Where once Eramus might have shrunk under Kieran's stone-cold gaze, he now smiled. "That we do."
Aldeth’s hands glowed as his aura illuminated. “I’ll keep you safe until you’ve left the meadow.”
Kieran nodded and gently pulled Evree towards the path leading to the village. Arrows rained from the sky, clashing against Aldeth's wall of magic. Evree kept a watchful eye over her shoulder as her father guided her away, mouthing “I love you” before disappearing from Eramus's view.
A bellow drew their attention. Zeeran fired a wide wave of magical energy across the meadow. The sound of clanking metal resonated through the air as the soldiers toppled to the ground in a mess of limbs and weapons.
Yelene's hands flew to her mouth to cover her gasp. "Zeeran!"
His cousin must have recognized his mother's voice because he pivoted to face them, his eyes wide. More arrows rained from the sky as Yelene lifted the skirts of her faded yellow dress and ran several yards closer to him. "Zeeran!"
“Yelene!” Aldeth shouted, waving his hands until he summoned a ripping current of air that nearly knocked Eramus to the ground. The wind swept across the meadow, blowing against the arrows and causing them to fall short of their target. Repetitive thumps echoed as hundreds of them dropped to the ground.
Yelene choked with sobs, and tears flowed over her cheeks. Zeeran’s expression softened to one Eramus had never seen on his cousin, an almost conflicted look in his eyes. He wondered if Zeeran regretted his decision to leave or if any part of him longed to come back. Eramus knew his aunt and uncle well enough to know they would accept their son with open arms. Perhaps Yelene could persuade him to abandon Morzaun and his scheme of darkness.
"Zeeran, please come home," said Yelene, her words cut off with sniffles. "Please come home with us."
Zeeran closed his eyes, his voice quaking. "I can't."
Yelene shook her head. "Of course you can! We love you. All we want is for you to come home. This isn't who you are. You're my sweet little boy who hates parsnips and enjoys jumping in mud puddles and—"
“He isn’t a child anymore,” said Morzaun, clenching his fists. “Zeeran can think for himself and make his own decisions. Just because he sees things differently than you doesn’t make him bad or wrong, as you would have him believe.”
"Murder is wrong, Morzaun. You once believed the Virgàm gave us our power to save our people. We promised to stop the evil that plagued our land, and instead of keeping that promise, you've become the very thing we wanted to protect our people from. I know how much Senniva's death affected—"
"Don't!" Morzaun's chest heaved and fire burned in his eyes. "Don't say her name."
Yelene tilted her head, and her shoulders slumped. Morzaun moved to Zeeran's side and rested his hand on his shoulder. "Come. It's time for us to take our leave."
Aldeth conjured a shield as another fiery assault descended from the sky. Zeeran gave his mother one last frown and nodded. "Let's go."
Morzaun turned to face Eramus. "Iwillsee you again, Eramus. That's a promise. Delran may not have access to Verascene, but I do. You cannot hide from me."
He pulled a leather strand from beneath his tunic and took the round object dangling from it in his hand. The amulet glowed, and within seconds, both he and Zeeran disappeared in a swirl of black dust.
Yelene crumbled to the ground. Eramus ran to her side and pulled her against him as Aldeth continued to ward off balls of fire and arrows. Her entire body shook with her soft whimpers. "He's not lost," Eramus whispered into her ear. "Not completely. I could see it in the way he looked at you. Don't give up hope."
She pulled away and patted his face. “Thank you,” she said with a soft smile. “I won’t ever give up hope.”
"Yelene!" Aldeth yelled as a storm of arrows splattered against his green wall of magic. "I need your help, love."
His chest heaved with his heavy gasps. Aldeth could only conjure so many shields before his energy would be drained, just as Eramus’s was. But what were they supposed to do? Eramus knew his aunt and uncle had no more desire to murder hundreds of soldiers than he did.
Delran’s voice boomed from the tree line. “Fight back, traitors! We do not fear your power!” He outstretched his sword, his war cry piercing the air. “Attack!”
Bodies flooded across the dark green grass like a wave. Aldeth turned to face Eramus and Yelene, his eyes wide. “Yelene, we have to do something! Help me, love!”
Aldeth's words seemed to shake her from her sorrow. Yelene moved to her feet and rushed to her husband's side. She whispered something into his ear, and Aldeth gave her a nod. She sped towards the forest, and Eramus started to go after her, but Aldeth called him to a halt.
"We have a plan, Eramus. I need you to trust us. I don't want to cast any spells that could cause more damage, but I must hold them off until she is ready.”
Aldeth’s movements through the air were fluid, almost like water flowing through a gentle stream. When at last he thrust his palms forward, an invisible wall of air moved across the grass, the blades bending under the force.
His spell toppled half the soldiers over, but those who pushed through the current continued on. Aldeth mumbled an incantation, and the vegetation itself responded to his words. The grass between them grew thicker and taller, impeding the army's ability to march across the battlefield.
Eramus’s heart raced, but he trusted his aunt and uncle. Yelene and Aldeth had no desire to harm anyone, unlike his father. Despite everything they had been through, they only desired to use their magic to help and protect those who could not do so themselves. Whatever Yelene had planned, Eramus trusted it was their best chance of ending this with the least amount of destruction and death. They wouldn’t achieve peace through forced subjugation, but through hard work and perseverance. It would take both to cure the hatred and prejudice against magic, but Eramus believed they could in time, and without the loss of thousands of innocent lives.
The soldiers drew closer. Soon, they would be close enough for hand-on-hand combat.
