In the midst of my first inhale, an eeriness inched toward me. A menacing tone grated out, swathing my magic. Sapphire and violet veins spidered into my perfect heaven and infected it with its sinister curse.
Stars and colors exploded, and a battle ensued. Lighter hues and darker poisons clashed together, creating a chaotic spectacle. My magic receded, shrunk, shriveled in the collision of ominous black storm clouds.
No!
My split magic. It was attacking me. Waves of light blues and violets swelled with an expansive rush of power in response to the split. Vines spread from its core and surrounded the darkened clouds, constricting it in place so it could no longer grow. So it could tame the malicious infection that lived inside me. And it was in that moment where my split magic shrunk that I saw something remarkable. Through its swirling black storm clouds, purple electricity spread, resembling the magic that had coated the Cidris cages. Even more, it shimmered ever so slightly in the shade of Fletcher’s magic. Lilac.
The idea connected, sparking a thought. It took hold with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.Is the split magic somehow… a version of Fletcher’s magic?
CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO
The sound of crisp sheets rubbing together as I turned roused me awake. I opened my eyes to the sterile white walls of a hospital room, florescent lights above blinding me. Machines beeped as I slowly regained my bearings. The weight of my body felt heavy, as though it was made of stone.
Rosaanne’s face came over me, not more than ten inches from my nose. Her freckles scrunched with her smile, pure yellow eyes glaring at me intensely. “Ripley!” she squealed as they narrowed to small slits.
I sat up in alert, abs tightening in odd places and pain screaming up my torso. “Where’s Fletcher?” I croaked in haste. Tears burned my eyes that he wasn’t here already.
Rosaanne put up her hands. “He’s okay, he’s okay,” she repeated quickly.
“He’s okay?” I asked again as breath escaped my lungs.
“He’s fine,” she whispered with a smile. “He’s alive.”
I swallowed with an arid throat. “What happened?” My eyes roamed the small bed I was in that matched empty ones in the row traveling to the left and right of me. There were some Elizians in the far corners sleeping. The vaulted ceiling and bare, white walls made every noise echo. “Where am I?”
She placed a hand on my arm and leaned over my bed, helping me lay back down. “You’re in the Elizy infirmary. You took half of the wound, and you and Fletcher are going to be just fine.”
I fell back to the pillow, my abs in severe pain, but my mind in tranquil relief.
I gave a hollow grin and took a deep breath. “Everyone’s okay?”
“Everyone is okay, Princess.”
I exhaled loudly, scrubbing my hand over my face. “How long was I out?”
Rosaanne sat back, crossing one leg over the other. “About four and a half hours.”
“What about the facility?”
“The Cidris Facility has collapsed and is inoperable. Mirin went to check an hour ago. We didn’t get the drabes though.” A sadness befell her expression before she quickly readjusted it after a small sigh. “But the Elizians are home. Moms, dads, and babies. Hopefully all the Cidris are dead now. Or at least they don’t have a place to continue to take our blood.”
“Where is everyone now?”
Rosaanne sat back in her seat, crossed her legs and linked her fingers over her knee. “Mirin is tending to the Elizians we saved. Aldris is tending to Fletcher, and I am watching over you. The king and queen came to visit you a few times. They are bouncing back and forth from being here with you and those we rescued.”
Everyone was okay, and the thought echoed in my chest with a sense of grief.
Scenes from Fletcher limping out of the facility’s entrance to Graff pointing a gun flashed through mymind. Then the lava coating his body as he screamed. Everyone was safe, except him. “I killed Graff.”
She nodded, and her eyes lit up. “But, you saved Fletcher.” Her hand came on my cheek, wiping away a tear spilling down.
It was true. I’d save Fletcher over any other person in a heartbeat.
“Now is not a time to be hard on yourself.” Rosaanne rested a hand on my thigh briefly before turning to the monitors beside my bed and checking my vitals. “Now is a time to celebrate that we’ve won the war. Now is time to rest and recuperate.”
We did win the war. The Cidris were gone. Our barrier was no longer needed. Fletcher was free and so was I. A soft grin emerged over my face as it began to settle in. My future. My bright future had finally arrived. This was the beginning of the rest of my life.
