Chapter 31

Dropping down onto Eliasson’s bed, I let out a sigh in preparation for the onslaught of questions coming my way.

‘What the fuck was that?’ he demanded harshly, pacing up and down the room in anger that had been temporarily overshadowed by his worry earlier.

I rubbed my temples. I fixed my gaze on Eliasson, standing a few steps in front of me with his fists clenched by his side and a death stare to match. I’d never seen him like this. Not towards me at least.

‘You may want to sit down for what I’m about to tell you,’ I replied gently.

‘Start talking Valare,’ he snarled, refusing to move. Fine. It’s not my fault if he crumples into a heap on the floor.

Well, really it is, but I was too tired to fight.

‘I’m a physical mage.’ The words sounded insufficient.

He scoffed and shook his head in disbelief. ‘And what exactly is a physical mage, Valare?’

Releasing another heavy breath, I started from the beginning. I told Eliasson about the Temple of Wystia and the reason the Salistyan’s are trained on the Isles. I told him about the magic that comes to a mage on their sixteenth birthday, the Sol and the three years spent honing their skills before they’re allowed to return to the mainland or stay on the Isles. As expected, about halfway through my explanation, his legs gave out and he found himself on the floor. I saw shock take over his body as I delivered one revelation after another. No doubt his mind was spinning.

I stopped talking, allowing his brain to make sense of the words utterly shattering the foundations of the world he thought he was a part of. A world that he was a ruler in. I had known that if he ever found out, it would be brutal. But watching it happen? It was worse than I ever could’ve imagined. I felt my heart breaking for him, breaking for us, for the foundation of the friendship we had built.

My eyes welled tears, and I blinked rapidly to push them down. I felt the mental armour I’d always had up around him start to fall as a traitorous tear rolled down my cheek. I swiped at it, knowing full well he was seeing the wave of emotions play out on my face.

‘What can a physical mage do exactly?’ he asked, ignoring my tears completely.

I started with the commonalities, reciting the lessons I received in my first year as a trainee on the Isles. ‘There are different types, or levels if you will, of mages, but every physical mage can teleport between places. The more powerful a mage is, the further they can teleport, and the more people they can carry.’

‘Right, which is what you and your … Sol … did tonight?’ he asked, hesitantly stumbling on the word for our group of assassins.

‘Yes.’ I continued with my explanation. ‘Once gifted with our magic, every mage becomes physically a lot stronger and gains heightened senses. Where you would’ve seen only flickers of what was happening tonight, we were able to see it all as if it was happening in broad daylight. We can sense physical bodies around us within a certain distance, and the more powerful a mage is, the further the distance they can sense. We’re also able to hold someone in place, paralysing their body so they’re unable to move. Also, we’re more … primal when it comes to our sex life. We are sensual by nature and tend to have a higher sex drive, and can be quite demanding in that area.’

I decided to omit that physical mages favour polygamy over monogamous relationships to satiate their desires. Nor did I add in my unique ability to tamper with a person’s body. He didn’t need to know I’d put him to sleep too many times to count, or that I could end his life by merely cutting off his windpipes.

‘Well, I’ve definitely been on the receiving end of that last part,’ he smirked, momentarily forgetting his anger, before shaking himself out of it. ‘And the use of elements?’

‘Regular mages will show favourability to one of the four elements, water, fire, earth or air. However, they may only use this element when it’s within reach. For example, a water mage can’t summon water out of thin air, they must have it around them, even if it’s as little as a dripping tap. They need something to latch onto.’

‘I saw, was it Rynelle?’ He looked at me for confirmation before continuing once I nodded, ‘Using both fire and air.’

‘That’s because he’s a part of the Sol. The Sol are groups of highly skilled mages who show favourability in two elements. The common pairings either fire and air or earth and water. From time to time, a Sol may favour a different combination, but it’s unlikely. From my understanding, this has only happened a few times. Slaviya is one of those – she favours earth and fire.’

‘So, Meredith is …’

‘A member of the Sol. Her affinity lies with water and earth. Today you just saw her water magic.’

‘And what about you? I saw fire emerge from your hand. I saw you wield a dagger that came straight back to you once you’d thrown it.’ His eyes were imploring, struggling to understand how I fit into all of this.

I released yet another sigh, rolling my neck around in circles to ease it. Here comes the crescendo. ‘Yes. Then there’s me.’

