never seen anything like this place. It was hell.
And I was too weak to continue on. My legs finally gave out. No matter how hard I tried, how many terrible memories of the dungeon I used to spur myself on, I couldn’t move.
“Go,” I said. “I will follow.”
I wouldn’t follow. There would be no following, not in this desert. I had no shortage of determination, but my muscles now failed. I would rather drown in sand than hold my friends back or return to the dungeon.
“No.” Nix pulled at my arm. “You’re coming.”
“I can’t walk.” Tears burned my eyes, but I struggled to hold them back.
“It doesn’t matter if we walk,” Del said. “They can follow our tracks, and the sand goes forever. We’ll never escape on foot, but we’ve gone as far as we need.”
“There’s nothing here,” I said.
“We’re here.” She sat on the sand next to me and gestured for Nix to sit. “We’re far enough from the dungeon that I can use my magic. It’s no longer repressed by their spells.”
“What can you do?” I asked.
“Transport.”
Hope flared in my chest, a light so bright I’d swear I’d never felt it before. I could see my parents again.
She reached for our hands. I grasped hers, horrified by how bony it was. But so was mine. We’d been starving.
She closed her eyes, and her magic swelled on the air. It smelled of fresh laundry, something that made my eyes tear up for my mother.
But nothing happened.
She squeezed her eyes tighter, her magic straining, the scent strengthening.
But still, nothing happened.
Finally, she opened her eyes. “I’m not strong enough to take you both. I’m only partway through my training.”
Darkness filled my chest. “Then go. Save yourself. Maybe you can send our parents back to get us.”
“No.” Her voice was hard as a rock. “Look around. There will be no way to find this place. You have to come with me.”
“How? What will we do?”
Her gaze moved between the two of us, darkness flaring in her eyes. “Something terrible and grand.”
“What is it?” Nix asked.
“I’ve seen my mother do it to perform great magic. Greater than she is capable of. You have to try to give me your power. Push it toward me so that I can use it to fuel my own and take you with me.”
“That’s not possible.” I’d never heard of that. It sounded sort of like a FireSoul’s magic, but not the same.
“It is for me. For my family. But it isn’t free. No magic is free. You will lose something. Power, knowledge, your memory. I don’t know what, but if you do this, you will be changed.”
Her gaze was so serious. I looked behind, at the dune that now blocked the mansion with the dungeon. Memories of my time there welled in my mind. I didn’t mind giving that up.
And if it was worse, if I gave up my magic or something else, it’d still be worth it.
“I’m in,” I said.
“Me too,” Nix said.
Del grasped our hands again and closed her eyes. “Envision your magic as light or sound or whatever feels natural and push it toward me.”
I did as she said, envisioning my power as a golden light that I collected into a ball and shoved toward her. It didn’t work at first. My magic was sticky, wanting to cling to me. But I forced it anyway, trying to give everything I had.
The scent of the other girl’s magic surged on the air. Flowers. I kept my eyes squeezed tightly closed, forcing my magic toward my friend. It felt unnatural and wrong, but it was our only hope.
Energy crackled in the air. My skin tingled, as if thousands of tiny bubbles popped against my flesh. A dull noise filled my ears, and the light in front of my closed eyelids glowed brighter.
“Keep going.” The dark-haired girl’s voice was strained.
I shoved my magic toward her harder, desperately trying to help. We had to get out of here. Something tore deep inside of me, like my soul. It was my root power, I realized. If I kept going, I’d lose it.
But I couldn’t stay here.
And I was too weak to continue on. My legs finally gave out. No matter how hard I tried, how many terrible memories of the dungeon I used to spur myself on, I couldn’t move.
“Go,” I said. “I will follow.”
I wouldn’t follow. There would be no following, not in this desert. I had no shortage of determination, but my muscles now failed. I would rather drown in sand than hold my friends back or return to the dungeon.
“No.” Nix pulled at my arm. “You’re coming.”
“I can’t walk.” Tears burned my eyes, but I struggled to hold them back.
“It doesn’t matter if we walk,” Del said. “They can follow our tracks, and the sand goes forever. We’ll never escape on foot, but we’ve gone as far as we need.”
“There’s nothing here,” I said.
“We’re here.” She sat on the sand next to me and gestured for Nix to sit. “We’re far enough from the dungeon that I can use my magic. It’s no longer repressed by their spells.”
“What can you do?” I asked.
“Transport.”
Hope flared in my chest, a light so bright I’d swear I’d never felt it before. I could see my parents again.
She reached for our hands. I grasped hers, horrified by how bony it was. But so was mine. We’d been starving.
She closed her eyes, and her magic swelled on the air. It smelled of fresh laundry, something that made my eyes tear up for my mother.
But nothing happened.
She squeezed her eyes tighter, her magic straining, the scent strengthening.
But still, nothing happened.
Finally, she opened her eyes. “I’m not strong enough to take you both. I’m only partway through my training.”
Darkness filled my chest. “Then go. Save yourself. Maybe you can send our parents back to get us.”
“No.” Her voice was hard as a rock. “Look around. There will be no way to find this place. You have to come with me.”
“How? What will we do?”
Her gaze moved between the two of us, darkness flaring in her eyes. “Something terrible and grand.”
“What is it?” Nix asked.
“I’ve seen my mother do it to perform great magic. Greater than she is capable of. You have to try to give me your power. Push it toward me so that I can use it to fuel my own and take you with me.”
“That’s not possible.” I’d never heard of that. It sounded sort of like a FireSoul’s magic, but not the same.
“It is for me. For my family. But it isn’t free. No magic is free. You will lose something. Power, knowledge, your memory. I don’t know what, but if you do this, you will be changed.”
Her gaze was so serious. I looked behind, at the dune that now blocked the mansion with the dungeon. Memories of my time there welled in my mind. I didn’t mind giving that up.
And if it was worse, if I gave up my magic or something else, it’d still be worth it.
“I’m in,” I said.
“Me too,” Nix said.
Del grasped our hands again and closed her eyes. “Envision your magic as light or sound or whatever feels natural and push it toward me.”
I did as she said, envisioning my power as a golden light that I collected into a ball and shoved toward her. It didn’t work at first. My magic was sticky, wanting to cling to me. But I forced it anyway, trying to give everything I had.
The scent of the other girl’s magic surged on the air. Flowers. I kept my eyes squeezed tightly closed, forcing my magic toward my friend. It felt unnatural and wrong, but it was our only hope.
Energy crackled in the air. My skin tingled, as if thousands of tiny bubbles popped against my flesh. A dull noise filled my ears, and the light in front of my closed eyelids glowed brighter.
“Keep going.” The dark-haired girl’s voice was strained.
I shoved my magic toward her harder, desperately trying to help. We had to get out of here. Something tore deep inside of me, like my soul. It was my root power, I realized. If I kept going, I’d lose it.
But I couldn’t stay here.
Similar Books
