Page 78 of Terragnata and the Heir of the Earth

The next sevendays I did not attend banquet per tradition, which I took no issue with. I had nine days left to prepare for the Skøl, which meant rising early and training until I collapsed on my bed in the evening. Cas and I would begin the day by running sprints before breaking our fast together. Then, he would watch as I drilled in armed combat with at least two of his warriors at once, while he barked out critique or approval. His guard was well trained and experienced, but somehow still, my practice blades always found ways to meet them.

When Cas was satisfied with my swordsmanship, he forced me to duel Fayzien. I was furious and delighted by the suggestion. It offered me the chance to inflict some suffering on the Witch—or so I thought. We weren’t allowed to use our elements, since it would be prohibited in the Skøl. It proved difficult to separate my Earth magic from simple Witch spells; they’d always been inextricably linked in my mind. Fayzien was, unfortunately, a formidable fighter, even without his element. It made me realize how drained he’d been in the Nameless Valley—how much magic he’d used to create the Crona.

At first, Fayzien out-spelled me every time. It might have bothered me, but I learned the most effective spells—tried-and-true magical tricks that non-element Witches had used in battle for thousands of years. I could conjure a magic whip or bend the light to blind him. I could summon a hive of bees to swarm him, and of course, I could portal strategically during a spar.

“When are you going to learn you cannot out-portal me?” Fayzien purred as I stumbled, having tried to portal right up to his unguarded side, only for him to vanish the moment I appeared.

I caught myself before hitting the ground, resuming my fighting stance. “When areyougoing to learn that hurting others willnevermake you hurt less,” I spat.

He laughed, a light sound—the sound I knew he made when I scratched the surface of his skin with my words,soclose to a puncture. And then he conjured that magic whip of his—the one he’d made in the valley. “You are mistaken. I feel very little, actually.”

I didn’t flinch at the whip. Instead, I conjured my own.

“Oh, really?” I said, twirling my weapon. “I think you do. I think you feel love—for Cas. And I think you feel hatred—for yourself.”

Blue eyes bulged, and then he lunged for me.Bullseye.

I waited, one breath—two—until he was upon me. And then I portaled, to right above his head, so that I fell onto his back, my whip wrapping around his neck.

I pulled tight—so tight that we were one body. He could try to portal, but I’d only go with him.

He struggled, stumbling to his knees, his hands releasing his whip and grasping at my makeshift noose.

If he wanted to yield, he’d need to tap the ground. Rules were rules, after all.

He only clawed at my iron grip.

“You are simply a pawn,” I whispered into his ear. “And you hate yourself for it. I used to be afraid of you, to crave nothing more than revenge against you. But now,” I barked out a laugh, “I pity you. You’re a sad, lonely, angry creature—who Cas couldneverpossibly love.”

He struggled even more, gasping, portaling us all over the arena. I held tight, going with him, until his movements slowed.

One heartbeat, two. He didn’t yield.

I could end him—right then. It would have been fair, completely within the Viri sparring rules. Unless he yielded, I could kill him and hold no blame.

I could deliver the death vow I’d sworn.

But I’d already thought he’d been killed once… and it had done absolutely nothing to take away the pain of losing my family. It had done nothing to absolve my grief.

In truth, I thought of Fayzien less and less. He was not the mastermind I once considered him. The day after Fayzien choked me in the library, I saw him in the corridor, turning his bruised face away from the light. Cas had punished him. Despite my feelings towards Fayzien, it didn’t sit right with me. I didn’t like the idea of one lover punishing another.

Fayzien’s struggles stopped; his body grew limp beneath my grip.

And I knew, with surprising clarity, that I’d regret killing him even now.

So, I released the male who’d wronged me, who’d violated me, who’d murdered my family.

And when I released him, the last shred of anger I had towards him was released, too.

Fayzien slumped to the ground, passed out but not dead, his chest heaving.

I bent over him, knowing he couldn’t hear me.

“I forgive you,” I whispered, a tear slipping down my face.

For Mama, Papa, my brothers—I would not kill. I would forgive.

A thought lanced my mind.He did not yield.

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