Page 81 of A Bolt of Magic

“Do you?” I lean forward, urgency coloring my voice. “My mother leads The Circle. She’s not just powerful; she’s ruthless when it comes to protecting our people. If she sees you as a threat – which she will – she won’t hesitate to act first and ask questions later. And the Children of the Veil…” I swallow hard. “They’re our elite warriors. They could kill you before you ever get the chance to speak. You know that, don’t you?” My throat grows thick. My eyes sting. The thought of losing him…it undoes me.

“As long as we are together, you have the ability to protect me,” he says simply. “You’ll keep me safe long enough for me to be able to talk with them…with her.”

“I will stand up for you as you did it for me. I owe you as much.”

I know how he vouched for my character when no one else would trust me. How he put his own reputation on the line because he believed in me. He stood up to Thesha more than once. He stood up to his friends.

“I’ll do whatever it takes,” I say without hesitation. “I would do anything for you, Kian. But I’m not sure it will be enough.”

“It will be,” he says, and there’s something in his voice that makes my chest tight. “They will listen to you, you’ll see.”

I want to believe him, want to have that kind of confidence in my own abilities. But I know my mother, know how she looks at me with those cold, disappointed eyes. Still, for him, I’ll try. I’ll find the words, somehow, make them see what I see when I look at him.

“I’ll speak for you. But promise me something?”

“What?”

“Promise me that if things go badly, if it becomes clear they won’t listen, you’ll leave. Don’t try to be a hero. Don’t sacrifice yourself for a lost cause. You don’t need us.”

“I do.” For just a second, it feels like he is talking about me…just me and not a coven of witches and the magic they bring. Magic that could help win a war or at least sway the outcome.

“I will run if I have to, but I hope it doesn’t come to that. But know that I don’t turn tail easily. Not when it is something this important at stake. My people are everything. But it is more than just my kingdom; this realm needs to be saved. This is a big part of that puzzle.”

“Then I’ll just have to make sure they listen,” I say, forcing strength into my voice.

When our eyes meet across the fire, there’s something unspoken hanging in the air between us, heavy with all the things we can’t say, all the feelings we can’t act on.

Tomorrow, we’ll face whatever waits for us in the valley below. We’ll do it together. I will stand up to my mother if need be. I can do it. I can do anything. I know that now.

24

McColl

The morning mist clings to the mountain path as we make our way down toward the valley, each step bringing us closer to my home. My stomach churns, the fruit and nuts from breakfast sitting like stones in my belly.

We round a sharp corner in the path, and Kian stops so suddenly I nearly collide with his back.

“By the gods.” His voice is filled with wonder.

Our valley spreads out below us like something from a dream. Where everything else in the realm has rotted or died under Snow’s curse, this area still thrives. My home.

I feel a pang of longing. Despite everything, I missed it. I missed its rolling hills of emerald grass that stretch toward the horizon, dotted with groves of fruit trees heavy with blossoms. I missed the gardens that burst with vegetables and herbs, their leaves so green they almost hurt to look at. There is a crystal-clear stream that winds through the center of it all, its water sparkling in the sunlight. I remember playing in that stream as a child. I remember so much…both good and bad.

“When you said you used magic to maintain this part of the realm, I knew it would be better than out there, but I didn’t expect this,” Kian says.

“It takes the combined power of many in our coven, working in shifts day and night, but we’ve managed to keep the land sickness and blocking haze at bay.” I say it like I’ve played any kind of a role in this, but I haven’t. Since Kian will be leaving soon, I will never get to take part in keeping it healthy or protecting my people.

There is nothing I can do about it.

I can still be useful.

Kian’s eyes are wide as he takes it all in. “It’s like stepping into another world.” He points toward the mountainside, where smoke curls up from the homesteads hidden among the trees. There are more dwellings that go all the way up the slope. I think that there are more than when I left.

“We’re not the barbaric species you thought we were.”

“I never thought that.” He gives me a look.

“If you say so.” I smile, and he smiles back.

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