Chapter 6

CHAPTER6

Lore couldn’t get the image of them out of her head. All she saw were hollow eyes and emaciated flesh, bones sticking out of their backs like wings. She remembered their gazes as they stared up at the sky, waiting for someone to help them, but then realizing they were alone.

Was this what it was to be a god? Was she supposed to save them all and somehow set this part of herself aside from what she feared she actually was?

Selfish.

Half-elf.

Not good enough for anyone in the kingdom to see beyond the surface of too short ears and glittering skin.

Her dragon seemed to realize the mood she was in. Abraxas always knew when to let her simmer in her thoughts and when to push her free from them. Their journey after saving the humans was filled with meaningful silences and a man who continually pushed food toward her.

She had moments where she was grateful for him. She couldn’t forget all that he did. From making sure she ate, to taking over the directions of where they were going, finding water in the scarce clean sources the closer they got to Tenebrous. All of it fell on Abraxas’s shoulders and he shouldered that burden without complaint.

By the time they made it to the marshes, she’d settled a few things in her mind. But then she thought about the humans again and all those thoughts scattered like seeds in the wind.

She was—as ever, she supposed—stuck. And the only person who could help pull her out of that mire was the dragon who had been with her through it all.

Abraxas glanced over his shoulder, his face lit by a hundred will-o’-the-wisps that followed him around their makeshift campsite. Those harsh features never changed, no matter what they went through. He was a solid foundation for her to brace herself against.

“How did I get so lucky?” she asked, her voice carrying through the mist.

“In what way?”

Lore gestured toward the lights, blinking into existence from the meager city of Tenebrous. “I grew up there. I lived in those dirty streets, stealing whatever I could to stay alive. And now I am practically a goddess with the expectations of a kingdom on my shoulders and a dragon who loves me. How did I get so lucky?”

He snorted and shook his head. “You call that luck?”

“I call meeting you luck. Everything else I could do without.”

His features softened and Abraxas came to her side. He was never far, but he always seemed to notice when she needed his hands on her. Cupping the back of her neck, he drew her in close so he could press his lips to her forehead. “You are the best thing to happen in my life, Lore. And I would not trade all this hardship for a second chance at something different. Neither would you, I suppose. Neither would any of the people you’re thinking about, most likely.”

“Their souls are heavy,” she whispered.

“They have been through a trying time.”

“No, not the ones who lived.” And that was the rub of it all, wasn’t it? “I can feel the ones who didn’t make it. The anger they carry at not being saved. I can hear them on the other side, whispering that if we had only been a day faster that we might have freed them as well. They blame me, Abraxas, for all that I could not do.”

“Then you will stop listening to them.” Abraxas gave her neck a little shake, as though that would startle her out of her thoughts. “You will pull yourself from that world, or so help me, I will join them in the darkness. I will hunt them down for you, Lore, to give you better peace in this realm.”

As if she would ever let him. But the thought made her smile. She’d been in that realm before herself, and she knew how difficult it was to crawl back out of.

Sighing, she let the lingering tension slip from her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have such morose thoughts when we’re here.”

Abraxas took a few steps back from her, his eyes still seeing more than she wanted him to see. But he returned to the campsite he was setting up and started their fire. “Here? Of all places? Such a sunny, warm environment for good thoughts, don’t you think?”

She shook her head. “Sarcastic dragon.”

“Stubborn elf.”

Of course, both of them were right. She sat down on a log next to the fire, trying to piece her thoughts together. “I don’t want to be happy because of where we are, but because of what we were doing the last time we were here. Do you remember?”

“I remember.” His voice warmed with a chuckle. “It was the first time I’d traveled in this form. I was exhausted.”

“I almost threw you in the bog.”

He grinned, and she swore the marsh lit up with his happiness. “I would have smelled better if you had.”

Laughter bubbled up in her chest before she realized what was happening. She let it trickle out of her body in a light rush that lifted some of the heavy spirits from her shoulders.

She missed that time. They had been so frustrated and fighting against what they felt. Their arguments had taken such a long time, and yet they had fallen for each other no matter how hard they’d fought against it.

Abraxas shook his head, that wry grin still on his face. “We should try to get some sleep. There will be time to go over our memories, and for the laughter that we both desperately need. But I, for one, would like to get out of the bog before we reminisce. Shall we?”

He was right. They both needed sleep. But she wanted this bubble of laughter to stay around her, if only for a little while longer.

Lore nodded at the blankets he’d laid out on the ground. “Go ahead. I’ll take first watch.”

“You need to rest.”

“And you need to let me do what I want to do.” She tilted her head to the side, biting her lip so she didn’t burst into laughter at the frustrated expression on his face. “I’m not tired yet, and I don’t need as much sleep as I used to. I’ll live in the memories for a little while longer, and you can get the rest you need to get us to Tenebrous tomorrow.”

Grumbling under his breath, he settled himself onto the ground and stared up at the sky for a while.

Lore knew her man well, though. He could fight against the exhaustion all he wanted, but he was still exhausted. She would have been as well if she wasn’t full of all this power. It fueled her body, pushed her forward to the unknown purpose that still burned in her chest. Soon, she would understand why she’d been given all this magic. Soon, she would fulfill that purpose.

But right now, she wanted to watch her man fall gradually asleep. He was always so peaceful as he did it. Abraxas could fight with the weight of the world on his shoulders, but the moment sleep took him, his face evened out into a quiet calm that she never saw on his features while he was awake.

That handsome face had gotten her through so much more than he would ever realize. She wanted to lie beside him and trace her fingers over the long hawk-like nose, down the thin lips that were usually pressed into a firm line, to his prominent jaw. He had to know that no matter how much time they’d spent apart, not a single part of her loved him less.

