Page 173 of A Game of Monsters

“Life,” I spat, ignoring his plea. “Duwar is not solely destruction and ruin, but it once was used for beautiful means. For life.”

Duncan’s eyes widened, realisation setting in. “It’s not worth the risk.”

I nodded, every passing moment leading to more pain, more suffering. “Yes, it is. You are. I can do it, Duncan – I can give Duwar new purpose.”

Duncan pondered my words, knowing exactly what I referred to. It was Erix who replied, silver eyes sinking through me, piercing my soul and holding on. “Remind Duwar of the good it can award. I believe in you. I trust you. And I stand by you with this decision. Your intentions for the realm are, and always have been, good.”

Even if I wanted to hesitate, there was no time left to. Duwar banged against the bars of its cage, shattering my flesh until strings of light and dark could be seen in place of muscle and vein.

I had to focus. If this was to work, my mind had to be clear of anything but the single intention I wanted from my next act.

I focused my intent and did the one thing I’d fought against. Then I released Duwar. But unlike Cassial and every soul who wished to use the power for bad, I focused on the possibilities ofgood. The healing, the life, the flourishment and love. I reminded Duwar what it had been before the corruption.

Fingers sinking into life-drained earth, I focused my desires and liberated Duwar.

Inside of me, it was no longer broken, no longer shattered into pieces. Closing my eyes, I focused on the two men before me. I pictured a life we could have, one together, no longer under threat.

I gathered that image in my mind, something solid and so tangible I could almost touch it.

Erix and Duncan stood in the kitchen in my home, laughing at something one of them said whilst washing dirtied dishes. I could smell the aroma of food they cooked, feel the warmth awarded by their happiness. The picture built in my thoughts, in full colour, heightening every one of my senses.

“For our tomorrow,” I stammered the promise we’d made to one another. And then I released the power back into the realms, just as Cassial had before he was killed.

Fresh shards of grass sprouted through the cracked earth between my fingers. Where the ground had been solid under my palm, it now softened with life as flowers grew. It spread in a wave, flooding out of me with the desperation of a bird fleeing a cage. I simply reminded Duwar what it could be.

Duncan laid a hand on me again, and this time he didn’t burn to the touch. “And for all our tomorrows after that.”

Erix followed suit, gathering me up in his arms, whilst I continued to pour Duwar into the ground, offering it life, guiding it.

“Until so many years pass that we forget about our tomorrow and focus on nothing but the now,” Erix encouraged. “Together, at last, with nothing but joy to separate us.”

Power had been what the gods had fought over. It had split the courts in Wychwood, turning allies to enemies, leading to my mother’s death. The realms had warred over it.

But for once, it would be power that brought us together.

“No more suffering,” I said.

“Spread those wings, little bird.” Erix pressed his mouth to my temple, holding the kiss there as I continued to free Duwar, but not from a place of hate and ruin. I was engulfed in love, and I made sure to expose Duwar to the same concept.

“No more wondering about the possibilities of what would happen if the world was in our favour,” I said as the rush of life fed the earth, imagining it spread for miles, fixing the destruction Duwar had left in its wake. “It is about ourtoday. That is what matters. Not what came before, or what will come after. We enjoy the present, because that is what we fought hard for.”

“Today sounds beautiful,” Duncan said, running his hands in circles around my back, whilst wrapping the other over Erix’s neck.

“Today, yes,” Erix repeated, laying his forehead on mine. “For today.”

Gathered in the arms of the men who held my heart equally, my fingers buried in the dirt, the last scrap of Duwar left me. I felt relief bloom inside of me, instead of the hollow, empty void. There was room for it now.

“For us,” I said, rocking back into the arms of the men I loved. Something cool and damp slipped over my knees, soddening my trousers. I looked down, not sure what I’d find. But what I did shocked me to my core.

Where we knelt, water spouted upwards. It was crystal clear, and fresh. It welled up, building until it soaked through our trousers, not stopping until we were waist deep.

Duwar had been freed, and so had I.

We watched as more water rose out of the earth, relishing in the cold kiss as it worked at my sore skin, washing away my worries and anxieties.

My head spun as exhaustion rocked through me. I forced to keep my eyes open, not wanting to miss a moment of the miracle that occurred before us. As light spread beneath blackened earth, life sprung forth and spread like a wildfire across the ruined landscape.

“It is time to go home.”

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