Caspian was dead.
The notion surrounded her in a lethal embrace.
“Keira.” Ignatius’s rough voice uttered from the direction of the tower.
Thunder rumbled in deafening peels as lightning flashed overhead.
“You must control yourself,” he said, just behind her now. “Focus on your breath.”
Keira stood, turning on her heel ferociously. A streak of lightning lashed out, striking at the peak of the tower. Of course, he had not come to offer her comfort, not even from this pain which he had caused. He did not feel. He did not love; he never had.
“Caspian is dead.” The words sounded positively feral as they ripped from her throat.
“You are the master of your magic, Keira,” her guardian said as if he had not heard her at all. “Focus now and breathe.”
Rage was burning beneath her skin, boiling in her blood. Her fingers curled into talons at her sides.
“You killed him,” Keira snarled. Red crowded her vision. The anger- It was too much. She felt as though she was going to burst.
“This will not bring him back,” Ignatius said, his voice unwavering as his gaze.
Fury exploded from inside her, reshaping her body into a being of fur and teeth and long, wicked claws. Ignatius faltered in his step, genuine panic overtaking him for only a moment. It was clear his ward had lost herself, had let pain warp her magic past the point of her control.
The beast bared fangs, long as daggers. Her haunches tensed, preparing to pounce. Ignatius stared it down, undaunted. He had faced greater dangers in the days of his youth and lived now to recall them. Even as she snarled, lunging with gaping jaws, the red wizard’s mind was clear, his movements steady. Ignatius stepped through the wind and rain, the very space bending around his body until he was standing several feet away from where he had been only a second before.
She turned, panting hot, furious breaths. Her claws upturned the earth as she charged again. A foolish move, but clearly her reason was blinded, locked behind the barriers of passion and pain.
Ignatius stretched out his hand; a cloud of mist expelled from his palm, unperturbed by the falling rain. The beast snorted, eyes widening as some part of her mind recognized her error. Her massive flanks heaved for breath as she took a faltering swipe. He remained still as she snapped at him once more. The beast’s strength was waning. Soon her legs buckled beneath the great weight. Her eyes drooped.
At last, the beast melted away, leaving Keira to lie on the sodden ground, seeming now so small and fragile as the rain splattered against her skin.
Keira woke beside the fire. Her head was heavy, her thoughts thick and muddled. Something was wrong. But at first she could not put her finger on what. She was safe, curled in her usual seat by the hearth. Ignatius was sitting across the way, fingers pressed against his lips. His expression was guarded, assessing.
It hit her all at once as if a sudden merciless knife had been driven again into an open wound, leaving behind a cavity, a crack in her very being.
“You are right,” Ignatius said. “Caspian’s death is on my conscience.” His voice was low and quiet. Keira had never heard him speak in such a way, had never expected him to admit any such thing. It was enough to shock her into silence. And so he continued, “My only intent was to spare you from what I thought would be a terrible mistake. I thought that what he had learned here would be enough. I thought… a good many things, but I was wrong. I am sorry.”
“I have to find him.”
Ignatius’s eyes narrowed.
“Give me the Poratoria,” Keira said, casting the blanket that had been draped over her lap onto the floor as she stood.
“And where do you intend to go?” Ignatius said. “Even the greatest magics cannot reverse what is done.”
“Nothing is done. Not until I’ve seen it with my own eyes.” Keira stood unflinchingly against his gaze.
“This is foolishness. You should rest here. We can make arrangements for-”
“Give me the book!” The sharpness of her words hung in the air.
Ignatius stood slowly, only inches away from her now. “If you must go, you can do so on your own power.”
Keira stared back at him, eyes blazing.
So be it.
She turned on her heel abruptly and climbed up the curved tower stairs. Her hands reached for her belongings, packing them away as her thoughts churned. She would go to the mountains, to Icespire Pass. That’s where the letter had said he had been when he- Keira wouldn’t think it, not until she knew it was true. She had to be certain, to see it for herself. Perhaps there had been a mistake. Perhaps Caspian was simply lost and now needed her help. Perhaps-
