Page 61 of Pieces of Halves

“No need for formalities. You are a friend of Yanuk’s, so a friend of ours as well,” Izzy says and smiles wide. Even though she has to play a heartless queen in front of her father’s council, Izzy remains the sweet woman I met at the market. “Yanuk says that you could help with Jacob’s headaches?” Izzy asks and looks up at me.

My chest pinches at the hope in her eyes. The chances of this working are slim.

“Well, I don’t know if I can make them go away, but I can tell you why they are happening, and there is a chance that I can find a way to make them stop,” she explains quickly and looks at Yanuk, as if for reassurance.

I have an idea of why they are happening, but I am curious what this small woman has to say.

Yanuk nods at her with atender look in his eyes and she looks at me. Without another word, her eyes go black. Heat travels from my chest to the base of my skull. With my brows raised, I look at Izzy and then back at Anna. The sensation is strange, but I let the girl do her job. It’s a long, silent minute before Anna quickly blinks and looks around the room. No one says a word, waiting for her to say something.

“Your power is eating you from the inside,” she states as a matter of fact. Staring at her, I wait for more. “The prominent ability in you is fire, so if you can find a fire fay perhaps? They could take some of it away,” she explains and then looks at Yanuk again.

Yanuk smiles at her, and her cheeks turn pink again. The tension between these two can be seen miles away.

“Do they keep that power?” I ask Anna, my interest suddenly peaked.

“They do,” she responds quickly.

Isn’t this an interesting turn of events? Maybe this pain-in-the-ass headache could benefit us. We can’t give them the root, but we can offer them the power of my fire as a gift of good faith. As long as we can make the arrangements to meet with them fast enough.

Maybe not all witches are terrible. This one is sweet and gave us some good news.

Izzy takes my hand in hers and looks up at me with a large beaming smile, her eyes shining. I exhale, a small weight falling off my shoulders.

The fire fay agreed to meet immediately. That means they want what we have to offer. We have a few more days before Sofia’s followers plan on attacking, so last night, Jorgan and I set out to meet the fay negotiator. With our speed, we made it to the border of Sarkup by the morning. If everything goes well, we should be back at the castle by nightfall, but I don’t know what this meeting will entail. Anna said that every power transfer is different. Some faint and don’t wake up for a few days. Others don’t even feel a thing.

The sun is rising, and the birds are waking up with happy songs echoing through the forest. I close my eyes and enjoy this peaceful moment, even though I’m exhausted. A lot has happened over the last couple of weeks. This serenity is welcome. Or maybe, this is the calm before the storm.

“What do you have to offer, halfling?” A voice comes from behind thick, green bushes.

A woman, maybe in her early thirties, comes around, a small, purple petal from the bush in her hand as her bright orange hair flows past her shoulders. She looks like a flame of fire, small and delicate yet dangerous.

“Power and peace, I hope,” I tell her, and her bright blue eyes snap at me, pinning me on my spot.

“What power can you give?” She narrows her eyes at me.

“Mine,” I tell her.

Her glare intensifies, then she moves her gaze to Jorgan, inspecting him from head to toe. Amused by her cautious behavior, Jorgan smirks teasingly. This is not the time to annoy someone who could potentially save my life, but I refrain from scolding a man who has at least a few hundred years on me.

“Fire?” the fay asks, reluctantly tearing her eyes from Jorgan.

“Yes.” I watch her observe me, as if inspecting every cell on my body.

“It’s burning you?” she asks and looks down at the flower in her hand.

“I believe so.” I watch her as she drops the purple bloom.

“We will accept the gift you are offering in return for an alliance, halfling. Be mindful that this power will grow again. In five years, the pain will come back. If you do not betray our trust, you have the option of coming back for healing.” Eyes on me, her red lips curve up lazily. “Do you understand?”

Every five years. It is a long time to be headache-free, but at the same time, it feels as if I am given no choice; if I don’t come back, then I suffer and possibly die.

“I understand,” I sigh. “How much will you take?” I ask the question burning in my mind. I have a war to fight; I need to remain strong.

“Just enough to take away the pain,” she answers casually. “Don’t worry, you will stay just as powerful.” She offers me a tight smile and sighs.

“Do you know anything about my lineage from my mother’s side?” It’s a reach, but it’s worth a try.

Squinting, she glares at me, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

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