I took her hand and kissed it. “I know.”
I delved into details about what I saw and experienced while inside the nexus. I told her how happy I was when I saw my parents, how terrified I was when I thought she had died, and how she gave me strength to beat Renak. I could barely meet her eyes while I talked. It felt good, getting it off my chest, but I also felt like I was exposing a hidden part of myself.
But Krystal never judged or mocked me. She sat and listened intently, reaching for my trembling hand and stroking it.
“You don’t have to worry anymore,” Krystal said. “I’m here and safe.”
“I know,” I said, clutching her hand tighter. “Thanks for making me feel better, but the whole thing still upsets me. Renak said something had been altered with his spell, but he didn’t have time to figure out what it was.” I sighed. “And if that’s not bad enough, I believed Renak when he talked about the threat from Southern Shala. Your father’s wrong. It’s not armies Renak was scared of...it’s something else entirely.”
Krystal intertwined her fingers with mine. “You’ll handle whatever’s down there. You just did the impossible by going to Masep
and
returning. I just wish I could go with you.”
“I don’t understand that. Why do you want to go to Southern Shala so badly?”
“Have you ever had a childhood dream, Hellsfire?”
I tried to remember. Everyday life had been a struggle growing up in Sedah, poor and without a father. I had wanted more out of my life and to not feel powerless, but nothing specific beyond that. I shook my head.
Krystal gazed away with a wistful look on her face. “When I was younger, I used to read stories about Southern Shala. I’d imagine the land down there and how it was before the war. It was full of possibilities, wonders, and magic. There were wizards like you.” She playfully nudged me with her elbow. “Along with beautiful unicorns. I’ve always wanted to see one since I was a little girl. Think about it, Hellsfire, we would be the first to do so in a thousand years.” Krystal focused back on me and shook her head. “It’s just a silly childhood dream.”
“No. It’s not. I wish you could go with me.” I did. Not as Princess of Alexandria, but as a woman. If Southern Shala was like it had been before the barrier went up and before the war, it would be a great place to escape to and be as a man and woman. That could never happen. She had her duties and I had mine.
She gave me a mischievous grin. “I still might.”
“But your father—”
“I’m sure I can get him to see reason. Besides, you’ll protect me from whatever’s down there, right?”
“Of course. But I still don’t think you should go. I have a feeling it’s going to be too dangerous.”
She shook her head. “It’s too great an opportunity to pass up. We don’t have time to wait. Sharald and Erlam might be our allies, but we can’t let them have any advantages over us. I’m the best qualified person to go. If there were anyone else, I wouldn’t press the issue, but there’s not.”
I stared at her and smirked. “Are you sure you don’t want to go because it’s a childhood dream?”
She grinned. “Maybe. If I can’t go, you’ll have to be my proxy. I’m going to need you to act in an unofficial, official capacity. When you meet the council or anyone else, try to work something out for the good of Alexandria.”
“Are you sure about this? I’m not very good at negotiating.”
“You negotiated with the goblins.”
“But your father thought that was a mistake.”
“My father may not trust you,” she said. “But
I
trust you.”
I smiled. “I’ll do my best.”
“That’s all I ask. If you have problems or questions, follow Prastian’s example.”
“I will.”
“Good,” Krystal said. “We can worry about that later. We have a few days before you leave.” A hunger dwelled in her eyes. She grabbed me by the collar and whispered into my ear, “I’ve missed you, more than you know.”
“Me too,” I said, finding it hard to speak. “The only reason I made it back was because of you.”
Krystal’s face burned red and she gave me the biggest smile. We closed the small space between us until there was nothing left, and kissed. Our tongues swirled while her hands roamed the back of my head and mine explored her lower back and rear. We both moaned, on our way to a rapture that only the two of us would ever enter.
A swell of magical energy bubbled up inside of me, feeling like the light I had experienced inside the nexus. It exploded outward, showering Krystal with its power. It wormed its way inside of her. Her face froze. Her fingers dug into my scalp and she screamed. All the color in her face drained, while her eyes screamed for help.
I let go of the princess. Her face contorted with horror and pain.
“Krystal!” I screamed.
Her soft skin faded and shriveled, the veins turning black. It was worse around her lips, where I had kissed her. I hurried to lay her on the small bed. Her eyes were still open, but they stared at nothing. I leaned in to see if she was breathing, but she went into convulsions, thrashing her limbs. My wizard’s sight saw that somehow the nexus’s energy had entered her. It coursed its way through her body, filling over every pore, bone, sinew, and muscle.
I reached into my purse for a healing potion, but her flailing arms smacked it away. The vial crashed, the glass shattering on the floor. I grabbed her arms, trying to still her, but when I touched her skin, the magic inside of her blossomed and she screeched in pain.
