I count my heartbeats, just like I watched Asha do when she forged the weapons back in the city. Just as her mother did when her students forged their medallions.
One… Two… Three…
Within the fire, the gold now glows a perfect amber color.
I block out the knowledge that what comes next will create enough noise to draw Asha from her sleep.
Wrenching the gold from the flames, I don’t hesitate, holding it tightly with the tongs while I grip the hammer, hit the metal, and send my light through it.
The forge fills with a new surge of sapphire light, and I’m certain that it will be filling my eyes, just like it filled my father’s, making them glow.
Energy strikes down my arm, through the hammer and into the gold.
The firstclangechoes through the air like a clear bell.
I don’t stop, hitting it again and again.
Across the way, the cabin’s door flies open and Asha’s figure appears in the doorway, her silhouette lit by the gentle fire within the building.
She’s pulling on her boots and coat and trying to run to me at the same time, nearly tripping.
I told her how my father died.
I explained all about my deep light.
Her silver hair flies behind her as she runs directly toward me, her voice a frightened shout. “Erik! What are you doing?”
Graviter catches her before she can reach me. “No, Asha. Do not approach.”
“Let me go!” She struggles against his hold, thumping violently at his paw, shoving at his talons, but her strength is human now and she won’t have a chance of making him budge.
Her voice rises to a commanding shout, the kind that belongs to a warrior. “You will let me go to him!”
“I will not.” Graviter growls.
She wrenches against his hold again, trying to kick herself free as her wild eyes seek mine. “Erik! What are you doing?”
I want to tell her not to be afraid, not to grieve for me, but the light thrumming through me has encased me now and speech is impossible.
I’m committed to my task, wholly and completely, and there’s no going back.
When I don’t respond, she screams at me. “Answer me!”
“He cannot,” the dragon says. “His deep light is in control now.”
Even though my focus is on the gold, on shaping its sides, I’m aware of Asha’s struggle and the changes in her expression.
What breaks my heart is the hurt in her voice.
“Why would you do this?” she screams at me. “You know it will break me to lose you.” Her voice rises to a roar. “Why?”
I want to tell her that I would do anything for her, and this is how I can mend the past and the future.
It isn’t a betrayal. It’s what I was always meant to do. From the moment I found her in the snow to the moment she gave me her heart.
But my arm is hammering and my light is blazing and all I can do is send all of my hope and love for her into the metal I’m forging.
Within my mind, I can hear Ayla Silverspun screaming at her students again.
