“Indeed,” he murmured. “Just hold still. I won’t hurt you.” He slowly swayed his palms back and forth, gradually melting the ice that held me in place. Fire magic is the rarest elemental magic to acquire. I didn’t want to imagine the pain Torrin must’ve endured to unlock it.
“You will learn to control it. Don’t worry,” Mother began.
Then I thought about myself. “I…I have ice magic.” It was more of a statement than a question. Mother nodded, and I looked to Torrin, his brown eyes focused on the task at hand. Ice magic is the elemental type that is acquired by immense devastation. Mother also wielded ice, though I had never asked what gave her that power. I would on our journey.
I felt the water dripping down my arms, and after a moment, I was able to break them free from the ice mold.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, then cried more. I didn’t have it in me to even feel embarrassed; Torrin had seen me cry more than anyone had, save for Mother.
“Don’t be,” Torrin said softly. I continued to shiver, and after a few moments, my legs were free. When my sobbing started to quiet down, Torrin spoke to my mother.
“If there is anything I can help with, let me know.”
Mother surveyed the bags resting on our dining table. “Everything we’re taking is packed. I’ve stored away as many elixirs as I could comfortably fit.” She turned to him. “How far of a travel is it to Ames?”
“About two months.”
My heart sank further if that was even possible. Two months on the run. Two months of sleeping on the ground and struggling to find food to eat.
“I will take care of us.”
I lifted my head to look at Torrin, and he nodded, helping me to my feet.
A moment later, after changing into dry clothes, I stood at the edge of my room. I was watching Mother conjure a replica of…me…lying on my bed. It was quite a disturbing sight. While I had focused on improving basic enchanting over the past year, Mother had concentrated on learning advanced spells, the ability to conjure up illusions being one of them.
“Your jewelry…”
“No. The necklace and ring stay with me.” I looked to my closet, where various clothes, dresses, and gowns Silas had all gifted me hung. I held back another sob. All would be turned to ash. Never to be worn again.
I waited in the living area with Torrin as Mother conjured up her own copy, and when she emerged, her eyes teary, Torrin shifted to me.
“I will set fire to both of your rooms, ensuring nobody figures out those bodies aren’t real. When I finish, we take these elixirs.” He gestured to the glass bottles we all held. “And we run like hell.”
Mother stepped next to me and nodded, and Torrin made his way to Mother’s room, then my own. Once I heard the fire start crackling, Torrin paced to us.
“It’s too risky to talk, so if either of you needs to communicate—think it. And I will relay if necessary.”
We nodded, then quickly downed the elixirs before exiting our cottage for the final time. I took in its imperfect stones, the plants I had spent so much time tending to, the ivy I had always adored.
My home. The first real home I ever had.
We raced down the cobblestone road, hearing a shout just before we made it to the exit. Someone had noticed the fire. I turned and felt my stomach flip when I beheld the sight of our house, now engulfed in flames.
“It will be okay.”
I hope you are right, Torrin.
We made it down the steps, across the bridge, and into the Southern Forest just in time as the elixir faded. We dashed into the shadows. Each breath was like a shard of glass in my lungs.
I allowed myself one last glance back, the lights from the castle in the distance a beacon in the dark.
This is not the end.
Chapter Thirty
FIVE YEARS LATER
Loungingonawoodenbench in the training pit, I watch as Merrick and Elowen battle, thoroughly amused by their repartee. Merrick held up his fingertips, twirling shards of ice in the air before launching them, and Elowen did her best to dodge, quickly evading each spike until one nicked her arm.
