“You saw them. They turn brittle and shatter under their own weight. They will be gone by dawn.”And I will take the magic of the divine off this land for good. If Vi had one wish left, it was to see that nothing of Raspian, or Yargen, ever returned to the Dark Isle.
“Princess, we need to act quickly,” Aldrik urged. “She’s dying.”
“I know.” Vi’s attention remained solely on Vhalla. “Vhalla Yarl, after all that you have been through, do you still want to be upon this earth?”
“How can you ask that? Of course I do.”
“Of course,” Vi repeated. Fate still had plans for Vhalla, after all. Plans that Vi’s yet mortal consciousness couldn’t fully grasp. “Very well. I will grant you the power of Yargen one more time. I will change this fate set before you.”
Her body moved and both of Vi’s hands were on Vhalla’s cheeks. She felt a small smile cross her lips. Was this what happiness and contentment felt like? She couldn’t remember.
Halleth.
The word flowed through her. There weren’t any modifiers, any need for clarification—simply, heal. With a tender touch, Vi guided every frayed and out-of-place thread of magic within her body back into its rightful spot. She mended wounds. She sought to return Vhalla to the state she was in before this darkness had settled on the land.
Satisfied, Vi pulled her hands away and stood. She swayed slightly, looking at Vhalla and Aldrik for what she knew was the last time. These people she’d watched over for years. Now, she would leave them to live out their days as they were meant to do.
“Are you all right?” Aldrik asked her.
“I am, but time is short. I’m no longer meant for this world.” She had a dark god to settle the score with.
“Sehra, we can seek out another cleric.”
“No need.” Vi paused at the door. “You did well, but things are only beginning. The vortex still spins.” And the only one who could end it was her.
“Sehra!” Vhalla jumped to her feet.
“If that is the name you choose.” Vi gave her one last smile and slipped out the door, walking away from the lives of Vhalla and Aldrik one final time.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Sea mist sprayedher face as Vi sat serenely in the rowboat that carried her far out around the corners of the cliffs of Oparium. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap, feet tucked under her. She swayed with the rolling of the ocean, never off-balance, always expecting the next wave that would jostle the little vessel.
The pirates who were escorting her, however, had less luck. They were tossed back and forth in the gray seas. A storm brewed on the horizon; Vi searched it for red lightning.
TheStormfroststood anchored in a wide-mouthed cove. The mist that peeled off of it in sheets acted as a natural camouflage, mostly obscuring the vessel in fog. But there wasn’t much travel in these waters yet. Victor had died a mere day ago, and significant rebuilding had to happen before anyone was trading in the seas around the Dark Isle.
The pirates gave her wary glances from time to time, more when they hooked up the rigging. The natural magics surrounding their bodies, the ones Vi was learning made up every living thing, vibrated with apprehension. She made them anxious, which amused her.
At least, she thought it was amusing to her.
One of the men reluctantly offered her his hand to help her on deck and Vi accepted it. He went rigid at her touch and then massaged his palm when her fingertips left it. A smile quirked her lips. Yes, these mortal anxieties were, indeed, amusing, much like she imagined a mother would be amused by their child fretting over a rip in the dress of a beloved doll.
“I was beginning to wonder when you would come,” Adela griped, tapping over to her with her cane in hand.
“Everything in its own time. No sooner. No later.”
“Yes, well…” For the first time, even Adela seemed off-put by her. “Your friend is below. I trust you remember the cabin.”
“Thank you,” Vi said and gave a nod.
She descended belowdecks as Adela shouted, “Raise the anchor! Let’s get out of this backwater place!”
A woman emerged from a cabin door. Her bright blue eyes met Vi’s and they were flooded with relief. Deneya threw her arms around Vi’s shoulders. Vi slowly lifted her arms and gently patted the woman’s back as she believed a friend would.
“It has been forever.”
“Not that long.”
