I allow myself a brief moment to gaze into the depthless oceans of his gray eyes, eyes that I want to fall hopelessly into but can’t. A life I want but can never have.
“You can’t know that.”
Magic barrels through me like a flash of lightning. The fathomless infinity of his devotion rushes through my veins, ricocheting between my bones and overwhelming my feeble soul. One look from him, one brush of his lips against mine and I will crumble into the dust that my decaying magic craves.
“I know you feel that. How can you possibly believe yourself reprehensible to me when the fabric of your soul denies it?” Cal shakes his head, a single tear threatening to break loose from the corner of his eye. “You can try to push me away all you want, but I’m not going anywhere.”
“And if Marks kills me?” I ask, in an attempt to further sabotage the moment. Doom and ruin are all that await me on this journey, and I refuse to drag Cal down with me despite my declaration.
“I already said I’d open the gates of the Under Realm,” he chuckles softly. “Who do you think will be holding them open for you when you get there?”
There’s hope written into every line of his delicate smile, the sight of it demanding me to give in to his pleas, to forget every nightmare that’s burned into my memory, and to let his cosmic pull drag me into blissful oblivion.
In a better world, we’d both walk away from this monumental task, both live to see the other side together. But that world doesn’t exist. In this world, we’re gods who have so little control over our power that we can’t even choose our own ending.
No matter how much he may want to.
No matter how much I may want to.
“Do I want to know why you’re both covered in mud and his shirt is ripped?” Kieran asks when Cal and I return to camp.
“Nothing to warrant that look on your face,” I reply mockingly.
“Shame,” the captain mumbles under his breath, gray eyes glinting in the moonlight that has fallen since we left the stream.
“I will take the first watch as long as you both agree not to do anything in that tent that I can hear out here,” Kieran starts. “Your combined magic is already enough to upset my stomach, you don’t need to make it worse.”
“You can really do that?” I ask. “You can sense magic?”
“Sometimes I forget how young you were when your mother died,” the governor replies. “Did your magic even manifest before she?—”
“No,” I interrupt.
Kieran swallows thickly, running a hand through his auburn hair as he replies. “Shit … sorry. I can teach you if you want.”
“I don’t want anything from you,” I spit back at him. “Least of all your pity.”
Dark magic rises in my veins, shadows ready to strike at the source of my anger. A familiar blue power rushes out to subdue the black flames, a life preserver in the waves that threaten to pull me under.
“Ivy.” Cal’s voice cuts through the gloam, illuminating the way back to shore. “I need you to show me what you did to Rollins on the boat.”
Funneling my power into Kieran right now may not be the smartest move, but there’s a part of me that doesn’t care if he’s a casualty. Another wave of Cal’s magic rushes out to wash away the remnants of the power we can’t afford for me to use on our ally.
Reluctantly, I take a step towards Kieran, my hand outstretched to take his.
“On me this time.” The captain takes three large steps backwards, separating himself from the group. “I know you can use my power, but I need to know what happens when you funnel yours into someone else. I need to know if you’re able to do that because Kieran is only a half-god or?—”
“Or if she’s able to take control of the magic of a full god.” Kieran finishes the thought, taking several large steps away from us. “Let’s see if you’ve got what it takes, Governor.”
A deep, shuddering breath fills my lungs as I take a final look at Cal. Steel gray eyes lock onto mine, power pulsing in the air as I cast out the shimmering green bands of my magic. They swirl through the camp, the other governor blind to the power that circles him. But when they teasingly brush against Cal’s cheek, he leans into them. All the confirmation I need that he’s aware of their presence.
Incandescent tendrils of my magic tease the edges of Cal’s power, green wisps glinting around his shining oceanic orb. Warmth washes over me as the colors begin to meld together, his power recognizing mine.
I push further, past the threads that beg to be woven. They part easily, welcoming me into the foyer of his refuge. I pour more of my magic into Cal, the sparkling blue aura of his powermeeting mine in a thunderous crash of viridian that nearly steals the breath from my lungs.
His watery element cries out, tempting me to command the skies. The hair on my arms stands as the electric tingle of a thunderstorm becomes mine. The earthy petrichor that fills the night air around us gives way to the sulfuric smell of fire as I push deeper into him. The elements of fire and air fill my veins as I breathe in the essence of his magic. Each part of a beautiful symphony, strands of magic that I can wield individually or together.
The infinite, depthlessness I felt in Ruby rushes back to me. All-consuming, limitless power. Life and death. Every element in this realm mine to wield as I please.