I was killing her.
I let Krystal go and closed my eyes so I could concentrate on my magic, and not see how much agony she was in. I tried to block out her tormented moans and conjure white mana. Whenever my magic brushed up against her, the magic inside of her consumed it before it could work.
The bright light inside of her that I loved so much dimmed. Her wavy hair became brittle and her bones became visible under her shrunken flesh. She was dying and there was nothing I could do.
A bright green light flared from her chest, permeating her clothes and skin. The magic from the necklace struck the curse with a clash of power. The two energies battled each other, the necklace’s magic hammering the curse back.
Krystal’s body stilled, her arms and head becoming motionless. She didn’t even breathe. I bent over her mouth, trying to hear her. There was nothing.
I clenched my fists and bit my lip. The magical fight within her must have been too much for her. She wasn’t a wizard. Her body wasn’t used to that sort of energy. Or the ancient magic of the nexus was too powerful.
Krystal gasped for air and opened her eyes. The black lines in her face faded.
I stared into her eyes and said, “Krystal!”
Her glazed eyes didn’t move towards me. Instead, she closed them, and her chest heaved with deep breaths. I hesitantly placed my hand on her chest, thankful that the fabric blocked the touch of my skin. I was relieved to feel her heart beating normally. However, her skin was still pale and her hair brittle.
The light from the necklace dimmed, but the two magics still assaulted each other. Krystal’s eyelids twitched as if she were having a nightmare. Every few breaths, her body shivered like she was caught in a snowstorm.
I kneeled next to the bed and studied her. One by one, I tried all the healing spells Stradus had taught me. Every time my magic touched her body, the nexus’s magic strengthened and beat back the necklace’s magic. Sweat ran down Krystal’s face and her breathing became erratic. When I stopped, her breathing eased.
I stared at the broken potion on the floor. I didn’t have any more healing potions, as I had used them all in the Wastelands. I would have to concoct some more. For the moment, Krystal seemed to be out of immediate danger, but I would have to do more research to help her. I placed a blanket over her and ran out of the room to find help.
I burst back into the room with three healers. Two of them examined Krystal. I told the head healer, Shanna, what had happened to the princess, and that they shouldn’t remove the necklace.
“Thank you, Wizard Hellsfire,” Shanna said. “That will be all.”
“But—”
She put her hand up. “You have done more than enough here. We will see to the princess’s condition.”
I slumped my shoulders. “Just let me know if she gets better.”
Shanna turned and left.
“What’s going on here?” King Furlong asked, barging into the room. His eyes filled with worry when they saw the princess lying on the bed. His gaze turned on me and his eyes filled with anger. “What did you do, Hellsfire?”
“Please, Your Majesty,” one of the healers said.
“Outside,” the king said to me through gritted teeth.
We went into the empty hall. I stood erect, meeting the king’s angry eyes, as I told him what happened to his daughter and how she almost died when I touched her, because of the nexus’s magic.
King Furlong couldn’t keep the malice out of his voice. He moved until he was inches from my face and said, “You almost killed my beloved daughter and the only heir to Alexandria! How could you?”
“I-I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I didn’t mean to hurt her.” I shook my head, remembering Renak’s parting words. I realized the cause of the curse. It was that dog, Premier! “Renak said—”
“I don’t care what he said!
You
should have known.
You
almost killed her because of your
magic.
How could you be so careless?” King Furlong scowled at me. “Wizards! You’re so arrogant. You only do what’s good for you, and you never realize that the decisions you make affect countless people. We’re nothing but tools to you and your kind! You may have the powers of the gods, but you are not gods, Hellsfire!”
He made a visible effort to calm himself and put his royal mask into place. “I know of the...indiscretions between you and my daughter. I’ve let Krystal have her fun, but it ends now. You weren’t the first, and you certainly won’t be the last. Do not think you were ever more than that!”
I stared at the king. I hadn’t realized that Krystal had others before me. I didn’t know much about her past. As much time as we spent together, I’d answered all of her questions when she wanted to know about my life, but whenever I asked about hers, she changed the subject or took my mind off it by other means.
Why hadn’t she let me know about her past? Was I just a brief fling to her? How did she feel about me? Her father had reminded me that she was a princess, and that even with all the power at my fingertips, I was only a poor farm boy. Could we ever be together, especially after all this?
The king sighed and rubbed his wrinkled forehead. “Perhaps this is for the best. Hellsfire, you’ve saved my kingdom and my life. For that, I am grateful.” His face hardened and his voice deepened. “But stay away from my daughter or I will have you hanged. If my daughter dies, there will be no amount of magic that can save you.”
