Page 50 of Magic & Secrets
I looked around the room to find the sun kissing the horizon. Roque watched me from the window. His desire rushed off him in waves just like in my dream. Except right now, he seemed more likely to dunk me in cold water than kiss me.
Climbing out of bed, I didn’t waste time discussing what we were feeling. I hurriedly dressed before strapping my weapons onto my body. Soon, Roque and I walked outside.
“We’re traveling this direction,” Roque said and gestured east.
“How can you trust we’re traveling in the right direction?”
As we stepped outside, Roque grabbed my arms and leapt atop the pub. He used the roof as leverage to jump to the top of a higher building nearby. We stood over three stories high with only a ghost town and the dense woods in sight.
“Past the forest,” Roque said and pointed to the east, “is a land of mist. From here, you can make out the tip of what seems like a mountain, but is the Tower of Reason in the heart of Elatalora.”
“That seems like more than a day’s walk.”
“We’ll see.”
Roque wrapped an arm around my waist and jumped down to the ground. For a moment, he looked ready to keep hold of me. I stared into his eyes, memorizing the silver flecks within the blue.
If I survived this mission, Roque would become nothing more than a memory. I never wanted to forget a single moment of our time together.
I already ached with the pain of losing him. This magnificent beast would return to his mountain.How could I survive the rest of my life knowing what I had lost?
My mind snapped out of its melancholy long enough to remind me how danger awaited my arrival in Elatalora. If the wrong Elves greeted us, they were bound to ask many questions. Soon, I would need to flee or face my end.
Rather than ache for Roque, I began plotting an escape. I wanted to wait a bit longer, just to spend more time with Roque. Soon, though, self-preservation would guide me.
The Gathering might have created the New Armgard to fight and die for their cause. But Solme Divige was my true master, and she had bigger plans.
Roque
CALLA’S DREAMING LEFTme rattled. My mind was on fire. I sensed I was losing grasp of my sanity. A part of me wanted to hurt her. If she were dead, I could break free of this raw desire.
Rather than harm a single golden hair on her head, I followed Calla toward Elatalora. She frequently glanced back at me. Her gaze seemed annoyed at first. Whatever she saw on my face softened her expression.
We left behind the blood-soaked outpost and headed into Pandorium Forest. There was no avoiding the treacherous woodlands. They spanned three Territories.
“It crosses six Territories now,” Calla corrected when I mentioned how we must face whatever dangers lurked inside the forest. “Pandorium is expanding. The Murade tried destroying the new growth near Orvician and Zorata, but the forest came back. It even extends into Golyana, where it’s begun to alter the desert.”
The forest around us breathed and hummed. My every step was met with moss carpeting the ground. The primeval trees towered high above us with gnarled branches blocking out much of the light. Their bark was slick with constant dampness.
“The Murade claimed the ancient ones were dead,” I told Calla as we worked our way through the forest. “They said the magic twisting humans into new creatures was a side effect of the ancient ones’ rotting corpses. They swore it would decrease over time.”
“The humans excelled in Lavinia for a long time before the first magic folk appeared. Whenever faced with an enemy, theytriumphed. I doubt they were lying when they told you those things, but the Murade hasn’t controlled all seven Territories since your kind retired.”
“I assume Balzica was first to be cut loose,” I said, considering the southernmost Territory in Lavinia.
“Yes,” Calla said, glancing back and smiling at me. “The Territories demanded more than war. Unable to control the entire continent, the Murade made pacts with the Elves, Warlocks, and various other magic folk factions.”
“Were you taught these things by Tirso?”
Hesitating, Calla didn’t want to deceive me. I recalled my dream of her childhood. I knew she was trained by more than Tirso. The Citadel was hiding its true purpose. If the Murade had created a new secret army away from Operation Overlord, could this beguiling creature before me be capable of surviving on Mt. Elysium?
“Understanding the Territories is an important part of my vocation,” Calla said rather than answer my question.
“I never cared for history or politics. The Murade told us how to kill before setting us loose on the world. We knew our targets. We tried to avoid collateral damage. There was nothing more to the operation than that.”
Calla glanced back at me over her shoulder. Her green-eyed gaze flashed with annoyance. I offered her a smile, refusing to be worried over a battle that wasn’t mine. She looked away only to glance back again and smile.
The power of the need between us swirled around my heart and tightened. I struggled to breathe. Calla’s smile widened.
