Page 60 of Compass Points
What was Arie doing? He didn’t have one of her weapons. No matter his magic, he could be taken by the mist if he wasn’t careful. She had to get to him quickly. She faked to charge at the Nebulus, and as it moved to defend, she shot slightly right so she could run past it to Arie.
She came upon him in the chaos of battle, only moments before she was sure the beast she’d been fighting would make it to them.
“Arie—” she started to say, but she stopped when she heard his voice speaking aloud. Something she was sure she’d never heard before.
“Zrak, what are you doing?”
Impossibly, a voice replied from the mist. “Exposing our failings.”
What? Rose didn’t have time to process what she heard as she sensed the mist monster coming up behind her. She turned, knowing what she needed to do but unsure if her magic would cooperate. Meeting her opponent’s sword with her own, she dug deep into her wind magic to give the Nebulus a forceful push back. It stumbled backward, and she pressed her advantage, using her wind to create invisible stairs she could step up to get her level for a swing at the beast’s neck. It barely had a second to right itself from its stumble as Rose climbed the wind-made stairs and swung her sword, cleanly removing the Nebulus’s head.
She fell from the height as the mist creature dissipated, her wind magic giving out as she succeeded in her task. She hit the ground with a thud, knocking the breath from her lungs. She lifted her head to see Luc knock his opponent’s sword away and get a successful stab to its chest.
The battle was over. Where had Arie gone? Had he succumbed to the mist? Was he talking to it? She couldn’t hold on to thoughts. The only thing she knew, the only important thing right now, was they had stopped the mist from entering Compass Lake Village. She barely had time to see Luc running towards her as she passed out.
Chapter Thirty-Six
She stretched groggily. The cushion of what she was laying on felt familiar as she opened her eyes. She was in Luc’s bed. Her eyes met his as he sat in one of the leatherback chairs by the fire, a book in his lap.
“You’re awake,” he said quietly.
“So observant.” She couldn’t help the sarcasm in her reply, though her voice was still shaky. Luc relaxed at her quip. He must have taken that to mean that she wasn’t seriously injured.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’ll be fine.” She tested that, stretching her body as he stood to walk over to the bedside.
“I think you overextended yourself with your magic.”
“That makes sense since it’s unusual for me to battle a mist horde on a daily basis.”
A smile cracked his solemn face as he said, “It wasn’t just the Nebulus. It was getting us to the village in time. You saved Compass Lake Village, Rose.”
Her eyes met his, wondering if anyone else had seen her blatant display of wind magic. While they didn’t know she also had water magic, it’d still be news that the Suden Point was with an assumed Osten fae. Yet his face held nothing but relief. If there were any repercussions from her magical display on their fake relationship, he didn’t seem to care. He appeared solely focused on the fact that she was awake.
“We should get you cleaned up if you feel up to it.”
She nodded, and he walked away to draw her a bath before leaving the bedroom saying he’d give her privacy and find her some food.
If she could have stayed in the bath for the rest of her life, she might have. Her body ached from the battle and magic expenditure. The hot water soothed her muscles and mind in a way she didn’t think possible. She kept replaying the last few hours in her mind. She’d used her wind power openly. Though no villagers or other Compass Points had entered the battle, had they been able to see from wherever they hid?
She couldn’t be too upset with herself for using her magic. Today her wind magic had saved lives. It had gotten her and Luc to where they needed to go. They wouldn’t have made it to the village in time without it. They would have arrived at the village to find mist covering the streets and the villagers in a coma-like state.
Next to her was a pile of clothes she’d hastily dropped on the floor as she got into the bath. She grabbed the bag that sat with them and pulled out Aurora’s dagger. Holding the hilt in her hand, she studied the blade. A very different part of her, her water magic, could feel the cool power of water penetrating every aspect of the dagger. It felt like it was forged by water and fire.
Lost in thought, she jumped, splashing water out of the tub, when she heard Arie call her from outside the door.
“Rose!”
“Arie?” She had been worried about him during the battle. She was trying to remember precisely why as he continued speaking.
“Can I come in and talk to you?”
Rose looked down at herself. The bubbles still covered her in the bathwater, so she shrugged, knowing he couldn’t see.
“Sure,” she called.
A black cat pushed the door open and crossed to the tub’s side. It sat on its haunches directly under her hand that was dangling over the edge. Arie always took on the characteristics of the animals he inhabited. As a cat, he placed himself directly in the path of her hand, demanding to be petted. She sighed and absently scratched behind his ears.
