“I’m not a part of amagical resistance, you know? Until a few days ago, I had only ever summoned earth magic. I’ve been trying to summon air but there’s only one time that Imighthave been successful. I’m still not sure if that was me.”
“What were you doing when youmight havesummoned it? Can you do that again now?” Kieran runs a hand through his auburn hair, tugging it in frustration.
“I don’t think you want me to answer that, Kieran.”
“For fucks sake,” he murmurs under his breath. “Take my hand.” He extends a large hand towards me that I don’t grab. “Seriously, Ivy, we are running out of time. Just take my hand.”
I tentatively place my hand in his palm, swallowing down the bile that rises in my throat as our skin touches. There’s no buzz or magnetic pull like there is with Cal, no connection between our magics, just good old fashioned loathing.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” I ask, eager to get away from his hold.
“No, but I’m not a strong enough wielder to summon a sustained wind on my own. We have to try.” Frightened urgencylaces his tone. Staying another night in Ruby is not an option for Kieran.
He points to the cliffs ahead, directing my attention to the rocky peaks that tower over the Alloy. “Focus your intention on that point and imagine the wind originating there.”
Magic churns in my veins, ready to be unleashed. Dark magic—the opposite of what I need right now.
I swallow it down, willing the shadows that skate the edges of my vision to vanish. The tattooed sea beast slithers to life against my stomach, and somehow I know we’ve already lost one of our precious minutes.
Focus, Ivy.
I close my eyes and picture a hawk’s nest amongst the southernmost point of the Facet Range. A platform of twigs and sticks filled with soft grasses, bark, and leaves. Sharp traces of broken, hatched life discarded around its edges.
A black-tipped yellow beak peaks above the rim of the nest just before the large bird emerges. She spreads her brown wings to the sun, the white underside of her plumage on full display. With a shrill, screaming “kee-ah,” she leaps, plummeting down the cliff face until a burst of wind catches under her broad wings and carries her upward. The majestic bird soars from its haven, across the slope of the mountain, and over the now rippling current of the river.
Pride swells in my chest, my eyes popping open to see white sails hanging limp from their spars rather than billowing in the wind. None of it was real. The bitter taste of disappointment fills my mouth. I cut my eyes to Kieran to make sure he doesn’t see the failure that is written on my face.
His eyes are closed, the muscles in his arms and shoulders tense with the strain of wielding. His grip tightens around my hand, his lips pursing as he increases his focus.
The Ivy I was when I left home would never in a million years believe what is happening right now. I’m holding Kieran’s fucking hand while we try to simultaneously summon the godsdamned wind.
What the hell kind of game are the gods playing?
“Are you even trying?” Kieran spits at me through gritted teeth without opening his eyes.
“Are you?” I snap back.
A light breeze blows through the loose ends of my brown hair in response.
“Show off,” I murmur.
The beast slithers again. Another minute down.
Familiar magic scrapes its claws across my neck. Somewhere behind me, Cal grows agitated. It’s not directed at me, but I have the overwhelming urge to use it.
The glowing green strands of my power twist through the air searching for his. If anyone else can see them, they make no indication.
Magic spins in sparkling spirals, curling around Cal’s dark form, prodding and teasing gently. A delicate knock to be let in. Cal’s emotions flood me as he opens the door to his power. The verdant threads of my magic rush into the cerulean mass of his mixing into a shimmering viridian conglomerate of power. A rightness settles into my bones and I know I can easily wield his elements.
I pluck a single thread and pull it into me. One lifeline to help me ensure we leave the Ruby Region today.
Kieran’s hand shakes in mine, drawing me away from Cal. There is no glow, no aura surrounding the new governor’s power. Nothing that mine can mingle with or draw from. No element that I can summon and wield besides my own.
The faint wind that Kieran has summoned increases and I hear the soldiers around us start to murmur.
“Do you feel that?”
“The gods must be on our side today, boys!”
