Atlas laughs, casting a barrier around him. “That’s no trick from me.”
“Noh??” Thylas walks toward the flame I assume is from a torch, letting his own die down. “How?” He clutches his chest, a feeling of the twin drop between us. I watch as the silver tries to grow but it is masked by the darkness. It’s still there — not gone — not entirely.
“There is no time. I had to do this, I have to do this ... I found a way to save our people.” I stumble over my words, trying to say what I need him to know, not knowing how long this connection will last.
The screams on the castle grounds turn to prayers as my people accept their fate and the waters consume them. I glance to Ereon and back to Thylas. I can save them both. My mother’s waters will save her people, and he is one of them. It has to be this way. And because of Thylas, I can travel through the flames.
“Stand back!” I scream. He needs me. I can use his power to transport me like we used Ereon’s to get here. Surely, it could work again. “I’ll come to you!”
Thylas looks at me as Atlas releases his flames once more. “Yes ... let her come, son. I’d love to see her again.” Atlas’ sinister laugh filters through the crackling flames, his hand releasing a fireball.
Thylas looks at me and shakes his head, barely dodging another attack from Atlas. Anara moves into view, before releasing her own flames at Atlas.
“Speak to her …” Anara screams. “Say what you need to because you may not get another chance.” Her fury is unrelenting, as she continues to assault Atlas.
Thylas walks closer to me in the image. “I love you, baby girl. I’ve always loved you.” He reaches out as if he could touch my face and I reach to him. A moment between the flames, our fingers touch and the small silver ripple inside brightens. Flames lick up my arm, burning and heating me as they do. But it’s the surrounding fires that cause me to gasp. They rise and seem to tower over him. He smiles down at something he sees, and I look at my arms. On my arm mimics the same tattoos of his own, except in red, similar to the brand I bear on my thigh. His flames don’t burn me as the heat spreads. “This is my story. Now, you can read it when you need to. I’ve accepted my fate and I have to live with it. Save your people, Naxa.” He looks at me and then he kicks outward — the image faltering and leaving just the normal orange flames within the hearth.
sixty-four
Anara
Thylas kicks the coal to the ground, extinguishing the fire-mirror between them. He lashes out his power, causing every flame to extinguish, except those that he wields and shields in place. He doesn’t want Carnaxa to come to his aid. Tears prickle in my eyes at the love he still has for her. Thylas struggles for control. The darkness inside his heart is growing, and the magic of Atlas and Khaysus is slowly taking control.
Ereon’s body lies behind Carnaxa and my heart breaks as I recall his once tan face full of love for me, now pale and withoutlife. Tears prickle in my eyes at the thought of him gone and how much I’ve witnessed between Thylas and Carnaxa. They may still have a chance. I let my flames go, battling the shield Atlas has resurrected around himself.
Kya, my ancestor, was one of Khaysus’ first creations and so we share the same flames, but I still have something Atlas doesn’t. A gift Kya gave us. The pure gift of au?ji tu?ru?— a soul offering — something that can only be given willingly.
“Thylas!” I yell at him. “Use your magic from Carnaxa.”
He looks at his hands and slowly, the light of another spins around him. Her light. The delicate blue dances across his body and through the room. It’s small — nothing like the power she wields — but maybe it can be enough. Thylas hurls the water toward Atlas and his shield wavers, glistening orange and yellow. I put my hands down, my flames dying with the motion. I’m so tired.
Water sprays against Atlas’ shield, the resulting mist touches my face with droplets that hold the love Thylas has for his princess. His dream. Hisnohæ. The name he lovingly calls her, and the one that grazes his wrist.
I once had a dream. A dream of a life filled with the smiles of my first love and our children. A dream of freedom at the base of the volcano that gives our people life. I’ve had it before — but there is never enough time. True love is not something you ever have enough of.
Thylas’ water sputters and fades, and he falls to his knees. He clutches his chest and screams in pain at the inner battle that riots within.
“Too late to fight it now, boy,” Atlas says, lowering his flames. “And you” — he motions his head towards me — “that’s enough. Stop right now. I’ll let you live. I’ll even let you stay here with him, be his whore just as you were Ereon’s.”
“Anara ... run,” Thylas says, gasping for breath as he falls to the hard floor.
“This will go easier ... if you just stop fighting it.” Atlas walks towards him. He leans down beside him, and I call what little of magic I still have left. He whispers something, and Thylas’ fist meets his face, halting his words.
Thylas stands on wobbling legs. “I will fight you until the end.” He throws his arms up, and rain falls upon everything in its reach. “If I have to die because of it, I will. Anara — run!”
I ball my hands into fists. “No!” I won’t.
I’m the one who set all of this in motion. I brought an innocent woman here, maybe not by my hand, but I manipulated the one who did. I could have told him the truth, let myself perish. I didn’t want to lose hope that I would see home again. I just wanted to see home before my final breath. I’ve walked this land for so many lifetimes and yet ... I’ve never seen a love as pure as the one I’ve witnessed these last few moons. The love Carnaxa has for her men. Now, she’ll be alone. No. This. This is my last gift.
I draw on the last dredges of strength I have inside of me, letting it mingle with my blood and the light of the last life I have left. Holding up my hands, I let the water cascade over me, but it’s not the water I want to feel but the fire. With a flick of my wrist, I ignite the rain that falls with the last of Thylas’ magic. The drops quickly fall to the ground as cinders, crackling and popping as they land on the damp ground.
I look at Atlas, who snarls. “Don’t ...” He lashes out a whip of fire. I dodge it.
Thylas’ power fades and the drops stop falling. Atlas looks to Thylas, who succumbs to exhaustion and falls once again to the floor.
Atlas smiles at me. “You can kill this body, but I’ve already performed thepyu ningpi. He drank the blood and I said the words. It’s just a matter of time.”
I smile back at Atlas and look down at Thylas, probing for the flicker of what I need to find. Atlas’ power blooms throughout the room, covering us all in menacing shadows. The flames around us wage, but fortunately, I’ve never feared the fire.
