24. Declan

Chapter twenty-four

Declan

M y world tilted.

"You think I'm the hero who will save the world from the most powerful sorceress who ever lived? Me? Declan-without-a-Gift Rea?" I laughed at the sheer insanity of the idea.

Kels? nodded.

órla perked up, and I thought she . . . giggled? "It is kinda hard to think of you as heroic, especially with that puffy hair. I mean, really. What are you gonna do? Flick your curls at Irina?"

"Hey!" I shouted, right before flicking my hair in defiance.

órla fell into a fit of odd, owlish laughter that made Kels?'s composure crack. My hands flew to my hips, making the two laugh even harder. I heard "teapot" through snorts, which only inflamed the hilarity.

Somehow, the magic of my mother's laughter drew pain from my wounded soul, leaving me unburdened for the first time I could remember. A goofy, boyish grin replaced my indignation as Kels? reached up and wiped mirthful tears from my cheek. My heart soared at her touch—at my mother's touch. She startled when I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her off the ground then held her close.

Kels? stepped back and captured my eyes with her own. "No more of that ‘I don't have a Gift' nonsense. You, Declan Rea, are a gift. Beyond any magic or power this world offers, you are my greatest gift."

I had never known the selfless, omnipotent power of a mother's love until that moment.

I couldn't speak.

Tears clouded my vision again.

"You know, some gifts can be returned, Kels?. This one keeps leaking." órla swiveled her head between my mother and me.

Kels? barked out laughter as she reached down to pick up the tiny owl. "Oh, no, little Daughter, this gift is perfect. He will save us all."

I sobered. "You say that with such confidence, but I don't even know how to use magic. "

"Declan, everyone you know has one ability, maybe two, that showed up when they were young, and they learned how to use them mostly through trial and error. If the error wasn't fatal, they grew in their knowledge and skill. Magic has a way of imprinting instructions in our minds, making it easier to comprehend. For most people, learning to master, or at least become competent in, one Gift isn't terribly challenging.

"But you are different ."

"That's an understatement," órla chirped.

Kels? ignored her, but a hint of a smile quirked her lips as she spoke. "I do not know all your magical abilities, but I suspect you will be able to master many Gifts within each of the pillars. This means you will have to learn different ways of shaping and wielding your Light. Even your basic understanding of your own essence and how magic entwines itself within a person's spirit will differ from most everyone."

I struggled through a cavernous yawn, covering my mouth quickly.

"You had a challenging day," Kels? said, placing a hand on my arm. "That is enough for one afternoon."

On cue, my stomach roared. "I guess I am a little hungry."

"All right." Kels? smiled warmly. "Bring órla and follow me. While you're getting settled in, I will conjure up something to eat."

"Uhh . . . like . . . literally conjure up food?" I gawked.

She snorted. "Yes, literally, with my all-powerful boiling pot and frying pan. Now, come on."

I watched Kels? turn and glide to the far side of the cave where there was nothing but a solid wall of crystalline lattice. She placed a hand on one of the crystals, triggering an opening to shimmer before her.

"Coming?"

I woke sometime later to the thumping of órla's feet on my chest. When I reached up to wipe my bleary eyes, she let out an excited hoot.

"I thought you were going to sleep forever."

I leaned up onto my elbows. "No fear of that with you around."

"I know. I'm super helpful like that, right?"

"Yeah, super ." I yawned and gave the owl's head a scratch before standing and stretching my back.

I scanned the room, barely able to remember following Kels? through the winding maze of tunnels connecting the Well's cavern to her living area. Unlike the corridors leading from the mountain's entrance to the Well, the walls here were smooth, more what I'd expect in some noble's mansion than in a cave .

Ayden would have been right at home.

Thinking of Ayden brought a smile to my lips—and twisted my heart. I left him alone on the mountain surrounded by Kingdom troops.

Was he all right? Had he made it back to Grove's Pass? Where would the Rangers send him next?

Did he think of me?

I chuckled at my own teenage silliness. Each of us faced life-changing, world-altering events, and here I sat, wondering if a boy shared a crush.

But I couldn't help myself. When I closed my eyes to sleep, locks of red hair fell across my face. When dreams awoke in my mind, brilliant blue eyes greeted me. I could feel his fingers grazing across my arms, then digging deep into the flesh of my chest. I could hear him groan as our bodies ground together. My body conformed to his, wrapped around his, blended into his so perfectly that I never wanted to be without his caress.

