Page 276 of Cursed Evermore
I pouted. “Sure, except even the little sixteen-year-old mages can do it, and I can’t.”
“Don’t think of it like that. They’ve lived in the magical realm all their lives and probably conjured things on a daily basis.”
“I know, but I’d like to at least get it done before I… leave.” My voice cracked on the last word, my stomach churning with the reality of what "leaving" meant.
I wasn’t just leaving the magical realm to head back to Stormfell while Itransitioned. I was leaving myself behind. This version of myself. The one who got to live freely as a mage, practice magic without restriction, fly dragons, have friends with magical abilities, and fall in love with a Fae prince.
Fall in love. I didn’t even know when I’d first fallen for Wolfe. It felt like I’d always felt this way.
When the new moon rose at the end of my sixth day, I'd become a different person. Arielle stared back at me with open sadness, her eyes glistening. “I can’t tell you how heartbroken I am that the spell didn’t work. And it feels like it couldn’t have happened at a worse time. It’s gotten dangerous.”
“I know. I’ve been worried that Wolfe won’t let me come back until it’s safer.”
She was about to protest but stopped herself. “Don’t even think about that option. He hasn’t said anything of the sort to me, so don’t add more things to worry about.”
“I’ll try not to, but it’s possible, right? Isn’t that what you would do?”
“Maybe, but it’s because I don’t want you to get hurt. We’re facing something we’ve never encountered before and even I don’t know the full gravity of the situation.” She sighed heavily. “I’m Wolfe’s advisor, but when things get really dangerous, he keeps me out of it. I hate that, but I understand. And sadly,I’ve come to realize that the longer he keeps me away, the more dangerous the situation is.”
“Do you think he’ll be able to contain the rebellion?”
“We shouldn’t really talk about that, Elariya.” She sighed, as if it pained her to say the words. “I know you want to know what’s going on, but there are some things I can’t really go into. It would be breaking Wolfe’s trust.”
“Arielle, please. There must be something you can tell me. You know how badly I want to stay here. So, I need to know what’s going on. Even if you tell me the worst, I still need to know.”
After a long moment of hesitation, she nodded. "Okay. I'll tell you what I can."
“Thank you.”
Although we were nestled inside one of the research bays where we had the privacy to talk, she checked to see if anyone was nearby, then she looked back at me with a grave expression. “I don’t think it will be as simple as containing the rebellion. This past week has brought to light that there are bigger things at work. Someone more powerful than we thought is working behind the scenes, encouraging the rebels to rise up.”
“Who do you think it is?”
“No one has any idea. Right now, we don’t even have a clue. Just pieces of random events that don’t quite fit together. Like the guard yesterday.”
“He said the darkness was coming.”
She rested her elbow on the desk and nodded slowly. “But that could mean anything. The guys didn’t exactly find any answers when they went to the camp yesterday.”
“What did they find, Arielle?”
“Something worse than a nightmare.”
When I thought of those poor children again, my heart shied away with grief. “I can’t imagine the pain those people must have suffered.”
“You mustn’t think about it.”
“It’s hard not to.” I bit the inside of my lip and closed my book. “What do you think the ritual was for?”
“They were stealing souls. As to why, I don’t know. There are a number of reasons for doing so. The main one is to feed.”
“Feed?” My stomach churned.
“Remember the Ruskiel?”
“Ugh, Gods, I’d rather not. But yes, I remember her. She wanted my soul.” Just thinking about the hideous sea witch sent chills running up and down my spine.
“The ritual was more…large scale. There were a lot of people. Which suggests the souls were needed to feed someone weak or perhaps some sort of rejuvenation. Or it could be something entirely different. Like enhancing power or taking power.”
