright lines of magic wrapping around my best friend. My thoughts raced around my head, slamming against the confines of my brain.
Where was Mayhem? Did the teramarth get my ingoria? I couldn’t find him in these confines.
Gods, everything was going wrong, wrong, wrong.
“He needs Cendri’s healing abilities,” a girl with a small voice said.
I hadn’t seen Cendri anywhere. Had he left us behind?
I spun to my left. Fauna sat next to me. I hadn’t even noticed. She was too quiet, her small presence making her difficult to notice. She looked down at her fingers, playing with them, staring at her digits as if they fascinated her. My guess was that she wanted to avoid my gaze. “You helped me earlier. At the trials. You kept your word.”
“Yeah.” I turned back to Kaji. He was all I really cared about then. “Is that a surprise to you?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “I was told the dragon fae lie a lot.”
“Mhm. That’s not new.”
“I didn’t know whether I should have trusted you, but the dark fae keep strongly to their word.”
“You saved me first.”
“I said I would.”
“You didn’t twist your words.”
From my peripheral vision, I watched her straighten her back. “And why would I? I’m not the type to do that.”
“Not like him,” I said, flicking my gaze to Nemreth. “He told me many things that were true, but weren’t at the same time.”
“Nemreth’s a kind man.”
“I don’t understand why everybody keeps saying that.”
“He’s saving us all now. Without Nemreth and Aland creating this realm, the teramarth would have us.”
Was that what they were doing? I wasn’t certain why they were constantly pouring wisps out into the air, their fingers glowing white. At least Nemreth and Aland were doing something. Not like me. The exertion of their magical powers seemed to drain them, their faces filled with looks of determination.
“Can’t the other fae help with the realm?” I asked.
Fauna shook her head. “Only those two are capable of such intricate magic. We’ve tried. The triad are unique individuals. Usually, fae are only allowed to use one form of magic or another, but our saviors can tap into all forms of the art, and at very high levels, too. To create a new realm, even one so small, is magic of the gods.” Fauna tucked her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. “Look at how tired they are. To save all the inhabitants of Cardell is too much a burden for just a couple of men.”
They did appear quite spectacular, upholding this defense amongst the teramarth like that. If not for them, I’d still be crying out in the destruction with Kaji in my arms.
“Where is Cendri?” I asked. I hadn’t seen the blond bastard around. He was usually lingering close to Nemreth. Despite Cendri’s frolicking amongst other women, the chemistry between them was unmistakable. They were undoubtedly attracted to each other, and where one found Nemreth, Cendri was usually nearby.
Fauna pinched the bridge of her nose. “He didn’t come with them. He’s probably still out there, fighting the teramarth.”
“And the fae king?”
Fauna shrugged. “He might have been lost too. I haven’t seen him or Alyxe Bellquaine anywhere.”
It must be terrifying to be out there with all the monsters. Plenty of fae likely hadn’t evacuated, and they were stuck out there amongst the invading undead. How many were still left alive? Was Mayhem out there with them? Thinking about my ingoria being ripped apart by the teramarth tore me up on the inside.
Gods, Mayhem had better be safe.
“You said something about Cendri’s healing abilities,” I said.
“He’s usually the best at it, and if the triad do it together, they have the ability to cure any illness.”
“Any?” It sounded like a tall order.
She nodded. “Neremin used to be the best healer in Cardell. They’ve taken over ever since he lost his abilities, or so I’ve heard. I wouldn’t know too well. I came after the Wall of Thorns blocked out the Teramarth Mountains. We rely on the triad perhaps too much. It drains Nemreth every time, but he helps out the most. Another reason why we keep saying he’s kind.”
“I don’t want to believe it. That Nemreth has good in him.”
“I’m not lying.”
“I know.” Sometimes it didn’t matter what the truth was. It only mattered what I wanted to hear.
I refocused on Kaji to get my mind off the conversation. Increasingly, I grew curious about the fate of Cendri, the fae king, and his lover. Where were the three of them? Lost to the rest of the undead? Then what of the prophecy of the triad?
Lysunth had said that she was aiming for the triad this time. Had she gotten to Cendri first?
I grew increasingly unsettled.
Godsdammit. Why wouldn’t my ears stop ringing? I saw the glow of Nemreth’s hands flicker. His magic was running out. Fae magic required soul essence, and no matter how efficient they were with it, an endless supply didn’t exist.
Our survival was on borrowed time.
Thirty-Two
I spotted the Useless—the magicless children—amongst the crowd. The fae tried to pretend they didn’t exist, even though, every so often, they’d dart their gazes over to the group of frightened children that huddled in a
corner. None of them smiled. All of them appeared worried.
I tore my eyes from the children and turned to the healer standing before me. He was reporting on Kaji.
“We cannot save him,” the healer told me. He was the same man who had promised to at least try. Trying simply wasn’t enough. I needed more. I needed results.
I needed to know that I wasn’t going to lose my best friend.
I sagged toward the ground. My shoulders grew heavier. Waiting for the last two hours had been mentally exhausting. I clutched my hand over my wrist, praying to Aereala. It seemed like only a miracle would save my evaradrae. Weren’t miracles common in the fae lands? It was the land of magic.
“Is there really no way?” I asked, feeling like I was grasping at straws. Maybe I shouldn’t have cared. Judging by the way things were going, Nemreth and Aland would run out of soul beads soon. The makeshift realm would drop, and the teramarth would overwhelm us. Together with the fae, I lived on borrowed time. Perhaps Lysunth might decide I wasn’t worth sparing, and that she’d have me killed once we were thrust back into Thesnan.
“I’m sorry,” the healer said. “We did our best, using every magical weave we know. There are no more soul beads to spare. I know your friend is very important to you, but we need the soul magic to save the rest of the fae. There are many with families here. Many with children. We can’t sacrifice them for a mere dragon-kind.”
“He’s not just any dragon-kind.” He was my best friend. The one who sacrificed without complaint.
The healer dipped his head. “All the best to you, princess.”
I tried to numb my emotions. I searched the crowd of people, scanning over the frightened faces. How many of them had lost loved ones too?
With a heavy heart, I waved the healer away. “Okay,” I said, breathing a sigh. “Please, leave me be.” I clutched Kaji’s hand. He was beginning to feel cold. Was he going to turn into a teramarth? Lysunth had said that she was in the middle of taking him, after all. I kept that information to myself, selfish as it might be. The fae might ask to burn Kaji, and I wanted to buy him more time.
Rakarthen Academy Page 24