In fact, she supposed she loved him even more.

Sighing, she tore her gaze away from the resting dragon and focused instead on the fire he’d built. The flames flickered, moving along with the mist behind it. Pulling her mind away from the moment and into the future.

Or perhaps somewhere else.

She felt the flare of magic rising in her chest before she even realized she was using it. Sometimes the power still did that, as though her mother and the mothers before that were pushing her toward something important that she’d missed.

It was, after all, their power that lived inside her.

Rolling and rumbling through her like a storm just waiting to be unleashed, her gaze soon locked on the flames. They flickered, moving with every breath of the wind. Then she saw it. Images were inside the flames that moved with their own accord.

A summoning spell? No, that wasn’t quite right. It was divination in its oldest form.

Divination that let her see through the very veil of the world as though she could transport herself across the entire kingdom. Kneeling in the coals was a young man who was as familiar to her as family.

“Ah,” she whispered under her breath, making sure not to rouse Abraxas. “You want me to see him?”

Of course they did. They wanted her to check in on the young man who was very dear to her, and the reason she’d returned to Umbra. They wanted to remind her why she was here.

Lore wasn’t supposed to save the humans and disappear. She was here to save her family.

And she’d forgotten that. Rather easily, she was ashamed to admit.

Sighing, she twisted her hair into a knot at the back of her neck and closed her eyes. Careful to not use enough magic to be detected, she let her soul wander from her body.

It was a new talent that one of her ancestors had insisted on teaching her. She wasn’t really scrying, so she didn’t need an element to look into. No fire or water would show her what her consciousness could.

Lore liked to call it going for a walk. That’s what it felt like, albeit much faster than her physical form could move. Her spirit soured over the lands of Umbra, shifting through the very fabric of reality until she was right in front of that horrible place where they were keeping Zephyr.

The shambles of Solis Occasum never failed to make her heart squeeze in her chest. This building had once been great. A reminder of the gifts the sun gave to the people of Umbra and how warm this kingdom could be. That had all changed as many kings tore down the history that had been built here.

Guards stood at every angle she could see. They couldn’t see her, though. Not unless she wanted them to.

Lore glided through them, her footsteps light and leaving glowing prints behind her. A guide for her soul to get home when she needed to return to her body.

The images inside the remains of that castle were blurry, even to her. Countless spells wrapped around this place, trying to keep out any and all who would dare come into the kingdom’s new dungeon.

Those spells made it hard to guess who many others were in here with Zephyr. It made it hard for her to even walk through the muck of all those tangled spells. Dragging her feet through them felt like someone was trying to toss her back.

But she had all night. And if it took her that long to see him, then that’s how long it would take her.

She fought against the spells for a long time. So much so that she could feel her mortal body breaking out into a sweat. Not that it was particularly difficult, just tedious. Lore could almost feel her ancestors feeding her more power because even they were frustrated with all these layers of spells.

She had to weave her way through them. She had to make it seem like no one had ever touched a single thread of those spells, so that no one would ever guess she was here.

But Lore knew the moment she started this journey toward him that she wouldn’t leave without Zephyr knowing that she was coming. He would not suffer for much longer, and she had every intent on getting him out very soon.

Finally, the last spell warped around her body like a bubble. It didn’t burst, but this one was flimsy and felt as though it would be so easy to tear.

He was right where she’d left him. His arms were strung up too high and his shoulders twisted into an impossible position. Zephyr’s knees were bleeding on the ground, the scabs seeming to stick him to the stone floor.

HIs head hung low, as though he had completely given up and she would not see him do that. Not now. Not ever.

Lore knelt in front of him, her heart breaking at the sight. She wanted to heal him, if only a little, but she feared that if they saw he’d healed, then they would beat him again. What if giving him a single night of comfort led to far more days and nights of torture?

It was better to leave him like this, even if it made her entire being revolt at the thought.

Solidifying her corporeal form, she touched her hand to his forehead and smoothed his sticky hair back from his head.

He followed her touch as though it were a cool balm to the pain inside him. And as she watched, she saw the very moment that he realized what he’d done. His eyes snapped open in horror and she wondered if someone had touched him like this, only to force it all to come crumbling down around his ears.

What torment had he gone through to be afraid of a kind touch?

Those wide eyes blinked a few times before he realized it was Lore in front of him. He breathed out a relieved breath, only to stiffen once again. “Are you really here?”

“I am.”

“They said you hadn’t visited me. That I was mad to even claim it.”

“You can’t tell them I was here this time.” She brushed her hand over his forehead again, knowing that he enjoyed the coldness of her touch. “I’m so close, Zephyr. Abraxas and I are in Umbra. We’re coming for you. So I need you to stay alive.”

“They won’t let me die.” His chapped lips pressed together in disappointment. “I’ve tried.”

“You will not try any longer.” Her voice was hard, perhaps a little too firm for a man who had gone through so much. “You will stop all that foolishness now. I am coming for you!”

“I’m tired,” he whispered, the chains clanking as he tried to draw his arms down around himself. “I’m cold. And I’m so tired of fighting.”

Tears pricked her eyes, and Lore did the only thing that she could think of.

She drew him into her arms, wrapping herself tightly around him and holding his head against her shoulder. Though he could not hug her back, she felt a shudder rock through his entire body at the cold but comforting touch. “I’m here now, and I will make sure this never happens to you again. I promise.”

He nodded, and she felt him start to drift away. As though his mind couldn’t stand the hope that she’d gifted to him.

She’d stay the night. She’d hold him and keep all those monsters at bay for as long as she could. But when the sun came up, she would have to return to her struggle to find him.

And as she felt the sun rise, her heart broke a thousand times over.