Page 72 of Sanctuary of the Shadow
“Yes, though it took decades to uncover it. I won’t go into the science of it, for that level of magic is too complex for any mortal mind to grasp—even yours, dear daughter, with your Elemental lifespan.”
It was nice to know Darya had such a high opinion of her intelligence. “What was the result?”
Darya leaned forward, almost eager now. “I lingered in Castle Vari with my test subject for many years until I finally uncovered the secret formula. At last, I discovered the perfect balance of Water magic with the wraith’s inherent Fire nature. At the moment of application, there was a massive explosion. It took out the entire west turret of the castle, in fact. When the dust settled, I knew I’d been successful, but unfortunately, the creature was gone.”
“Gone? Where did it go?”
“It was sent back within the Fire Territory, since that was the place of its original creation.”
Deep inside Harrow, the Water started to churn, as if encouraging her to make some connection. “I don’t understand.”
“I created a body for a creature that didn’t originally have one and then forced it to occupy it, similar to the way our souls are bound to our physical bodies at the moment of conception.”
Harrow stared at the resplendent Queen, trying to wrap her head around this madness. “You actuallycreateda physical body for the wraith?”
“Precisely. The body I created was a replica of the physical body he would have formed temporarily as a wraith, but it was formed by my magic. All I did was apply the skill Furie used to create wraiths in the first place, but in reverse, with Water instead of Fire.”
Harrow gave up trying to understand. Perhaps Darya was right, and her puny, mortal mind couldn’t wrap itself around such concepts. “So…where is the wraith? Did you finally kill it?”
“It escaped, as I said, transported to somewhere in the Southern Territory.”
“How do you know for certain?”
“I am the mother of all Seers. Do you not think I possess your abilities? Have you never used your powers to locate someone before?”
“Oh. Yes, of course.”
“I found the approximate location of the wraith and then contacted Audra, requesting her aid in retrieving it and returning it to my territory. A few weeks later, I received word that Salizar had successfully secured possession of the creature.”
“Salizar?” Harrow frowned in confusion. The Water was frothing with agitation inside her.
“Yes. As I said, he is an emissary of the Air Queen.”
“But I thought Salizar went to Allegra to—” The words stuck in Harrow’s throat, and she choked on them.
Suddenly, it all slid into place.
“No.”
Darya’s eyes softened. “I’m afraid so.”
“No. It’s not— Raith— He’s not—”
But suddenly, the Water inside her was telling her it was so.
The writhing, boiling waves settled into perfect stillness, and everything became crystal clear.
Why now? Before, she’d been so positive. She’d told Salizar she would bet her life that Raith wasn’t what he thought he was. And now this? Had her power deluded her on purpose? The Water didn’t scheme or trick.
But the ringing of truth inside her was unmistakable.
Still, she fought it, unable to accept that she could have made such a terrible error in judgment. Suddenly short of breath, she jumped to her feet, clutching her throat. Where was all the air? She needed to breathe. The room was spinning.
“I’m so sorry, dear.”
“He can’t be— I would have sensed—” But her feeble protests held no sway over the power ringing true inside her. She bent at the waist, gasping for breath.
“As I said, I created a new body for him. It’s akin to being reborn from a mother’s womb. Just as we don’t remember what our souls were doing before we arrived in this world, the wraith didn’t have memories of what he’d done before his rebirth.”
