True North [True North series book 1/3]

We finished our meal in silence, and then waited for the males to return. They eventually did, and although they looked fine, I could tell they had shifted while they were out. Thoridor’s eyes were still swirling with his beast’s presence, and Warrian was limping slightly, and the fronts of his boots had ripped, leading me to believe his talons had grown even more since last time.

“Myrtha and Serin, follow me to the courtyard,” Thoridor said, and his voice sounded even more hoarse than usually, “everyone else may leave.”

I stared at Warrian as I passed him, but he wouldn’t return my gaze. It left me with a pit in my stomach as I followed Thoridor, holding Myrtha up by her arm. She shuffled after Thoridor painstakingly slowly, making me wish the courtyard wouldn’t be far away.

We made it there eventually, and I set Myrtha down the side of the fountain, before turning around to face Thoridor.

He took a deep breath, and didn’t spare Myrtha a single glance as he began speaking to her.

“You will feel your magic in your bones as soon as you begin to conjure it,” he said, and then his eyes met mine, “it is woven into your very essence. You will need to feed it, as soon as you begin to feel the slightest tingle of it in your core being — feed it your energy. Give it all you have, until you feel it grow.”

His eyes flicked down to look at Myrtha for half a heartbeat, and then he continued. “Focus on growing it larger and larger, until it becomes this living, breathing thing. Picture it in your head, and focus on what you want it to do. In your case: create a gateway. Be specific in your wish —where should it appear, where should it lead— leave no room for error. I can’t make them myself, so I don’t know exactly what to do, but I know with all magic, you should be as specific as you can.”

He looked at me again, and it made my heart jump. I was always so on edge around him — I wondered why. He scared me a little, sure, but I wasn’t afraid of him — not the way I expected myself to be. He had bitten me, for crying out loud, bitten and licked me, like some sort of beast. Because he was a beast. But he didn’t truly frighten me, not really.

I averted my eyes, turning them to Myrtha. “Do you understand?” I asked softly, grabbing her hand.

Myrtha looked concerned, but nodded slowly. She hadn’t dared looking up at Thoridor the entire time he spoke, just looking at the contorted joints of her fingers in her lap.

“Maybe you could give it a go,” I said, kneeling down in front of her. “Try feeling your magic, see if you can get that tingling going?”

Myrtha squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her lips together as she focussed. Her pale cheeks turned pink as she held her breath, focussing all her attention on finding even the slightest hint of magic inside herself. She made a small choking sound, and then broke into a full-blown coughing fit. I flinched as I involuntarily pictured Tophyn coughing up a storm in our little attic at home. Tears sprung to my eyes as I rubbed Myrtha’s back, finding it to be just as bony as Tophyn’s.

“It’s okay,” I whispered, “it’s okay, Myrtha, you can stop.”

Myrtha looked up at me, her eyes bloodshot and watery.

“I am so sorry,” she mumbled, but I squeezed her hands gently.

“It’s okay,” I said again, smiling reassuringly, “I didn’t expect you to get it right away. You’ve never done this before.”

Myrtha wiped her eyes and squeezed my hands back. “I will try again. I need to do this before the Sorael. If I’m your only chance of getting back, I need to do it before the battle.”

I swallowed. I hadn’t thought of that — I had mainly focussed on my own chances of survival —which were slim— but the thought of Myrtha dying and taking away my only chance to get out of Ardanis with her hadn’t even crossed my mind.

I looked at Thoridor. “Sire, can you please make an exception?”

I asked, “don’t have Myrtha partake in the Sorael — she doesn’t stand a fair chance against the other Ardanians. There must be some sort of loophole in the ru—”

“This isn’t about rules, Serin,” Thoridor spat, “you think I’d let my people kill themselves off over rules?!”

He paced away, and halted a few steps before he reached the door.

“This is a curse — one that can only be broken by the subject of the prophecy, whom might very well perish tomorrow, and seal not only your fate, but that of the entire nation, human.”

I looked away, feeling a mixture of hurt and shame. The curse. I had indeed been selfish — all of the Ardanian’s fates were at stake, not just mine.

“Can you postpone the Sorael until Myrtha has had a bit more time to train?” I tried helplessly, but Thoridor scoffed.

“Sure, love, as soon as you figure out how to stop the moons from turning red, I’d be happy to postpone.”

My cheeks darkened and I rose to my feet. “Come on, Myrtha, I’ll take you back to your room,” I said, before turning to Thoridor, “where is she staying, Sire?”

Thoridor shrugged. “The Aquatic and Aerial Ardanians stay in camps, usually. You could ask the guards.”

My jaw dropped. “You can’t have her camp out in the cold,” I protested, “look at her! She wouldn’t even last the night.”

Thoridor looked at Myrtha, scanning over her as if he was just now seeing her for the first time.

He furrowed his brows. “She can stay in my room,” I said, before he could say something, “I’ll sleep elsewhere.”

“And where will that be?” Thoridor asked lowly.

“I’ll figure it out,” I spat, and pulled Myrtha to her feet, taking her out of the courty with me.