And yet, as I sat on the edge of the bed and wiped away the sweat my dreams had wrought, it was his laugh that I missed most. His easy confidence. His fucking arrogant chin.

"I need a cold bath," I muttered to myself.

"I would settle for any bath. You smell like the inside of a horse's ass," órla peeped.

"órla, language." I'd never heard the innocent little bird use such coarse words.

She giggled. "Hurry up. I'm hungry."

I stood and slipped my shirt on, then absently trailed my fingers across the stone of the wall, wondering at the combination of crystal lattice and granite. At my touch, filaments glowed. The longer my fingers remained, the brighter they became, giving the room a pleasant, multi-hued light.

órla hopped onto a chair, pulling my gaze from the wall. "So, um, Declan, not to beat a horse and all, but you stink. Your mother asked me to . . . um . . . gently urge you to bathe and change into the clothes over there. She'll figure something out with your filthy forest garb."

"Beat a horse?" I stifled a laugh.

"As long as you don't beat birds, whack away."

I shook my head and padded over to the table opposite the bed. A washbasin filled with steaming water stood ready beside it. Soap, a stack of towels, and a neatly folded set of clothing sat upon the table, as though someone had just visited the room.

I soaked a cloth and pressed it against my face. How long had it been since I'd had a proper bath, or even washed my face? It felt amazing. I lathered up and watched the basin's water turn an unsettling murky brown.

"You are so disgusting. Don't you ever clean your feathers?" órla squawked from across the room.

"I'm doing it now, little one. Give me a couple of minutes, and then we'll get something to eat. I'm starving. "

I finished bathing and donned the black trousers and sky-blue shirt my mother had laid out. Only then did I notice an intricate silver pin attached to the shirt etched in the likeness of an owl taking flight, similar to the Melucian Rangers' pin on my uniform. I turned and offered órla a bow.

"To your liking, Your Highness?"

"I thought you'd never address me properly. You may rise, Sir Stinky." She giggled and waved a dramatic wing in the air. "Now, be a good steed and pick me up. I'll show you to your mother. This place can be confusing at first."

"At first?" My eyebrows rose. "You say that like you've been here before."

órla hopped onto my proffered hand. "Daughter of Magic, remember. I'm not just cute and fuzzy."

I had no idea what that meant or how to respond, so I lifted her to my shoulder, where she perched and nuzzled my neck. "Hmm. If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd gotten a little heavier overnight."

órla nipped one of my thumbs. "You should never comment on a lady's weight, Declan. Everyone knows that."

I opened the door to find my mother standing there, knuckles poised to knock.

"Ready to hit me already?"

"Give her time. It shouldn't take long," órla said good- naturedly.

"Very funny, you two. I came to see if you were up."

I looked past her, taking in the passage for the first time, then whistled. "This place keeps getting stranger and more impressive. I was so tired last night that I don't remember seeing any of this."

Kels? turned to lead us through the tunnel. "These walls were formed thousands of years ago by the Phoenix herself. Her magical flame bore tunnels and caverns, melting stone and crystal to a glassy finish. Her breath infused this mountain and its minerals with magic, hence the light you see glowing through the crystals."

As the tunnel rose, its sides remained smooth like those in my chamber, an intermingling of glowing crystal and ancient stone. The Well's chamber was near the bottom of the mountain, making me wonder how much farther upward we would go. We passed wooden doors in recessed grottos, their rounded tops mirroring the circular nature of the tunnels. I drew breath and was surprised to taste a sweetness in the air. It filled me with hope, revitalizing both my body and spirit, similar to the effect of the magical wine.

I feel like I'm walking through a dream.

The tunnel ended abruptly at a rough wall, starkly different from the rest we'd just passed. Kels? placed her palm on one of the extruding crystals and was rewarded with the familiar liquid shimmer of an opening .

Through the portal appeared peaks of mountains across the island and, in the horizon, the undulating beauty of the ocean. The calls of distant gulls mixed with the relentless rustling of palms. I'd seen mountains from every angle, and I loved the humble beauty of snowcapped peaks, but this was altogether different. Tiny hairs on my neck spiked, and a chill trickled up my spine.

Kels? led us through the portal onto a landing. The scent of savory meats caused my stomach to growl the moment we stepped outside. Along with the meats, cheeses and various fruits had been carefully set on a table to our right. My favorite wine sat in the center, waiting to Heal with its silky touch.

