The immense willpower Callie and the other Sentinel had, pulled them all through the water toward a commotion up ahead, and Arthur immediately recognized Aria and Travus through the merciless bombardment of souls. He and the sentinels shot through the thick waters and unleashed their powers to rescue them.
Arthur got a hold of a nearly unconscious Aria and a very pale Travus turning to ice. Within his protective shield of glimmering blue, he watched warmth beginning to return to her skin, and she gained consciousness with a gasp. With their targets acquired, he and the Sentinels swam past the souls that tried to grab at them and to the surface of the Enchanted Lake.
Though Arthurs body burned from swimming, he focused on only his breathing and before he knew it, they were all out of the water in a heap of sputtering and coughing mess. Though exhausted, he was glad to see that Aria was okay.
Aria, though, saw no one else but Travus as she pushed everyone out of the way to get to him, her hands clamoring desperately around his armor to find skin. Her fingers found the dip in his throat, her eyes stricken with panic as he exhaled sharply.
“He’s not breathing,” she croaked weakly as she grabbed Travus’s face. “No. No, no,no!”
Travus was indeed dead. There was no light in his eyes, his color was an odd greenish-blue, and his skin was beginning to sink and cling to his skull. He was aging rapidly, and Arthur knew that it wouldn’t be long before the Elf started to wither.
If Aria didn’t look like she cared for him so much, he would’ve wanted him gone for good and felt relief. The poor thing’s eyes were broken dams with the endless tears that were pouring out of them as she shook him by the shoulders.
“Please wake up,” she begged softly while nudging him harder. “Please, Travus,wake up!”
She began smacking his chest with her fists as her sobs grew louder, but there was not much left under the Elf’s armor. Arthur felt terrible.
The Fae they’d rescued weakly pulled himself over to Travus. “I can see a bit of life-force, but it won’t be long before he runs out.” He pulled out an amulet that glowed a brilliant blue, much similarly to the light in the Realm of the Dead that Arthur had seen when approaching the trio. “Aria, you can bring him back but…this will be a risk.”
“What risk, Hector?” she demanded through her tears.
“Half your life force and complete immersion into dark magic,” he declared straightforwardly. “There will be no coming back from this.”
Aria glanced at him helplessly with glassy eyes, then at Callie, and then at Arthur who gave her a sympathetic look. She looked toward her mother who dutifully helped the Faes and Fairy Sentinels push the rogue souls back into the lake. He wished he had an answer for her, but he was only Human. Whether he yielded pure or dark magic had no real impact on him socially like it did within the community of Fairies and Faes.
“The lake needs to remain open until you’re done, Aria,” Hector explained. “If you decide to do this, we need to keep away the rulers that will be coming to get their Council Stones back and seal the lake.”
“I can buy you time,” Arthur said and turned to the lake wearily. Stabilizing himself at its edge on his knees, he willed every ounce of magic in his exhausted body into his hands. The air around him began to grow frosty, and he plunged his hands into the lake and let the chill channel through him.
The Enchanted Lake, slowly but surely, began to freeze over followed by the crackling of ice. Beneath the layer, the souls moaned and pressed themselves against the hard surface as if to push their way through. Aria saw her father smile at her as he went back through and slowly disappear. The only space Arthur left was at the very center where some souls were still attempting to climb out of, but it wasn’t large enough to get through.
It was a very large lake, and freezing just the top took almost all of his strength. He wasn’t able to hold himself up any longer and collapsed, and Callie caught him.
He’d done his part, and he only hoped that the Council of Nexis would see him for his heroic attempt and approve of him.
Chapter 26
Aria watched her mother run over and hug her tightly, but then pulled away in panic when she saw the amulet in her hand. She threw Hector a scandalous look.
“This is for necromancy, isn’t it?” she demanded. “I’d know that symbol anywhere. My husband had been attempting to create one at some point in his life.”
“It’s Aria’s choice, your majesty,” he said. “I did what I was commissioned to do.”
Aria found her duty and morality conflicting harder than ever before, and she looked at her mother with a very real terror dawning upon her. She’d lost her father, and she would very well lose her mother. Turning to dark magic would possibly rid her of her chances of becoming the next Fairy Guardian, and it would mean that she would never be able to bring justice to the way Faes had been treated.
Alongside that, to bring back a man who caused so much anguish and anxiety to the entire realm…no one would forgive her for it.
She didn’t understand why it was someone as controversial as Travus who had to be a mate to someone like herself who had so much work to do for the realm.
“Mother…” she croaked helplessly, “he’s my mate.”
“Do you love him?” she asked seriously.
“I…” Aria’s words were caught in her throat. “We care for each other.” She was so afraid to reveal her true feelings out loud, and to her mother.
The Fairy Guardian frowned at her. “I want you to make a decision based on the courage you’ve always displayed. I want to be completely sure that you won’t regret this, Aria.”
She stared at her mother in shock. “You’ll be alright with this?”
