The wind leaves my lungs, and I feel like I’ve taken a blow to the stomach.
She grabs my hands, keeping me steady, her chained hands bleeding and weak. “For years, your father has been angry that our people grew complacent with using minimal magic. He’s desperate to bring that powerful magic back, thinking it willcurse us once more with greater wielding abilities so he can rule all.” She notices my hands, the black veins painting my skin like a faded tattoo. “Briar, what is this?”
I jerk my hands back. “The third trial. I performed a ritual to save Rohhit’s life using a crystal… from my father’s borrowed sword.”
She blinks hard. “Listen to me: If he sees your hands, he will know.” She coughs, blood splattering on the floor.
“He will know what, Rose?”
“These trials were always a distraction, a test to see who amongst us is the strongest for him to use as a vessel during the final ritual. He wants to try to use the crystal again. If he sees your hands, Briar, he will know that you are a vessel for Kalix to walk this realm again.”
I stare at her, unable to process what I’ve learned. I knew all along that something about me was different, and I knew that five years ago, something greater shared my body with me; I just had never realized it until now.
“I think I’ve known that, Rose. I just couldn’t admit it.”
She begins to sob, her eyes fluttering closed.
I move closer, grabbing her face. “Why did you risk your life to write these letters?” She coughs again, blood trickling from her cracked lips. “Rose, please! Why were you with my mother, helping her the night she died?”
She opens her eyes, the whites turning a visible red as they flutter against the dim candlelight. “Because that’s what sisters do.”
She collapses next to me, her eyes tightly shut. Tears stream down my face, causing my vision to blur in the darkness. I hold her close, rocking back and forth, a sob escaping my throat. “You can’t leave me,” I scream. I check her neck, praying for a heartbeat to return. A faint pulse sends a tremor through my body as I start to delve deeper into my magic than I ever havebefore. For so long, I hid my powers, what I was capable of, and how I could wield them. Not anymore.
I shift, only to crash into the ceiling. Powerful wards protect this room from leaving. I must leave now, refusing to leave without her. I scan the room, hoping to find anything to help at this moment. I look where Rose crawled from blood. A box is drawn on the stone wall with five lines almost completed in the center, out of view for anyone who peeks inside.
“Rose! You were trying to break the wards yourself,” I shriek, knowing she doesn’t hear me.
I immediately notice the blood leaking from her leg. I sprint to the wall, studying the markings—a Wiitch’s Rigil. This should open the wards for only a few seconds, but it will allow us to escape.
“I’m sorry, Rose, but this is going to hurt.”
I dip my finger into the fresh wound on her leg as she groans against the pressure. I need blood to complete the lines. I hurry back to the wall, finishing the markings as red liquid drips from my finger. A few more lines and a wide circle conclude the ritual, making the magic clash with the wards surrounding us. The blood glows with a bright white light before vanishing into the wall itself. A small quake ripples through the room, and instantly, I feel the ward lift, my magic bubbling in response like an explosion in my mind. My darkness seems to relish the ward’s opening, allowing me to dig deep, realizing I have only a few moments left to get us out of here and to safety.
I grab her waist when I hear the door rattling from the outside.
“Hold on, Rose. I know where we’re going!” I whisper. My body turns to mist, nothingness, pure darkness as the wards open. Adrenaline fuels my magic to shift faster than I ever have. The quick movement makes me feel like I may spill my stomach as the weight of Rose makes my body scream in pain. Our bodiesleave the prison cell for help, heading toward the House of Hedro.
“What the fuck!” Maines nearly falls to the ground as we crash into her room. “Rose! Briar! What happened?”
Catching my breath, I mumble, “She lost a lot of blood. Please. Please help her!” Without another word, Maines bounds toward Rose’s limp body. She shouts down the hallway for another healer to assist. I’ve seen the woman who enters, but I’ve never met her before.
She bows in my direction. “Princess! It’s nice to meet you.”
Maines sharply cuts in. “Now is not the time to be proper. We have but a few minutes to save this woman’s life.”
The woman curtsies in my direction before quickly assisting Maines—her intensity rippling through the room. Eden, another woman I’ve encountered many times before, rushes in and starts to evaluate me.
“I’m fine!” I bark, trying to keep an eye on Rose, my aunt.
“You need to sit down. You just shifted miles; that’s hard on anyone, even with someone as powerful as you, especially carrying another person.”
My eyes snap back to her gentle face, a Lumor wielder, evident by her pale hair. “What do you mean someone as powerful as me?”
Eden keeps her head down. “Princess, I’ve been around a lot of people during my years as a healer, and I’ve never felt magic radiating off someone the way I feel it from you right now. We sensed something change before you even arrived.”
I ignore her response and let her assess me. With elegant grace, black shadows flow from her hands as I notice her studying my own, a weary look painted across her face. “You’ll be fine in an hour or so, Princess.” Eden stands. “Rest for now. Your friend is going to be okay.” She refuses to make eye contact with me, as if it pains her to look into my eyes.
“Thank you!” I attempt to say, but she rushes from the room.