Eliasson let out a snort as he rolled his eyes incredulously. ‘Don’t tell me you’re the exception to every rule?’

I looked away.

‘Oh Goddess. You are the exception. What are you Valare?’ He leant forward against his now crossed legs.

‘I don’t know anymore,’ I whispered.

‘You don’t know?’ he said, his voice rising in mock disbelief. ‘This isn’t the time for you to continue lying to me, Valare.’

‘There’s never been anyone like me. Not for over a thousand years, at least.’ My breaths started coming faster as I squeezed my hands tighter in my lap, the enormity of the situation hitting me in a new way.

Realisation dawned on his face. ‘Your eyes. They’re different, not like the others.’

‘The first new moon after my sixteenth birthday, it was a black moon. I arrived at the Temple of Wystia with my teachers and no other trainees. Apparently, I was the only one receiving my gifts, which is unheard of as it usually happens in groups. At the time there was nothing to indicate I may be any different from a regular physical mage, except when my magic was given to me. My whole life I had had the moss-coloured eyes of a Salistyan born. That night they instantly turned lime green. They’ve never returned to their former colour,’ I muttered in disgust, wishing, not for the first time, I could just be normal like everyone else.

‘What gifts were you given?’ he prompted me softly, my clear contempt for my uniqueness placating his anger.

‘As I explored my magic throughout training, everything seemed normal at first. I held all the basic gifts you’d see in a physical mage. Granted I had keener senses, and my strength in other factors were much greater than my counterparts, but that happens at times. It was obvious I would be trained as a Sol and destined to be honed into a lethal assassin, which isn’t anything new.

‘But it wasn’t until six months in when our training turned towards the elements that I realised the colour of my eyes wasn’t the only different thing I’d gained. Every Salistyan royal before me favoured two elements. But I have equal strengths in all four of the elements,’ I stated. His eyes flashed in awe as he gulped down a big breath.

I continued. ‘On top of that, I don’t require those elements to be near me. I can summon a ball of fire with just the thought of it, plant a seedling and command a tree to sprout immediately, watch it grow to whatever height and width I desire. If I want a full glass of red wine in my hand, I just have to …’ I held out my hand as I thought of said wine and a second later, there it was, ‘… imagine it and command it,’ I finished, offering him the wine which he accepted and took a big sip.

‘Granted, my energy reserves deplete much faster when I don’t have a source near me. If there’s a body of water or the rush of wind near, I’ll always opt to use that and manipulate it. There’s no point in expending more energy than necessary,’ I explained frankly.

‘And the flying?’ he probed.

‘Ah yes, levitating and flying. That’s also a neat talent I gained. I admit it’s probably my favourite. It’s a cool trick that no one else can do,’ I grinned proudly for a moment. ‘And before you ask, I created a hole in the shield Maz and Amire had constructed to get through to the beast. Maz favours water and earth, but Amire favours fire and air. Because they’re twins, they can share, transfer and combine their magic to create more power. But because I’m stronger than them, I can counteract their magic. It’s not an easy feat, but we’ve had a lot of practise over the years.’ I shrugged.

He stared at me in wonder for a good minute before asking, ‘So, what does that make you?’

‘I honestly don’t know. I wasn’t lying to you. I’m still trying to figure out what it all means and how I fit. But in its simplest form it means I’m the most powerful physical mage on the Fyriane continent.’ My mind flickered to the book of Wystia and Merlot and I added, ‘That we know of, at least.’

‘Shit,’ he breathed. ‘I’m married to the most powerful physical mage. Isn’t that something.’

I couldn’t help the exhausted giggle that left my mouth at the blatant awe in his voice.

Apparently, that giggle snapped him out of his contemplation. ‘So, the Arlom teens in the Solista Isles, are they receiving this magic?’

I gulped, knowing this was the moment that everything turned south. ‘They are.’

Understanding flashed in his eyes before they settled on rage. ‘So, if Arlomans can receive their magic, why does my Kingdom not know about this? Why am I not a physical mage?’

‘I can’t tell you what I don’t know. I know some things, but not all of them, and that’s what I’ve been trying to work out – you’re not the only one who has been kept in the dark. What I do know, and can tell you, is my own experience.’ I took a deep breath before diving in again, figuring I may as well reveal what I’d found out.