At the far end of the ledge were two concentric rings of stone pillars. The outer stones were massive, standing more than eight feet tall and three paces thick, and were made of the same glassy-smooth crystal-and-stone swirl from the cavern. The inner stones rose to my waist and were spaced at intervals between those of the outer ring. One lonely stone stood in the center.

I walked around the stones and peered over the edge of the landing. The dizzying height nearly sent me over the edge, and I stepped back, pressing my back to a stone.

Searching through trees, I spotted the Path that led to the Keeper's hut winding its way lazily up the mountain. "I walked up that trail. How could I not see these stones? They're incredible."

Kels? sat at the table and motioned for me to do the same. "If my memory is correct, you are only the sixth, maybe seventh, person to ever see those stones. The magic of the Phoenix protects this place, and if she doesn't want you to see it, you won't."

órla hopped onto the table and dragged a piece of meat from the platter. "Too much talking. Not enough eating."

I reached over to scratch her head and was rewarded with a peck of her sharp beak.

"Ow. What was that for?"

"I'm having a special moment over here." A stringy piece of the meat dangled from her maw.

I glanced up to find Kels? covering her mouth, eyes twinkling. I ignored her humor and dove into the table's fare. When my mother filled my glass with the magical wine, I stopped to savor the first sip, holding it in my mouth and inhaling the exotic aroma.

Peace.

That's what I felt in that moment.

I realized it was also what I'd felt in the caverns but hadn't comprehended it at the time.

Simple, blissful peace.

I let out a long sigh before attacking my meal.

órla finished her meat, preened for a moment, then launched herself into the air and flew to rest on the stone pillar at the center of the ring .

I dropped my fork. "When did you learn to fly, little one?"

Kels? set down her wine and tapped her glass with a fingernail. "Time moves differently here, and she is part of this place. She will grow strong quickly. I expect she will be fully grown by the time you leave." She paused a moment. "Declan, time will be different for you as well—in a good way, I hope. There is so much you have to learn. If I had to train you anywhere else in the world, the winter months would pass in a blink, and you wouldn't have acquired the skill to . . . to face what is to come.

"While you are here, days will pass and feel normal to you, but beyond this cavern, they will slow to a crawl. Many months will pass here before a single week ends elsewhere."

I watched órla preen on the pillar. "Will I age like she does? When I leave, will I be years or decades older? Will people back home still know me?"

Will Ayden?

My heart lurched. Would the one man who'd unlocked my heart still know my face? Would he still want me?

Kels? reached across the table and took my hand. "Son, look at me. How old do you think I am?"

I smirked. "Someone scolded me for talking about a lady's weight. I think I'll stay away from the age question."

"About time you started listening to me," órla squawked from her perch on the stone .

Kels? grinned at the little owl. "I've lived on this mountain for a thousand years and look the same as when I first arrived. There may be a new line on my forehead, but that's another thing on the list you never mention to a lady."

"Right, noted." I made a gesture as though writing a note on parchment.

Her smile warmed me almost as much as the wine. "When you leave here, those in the outside world will see you as you were before you came to the mountain. It would take many centuries of ‘mountain time' for them to notice even a slight difference."

My shoulders relaxed a bit, but my tension remained, and my hand tangled absently in my hair.

"Ayden will still know you," she said.

Blood rushed to my face, and I thought I might be sick at any moment. No height in the world could have made my head spin the way her five simple words just had.

"Ayden? You know . . . about . . . oh, Spirits. What do you know? How . . . ?"

The skin around her eyes creased as every part of her being glowed.

"I am your mother, Declan. Of course, I know." She hesitated, looking down at her hand, then lifted her gaze to mine again. "I love you, son, more than anything in this world. I have seen how happy Ayden makes you. You have been lost for so long, even from yourself. I see how Ayden has—"

"You have been watching me from afar all these years?"

Kels? nodded.

"I may never get over the creepy feeling of that, but for the moment, I'm glad. I had no idea how to tell you about him . . . or me. I mean . . . I know Melucian society accepts men loving each other, but still, it's so different . . . it's not . . . I never thought . . ."

"I would love to meet him sometime."

That stilled my tongue.

A tiny, awed boy asked, "You would?"

"Of course, I would. Any man vying for your heart must pass through me. You remember that."

"Great. ‘My mom's the Keeper of Magic, and she wants to put you through a trial so you can date me,' wasn't quite the line I'd hoped would win men's hearts."

