59. Bobble

fifty-nine

Bobble

The blinding white light slowly fades, leaving me disoriented and dropped to the floor with an unceremonious thud. As I shake off the dizziness, my vision is blurred but slowly clears thanks to the soft hands that wrap around my arm and pull me to my feet. My heart races as I try to piece together memories, but they are all jumbled and fragmented like a puzzle missing crucial pieces.

What…

I find myself back in the same room as before, but now Mira is staring at me with a look of disbelief. My heart sinks as I realize that we have failed. The merging process did not work. Shock and disappointment flood through me, and my mouth hangs open in astonishment. A new sensation begins to bubble up inside of me, something unfamiliar and deep.

"What happened?" I inquire, while Sunder and Callum rise up from the ground next to me with their injuries miraculously healed. Tairyn is on his knees, looking down at his hands in shock as if something has gone awry.

Sunder clutches his chest in shock, as if trying to stop a heart attack. I rush over to him, my instincts guiding me to use my healing powers on him. But as I do, something completely unexpected happens.

"I'm…I'm whole," I stutter, letting my yellow Chroma sputter out against his healthy body. "What happened?" I ask her again, this time more insistently.

Her eyes are wide as she stares at me, seemingly frozen in disbelief. In the corner of the room, I hear Cor'than's voice, chest puffed up with pride over something I cannot understand.

"All the matters is that you are no longer Shards of Dan'thiel. Each of you is your own. A whole soul in your own right. Restored and healthy. There is no time for celebration or questions. We must devise a plan of attack."

Cor'than's firm words are powerful, conveying both determination and a sense of possibility. Tairyn shakes his head as if to clear it. Pulling himself to his full height, he announces, "It's Mira he wants right now." He pauses, looking at each of us for a moment to let that information sink in. "Let's give her to him."

A roar of outrage dies on my lips as he hastily adds, "Bait to a trap we set."

"We need to distract Malicryn in the process. Scouts told me she's leveling half the city on the way to the palace while Yurghen looks for Mira, before they all ran away like cowards that is," Cor'than doesn't keep the bitterness from his voice about the failings of his men. Understandable, of course. My hand finds his shoulder and gives him a knowing squeeze.

"I'll find her," Sunder says. "If I know her at all, she won't skip the opportunity to taunt me."

The bond between Mira and me feels so much clearer now in my mind. As if we were trying to peer through foggy glass before, things are finally crystal clear. I sense the worry in her for Sunder.

"I'll go with you," I say, glancing at Mira as if to say Don't worry. I'll take care of him. She nods at me, her gratitude flowing through the bond like a stream on a warm summer day.

"Go now, without hesitation. The last report I received placed her on the Southwest side of the city riding to the palace. When your task is complete, seek us out, for we will need every able-bodied warrior."

Cor'than's words are so formal, like a quote from Lord of the Rings. I make eye contact with Mira. A sense of knowing humor passes between us. I give her a half grin.

He then turns to us, fist over heart in a formal Valenfall army salute and solemnly intones, "Until my last breath."

Sunder and I each return the formal salute of respect before slipping into the small alley behind the townhouse.

Tairyn and Cor'than quickly begin throwing out ideas on how to lure Yurghen into a trap as we shut the door behind us. My amusement dies quickly as the smell of smoke from burning buildings hangs so heavy in this part of the city.

I cover my nose with a spare handkerchief from my pocket, trying not to cough up a lung lest it draw unwanted attention.

Quite the quest we found, Mira, I tell her in my head. Quite the quest.