‘From what I can gather, long ago the Fyriane continent was united and ruled by King Merlot and Queen Wystia. How they came to be, I still have no idea. I’ve recently discovered, the king was what they refer to as a psychic mage, whilst the queen was a physical mage. Wystia’s magic source came to be captured in the place we now know of as the Temple of Wystia. Merlot’s magic source, I believe, has been locked in a place near the Nyarelle and Marlyst Doms. If I were to guess, it’s somewhere in the desert far away from our lands, much like the Isles. The royal couple had four children. Each of the Doms we have today are named after them. Salistya and Arlom were physical mages while Nyarelle and Marlyst were psychic mages. I’m assuming upon the disappearance of their parents, the siblings decided to break up the Fyriane continent and took a piece of their own land, starting their own Dom.’

I took a deep breath and continued, needing to give him more information before I explained the Isles.

‘Growing up in the Queendom of Salistya was, to put it short, awful. The Queendom is a stifling environment. Even as the third in line for the throne, I was treated like just another Salistyan woman. Born to eventually give birth to as many children as possible who would then become weapons to serve in the army. However, as the army was the number one priority for Salistyans, female teens are granted a reprieve, and can leave the Queendom for five years to learn how to be a weapon. Only those who showed strengths in more than one element were deemed an appropriate fit for the army. There was still an expectation for those women to procreate, but at least they were able to fight alongside the men. But those who only showed strengths in one element?’ I shuddered in disgust. ‘They were immediately brought back and became part of the breeding program to get the population up. The sires of their children were all Sol selectively picked to enhance the possibility of their children favouring two elements.

‘We were raised to think the Arlom Kingdom was weak and didn’t deserve to know or be gifted with physical magic. The Queendom fiercely protected the Isles as they knew this is where the source of their power came from and was their trump card. If they didn’t have this, what would stop any of the Doms from infiltrating their lands? The land is not ideal for agriculture, nor does it have materials to make weapons. They have nothing, only their army and the physical magic of the Isles. The Queendom has never played nice with the others, as you’re aware. We saw it time and time again in the meetings with Slaviya. They stick to themselves and don’t offer more information than required. I’m not sure when or how it happened, but somehow somewhere along the line, Salistya was able to hide the true purpose of the Solista Isles and the physical mages of Arlom ceased to exist.’

Eliasson got up and started pacing again in obvious agitation. ‘So, what changed?’ he challenged.

‘What you need to understand, Eliasson, is that my father was a cold-hearted and calculating man who ruled with an iron fist. I was in the Solista Isles enjoying my respite from being under his thumb, totally oblivious to the growing political frictions between Arlom and Salistya. They didn’t know about my powers, as my mentor had made sure to hide it from them. He knew I would be subjected to whatever awful training or experiments my father would want me to be involved with otherwise. My family sent word that Slaviya was to marry you and unite our Doms. As you can imagine from what I’d been fed from such a young age, I was shocked. Why would the Queendom agree to this? I knew that your Kingdom wanted to be able to protect themselves and not rely on Salistya as much. Part of that was having access to the Solista Isles.’

‘Yes. We knew your army is trained there. We figured that if we were to strengthen our own army, we would need the Isles to do so,’ he agreed. ‘The betrothal made sense for us to gain access to the Isles, but why would the Queendom agree to it if they wanted us to be shielded from the knowledge of magic?’

‘You heard Slaviya. The tidal beasts are becoming more aggressive and making their way down to Arlom’s territory,’ I said, trying to deflect from the real reason for the union.

‘Yes, but that still doesn’t make sense. They could’ve simply brought this up at the Forum, requesting us to allow their army access. Why now? Why marry me?’ He was spiralling. I could see it in his actions, in his facial features. My betrayal was starting to dawn on him as I saw him make the logical leap.

‘Because the plan was to never keep me as the ruler, was it? Salistya didn’t want a union, they wanted to take over Arlom and the first step would be to marry into the royal family …’ He trailed off. Eliasson’s eyes teared up as he breathed out, ‘My life is in danger, isn’t it?’

I grew increasingly uncomfortable, avoiding his eyes. I’d arrived at the inevitable fork in the road. I knew it was coming the minute my magic was revealed. As far as I saw it, I had two choices, lie to Eliasson and save him the anguish, or be truthful about the reason I’m here and attempt to make better decisions from now on, to follow my own path.

‘I think you’re going to want Fyrel for this part,’ I whispered.

‘Valare, you’re splitting my heart into two,’ Eliasson cried, tears appearing to pour down his face.

