“C’ael?” I reached for him but was pulled away by Jasha.
“Wait,” he said gruffly.
C’ael’s body trembled for several moments, the flames licking at his skin but not burning him.
And then he spoke, but it wasn’t his voice that spilled from his lips. It was Araz’s.
“Leela, I feel you close.”
A wave of relief washed over me, tearing a sob from my throat. I sagged in Jasha’s arm.
“Fuck…” Jasha said softly, releasing me.
I stepped forward a couple more rings. “Araz, it’s you? Really you?”
“Yes, Leela. It’s me, but I don’t have much time, so listen carefully. Right now, C’ael is acting as a bridge to allow meto communicate with you. This connection won’t last in the physical world, but it will remain in the liminal spaces. I will be able to find you in the dreaming when it is safe to reach for you. Donotreach for me, orhemight sense it. Tell me that you understand.”
“I understand.”
“Good. C’ael will now take the flame into himself. He must bring it to me. To my flesh and bone body. The flame is a part of me. The missing essence I need so that I can access the core of my power and free myself fromhiscontrol.”
“And what about C’ael? He’s a part of you too, isn’t he? An actual part of your essence, not just a creation.”
Araz went silent for several beats, and panic squeezed my throat. “Araz?”
“I’m still here. I’m simply marveling at your powers of deduction. You’re truly formidable, Leela. I’m proud to call you my twin flame.”
“You didn’t answer my question about C’ael.”
“You care for him.”
“I do.”
“You love him.”
My throat thickened, but there was no denying the truth, not from Araz. “Yes, I do.”
A soft sigh filled the space between us. “It’s all right, Leela. By loving him, you love me also. And yes, he is born from my essence. Created in the moment that the evil latched on to me. Created to prevent the primordial evil from accessing the core of my power. If I was not whole, then I could not claim the well of energy hidden inside me. But by creating him, I forget parts of myself. Meeting C’ael unlocked those memories.”
My breath came faster, shallower. “So what happens to C’ael once you have the flame? If he’s a part of you, then are you going to take him back?”
“No, Leela. C’ael is his own entity now, even though he is a part of me like you rightly deduced. He will be free to remain as such. The flame will be enough to free me. C’ael knows what must be done.”
The fist around my throat relaxed its grip, the guilt that had been simmering beneath the surface of my consciousness dissipating now that I understood my draw to C’ael. “Are you safe?”
“I am safe. I wish that I could tell you to run. To walk away from this, but I cannot. Not now I remember the truth of the entity that has hold of me. Not now I remember what its purpose is.”
Ice trickled through my veins. “Unmaking…”
“Yes, this world is in danger, and wemustsave it. I will keep fighting until you come for me, but if you come and you find me too far gone, then you must do whatever it takes to ensure the entity is stopped, even if it means destroying my mortal flesh. Promise me.”
The words refused to come, but I forced them out, giving him the vow he needed to hear. “I promise you.”
“I love you, Leela, so very much. I will find you in the dreaming.”
“Wait, how will I know it’s truly you? I know I’ll figure it out once we’re together for a little while, but I want to be sure from the start. We need a code word.”
“A code word? What word would you like me to say when I find you?”
