Page 13 of The Obsidian Curse

niara

That nightthere were no dreams because I did not sleep. I lay on my pallet staring up at the sliver of sky I could see through the smoke hole in our tent. A smattering of stars interrupted the blackness of the night. I replayed the conversation I’d overheard between Amal and Ylena over and over again, trying to wrap my head around the fact that they could be involved in this kind of conspiracy.

Due to the drain of maintaining Keeran’s cage, Valya had gone into sequestration a whole day early. Normally a half day’s meditation was required by the High Priestess before the Day Six ceremony, since it was the most involved and intense one. I’d desperately wanted to speak to her, to warn her of what I’d learned, and face whatever consequences may come, but she’d been deep in meditation, a state that left her essentially comatose and unable to be awoken early.

It had meant my duties for the day were limited, but of course I’d used the extra time to worry. If Amal and Ylena got their way, there would certainly be war. Not only would people I cared about die, but many, many more all across our land. I needed to do all I could in order to stop it.

The women I shared the tent with were all breathing deeply, in the embrace of sleep. When no one had stirred for two hours, I rose on wobbling legs and left the tent. Resolve plus the fiery, bubbling anger within me fueled every step I took.

I crossed the camp cautiously, avoiding every warden I saw, until I reached Keeran’s prison. As usual, he was positioned at the edge of the sandy shoreline, where it met the waist-high grasses. He looked up at my approach, eyes glowing orange-red. His beastly face was solemn.

I had borrowed one of Valya’s largest seaglass gems for tonight. Usage by someone other than a priestess was forbidden, but with her out of commission, I hadn’t been able to ask for permission. I would need it to channel as much of Morros’s power as possible.

The Melancholic Guardian was several nights away from being completely full, and overhead, the cloudless sky revealed him in all of his glory. However, that meant the camp was relatively brightly lit for the middle of the night. Thankfully, there were no guards stationed directly near Keeran’s prison at the moment.

I crouched on the sand in front of him and pulled the gem from my pocket. It was smaller than the egg-sized one Valya wore around her neck, but larger than the marble-sized ones the other priestesses bore. Nestled in the palm of my hand, it glowed a soft blue-green in the moonlight.

A gust of wind kicked up, causing the tall grasses nearby to bend and sway. I took a deep breath and regarded the cursed prince.I’m going to release you tonight. You’ll need to get as far away from here as possible, I told him mentally.

What about you?his deep voice rumbled through my head.

Don’t worry about me. If they get their hands on you and do this ancient spell they found, they’ll drain you of your power. If it’s anything likeThe Tragedy of Goldensky and Flickerfeet, that would kill you, wouldn’t it?

His eyes sparked.You’ve read our fairy tales? Yes, I believe they must have been talking about the Lunar Fire spell. Ignis is well known for his curses. By using Lunar Fire, anyone could drain the Fire Moon’s power from one He has cursed. It was locked in the archive because it is forbidden. And if they succeed, I would not survive.

My heart thundered in my chest.

But I cannot leave you behind, he said.They will certainly know it was you who freed me.

Frustration bubbled within me.It doesn’t matter if they know. What matters is their plot doesn’t succeed and you get away.

It matters to me, Niara.Youmatter to me.

Not only could I sense the sincerity in his mental voice, but I could feel it pulsing within me through our emotional bond.Why?I asked.Why do we have this connection?

His fiery gaze darted away.I will tell you once I am free. If you come along with me.

I snorted.Where would we go? My entire life is the Order. It has been since I was a child.

You will not be safe here once they unmask you.His voice was implacable.

When High Priestess Valya emerges from her meditation, she will protect me.I hoped.

But I was a failed Water Mage acolyte with no family and nowhere to go. Freeing Keeran would stop the overthrow of the Order that I loved and the war that would surely follow. But where would it leave me? Dead? In prison? I hadn’t thought that far ahead. The chance that I would be heralded as a hero seemed low, but allowing Amal and Ylena to continue with their plan was impossible.

I shook my head, knowing that I wasn’t going to convince Keeran of anything. I needed to move forward with freeing him before it was too late. Focusing on the large gem in my hands, I worked to channel Morros’s power. Overcoming High Priestess Valya’s enchantment on the water cage would be difficult, but now was the perfect time, since in her current meditative state, she would not be able to reinforce the magecraft. I just needed a crack to exploit.

I sank into the power, doing my best to funnel everything I could into the gem. The smooth seaglass cooled in my palm, letting me know it was working. It connected with my other seaglass gems, the ones in my hair and around my neck. With them, I sensed the cage, the boundaries of it, and found a weakness, a tiny area where it was thinner than other places, where Valya’s exhaustion was starting to show through.

I pushed at the weak spot, deteriorating it further until it became a minuscule hole within the water cage too tiny to see. Little by little, I made the hole larger, retracting the stronger barrier around it. I felt Keeran sense the opening.

Experimentally, he stuck a clawed finger through and touched the sand on the other side. All I had to do was make the breach wider, enough for him to get through.

Sweat broke out on my brow. I was reaching the limits of my water magic abilities, but I had to push forward. I could not fail. The stakes were too high. The tiny fissure in the cage grew larger and larger until it was the size of Beast Keeran’s head. He peered at me through the gap and then froze.

Niara, get out of here now. They’re coming.

But I couldn’t stop.

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