Chapter 19:
The air shifted, and I heard Lohse's voice.
"This demon is getting on my nerves!" She was complaining. "I couldn't get a word in edgewise, and then the Sallow Man just attacks us. How rude!"
I faced them all, blinking. They'd clearly gone and gotten themselves into some trouble. My eyes widened, and I rushed over, getting to work healing their injuries. They were covered in blood, and it was clear it wasn't all from the enemies they'd fought.
"You guys." I sighed, shaking my head when I was done.
"Sorry, chief. I needed to talk to the Sallow Man, and you were out cold." The mage shrugged, grinning.
Rolling my eyes, I pursed my lips, raising an eyebrow.
"Ah, well. It went south real quick. The demon took over and the Sallow Man attacked us." She winced. "That's my bad."
"Are you alright?" I asked quietly.
Her grin was back. "I'm peachy, chief."
"We did find something." Fane stepped forward, pulling out a shaft for a sword.
I tilted my head, curious. "Do you know what it's for?"
He nodded. "The notes on the table with it said it was for a Swornbreaker."
My eyes widened again. "You're kidding."
If we could find the blade, if it was here on the island, then I would be able to fulfill my promise to Almira.
"This is fantastic news." I murmured.
"The notes also claimed that the blade was somewhere within the Academy here." Sebille added.
My gaze whipped up to her- I was practically vibrating, I was so excited. "That's where we're going!"
"We'll have to fight to earn it." The Red Prince warned. "It's in the arena."
I nodded slowly, thinking that over. "Well. We need it. I'll keep you guys safe."
Lohse hooked an arm around my neck, chuckling. "We're lucky to have you, chief."
I couldn't stop myself from laughing quietly with her. "I'd say the opposite, but that's fair."
A hand on my arm pulled me from her hold, and I found myself standing with my back against Ifan's body. I smiled a little, happy.
"Is there anything else we need to do, before we try to enter the Academy?" I asked, glancing around at everyone.
No one could think of anything off the top of their heads, so we decided to head out in the morning- since the sun was setting at the moment- and make our way to the Academy.
The others went about their own business until it was time to turn in, Ifan staying with me.
"Did you get any rest?" He asked, resting his chin on top of my head.
I held my head still, even though I wanted to nod at his words. "I did. I'm still tired, so I know I didn't get a lot of it, but it was enough to feel better."
"How's your head?"
"The mother tree is gone." I sighed. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy- she was extremely talkative in the short time she was in my head. But... Now, my mind seems so quiet. I'm not wishing her back, not by any means. It's just strange how quickly my own mind became foreign, is all."
There was a stretch of silence, where I closed my eyes and leaned back against him.
He eventually broke the silence. "Do you miss it? Home, I mean."
"I'm guessing you mean my world. Well... I did, at first. But the only things tying me there were my shop- where I sold herbs and tinctures and other such things- and my parents' memories. I'd lived in our home, visited their graves every so often. I didn't have much, and I was okay with that. I had plenty of company, with the spirits that visited me." I smiled up at the sky, before turning in his arms and facing him. "So, no. I don't miss it. I have so much more here, than I ever imagined I'd have there."
He let out a breath, and it seemed as if he'd been holding it in. I reached up, touching his cheek.
"I have no intention of going back, if the opportunity is presented. I have too much here. I have my friends- Lohse, Sebille, Beast, Fane, the Red Prince. I have you. I have the ability to literally heal people- something I've always wanted to do. I have almost everything I want."
He raised an eyebrow. "'Almost'?"
"Well. I was an only child." I looked away, unsure suddenly. "I'd like to have at least two children, so they always have each other, long after I'm gone."
Another stretch of silence. Then, just as I was about to pull away, his hold tightened, and my eyes went back to his. He was deep in thought, looking...
I tilted my head. "Why do you look so sad?"
"I wouldn't be a good father." He sighed. "I'm not the greatest role model."
I chuckled softly, pulling him down for a brief kiss. "I think you'd make a great father. You've experienced so much, and you'd be able to help your child differentiate between who to trust and who not to. You'd raise your child to be better than you, to make better decisions. As any good parent should. You'd love your child, and that's really what it's all about, at the end of the day."
"You've never told a lie..." His lips slowly stretched in a grin. "So I guess I should listen to you."
I matched his grin with one of my own, nodding. "Of course."
"Then... When this is all over... Stay with me." He murmured.
"You wouldn't be able to get rid of me." I asserted. "I made my choice- I will follow you anywhere."
His expression softened as he rested his forehead against mine. "I don't know what I did to deserve you."
"I could say the same." I chuckled, rubbing my nose against his. "Where I'm from, this is called an Eskimo kiss."
