Page 69 of The Dark Mage
“We accept,” Fael said.“It’s an honor to fight alongside all ofyou.”
The group’s faces lit with quiet acceptance and open smiles.
Relya stepped forward.“We’ve already set up tents for each of you.Get settled.Tonight, we relax.”
The evening was lively and warm.The group passed around a flask of something strong that burned all the way down.Ren’wyn coughed and laughed as the heat spread throughher.
She looked up—and met Fael’s gaze over the fire.His eyes shimmered with something that looked like worry.
Esrin, on the other hand, took a seat beside her, his posture loose and companionable as he joined in the group’s banter withease.
“What was the Academy like?”Miguel asked Esrin and Ren’wyn.“Was it as impressive as Alen describes?”
“It was perfect,” Ren’wyn sighed, grateful to contribute to the conversation.Memories of Peria, their classes, and even Esrin surfaced—bittersweet but undeniably real.What she’d shared with Esrin back then, though painful now, had been true for her.“The Masters there were experts.They had so much knowledge.I only wish more people could go.”
“I only wish there were more people left to attend,” Esrin murmured.
A somber silence settled over the group.A few nodded.
“Instead, we’ve been broken and slaughtered in ignorance and fear,” Esrin added, his voice heavy.
Ren’wyn shuddered.Dark mages like her were among the most hunted.
“The Academy was one of the few places where we could be ourselves,” Esrin continued.“No hiding, no judgment.We lived and learned in peace.”
Ren’wyn knew it had been different for him—surrounded by peers who shared his abilities.She, on the other hand, had been feared and judged by her classmates.Even Esrin had shrunk from her power as her lover.Perhaps fear had kept him from taking the final steps to save her after they parted.
The memory cut like broken glass in her heart, and she shifted to make some space between herself and Esrin.She remembered the numbness she’d felt—how it had shattered when she realized he had truly abandonedher.
Esrin noticed her movement and paused, his gaze lingering before flicking to Fael.Fael’s jaw was tight, his expression unreadable but tense.
Esrin gave Ren’wyn a nudge with his shoulder—a familiar gesture meant to tease.
She leaned fartheraway.
Fael’s face darkened, twisting with frustration as he caught the subtle exchange.
“But Ren’wyn was always special,” Esrin continued.“She was unbelievably powerful, and she and I”—his voice softened—“were lucky enough to find each other.To love each other.”
His dark eyes were wistful, filled with echoes of the past.But Ren’wyn met his gaze with an unyielding calm.She felt nothing now.Only the distant ache of those long, empty days spent staring down a road where no one had come forher.
When she glanced up—Fael wasgone.
She stormed into his tent, throwing the front flap aside.She was so angry—furious that he would wander off—and she wanted to hit him.Her control slipped, darkness seeping like smoke from beneath his cot.Inhaling deeply, she forced herself to calm, pressing the shadowsback.
Fael didn’tturn.
Is he ignoring me?
She had blown in, drawing death with her—and he was acting as though she didn’t matter.
So she released her control on her magic, and the darkness surged again, rushing toward Fael’slegs.
He turned, eyes alight with anger.The strength of his rage chased the shadows from his legs, and she almost gasped as his power met hers.He had never unleashed enough to overwhelm her magic.She could have sworn the tongues of flame along the floor nipped at her shadows.
“Talk to me!”she demanded, her voice ragged as she pressed her anger and power forward, trying to keep the upper hand.“Look at me!Ask me what happened!Don’t let him write the story.Fightback!”
“I know what happened,” he snarled.“You were lovers.More.”His voice cracked.“Were you engaged?”