Her laughter rang off the mountainside.

"I hadn't planned to frighten the boy to death, merely get to know him."

"Right." I grabbed my wine and downed half the glass. The whole conversation made my insides squirm. "How would you . . . I mean, you can't . . . could you ever meet him?"

Mischief sparked in her eyes. "Being the Keeper isn't only about paths and tests. I may have a trick or two you will come to enjoy. "

"Such as?" My heart began to race. "Could I see him? Look in on him at times? Like you did with me?"

She nodded. "The Well reacts differently to each of us. It may allow you to See him, or it may . . . well, we will see. I do not want to get your hopes up."

My eyes widened. "Could he talk back? Could I touch him?"

She raised her glass like a shield. "Mothers do not need to hear about touching."

My cheeks colored. "That wasn't—"

"Breathe, son. I am teasing," Kels? said. "The simple answer is, ‘I do not know.' I tried touching your face so many times . . . and Keelan's. Perhaps, it will be different for you."

The wistfulness of her gaze pulled at my heart, but my mind reeled as it turned over one possibility after the next. "Temporal magic, Gifts that aren't Gifts, the Well, me being . . . something . This is a lot to take in. Where do we even start?"

"We start in the same place any student would, with knowledge and study. Many believe magic is instinctual or that it's emotionally driven, but that's not wholly accurate. Instinct and emotion play a role, but without knowledge, a Mage's potential is limited."

The baffled look on my face made Kels? laugh. "All those years with Atikus and the guild, and they never taught you any of this? "

"Not really. When I was little, they tried to teach me magical theory, but as the years passed, and a Gift failed to emerge, they decided my time was better spent studying more mundane topics. I was glad they stopped trying to teach me all the things I couldn't do. It was more frustrating than anything."

"No more talk of being a Mute, understand?" Her lips pursed. "Let me explain it a different way. You have been treated by a Healer, haven't you?"

"Of course. Never for anything serious, just a few deep cuts from sparring."

"That is a good example. Almost anyone with the Healing Gift could handle minor cuts like that, but say you broke a bone—or worse, suffered internal damage. A Healer who had never studied anatomy would not be able to help you. A Healer must visualize what they are Healing. If they had never seen a liver before, they could not visualize one accurately, and therefore, could not heal one."

"I guess that makes sense." My attention strayed to órla. Her eyes were closed. "How did I Heal myself?"

Kels? startled. "You did what?"

"When I first touched the stones of the Path, its magic threw me backward, knocking me unconscious. I woke with órla breathing magic into my mouth. I wasn't thinking. I reached back to stretch my back, and Light flared from my palm. The next thing I knew, nothing hurt anymore."

Kels? glanced at órla. One eye opened, and her head nodded once.

"Declan, I . . . I do not know. A Healer cannot Heal himself. Those who try learn that magic rebounds and causes more harm than it Heals."

"It didn't work that way for me, but I had no idea that I even had magic when it happened. I was just trying to ease an ache," I told her. "Could it have had something to do with órla's breath?"

"Perhaps. Your relationship to magic is also unique. Still . . . I have no idea. For now, please do not try that again."

I chuckled. "Keep órla's beak away from my skin, and I won't need to."

For a moment, I lost myself staring at the owl, who was sleeping soundly again, letting out tiny purrs as she breathed out.

Kels? shook her head. "Back to studying. All of this explains why Healers spend many years studying physical structures, such as human anatomy, before ever attempting to Heal anyone with more than a minor scrape. The basic knowledge of intent —what they want magic to accomplish—involves a lot more than hope for a certain result."

Suddenly, she waved a hand, making a ball of fire flare and explode above the table .

I leaped up so fast my chair tipped back and clattered against the ledge.

"Son, you must concentrate to make this work. Healing is the most complicated of all Gifts, so do not let that one scare you. I am using it as an example so you understand that knowledge is critical to expanding your power. As we get into the four pillars, I will give you material to study before we start with practical application."

órla, now wide awake thanks to Kels?'s fire show, flapped back onto the table in front of me. "You've got this, Declan. Just remember, you're a lot smarter than you look."

Kels? barked a laugh that startled both órla and me. "We'll skip the lecture on staying humble. I think she has that well covered."

"Absolutely no worries there." I rolled my eyes as I righted the chair and sat, then regarded the proud little owl, who puffed out her chest.