He blinked, amusement now the dominant emotion on his face. "Is that so?"
"Yup. Eskimos live in a really cold environment. So, as a greeting- friendly and romantically- they rub their noses against each other's." I explained.
"Interesting." A grin.
"I thought so, too, when I first learned of it."
He pressed his lips against mine, slow and tender.
"I still prefer this, though." He murmured when we parted.
I nodded, smiling up at him.
...
We'd gone to the Academy, looking at the puzzle that would seemingly be our ticket inside. We would've had to go around to each of the altars and get the symbols from them. Or.
So, we'd headed to the back entrance and, after Sebille had literally jumped the distance of the gap between us and the entrance, we'd reached it a few hours after we'd left the ship.
"This is it." Fane said quietly, looking around at us.
Everyone nodded firmly, before turning to me. My eyes widened, and I wondered if they were expecting me to say something. I was at a loss. We were finally here. This was really happening. I couldn't believe it.
I smiled as a sense of peace filled me. "This is it." I repeated.
With that, we opened the hatch and went in.
...
The arena was awful. Four elemental constructs, being led by a giant one, their attacks brutal. No matter how many walls I threw up- between rock and ice- they broken them down with one attack. And they appeared unaffected by my dome of protection, too.
I'd done everything I could- boosted their abilities and strengths, tapped into the scream that had triggered the magisters to either flee in terror or stand dazed. I'd constantly cleared the floor of element effects. Tried singing them to sleep, but that proved fruitless.
Then, while I watched- almost as if in slow motion- I watched Ifan get hit with rock shards and fall. He didn't move. He didn't get back up. I found myself beside him in an instant, trying to heal him. His body healed, but... he wasn't in it anymore. I threw back my head and screamed, the sound echoing around the arena.
I got to my feet, the hunger filling me- fueling me. These things would pay for this. I would see to that. The spell was on the tip of my tongue, when a hand wrapped around my ankle. Caught off-guard, I glared down at whatever it was.
Ifan was the one, forcing himself up. Shaking his head, he muttered something I couldn't catch, before getting back into the fight. I stuck by him, not letting him out of my sight, even as I watched the others.
With the hunger still coursing through me, the need to obey unmet, I started using the walls to push back one elemental, pinning it against the wall closest to it. The others, seeing what I was doing, turned their focus to it- while I cut them off from the others with other walls- and took it quicker than fighting them all at once. One by one, that's what we did, until we were left with the giant construct. That one... that one took a while longer. It was too big for me to do that- it wasn't as surprised or confused or whatever the others had been and would just smash through the walls like they were paper.
Eventually, it, too, fell.
Before the body had even hit the floor, I was fussing over Ifan, pouring healing into him. When I was satisfied that he was okay- and shooed away by him- I turned my attention to the others, taking care of their wounds.
I wondered, though, what the price for this would turn out to be. Eir hadn't shown up, hadn't told me there was one, but I imagined there would be, since there had been last time.
"Eira, I'm fine." He stressed the words.
I was staring at him, my emotions a mess. I wasn't even sure what I was feeling.
"I found the blade!" Lohse called out, waving it in the air, from across the room.
"Eira?" A murmur, now. A hand touching my cheek.
I blinked, focusing. He'd moved closer, standing barely a foot away. I hadn't even noticed.
"Let's keep going." I said, turning away. Still trying to figure myself out.
He caught my wrist, tugging me back to him. "No. We're going to talk about this."
I slowly looked up at him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He nodded, eager for me to believe him.
"That's all that matters."
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know."
"I think you're in shock, chief." Lohse chimed in, and I realized the others had gathered around, instead of leaving us to our conversation.
I frowned, thinking about that for a few moments. "That makes sense." A nod. "It'll probably hit me later, if that's the case."
"So, we should continue sooner rather than later." The Red Prince said.
...
After figuring out the puzzles, we made it to another room. Another construct inside, though it didn't attack us. Instead, after a quick conversation, it teleported us to where the Well of Source was, and we rushed to reach it. Hoping we would beat Dallis and Alexandar here.
We did. Kind of. She appeared- along with a gaggle of her minions- and used the Aeteran weapon on the Well, before the lot of them vanished.
We fought mirror versions of ourselves- our gods out of the Seven, manifested- which was difficult at first. Only after my companions had focused on mine and taken her out, were we able to take out the others, one by one.
Once they were taken care of, we rushed toward the exit. Only to find it caved in.
Surprising all of us, the Lady Vengeance burst through a portal into the cavern, and we climbed aboard. The moment we were all safe, another portal opened, and we were in the Hall of Echoes once again.