Page 36 of An Archer's Redemption

Kelså shrugged. “I do not know. She can do damage to individuals, albeit temporarily. If she learned how to permanently separate someone from magic, that could be disastrous.”

“What would stop her from devastating the Gift? The Kingdom’s bloodline is already thin, and Melucia is weakened following the siege.” I looked up and saw fear in my mother’s eyes for the first time. The other thing I saw in her eyes chilled my heart even more: doubt.

It was clear Kelså had no idea what to do or how to respond.

She was the Keeper of Magic. Ifshedidn’t know how to protect our people and their magic from Irina’s wrath, who would?

Chapter 14

Irina

Ihovered above the Eye and watched the Triad fret over the sagging form of their resident Mage. Atikus had defeated my efforts to excise his soul just as Danai had. I wasn’t used to others having more power or strength.

In my first life, I was one of only eleven humans alive with a connection to magic. It wasn’t until the others had turned against me that I had accepted my birthright as a Mage and turned my eye toward conquest.

I wasn’t used to having my magic rebuffed, not by creatures like Atikus Dani and his pathetic two-power Gift. What was happening to me, to the world, that I would struggle with such a simple task?

Despite my failure, the battle for Atikus’s spirit had not exhausted me. I was fairly certain my ethereal form could not feel exhaustion or pain, yet something felt different. It felt as if the shimmering form of my likeness now struggled to hold itself together.

Had the fight weakened me?

I thought back to my battle with Danai and realized that failure, too, had affected my spirit’s strength.

Had it diminished me enough for Atikus to have the upper hand in our struggle?

There was so much about life beyond living I did not yet understand. I had never cared about what happened in death—until Iactuallydied.

So, what do I know?

A spirit could be contained. The Spell of Return that allowed me to be restored had contained me in that appalling black monolith.

When I was alive, Danai had taught me about the power to interact with spirits and the need to draw a summoning circle lest they be set free to wreak havoc. And here I was, the perfect example of that havoc-wreaking spirit, set free by the breaking of the circle in the Mages’ tower.

Even if weakened, I am free.

But . . . could a free spirit expire? Could one be weakened beyond the point of its ability to interact with the living world?

A spike of terror shot through me. What would I become if that happened? Would I be consigned to wander a land and watch a people I could never touch? Would I become some ghostly voyeur who could never again cross the threshold of life? That scared me more than anything.

I needed a host more than I had thought. Within the body of Isabel, I was able to rejuvenate my strength, become brighter and sharper, more in focus. My spirit never diminished or lost coherence. I was alive . . . as alive as death would allow.

Where could I learn even more?

When I inhabited Atikus, I had touched every part of him, including his memories. Surely, there was something in that vast mental library to help me understand myself better.

I focused on the point within my spirit that had brushed against the Mage’s mind and was rewarded with a replicate of his every understanding. At first, I saw only a smattering of recollections; but the more I delved, the harder I focused, I realized all of the Mage’s memories had transferred to me.

I had not simply inhabited his mind. I had stolen the greater part of its value.

Excitement thrummed through me as I devoured the ancient man’s knowledge. Every Gift imaginable—some I never imagined—was cataloged neatly, enumerated and defined, allowing my already immense understand of magic to deepen and grow. Gifts of Healing and Warfare, Farming and Horticulture, Travel and . . . every other Gift known to exist.

It was overwhelming and exhilarating.

So much knowledge.

And then I saw it.

If I could still draw breath, I would have drunk more deeply of life’s kiss than any ever had.

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