Page 116 of The Ninth Element

“What could you possibly have that Emmengar would trade a sorceress for?”

He hesitates.

“I thought that you were here to tell me the truth,”I say with bitter sarcasm.

“I’ll tell you, but only if you give me your word that you won’t join Martysh. Promise me, Arien. Because if you do, you’ll be bound by oath to reveal everything I tell you now.”

“And how do you know they don’t already know about whatever this secret is? You thought they were ignorant of your fragment. You were wrong.”

“They don’t know. This is different. It’s a secret held closely, known only to a select few in Izadeon and Firelands, including Emmengar. It’s our leverage, and I can use it to bring you to Izadeon.”

“You expect me to abandon everything based on a secret you refuse to share?” I say, incredulous, my voice rising with frustration.

The look he gives me is what I can only describe as one of helplessness. “If I tell you, and you still choose Martysh, I’ll have betrayed Izadeon. I can’t do that. I won’t be like my family. But I will tell you, Arien. Right here, right now. If you swear, you won’t join them.”

“I could lie,” I say bitterly, even though I know it’s a lie. “I could promise you anything just to hear what you have to say.”

His eyes soften. “But you won’t. I know you, Arien. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I approached you in the first place. There’s something about you… I can’t explain it. It’s like… like our souls recognize each other like we’ve known each other in some other lifetime.” He leans closer, his breath warm against my skin. “And that’s why I’m willing to risk everything to share a secret that I’ve guarded with my life if you just give me your word. Because I trust you, Arien. More than I trust anyone. And because,” he adds, with a deep, touching warmth in his voice, “I want you by my side. I need you.”

The tenderness of his gaze, the honesty in his voice, the sheer warmth. His words resonate deeply in my core, the words that I have craved all my life…I want you…I need you… now, at last, after I feel broken…

I can’t process it now. I can’t think. I close my eyes and shake my head. “I… I need to be alone.”

“Arien…” His voice is a low plea.

“Darian,” I interrupt, my voice firmer than I feel. “You’ve said your piece. Now, I need time. I need to think. I won’t promise you anything right now. You’re intelligent enough to understand why.”

He searches my face with a reluctant understanding, then nods slowly and rises to his feet. “Think about it, Arien. All of us in Izadmond. You would love the city. It’s full of history and hidden secrets. We could do something meaningful. We could save Izadeon and the continent. If the shadows finally emerge from behind the mountains, Izadeon might fall first, but the rest of the continent will follow. Don’t you want to be a part of something extraordinary? To stand with those brave enough to fight against evil? Fight side by side with those who want to save the world?”

His words are a blend of persuasion, appealing to my ambition and my desire for purpose and, subtly, to our connection with each other.

We stare at each other for a long moment. Then, with a final, lingering look, he turns and leaves. And the quiet click of the door closing behind him feels like a final, irrevocable separation from the world outside.

Chapter Forty

I am soaring through the endless expanse of the sky, the wind whipping through my hair as I cling to the feathers of a majestic Nohvan.

The massive creature’s sturdy, gray-furred wolf-like body ripples with muscle beneath me, as its eagle head scans the earth below. Pure joy fills my heart as a vibrant, breathtaking world stretches out: mountains rise like ancient, snow-capped giants, forests are like emerald carpets, and rivers snake through valleys, sparkling like diamonds.

Fear, doubt, and loneliness—my old foes—are absent in this exhilarating moment. I feel confident. My usual anxieties have been replaced by a certainty I have never known. I am no longer the scared girl desperate for affection and validation; I am a woman of strength and power. I am the woman in Zanyar’s visions, the fearless heroine capable of shaping the world around her.

The wind whispers secrets in my ear, tales of ancient heroes and forgotten sorcery. Here, in the sky, riding on the back of this majestic creature, I feel a sense of belonging I have never experienced before. I am Arien, the sorceress, the savior, the fearless woman who can move mountains.

It’s the warmth spreading through my wrist that jolts me awake. My eyes flutter open, and it feels as if I’ve been dropped from the peak of the mountains, bathed in the warmth of the sun, into the depths of a dark, cold chasm. The colorful world of my dream turns into the gray of my smallquarters in the blink of an eye. My gaze lands on the familiar sight of the Martysh coin glowing softly against my skin.

It’s a summons—the final trial is about to start.

As I walk toward the water basin, the remnants of the dream cling to me like a fading fragrance. The boundless confidence, the absolute certainty, and the sense of belonging all evaporate in an instant.

The woman in the dream, so strong and certain, feels so far away from the lost, confused girl staring back at me in the mirror. That dream wasn’t just some external power or influence. It was the power of knowing myself, of being defined by my own strength, not by my insecurities or others’s opinions. And I want that. I crave it with a desperation that aches in my bones.

The question, the impossible question, ishow?What path leads me there?

Martysh offers power and purpose, but at what cost? Would I become just another forgotten soldier in their endless quest for the Star? Would my individuality be completely swallowed? Would my life have any meaning, especially now that I know they are sitting idle, pursuing a fantasy while the helpless in the East suffer?

Izadeon offers friendship, adventure, and a chance to fight for something greater than myself: to help those in need, just as Lirael helped me all those years ago. I would be fighting alongside those for whom I have deep affection.

But Darian… can I trust him? Do I truly know the Izadeonians well enough to leave everything behind in the hope that their friendship will last? Can I risk another heartbreak, another betrayal? And is that path, despite its appeal, truly mine? Would it makemegenuinely happy?

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