Page 121 of The Song of Sunrise
I pull forth as much power as I can from the well, but it is like holding water with my bare hands. The more I pull upward, the more seeps through the cracks.
I take and take and take, screaming in frustration as a singular beam of sunlight gleams down from above, a glorious song of sunrise, warming the maze with yellows and golds to match the glow of my eyes. I scream with the fury of a thousand burning stars.
For myself.
For the girl I used to be.
For the people I lost.
For the people I must protect.
Without my Sun’cher stone, I should be disconnected from the Source, but lucky for me…
I am the fucking Source.
A blinding violet light flashes as a pulse wave of Starwatcher magic shudders out of me, blasting Ragnar into the stone wall on the other side of the corridor. I don’t have time to think of what I just did—what I just demonstrated for all to see—without a channeling stone.
I pull myself up and walk, one foot in front of the other, until I reach the center of the maze, where a singular black velvet pillow lies on a marble pedestal. On the center of the pillow is a golden stone that pulses with light and warmth. At last.
Take me. Take me. Take me.
Exhaustion threatens to pull me under as my body reels from the large release of magic. My limbs grow numb, but I force myself to keep pushing forward.
I make sure to grab the Helios Stone before the room pitches and I fall.
41
A Meeting Misplaced
Atlys
“THE WINNER OF THE SUMMIT IS AKEMI NOX, CHAMPION OF LORD ATLYS OF TERRAGUARD!” the Commander’s voice booms across the auditorium. “That was an unexpected last trial. I think you would all agree.” The commentator slips into the background because nothing else matters.
I have to get to her.
The crowd around me erupts in chaos, but I only watch the projected screen. My Sunrise is lying still, unmoving. I saw her use Starwatcher magic. By the lack of reaction from the crowd, they must not have seen it or assumed the other champion channeled the Source and it backfired.
Across the aisle, the red-headed Jord champion is already stirring. Rage. Fire. Death.
He hurt her, so I will hurt him.
I rush toward the stage, not attempting to leash the darkness coiling around me.
Cadex grabs my arm, holding me back. “Atlys, you can’t.”
The theater rumbles, dust particles shaking loose. A few humans scream from the tremors.
“Atlys, listen to us. Cadex is right. Akemiwon. We have to go straight into negotiations. Any other action could disqualify us from our advantage that Akemi worked so hard for us to have.” Damaris adds.
“Fuck negotiations!” My vision is tunneled on one person alone, and she is lying on the floor, hair disheveled, breathing but not moving. She looks so small.
“Atlys,” Damaris warns, not the voice of a friend, but the voice of the High General, one with Terraguard’s interests in mind. Always Terraguard first. Damaris steps between me and the stage, arms crossed. “It has been centuries since we’ve gotten this power in Treaty negotiations. Think of your people. Think of Terraguard.”
I try to remember the ancient underground city in the lower mantle of earth. The people within, glittering crystals, and towering stone infrastructure, but all I can think of is her.
“We must go. We have three minutes to get to the council chamber or our negotiation advantages will be voided. Look”—Cadex points to the projection of Akemi—“someone is already helping her.”
The projection above the stage shows a Moon’cher, Castor, helping her to stand. She’s awake, and my heart stumbles. The maze is already shifting back into an ornate stage. Sensing my gaze, she looks at me.
