“You can’t think that way. They’re grown elves who knowingly went into war. The responsibility of knowing what they’re fighting for, of believing in their cause, is theirs alone. You don’t do such a thing lightly. And if they did, that’s on them.”
I squeeze my eyes. I will not shed another fucking tear.
I don’t answer him, but I stand, dust the sand off, and continue following Kezra, who says nothing for a moment.
I don’t look back.
As we climb, I imagine Raef celebrating the victory below. He was the one who helped figure that move out, along with Kezra. I don’t blame Raef. Not one bit. He deserves to fight until his last breath.
“Almost there,” Kezra mumbles ahead of us, so quiet I almost don’t hear her. We’ve gone up and down several sand dunes, and we’re getting close to the end of them before the terrain shifts into rocky mountainsides.
“It’s so strange that she’s found a pocket of emberstone here now. Haven’t your people explored these lands thoroughly over the last thousand years?”
“Yes, but…” Daegan pauses. “The sand dunes can change with the wind. They frequently create new formations. If the stone was just revealed today, it’s almost like…”
“Like we were meant to be here in Torrynth, on this very day, searching for a way to free the land,” I finish his thought for him, and he gives me a faint smile, his face full of wonder and awe, mirroring how I feel right now. “It’s like Everrynd revealed it for us. She’s begging for us to set her free.”
A strange, faint white glow shimmers just ahead. No matter how hard I try, I can’t make out what it might be. Daegan, also noticing the radiance ahead, starts the descent into the dip with more caution in his steps. But he doesn’t cower.
It seems like Kezra is flying directly at the mysterious glow, and as we get closer, it finally occurs to me what it is.
Or who it is.
“Maethrel?”
Daegan keeps walking, his steps becoming more confident again.
“I’m so stupid,” I say as we reach him.
Daegan pinches his brows as he looks back at me.
I shake my head as it finally sinks in.
“You need to be here to cast the counter curse, don’t you? A witch.”
Maethrel nods with a triumphant, tight-lipped smile.
Daegan looks at Maethrel with pure ire, but very little surprise. Maethrel always seems to have just one more trick up his sleeve. I can’t even begin to guess why he didn’t just tell us from the start, but it turns out he always planned to be here anyway. I guess he didn’t deem it a necessary detail to worry about.
There’s a chunk of rocky land exposed in this deep groove in the dunes. Daegan approaches the small pocket of black, shimmering stone that’s shapedalmost like a bowl, and big enough to hold all the relics. “Emberstone,” he confirms. Though no one doubted it.
“Items in the circle,” Maethrel orders pleasantly, as if he’s giving an afternoon lesson to children.
We do as he instructs, unloading all of the items. Daegan saves the stud in his brow for last, taking a deep breath before he moves to pull it out. Then he pauses. “Do we even need this now?”
Maethrel shakes his head, then approaches the circle.
Daegan glances at me with heavy, intense eyes, smiling at me like I’m the most important thing here. There’s a finality swimming behind them, like he’s also feeling like we’ve finally done it.
It’s almost over.
“Now what?” he questions Maethrel as he wraps his arm around me and pulls me in close, his smoky aroma wrapping around me like a warm sheet.
“When this spell was first cast, I didn’t know what I was doing—”
“I’m sorry,” I cut in. “You said ‘I?’”
Maethrel’s stare suddenly feels ancient and terrifying. Like something’s been sleeping under there for an eternity, biding its time. Chills run through me, but not out of fear. Maethrel, or whoever he is, isn’t here to hurt us.
