Ch.22

Ardi's mind went blank. She couldn't think. Just as she'd come to terms with the truth that she had been given a great gift, everything came crashing down around her. But worst of all, she realized her brother had never meant for them to share this power. He wanted it all to himself.

Her lip trembled, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. "You .‌.‌."

"Stay away!" shouted Elestra.

Evander lowered his voice. "No .‌.‌. Ardi, please listen to me! My grandfather said to give you this. If you could see that, you wouldn't hate me anymore."

Ardi drew her sword, pointing the tip toward him. "What about my mother?"

"She was responsible for everything that happened at the tower," he replied, unfazed by her weapon. "The things my parents did to you‌—how could you ask me to forgive them?"

She choked on a sob. "Forgive you? This wasn't your fault!"

"Yes, it was!" he shouted. "Because of me, you‌—"

"There's more to the story, Evander." She glanced over at Elaric. "His parents helped kill her, and now they're going to do the same thing to him, too."

Evander clenched his jaw. "Tell me. Please."

Ardi hesitated. She tried to speak, but her voice was barely above a whisper.

"I have to know. I owe him that much."

"It was their power which made them powerful." She cleared her throat. "But first, let's talk about you .‌.‌. You never should have come here. You need to stop this before more people die."

"If I wanted to use the ring‌—all I had to do was take it. I didn't come here to win some competition to steal something from you. Do you think we don't have our own magic powers?"

"Well, if you won't tell me .‌.‌." She swung her sword again, hitting the door and knocking it open. A rush of wind gusted through, and she could feel an unseen pressure pressing against her mind‌—the same sensation her mother must have felt in her dreams. "Then I'll have to find out the hard way."

Elestra gripped his fists tightly. "Don't be foolish. I'm not going to just give up something so valuable as my own life! The tower will fight back!"

"No one's going to get hurt!" Evander whispered. "We can force her to give it up. We need to work together."

Elestra took a step back. "Is that how you convince people to work with you? By threatening them?"

He nodded. "It works pretty well, actually. It's like we're talking a language no one else understands. I saw what happened when my parents came for you."

She shook her head. "And this is why I don't want the ring back." She ran down the hall, slamming into Elestra and knocking him onto the ground. She stepped away, brandishing her sword at the other mage. "You killed my mother‌—"

Evander grabbed her shoulders. "Please stop! Don't do this‌—we both know she wouldn't want you to do this."

Ardi stumbled away from him. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her face against the wall. He didn't understand. That ring was all she had left. And now it meant everything to her.

She shook her head, stepping out of Evander's grasp. "All right. Fine! You don't need the ring anyway. Just give me what you have."

The man gasped, rubbing his forehead. "What?"

"I want the book that was found in the ruins."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Do you want to die?"

He blinked, glancing over his shoulder at Elestra.

"Then let me go so I can kill myself." She stepped toward him, holding her sword with both hands. "I mean it. Give me that book or I'll go through with this. You can even see what's going to happen when I‌—"

"Wait," said Elaric. "Are you sure?"

Evander's gaze shifted to him. "Really? You want me to bring it here?"

The mage nodded, motioning for Ardi to move behind him. "That's the only thing we came for in the first place. If I give up the tower‌—"

"But how do you get into the library?" asked Evander.

"That's something you have to figure out yourself."

Evander huffed. "Fine .‌.‌. but you've got to leave your brother out of this. Do you understand what he did? It was supposed to be a gift between us!"

Ardi gazed down at her feet. "He doesn't deserve to die."

"No, we don't." He stepped aside, letting her pass. "I just wanted you to understand that I'm not going to do anything to harm either of you."

She held the sword close, her body shaking as she stared at Elestra. "Well .‌.‌. let me talk to him, then."

Evander took several steps back as she made her way toward Elestra. Before he could respond, Ardi gave her brother a final look and lifted the tip of her sword above his chest.

"Stop!" Elestra shouted. "I can give you more than you know‌—a lot more! Just ask, and I'll tell you all about it!"

Ardi stared down at the man, pressing her fingers against the blade. "Please," she whispered. "Do what you have to do. But please .‌.‌."

Elestra grinned. "Do you really think I'd let you hurt me?"

"No." She narrowed her eyes. "You're too dangerous." She stepped forward.

"Fine."

"Then my plan‌—"

A blinding flash of light consumed them both.

***

The room went dark for a moment before Ardi regained her vision. As she lifted her hands away from the sword, her fingers tingled. She saw Elestra lying on the ground next to Evander‌—and Evander was no longer looking at her. Instead, his head tilted upward and he stared straight into the air.

For a brief moment, the area around her seemed to be spinning, and she felt like the floor would fall out from underneath her at any second. Then she stopped‌—the sensation subsiding as the world once again returned to normal.

She blinked rapidly, searching for her brother. She turned to see him standing in front of her, smiling‌—but when he noticed her gaze, it quickly disappeared.

She followed his eyes, lifting her hand. The book had fallen to the floor, but she could see that there were several scratches etched along its surface. There was no time to contemplate, though. "I need you to do something for me."

He swallowed nervously. "What?"

"You don't have to fight your grandfather anymore. Tell him anything you want—tell him whatever you did with the ring, how he should just give it back, anything. He's not going to care or believe you anyway. Do whatever you want." She glanced over at Elaric. "Tell him you love me, if you want."

Her brother huffed, then started to kneel‌—and as the reality of what she was suggesting sank in, his expression turned deadly serious. He looked up at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. We won't always have this power. That is our chance. It's everything we've wanted. Please."

Evander met the other mage's stare. She knew he was struggling to put aside the hatred and bitterness his parents had planted within him‌—but he also didn't want to die.

Then his shoulders slumped. "Fine," he whispered. "All right."

Ardi waited. Her heart raced against her rib cage, but it was starting to slow down. Evander moved forward, reaching toward her as she placed a hand on the book.

And in that instant, Elestra uttered an ear-piercing scream, lunging off the ground at them. Ardi took several steps back‌—but Evander put himself between her and his grandfather, pointing his sword at him.

Elestra stood before Evander, swinging his fist toward his face. Ardi spun away, but she saw his knuckles connect with Evander's temple. He staggered backward, falling to the ground as blood spilled from his forehead. His eyes went unfocused, his legs going limp.

The young mage lowered his weapon, looking to his grandfather as the older man banged his cane against the floor. "Enough‌—it's over! She's finished!"

Ardis grabbed hold of Elaric, forcing him to sit back against the wall. The young mage's body shook as he sobbed into her hair.

Ardis held on to the book tightly as she closed Evander's eyes with her fingers. She forced herself to take several deep breaths, closing the wound and putting pressure against the bone, which finally stopped bleeding.

The room remained silent for several moments before Elestra stood up, glancing at Evander. He opened his mouth, trying to speak, but no sounds came out. She bent down, reaching her hand out toward him‌—but when she did, a vibrant light appeared above the book. Ardis gasped, raising her hands, as the rest of the room faded away, and the entire tower disappeared, leaving only the book in its place.