What Once Was One (Book 2) (50 page)
“Give us a few days and we’ll see what we can do,” Bellona said. “That’s all we can promise you.”
Dorissa smiled at her. “I knew you were a romantic at heart.”
Bellona’s face became sour.
I bowed my head. “Thank you, Council.”
We left the council’s chambers. As we traveled the quiet hallways, Krystal and I walked arm in arm.
“Would you really pay
any
price to cure me of this affliction, Hellsfire?”
“Of course, Princess.”
She leaned her head against mine. “That’s sweet. Do you think the council will be able to help?”
“I hope so. They’re the Elemental Council. No one knows more about magic than they do.”
“But the magic was created by Renak and twisted by Premier. We shouldn’t get our hopes up, Hellsfire.”
I untwined my arm and hugged her waist. “If they’re not able to find a way, I promise I won’t stop trying.”
She didn’t respond.
----
We spent the following week in Romenia, and the council was true to their word. They performed tests on both me and Krystal. We endured a lot as they probed us with magic, performed rituals, and concocted a few potions. However, in the end, they couldn’t help us. They said that Renak’s curse was too adaptable and strong. It wasn’t only embedded in the princess, but in me. All of their powerful magic didn’t affect the curse in the slightest.
They were the almighty Elemental Council, but not even they could defeat Renak. This might have been Premier’s fault, but it was Renak’s magic that was the source of it. Those council members from Ashton were awed by Renak’s curse, even while it defeated them. I was surprised when the council said there might be others in Southern Shala who could help. Those who were more skilled in curses. They also told me that when Fairhaven was opened, something might be found in that abandoned city.
As disappointed as I was that the Elemental Council couldn’t cure Krystal, I wasn’t going to give up hope.
Captain Rebekah, Ardimus, and at least one of the others constantly shadowed and hovered over us. They were apprehensive that people might attack us in retribution. I was worried, too, not for myself but for the princess.
Krystal, Prastian, Jastillian, Fortune, and Malik sought to work things out, talking to the people as we went to the market, the temple’s services, or the inns. They had a difficult time because of my presence. The regular people that lived in Romenia were more relieved that the war was over, but even they had lost people because of what I had done. I had a harder time meeting their eyes than anyone else’s.
-----
At the end of the week, it was time to depart. The council had given my friends enough supplies for the long journey back into Northern Shala, along with gifts. We were outside the city, with the horses loaded. The low sun shone over our heads.
“May I talk to you, Your Highness?” I asked Krystal.
“Of course.”
I led her away from the others, and well away from the elves with their excellent hearing. Krystal pulled on her horse’s reins and put the horse in between us and our friends.
As much time as we had spent together over the past week, with me clinging at her hip and her mine, we hadn’t discussed the fact that I was going to stay down here. We both knew it, but I think it was too painful for either of us to talk about. At least, for me it was.
“I guess this is it,” I said.
“How long will you be gone?” she asked.
I sighed. “I’m not sure. I have to help the council take down whatever defenses and traps are left and try to repair the land, but I’m also going to look for a way to break Renak’s curse. And there’s also Premier. I doubt Paige caught him. He’s bound to be planning something nefarious.” I met her eyes. “While the council may not believe me about Renak’s threat of the gods’ war, I do. There’s a danger out there, Krystal. One that I’m going to have to deal with. They didn’t see what I saw in Renak’s eyes.”
“I believe you.” She dragged her fingertips along my side and gave me a sad smile. “Just try not to take too long, hero, and please be careful. We don’t know what else is out there.”
“I’ll try.”
Krystal dug into one of her saddlebags and pulled out a vial of blood and a lock of her hair. She put it in my hand.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“I was told this could help you test your spells without me being here.”
I stared at her. She thought of everything. I placed those items into my purse and reeled her in. She snuggled up against me as I grasped her warm body tighter.
A single tear trickled down her face, and her royal mask started to break. “Hellsfire, I—”
“Shhh.” I mustered all my strength to use magic I wasn’t trained to use. “Close your eyes.”
I leaned in close enough to kiss Krystal. Her slow, rhythmic breathing rang in my ears. I concentrated and reached into my soul, grasping onto my feelings for her. The amulet I had given her glowed in response, and I gently blew. My breath scattered across her face, flowing all over her. She shivered in response as the feeling of a thousand kisses brushed upon her tingling body. Her knees buckled, and she nearly fell.
“That was amazing,” she said. She laid her hand against my face. I nuzzled against it, wishing I could feel her skin.
Krystal’s hand became limp and fell. She turned and mounted horse, wheeling it around to face north.
There was one last thing I wanted to tell her before she left. Something I should have told her earlier.
“Krystal, I love you.”
For a brief instant, her entire face lit up with the grandest smile, and the jade hexagram’s light blinded me. When I opened my eyes, both had vanished. Krystal didn’t say anything for the longest time, her violet eyes drinking in the sight of me.
She sadly smiled and said, “I know.”
The princess spurred her horse onward, galloping back towards Alexandria. I stared at her shrinking figure, feeling my heart drop into my stomach. Captain Rebekah and Ardimus sped by to catch up to her, and they gave me a cursory nod. The elves rode by and waved. Jastillian smiled as he passed. They might have said something, but I couldn’t hear them. I couldn’t hear anything.
Fortune and Malik came to me. Fortune slapped me on the shoulder, ripping me from my trance. “Come on, kid. I’ll buy you a drink.”
Serena flew from Malik and settled on my shoulder. “Don’t be so glum, cutie. We’ll have lots of fun while you’re down here.”
“He’s not here for fun, Serena,” Malik said. “We’ll do all we can to help you with the princess’s curse.”
I stared at the now tiny horses, waiting for Krystal to turn around. She didn’t once look back. Did she not feel for me what I felt for her? Then I remembered what she had given me. She wanted me to find a cure, so she must have some feeling for me. Memories of us together raced through my mind. It hurt to remember her laughter and smile, that fierce gaze she wore when she fought, and the way she never gave up. The most painful one was the memory of before I left for the Wastelands and what she would have asked her father, but never did.
I couldn’t help but dwell on King Furlong’s words. Was I someone she was just passing the time with? She never said she would wait until I found a cure. That scared me more than anything. What if I couldn’t find a cure? Even if I did, what if I was never allowed back into Alexandria? What would she do? What would
I
do? Kathleen was right. I loved Krystal more than I’d ever loved her, and that was why not knowing hurt more than anything.
I shook my head. I wasn’t going to give up hope of a future with the princess unless that was what
she
wanted. She was all that mattered to me. I would do everything in my power to break this curse Premier had twisted upon us and find a way back into Alexandria. I would sacrifice everything to do so.
But the recent war and the council’s action reminded me that I still had a duty to perform. Krystal wouldn’t have wanted me to shrink away from it. I was going to help repair and restore what I had to in Southern Shala, hunt Premier down, and find clues to the menace Renak feared.
I stared at my hand, feeling the dark flame within me. I was going to have to deal with it and learn to control it, lest it overwhelm me. It threatened to rise up, its shadowy promises weaving into my mind. It was getting easier to summon, but no matter how much it promised, it could never give me Krystal...or could it?
To be continued in
REAWAKENING
The Passage of Hellsfire series, Book 3
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The Passage of Hellsfire Series, Book 2
by Marc Johnson
Kindle Edition | Copyright 2012 Marc Johnson
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.