Vi closed her fist, snuffing the fire.
Enough dreaming of things being simple. There was work to be done.
Taking a deep breath, Vi allowed the air to fill her lungs and feed the spark that she associated with the brilliant magic within her. She didn’t bother with Sehra’s instructions. So far, Vi had found the most success on her own, summoning the glyph and her mysterious contact in her own way.
“Narro hath,” she whispered. Just like before, light danced on her skin, and Vi felt the connection nearly instantly. “Hello again.”
There was a long pause that drew a smirk across her lips. She would bet Taavin didn’t expect her to be the first to speak between them, and Vi was glad she’d seized the opportunity.
“I see you decided to contact me again.” He made it sound as if he’d been waiting on her. As if she’d been inconveniencing him in some way.
“You don’t sound surprised.”
“I’m not.”
“Why?” Vi asked.
“Because you need me.” His words were arrogant, yet they smoothed across her skin like sunbeams.
“I don—”
“And because I need you.” That stilled her. There was a begrudging reluctance about the sentiment, and an undeniable sincerity. Vi stared up at the ceiling, looking at the intricately curved wood, waiting for what he’d say next. Fortunately, he didn’t make her ask. “We need to find the apexes.” He paused. “Youneed to find them.”
“Excuse me? I’m not your errand girl.” She’d contacted him to demand help and now he was trying to turn the tables on her.
“This is far greater than your ego,” he said sternly. Vi wished she had a face to look at. Though, perhaps it was better. As a disembodied voice, he couldn’t see the expression she was making at his words right now.
“Why are they so important?”
“In all the recordings by the voices through the ages, they have mentioned apexes of fate as the places where Yargen’s will is at work. You, as the champion, and me as her current voice, must go there and learn of her wisdom.”
“Her wisdom.” Vi snorted. “All I’ve seen at one of these apexes is a vision of my father and you.”
“A vision of your father?” Taavin’s voice rose with obvious interest. “Tell me of it.”
“Maybe…” Vi didn’t want to share her family with this disembodied man. That was a subject far too precious and personal. But… as he needed her, so she needed him. Which gave her an idea. “What do I get in return?”
“You’re withholding the visions of Yargen from me?” He sounded positively aghast. Vi grinned wider.
“I need a teacher, to make sense of this magic I have.” The sooner she did, the sooner she could put all worry about returning to Soricium to bed and merely be excited about being reunited with her family.
“I am not some lowly tutor. I am the voice,” he said haughtily.
“And I am the champion—” Whatever that meant. “So unless you want to find these apexes on your own, I suggest you work with me.”
There was another long pause. If it weren’t for the magic radiating off her skin, Vi would’ve thought he had disappeared entirely. But he was still with her. She could almost feel his breathing.
“Very well. You find the apexes based on my direction and tell me your visions there… And I shall endure the questions of a resident of the Dark Isle about Lightspinning.”
Vi remembered Sehra’s map.The Dark Isle… that was how the rest of the world had labeled the Solaris Empire. This confirmed for her beyond all doubt that wherever Taavin was, he wasn’t in the Empire. Which meant he really did need her to find these apexes. Vi could work with that leverage.
“You have a deal, Taavin. I’ll find your apexes in the Solaris Empire and you teach me… Lightspinning.” It was an apt name for the magic, she supposed, thinking about the swirling glyphs she’d seen surrounding him and what Sehra had conjured.
“Now, tell me of your first vision.”
Vi obliged him, recounting what she had seen in the ruins. She spared him her emotions at seeing her father, and stuck to the facts. Taavin stayed oddly quiet throughout, not even a hum of affirmation that he had heard her.
“I see… Then, the next apex you should seek will be in a tomb marked by Yargen. I would suggest—”
