62. Declan

Chapter 62

Declan

I sat staring at the mountains across the island. My feet dangled off the edge of the cliff. I’d been out there for hours.

The sun had begun her graceful descent, and the sky was painted with more hues than I thought were possible. A gentle, salty breeze tickled my nose.

I relished the taste of the island air, inhaling deeply.

A week had passed since the spell was cast.

A week in island time.

Months or a year elsewhere?

I wore my tunic and still enjoyed the Gifts I’d studied with my mother, but my limitless grasp of magic no longer availed itself. Fire refused to bloom in my palm. I couldn’t speak in another’s mind at will. Healing’s restrictive rules returned, as I learned the first time I tried to Heal myself and was punished with bouts of nausea that lasted hours.

Worst of all, I could no longer Travel.

That had become my favorite power.

Beyond its practical uses, Traveling would have allowed me to find Ayden, to be with him, even if I had to return quickly to help with one thing or another. If it worked as it once had, I could even take him with me.

Without the ability, we remained a world apart.

Months had passed since we’d last seen each other, since we last kissed.

I longed for his embrace.

Moreover, a part of me wondered if he still waited for my return.

How long would anyone wait without some glimmer of hope?

There was no use dwelling on dark thoughts. Ayden loved me. I knew it in my bones. I had faith he would love me still when we were reunited.

He would.

I prayed.

I released a wistful sigh, remembering how it felt to blink and instantly appear anywhere in the world. There was far more than power in that ability; there was freedom . I longed for that freedom again, yet it eluded me.

At least the pitcher of magical wine is still bottomless. I chuckled as I took another sip from my glass.

“You have been out here for hours. Are you not hungry?”

The deep warmth of the familiar voice soothed my angst.

The man’s perpetual hunger made me laugh.

“Atikus, you old goat, will you ever stop eating?”

Bony hands dug into my shoulders, but in a playful, fatherly way—the way that hurt just a little more than intended.

“Never! Besides, after all that Healing you did on me, I could eat for days. Come on now, it is past time for supper.”

I reluctantly peeled myself from nature’s canvas and followed the Mage into the mountain.

When Atikus had vanished beneath the waters of the Well, my world ceased to spin. It was, as he had called it, one of those moments when the world froze. I stabbed my hands into the water but found nothing to grasp. So, I did the only foolish thing I could think of. I dove in.

Power, both Light and Dark, bolstered and battered my body and mind.

One moment, my spirit soared and I could move mountains; the next, I gasped for breath and fought to keep the night at bay. Only when I stilled my mind and opened myself to the Light did I see him, lifeless, floating, drifting with the surge and flow of the endless stream.

I may never know how I reached him and swam back to the opening within the cavern.

Each moment moved faster than the last.

I could barely think, could barely breathe.

Colors swirled in my vision.

Light flashed and flared.

Darkness cloaked.

And somehow, by the grace of the Spirits, we washed ashore.

Technically, we were spat onto the cold, glassy floor of the cavern—but that was the most exquisite shore I’d ever seen. Even the crystals of the cavern’s walls, those not shattered by the battle with Irina’s spirit, glowed in greeting. As I drew blessed air into my lungs, the beauty of the place struck me dumb, and I fell back and laughed.

It had taken several days of Healing for Atikus to regain consciousness—and another day for his strength to lift him from his bed. Whatever happened beneath the currents, he had escaped with his life.

Over a meal of roasted turkey, seasoned vegetables, and mango pie, we chatted and laughed as if we hadn’t just saved the world of magic from a bitter end.

I think it was too much for either of us to face aloud.

We needed the comfort and safety of small things just now.

And yet . . .

“Atikus, I still don’t understand how you survived the currents. Magic had been Sundered when you fell. You should have dissolved and your Light returned to the flow.”

Atikus set his fork down, a sure sign things were about to get serious.

“Son . . .” He struggled. “I did not escape unscathed.”

“What do you mean?”

“Magic always demands her due. There is a price to every Gift and every spell. When the staff fell into the waters, its power completed the cleansing, but no price had yet been paid for the Sundering. It would not be complete without one.”

“But it didn’t take you. Magic gave you back.”

Atikus struggled to meet my eyes. “Not exactly .”

I thought my heart might stop in that moment.

“Declan, there is no easy way for me to say this. Magic . . . did not give me back. It kept me. I suppose it is more accurate to say that I am keeping it now.”

My puzzled expression turned to excitement. “Wait! Does that mean—”

“Yes, I am Keeper now. I will live, but only so long as I remain on this island.”

I exploded from my chair and wrapped my arms around the old Mage. “Atikus, that’s amazing!”

Atikus returned my smile, but his grin failed to reach his eyes, and his shoulders slumped.

“What? This is a good thing, isn’t it?”

Atikus stared into his plate, unable to meet my eyes again. “You and Keelan have found someone to love, and I am forever grateful to have witnessed it all. Now, you will marry and raise a family. You will see the world and conquer it. And . . . I will miss it all.”

“Atikus—”

“I know being Keeper should be a gracious, selfless act, but I cannot help thinking about all the things I will sacrifice in magic’s bargain.”

I blinked a few times, warding away the moisture that already leaked from my eyes. “Atikus, I know you’ll miss Saltstone and the guild, but there couldn’t be anyone better suited to protecting magic and the Gifts. Keelan and Ayden and I can come visit you. I love this place. Spirits, I’m a little jealous.”

“Jealous of an old man trapped on an island far from those he loves?”

I knew the bitterness in his voice would fade. There was no one alive who cherished and respected magic more than Atikus. It would be the honor of his long life to serve as its Keeper.

Still, his reaction struck true.

There were always sacrifices. There were always demands.

“We’ll find a way.” I tried to smile. “Between you and me, we still hold more power in our hands than anyone alive. We understand magic and casting in ways most could never dream about. You will always be at the center of our family, no matter how small or big it might get. We will make this work. I promise.”