“Hey, if they do treat you differently, then they're assholes. And you don't want them as friends.”
“No, but I'd still want them as family.”
Rath's expression softened. “Family is forever.” He tugged on my hand. “Now, are you ready to begin your Spirit training?”
“Yes. I need to stop moping about and get on with it.”
“Good.”
We continued down the corridor until Rath led me into a nearly empty room. Most of the furniture had been removed, including all the artwork and, well, everything. All that was left was a collection of chairs—three to be exact. Mistress Lectia was sitting in one of them.
“Close the door, Lord Ratharin. Then sit down, both of you.” Lectia waved at the chairs. Once we were seated, she continued, “I am your last teacher, Ember. And the one who will be of the least amount of help.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“Because I am not a Mistress of Spirit Magic. I am a Mistress of the other four elemental magics. But only the Emperor and his Wraiths are wielders of Spirit. That is why I welcome Lord Ratharin to your training. I will guide you, but he will be your true teacher.”
“What this now?” Rath sat back.
“You know Spirit Magic intimately, Lord Ratharin. And you are a Varraen, so you also have some competency with the other elements. I need you to help Ember learn to control them as you do—united under Spirit.”
“But I'm not a teacher. I don't know how I control Spirit.”
“Yes, you do. Don't worry. I will guide both of you. Most of this will be mental work, but the elements may make an appearance. Thus, I've had the room emptied.”
“All right. How do we begin?” I asked.
“First, turn your chairs so that you're facing each other,” she advised. Once we did as she instructed, she said, “Now, Lord Ratharin, lay your hands face-up on your knees. Ember, you place your hands atop Ratharin's, palms together. Yes, like so. Close your eyes. I want you both to take a deep breath and when you release it, let every muscle in your body relax. Begin.”
I inhaled and with my exhale, I tried to relax. Surprisingly, many of my muscles obeyed, and I found myself slumping in the chair.
“Keep going with the breaths until you are completely relaxed. Breathe in to the count of three—one, two, three. Now, out to the count of four—one, two, three, four.” She went on, guiding us through our breaths until I was a puddle in my chair. “Now, sink your awareness into yourself, deep where your magic is rooted. Let the magic guide you to it. Going deeper, deeper, deeper. You are weightless here. Nothing but your essence and your magic. All of your truth lies here, in your core. Feel it. Accept it. Breathe.”
Mistress Lectia left us there, hanging in the void of ourselves for what felt like an eternity but what was probably a few minutes. Not that it was torture. Far from it. I felt comfortable there, more in touch with myself than I'd ever been. And just on the border of my essence, I felt another presence. Someone strong, whose love burned bright enough to reach through my physical form and touch my soul. My spirit.
“There. You are so close,” Lectia's voice flowed back gently. “You already have a bond. That's good. It will make this easier. I want you to reach for each other. Not physically, but with your souls. Feel Rath, Ember. Let him come through your hands. Welcome him into you.”
I took another breath and as I let it out, I let Rath in. I simply stopped pushing him away. Rath's essence surged into me and with it came all his truths. The man he was. The being inside his body. I saw the depth of Rath's loyalty to the Emperor, his determination to fight for his world until the last breath left his body, and the honor that guided his actions. But I also saw his weaknesses, and I was among them. His honor shattered when it came to me. Rath would defy mages, magic, and even the Emperor himself to protect me. His love overcame all that he was. I didn't make him a better man, as I'd done for Xae. I made Rath less. But less what? Less honorable? Perhaps. But what was honor to the heart? Less loyal? He showed me loyalty. No, this wasn't a weakness. It was another type of strength. A very particular one.
Then Rath was inside my soul. I felt us merge. All that I was became his. He saw it. My triumphs and shame. My tragic past. My sorrow and loneliness. My love for Xaedren. And . . . for him. There it was, the truth unmasked. I had loved Rath all along. He took it all into his essence until I couldn't tell who was who. Instead of losing myself, it freed me. Bliss like no other flooded me. I floated in the void but was not alone. I would never be alone again.
And I felt his joy—Rath's elation at being there with me. This was more than he hoped for. More than a joining of bodies. Far beyond such baseness. This was true love. The complete knowledge of another person's virtues and faults, then the complete acceptance of it all. No rejection here, not even for our ugliest parts. His love found mine and became something ten times stronger.
Then Lectia's voice floated down to us, “Now, reveal your magic to each other. Ember, seek the Spirit Magic in Rath. And Rath, seek Ember's. Find the similarities and the differences. Let the magic show you the way to wielding it.”
I spun with Rath, twirling in all that was him until I felt the Spirit Magic separate and come forward—both his and mine. It gleamed, colorless but brilliant. A gift from the Goddess. No, a piece of the Goddess. Rath had gone through trials to prove himself worthy. But the Goddess had found me before I was born and freely given me the gift all Wraith Lords had to work for. It was her will made into magic. Her power to unify the elements. Control? No, there was no need for control. All I had to do was let go. The magic was there to guide me. All the other elements had to be controlled, but not this one. This onewascontrol. It was the Goddess in me. Now a part of me.
With a brilliant burst of energy and a gasp, I felt the magic come alive. All my doubts and fears vanished, releasing the hold I had on the magic. Rath flowed back into his body, but he took a little of me with him. I felt it go. Just as I'd felt a part of me enter Xae. With Rath inside of me, I didn't have to push that piece out to him. He just accepted it.
We were bound now. Eternally. Would Rath share in my power as Xae did? I didn't know. But he shared my heart.
I gasped and jerked back, opening my eyes to find the void gone. Blinking, I tried to process what had happened but it was hard to think within the maelstrom. Around us, magic swirled, flashes of green, blue, yellow, and red dancing to form a tornado. And the energy containing them was Spirit, shining without color. Controlling the wild power.
“Take it, Ember,” Mistress Lectia said. “Accept who you are.”
I stood up in a daze and held out my arms. The tornado spun into me, funneling straight into my chest. With a wild cry, I threw my head back and accepted it. All I was. All I would be. All that I was meant to be. My body vibrated, and I knew I was about to fade. Me. Ember Aldritch, a human, was about to fade like a Wraith Lord. But where would I go? In my mind, I saw the place I yearned to return to.
The world went black. Stars sparkled in the darkness. I saw eternity in a second. And then I was standing on a beach, staring at the vast blue of an ocean. A few feet ahead of me was where Xaedren had made love to me in the shallows.