I lifted my tired head to look at him. I couldn’t think of anything to say. I nodded in agreement. The king went back to my room and his daughter.
I followed the king back inside. I stood near the door as he talked to Shanna. While the healer didn’t acknowledge me, she spoke in a voice loud enough that I could hear.
“She’s resting, Your Majesty,” she said. “She’s calmed down for now and we’ve given her some poppy to help her sleep. We’re still not sure of the nature of her problem or how deep it runs, but we’ll do all we can.”
“Thank you,” the king said. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye, and I took that as a signal to leave.
----
The princess didn’t wake from her coma, and I never saw her during the days that followed. Despite the fact that I needed to get down to Southern Shala and warn the council, I waited for her to wake. I wasn’t leaving until I knew she was better. I would have understood if my friends wanted to leave, but they waited for me. I ached to go into Southern Shala, but only to find Premier and burn him in total, agonizing pain for what he had done to Krystal.
Despite the king’s warning, I yearned to get a better look at Krystal. I had to understand the magic and see if there was anything I could do about it. If Premier had altered Renak’s spell into a curse, perhaps it could be changed back. However, Shanna or one of the other healers always barred me when I tried to sneak in at night. I pleaded with them to let me see her, even if it was just for a moment, because they could never understand magic the way I could. My words fell on deaf ears.
Frustrated, I went to the library to try to find something that would help. I received icy glares from the other castle residents using the library. When I took a break and went to the kitchens for some food, everyone I passed gave me the same withering look. I ate my meal alone, then went back to the library.
I couldn’t study because of all the seething people around me. I took what books I thought would be useful and went to the one place people would never venture into—Premier’s tower.
Book after book was useless. I had been afraid of that, since Alexandria, with their ban on wizards, kept all their books about magic in their hidden archive. There were a handful of spells I found in my own spell book, but I needed to test them on the princess. After another day of frustration, I gave up searching through the books and walked down to the marketplace to get my mind off of things.
When I reached the honey bread stall, the owner narrowed his eyes at me and crossed his arms.
I opened my mouth to tell him what I wanted, but the man said, “No honey bread.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“We’re all out,” his wife said, leaving another customer and coming up beside her husband.
I peered in between them at the bread. The sweet aroma tickled my nose.
“It’s right there,” I said, pointing.
“Those are bad batches,” she said. “We were just about to get rid of them.”
“That’s all right. I’ll buy one anyway.”
“No!” the man said. “We don’t serve those who hurt our princess. Now leave,
wizard.”
I sighed and gave up. “Fine.”
I walked away. The surrounding people pierced me with cold stares. I put my hood up in hopes that I wouldn’t be recognized by more than a few, but it was too late.
The crowd jostled around me until they became a wall. I tried to squeeze through them, but I had to push to get them out of my way. They began to shout obscenities. I ignored them and bored through the ever-growing mob.
The crowd fought back and shoved me. I became a feather in a storm. My first instinct was to use my powers, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I also didn’t want to give them any more excuse to hate me and my magic. A small rock struck my back, and then a hail of stones were showered upon me. They battered my body, but my thick wizard’s robes took most of the impact. I shoved people aside. I had to get out of here and back to the castle before things got worse.
A fist-sized rock struck me in the forehead. I staggered, and stumbled to my knees. Bigger rocks were thrown. I kept my head down, trying not to unleash my angry fire. I understood how Alexandria’s people felt. It was my fault their princess was close to death. There was nothing they could do about Premier, but there was something they could do about me.
I cried out when a heavy rock hit my spine. I couldn’t take much more, and the city guard didn’t make a move to help.
“Enough!” I yelled.
A backlash of wind exploded from me. People in a fifty-foot radius were shoved back, knocking into each other. The rocks they had thrown flew backwards into the crowd, striking those that weren’t quick enough to duck. Rocks shattered against the market’s wooden stalls.
I rose and pulled back my hood. I wiped the blood from the bump on my head as I surveyed the frightened and injured people. I didn’t want to hurt anybody, but they’d left me no choice. Didn’t they understand how much pain I was in? It was my fault the princess almost died. Not theirs. Mine!
I walked over the fallen mob, leaving the wounded people, and headed back to the castle.
For the next week, I holed up in Premier’s tower so I wouldn’t be bothered or threatened by anyone. I only left to return books and borrow new ones, and to retrieve meals.
My frustration mounted. I needed magical books like those in Stradus’s library, but I couldn’t go back there now. It would take too long to travel to the mountain without Cynder. Since the barrier was down, I could go to the wizards’ school in Southern Shala or see the council. That would take far longer, but they should have any information that there was. But I wasn’t going anywhere without seeing Krystal first.