The tears I was keeping at bay were released as I sobbed, ‘Please, go get Fyrel. If he’s with Meredith, bring her too.’

‘How can I trust anything that’s coming out of your mouth? How do I know that the minute I leave, I’m not going to be killed instantly? I loved you Valare. I wanted to have children with you. Create a life together. The person I’m looking at – my wife – who I’ve loved for the past year is a stranger. I don’t even know you,’ he said, pointing at me.

He wasn’t to know that he was splitting my heart in two as well. I may not love him as a romantic partner, but I had come to love him as a friend, to see him as my family. It wasn’t only his future that was changing with every minute that passed.

‘You do know me. I may have held things back from you, Eliasson. The purpose of my being here may be a lie, but the person you’ve come to know in the last year is still me. I don’t expect you to trust me, or to even like me, but I’m begging you. Please. Fyrel needs to know this, and you deserve to have a choice as to how this will go down,’ I pleaded.

‘You’re coming with me. I’ll be damned if you go missing before I get back and I sure as hell need your protection to ensure I keep my bloody head on my body,’ he said gruffly, fury infusing his movements as he grabbed my arm and pulled us out of the quarters towards Fyrel’s rooms.

I let him drag me across the palace, attempting and failing to hold in my tears. When we arrived at Fyrel’s rooms, he banged on the door and barged in. He paid no attention to what was very obviously Meredith and Fyrel having heated sex fuelled by, undoubtedly, a healthy dose of anger. She would’ve had to reveal some secrets to him as well.

Eliasson stomped over, pulling Fyrel off Meredith as she scrambled from all fours to dive under the cover to hide her naked body.

‘Get changed, you’re both coming with us,’ Eliasson demanded, crossing his arms over his chest and staring down at the couple expectantly.

They rushed to get changed before looking between us. Eliasson’s stance was full of anger while I was trying to stop the tears falling down my cheeks.

‘Teleport us back to my room,’ he ordered. I grabbed Fyrel and Eliasson’s hands and nodded to Meredith before whisking us away. Meredith landed behind us a second later, rushing towards me and placing a supportive arm around my waist.

‘Where were we, Valare?’ Eliasson pretended. ‘Ah, that’s right. You were up to the part where my life was in danger.’

‘What –’ Fyrel swivelled to face me, bloody murder emanating from every pore in his body.

‘Shit,’ Meredith whispered.

‘You know about this?’ Fyrel sneered at Mer. She swallowed loudly, refusing to answer and instead looked to me for guidance.

I took a step back, dragging Meredith with me, to create some distance between the raging Arlomans. ‘Eliasson’s life is in danger,’ I confirmed as I looked at Fyrel. I could feel the tears still drying on my face. ‘I wanted you to hear it from me firsthand. I know we don’t deserve your grace, but I ask that you remain calm while I explain what’s happening.’

Fyrel looked at Eliasson with dread. They had both seen what I was capable of at the beach and knew they had no real leg to stand on. My diplomacy of not reminding them of it was my own form of grace.

‘I take it you’ve caught Fyrel up on what it means to be a physical mage and the gifts of the Isles?’ I asked Mer.

She sheepishly nodded, casting her head down as tears began to fall down her face.

‘It’s okay, Mer. I know this has been hard for you to keep from him,’ I soothed, rubbing her arm up and down. ‘For what it’s worth Fyrel, she really does love you. Please remember that this is out of her control. As you should understand being in your position, she’s duty bound to her Queendom.’ I saw Fyrel soften. He too had tears in his eyes as he nodded in understanding, his gaze unwaveringly fixed on Meredith.

‘I’ve come to understand that my father agreed to a union between our Doms to train more physical mages and create a bigger army. Despite what Slaviya says, the breeding programs are not as fruitful as she would lead you to believe. The army is suffering, and the beasts are growing in strength and size. They’re becoming a formidable force that the Salistyan army alone clearly can’t conquer. Granting Arlomans access to the Isles allows for more physical mages and thus a stronger front on our coastal lands. However,’ I cleared my throat, ‘It was never my father’s intention to have an Arloman rule over a Kingdom which held physical mages. They’d always planned for you to be assassinated, Eliasson. This would lead my sister – now me – to be the ruler of Arlom. It would also create a strong force against Marlyst and Nyarelle, who we all know hold a strong alliance.’

Fyrel moved to place himself protectively in front of Eliasson.

