I shrugged.
Laughing, Xae yanked me into an embrace and kissed me. It was just a quick kiss to celebrate, but it was long enough for a group of Corrupted to surround us. I heard their shuffling as I eased away from my lover, then gasped when I saw a wall of men and women around us with blank expressions and swords. Raised swords.
“Xaedren!” I shouted as the swords came down.
A blast of Air Magic burst out of me with my panic, sending the Corrupted tumbling. But it also bowled Xaedren over. Before he could get up, another group of Corrupted converged on him. Xae shot to his feet as I shouted again, this time wordlessly. Magic gathered with my fear and determination, then surged out of my body in a brilliant white cloud that took my shape. I gaped as that spectral me flew into my lover. It wasn't a freeing wraith. For one thing, I didn't know how to do that. It also wasn't black, nor was there any corruption inside Xae. So what the fuck was it?
Xaedren's eyes went wide, locking on me instinctively as my ghost sank into him. Swords sliced downward, toward him, but as they did, another blast came, this one emerging from Xae. Air Magic blew out from his body, sending the Corrupted tumbling, just as I'd done with the last bunch. With a heavy breath, Xaedren settled his shoulders and looked down at himself.
I ran to him. “Are you all right?”
“What the fuck was that?” Loren shouted at us from above.
“Ember!” Xaedren shouted back, then met my stare. “What did you do to me, love?”
“I haven't a clue.”
He nodded and took my hand. As soon as we touched, his hand glowed, and we both gaped at it.
“It's you,” Xae whispered. “I can feel you inside me. Your magic. Youressence.” He lifted his free hand and touched my cheek. That hand began to glow too. “Sweet Goddess, I think you've shared your magic with me, Ember.”
I set my hand over his, and the glowing faded. “Then let's not waste it.”
We strode toward the remaining Corrupted together, hand-in-hand.
Chapter Thirty-One
Xaedren and I rounded up the Corrupted, using Air Magic to sweep them into the pit with the others, while Loren freed them of corruption. Once they were all collected, Xae helped to clear the Corrupted, then both of us lifted the freed humans out of the pit with Air Magic. As we worked, the Ladrin trickled back into the village until we had a crowd watching us. When we finished, they cheered.
The newly uncorrupted humans were in a state of shock and whimpered through the cheering, but then Xae and Loren calmed them, and the work of sorting them into groups divided by their home villages began. The Ladrin helped, and I was shocked to see them bring blankets, food, and water out to the people who had just attacked them. Even the children helped, laughing as they ran back and forth from the village well. But then, children are the most resilient of creatures.
When the pit was empty, I closed it, sealing the land as if it had never parted.
A little Ladrin girl came up to me and asked, “Aren't you human?”
“Uh. Yes.”
“Humans don't have magic.”
“This human is special,” Xaedren said as he joined me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “He's been blessed by the Goddess to help us fight the Corrupter.”
“Wow,” she whispered. Then she ran off toward her family, shouting, “The human has magic! He's blessed by the Goddess!”
“Do you think that was a good idea?” I asked Xae.
He shrugged. “The secret's out, love. We might as well tell the truth.”
“We're going to have to tell the Emperor about what I did, aren't we?”
“Yes. We should probably visit him before we return to the citadel.”
“Go,” Loren said. “I'll see to the humans.”
“Thank you.” Xaedren pulled me into his arms and tucked his head over mine. “Hold on, Ember.”
“Oh, I am,” I whispered as I closed my eyes.
And then we were in the Emperor's antechamber.
