Page 45 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
I hated enchanting them and only did it as a last resort. As it was, enchantments seemed to cause terrible headaches once the magic wore off. And too many enchantments could slow downtheir processing system and mess up memories. Doing that to the only doctor in town could be far more dangerous than enchanting a few farmers and the civilians I picked to help them. I’d do it, though, and would continue to do it in the name of protection.
“If he doesn’t fix me, I won’t have to tend to the livestock.” Brenton’s smile was forced. “Sounds like a win-win to me.”
“I’ll go get one of the carts,” I said, pushing my slumped shoulders back. “Meet me outside.”
Strong wind and snow whipped across my face, and from a distance, I watched Nalari land in the paddock with goats and sheep. Already, we had two pregnant goats and a handful of lambs and kids that were growing fast with Nalari’s and my joined magic.
In another paddock, we had more than a dozen calves and even more cattle. During our last hunt, we found about a dozen chickens that Brenton and George had built a coop for.
That was all my friends had done since we got here. Build and tend to the livestock. Now, on top of that, Everly allowed me to take her magic so she could pretend to be human and work at Teddy’s store.
Everything they did was for me. Everything I did was for Teddy.
They suffered—we all were suffering—while all I dealt with was rejection.
It wasn’t fair. I hadn’t been fair.
But I could fix that.
I stopped my trek toward the carts and turned back to the cottage.
“Elias,”Nalari growled in warning.
From the distance, I heard the thunderous flap of her wings. She was in the air within seconds,so I ran back to the cottage and slammed the door shut while Nalari roared from above.
Brenton and George threw wary looks at the ceiling before they drew their attention back to me.
“I think I’ve angered my Guardian,” I said with a sheepish shrug.
That made Brenton grin.
“What’d you do?” George asked.
“Call her majestic again?” Brenton joked.
I winced, remembering how angry she’d been. How she’d reminded me she was lethal, powerful, dangerous. How I’d worried she’d hear my thoughts when I realized the angrier she got, the more majestic she looked. I was pretty sure she would’ve eaten me whole if she wasn’t my Guardian.
“I’m going to let you absorb my magic for the rest of the day,” I said.
George’s eyebrows went up in shock while Brenton drew his down in confusion. Then with a grin, George slapped my back.
He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Your Guardian’s going to kill us, but let’s do this.”
“Why are you giving us your magic?” Brenton asked, his words slow and thoughtful.
“One, so you can heal yourself,” I said. “And two, so you can feel it coursing through you. I. . .” I hung my head in resignation and shoved my hands into the pocket of the pants I’d gotten from a human store. “I can’t imagine being stripped of my magic. Not feeling it coursing through my veins or being able to turn to it just because. I can give you this. I want to give you this at least for the day.”
“Elias!”This time, her roar shook the roof of the cottage.“I will burn this cottage down to get you.”
“Nalari,”I sighed.“It’s no different from me depleting my magic every night.”
“Except you’re gifting it in the middle of the day when a flock of thunderbirds could attack your region,”she argued.“You’ll be vulnerable until it’s restored.”
George stepped back as my friends watched me silently argue with Nalari. Despite their trepidation, amusement flickered across both their faces. I was grateful to see it there rather than the pain I knew Brenton still felt.
“I’m kinda glad I don’t have a Guardian,” George whispered.
I shot him an annoyed look that only made his grin grow.