‘I’m not going to hurt him, Fyrel. If I was going to, I would’ve done it well and truly before now. Be thankful it was me that married your king and not my sister. If it were Slaviya, Eliasson would have died a year ago, consequences and implications be damned.’

‘What changed your mind?’ Eliasson asked, stepping to Fyrel’s side to look at me.

‘When my parents and brother died and Slaviya became Queen, I naturally became heir. I knew how much she detested my father’s plans to marry her off, so I naively thought she would put a stop to talks of marriage. I hoped that Slaviya, as a female ruler of a Queendom that had oppressed women for as long as it has stood, would change our Dom for the better. But she hasn’t. I’ve come to see the same cunning look in her eyes as I did my father’s. When I found out that I was to be married and the plans I was expected to carry on, I was furious. But I also had no way to stop it from happening. I was a Salistyan and required to be loyal to my queen, even as the next in line for the throne. I was bound by duty.’

‘Arlom is a lot like Solista. People are free. Happy. Alive. It amazes me to this day that the Solistans are under Salistyan rule. In all honesty, it would be more fitting that they were under Arloman rule.’ I shook my head.

‘Living in the Isles opened my eyes to a different way of life. In truth, I wanted nothing to do with Salistya. And then I was sent on this mission.’ I took a deep breath. ‘Living in Arlom, getting to know you, your people, the culture. It wasn’t what I was expecting. It made me second guess whether seeing the mission through was the right thing to do. I stalled, made up a plethora of excuses to Slaviya to get her off my back while I sifted through my thoughts. It took me a while to realise that I’m no longer under my sister’s reign. I married an Arloman and that made me loyal to the Arlom Kingdom. I realised I don’t have to be a pawn in all of this. I don’t have to assassinate a king who is so loved by his people and rules with his heart on his sleeve. And I also don’t have to play into whatever it is my sister is planning after you’re supposed to be dead, Eliasson. I never really trusted her, even when we were younger, but now I absolutely don’t trust her motives. We don’t trust her motives.’ I looked at Mer as she nodded in agreement, standing in solidarity with me. ‘Fyriane was once a united continent under one ruling couple. I fear she’s trying to rule Fyriane alone and taking it by force. Arlom and your assassination, Eliasson, are the first pieces of the puzzle.’

The men digested my words.

‘So why are you here, Mer?’ Fyrel asked softly, love and understanding shining in his eyes.

I nudged Mer, giving her the green light to answer freely.

‘I’m a part of Valare’s Sol. I’m a trained assassin along with Amire, Mazyr and Rynelle. We’ve trained together since we were gifted our magic. As a group, along with Valare, we assist in assassination missions. This was, or is, our first mission together. We’re under strict orders by our queen.’ She swallowed nervously and added, ‘Slaviya, that is.’

‘So …’ Eliasson started. ‘If you’re not going to kill me. What’s the plan?’

Mer and I smiled at one another. We didn’t need words to reach an understanding of what needed to be done, having already had some pieces in place.

‘I’d like to just point out that I still hate you Valare, and neither Eliasson nor I forgive you for this. Despite saving his life,’ Fyrel jumped in. The lovesick puppy was gone, and he was back to the insufferable bastard I was used to. It felt good, normal. I could deal with this.

‘Oh, I know, sweetheart,’ I crooned, falling back into the role of annoying wife of his best friend. ‘But looks like you’re going to have to play along with me to ensure your safety, aren’t you?’

I turned back to business. ‘This is what we’re going to do.’

Hours later, when we’d finally come to an agreement, I was able to leave Eliasson’s room. Understandably, he wanted space. But at least he agreed to be somewhat polite to me in public, so that was a win.

Heading into my room, I closed the door and stared at my bed longingly, wishing I could dive under the covers. Unfortunately, I was making my own path, and I needed to tick all boxes before I can rest.

Teleporting out, I landed in the room I’d been craving to visit and avoiding every night since the Forum had started. Making my way over to Xylan’s sleeping form, I couldn’t help notice he was nude under the covers. Dismissing that thought, I lightly tickled his arm, startling him awake.

‘Minx?’ he slurred, half asleep. ‘What are you doing here?’

I released a massive breath and pushed down my hatred for the words that were about to come out my mouth. The reality was I had to trust this man and extend an olive branch before I was ready to. I focused on those sleepy, beautiful fuchsia eyes which spurred me on despite my discomfort.

‘I need your help.’