Well, not entirely. The sparks and stars in my blood are still there. Just . . . muted. Glowing embers instead of the flare off a torch.
I try to draw at it, but it’s sluggish, like the magic has been torn apart. No wonder my shoulder aches so badly.
— Magesmith.
I stop short, my heart leaping to my throat, my hand going for a weapon that’s not even there. I’m barefoot in the woods. I have no bow, no sword, nothing.
But then I find Igaa on a branch overhead, and a moment later, she’s on the ground in front of me.
“Igaa,” I whisper, and against my will, my throat tightens.
In truth, I barely knew Nakiis. We weren’t quite friends, but . . . but we weresomething. Maybe it’s my exhaustion, but before I’m ready for it, my eyes well.
Igaa steps forward and wraps me up in her arms.
It’s so unexpected that I don’t react for a moment. Nakiis was so wary of me that I didn’t even expect Igaa to come as close as she did. But her arms close around me, and then her wings do the same, until it’s like being cocooned in warmth.
“I’m very sorry I couldn’t save him,” I say softly.
“He did not expect you to save him,” she says. “He knew, Tycho. He knew.”
“Did my magic die with him?” I say. In a way, I hope it did. It seems fitting.
“No,” she says. “But his power was ripped away, after being bound to yours. Your magic is mourning, too.”
That makes my eyes spill over, and I have to let go of her to swipe at my cheeks.
Igaa withdraws, her wings folding back into place. She doesn’t cry, but she says, “Nakiis would lick those tears off your cheeks.”
Her tone is so dryly ironic, just like his, and it makes me laugh, chasing away some of the emotion. “He probably would.” I let my eyes flick up, scanning the trees. “Are you the last one?” I say. “Are you alone?”
“Alone?” Her eyebrows go up. “No. Not everyone followed Xovaar out of the ice forests— nor did they follow himhere.” She pauses. “Nakiis was not the only one who was wary of magesmiths.” She scoffs under her breath. “If Xovaar had been less arrogant, Nakiis could have warned him of the dangers of allying with that woman.”
“Why did he ally with her at all? He had to know she couldn’t really give him back his magic.”
“Oh, he certainly knew,” says Igaa. “He likely intended to kill her from the very beginning. Xovaar and Karyl were not dissimilar. They both intended to double- cross the other. I simply don’t think he was prepared for the agony that sharing his magic would cause.”
Agony.The word nearly makes me flinch. But then I realize something else. “Xovaar was able to kill Karyl. Why didn’t Nakiis kill Lilith?”
“Oh, Lilith was far more powerful— a born magesmith. Nakiis couldn’t come close. Karyl was new.”
I remember watching it happen, the way the scraver launched himself at Karyl, destroying himself in the process. “He had to know they would shoot him,” I say. “Hehadto know.”
“Oh, it was likely tormenting him,” Igaa says. “Especially once he heard the truth in your words. Nakiis once said having your magic bound to another was like having your very being ripped away, over and over again, day by day.”
My breath catches, because I understand that. Probably betterthan anyone. “Igaa— I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to—”
She puts a hand out, against my chest, over my heart. “Tycho. Nakiisknew.” She pauses, her voice quieting. “Truly. Heknew. He had numerous opportunities to share his magic with Callyn or the queen. But he said if anyone would understand the cost, you would. Only you.”
That makes my chest ache, while simultaneously settling something inside me. I put a hand over hers, holding it over my heart. “Thank you.”
She nods.
I let her go. “Where will you go?” I say. “Will you return to Iishellasa?”
She nods, then sighs. “For now. There is so much fear, so much misinformation.” But then her eyes brighten. “Though I have spoken to your queen. In time, we will discuss a way for us to travel through your lands without fear and hostility.”
“That sounds like Lia Mara.”
