Inkmistress (Of Fire and Stars 0.5)(39)

Beyond Kaja’s fading heartbeat and the acute pain of her broken back, I sensed the roots beneath the earth, the vegetation all around me, and the animals scavenging for food and nesting materials—all the things that came with the first breaths of spring. I let the forest consume me, and then matched it to the last of Leozoar’s magic, weaving them together like a tapestry inside my mind.

I almost lost myself to the forest as the two powers merged. The bright white of Leozoar’s power pulled at the dark river of my own. I felt like it would be all right to become part of the forest, to sink into it and embrace the slow pace of its life. But this wasn’t my place, and these were not my people, so I held back my own magic and let go of the rest, funneling it through my blood into Kaja and the land around her. The forest took her pain and I realigned her broken back with my magic, reminding her body what it had been before her fall.

All around us, seeds lying dormant within the earth burst into sprouts that fought their way free of the ground despite its being too early for them. Ivy crawled over the trees until they were swathed in green. Vines twirled around Mukira’s staff, bursting into fragrant bloom. The trees all around us put out bursts of pale green needles, gilding the forest with the colors of spring.

Kaja opened her eyes, blinking at me in confusion, and then a wave of exhaustion hit me. I swayed on my knees, too dizzy to stand up. No more of Leozoar’s magic remained.

Hal rushed to my side, helping me over to a fallen log where I could sit. Platforms of new fungus jutted out of the wood, and tiny white flowers poked up from the moss growing in its crevices. The Tamers crowded around Kaja, murmuring with wonder at her recovery and the new life in the clearing.

I turned to Hal to thank him for helping me, but stopped when I saw the look in his eyes. It wasn’t reverent, exactly, but admiring. Respectful. Maybe even a little hungry, in a way that made something warm blossom in the pit of my stomach.

“Well done,” he said.

His compliment warmed me. I liked the way his eyes were locked on me, their deep brown soft and warm. I liked the pressure of his one hand on my arm, and the way his other rested on my lower back. But if I liked him, if I let myself care about him . . . all that meant was that it would hurt when he left. I couldn’t get too attached.

Mukira whistled a sharp call, and moments later a tall woman with long braids and a rich dark umber complexion dashed into the clearing, calling Kaja’s name. When she saw Kaja sitting up on her own, she fell to her knees beside her, and they clung to each other like they would never let go. Kaja gently kissed the tears from the other woman’s face, whispering, “I’m all right. I’m here.”

I looked away, feeling as though I’d witnessed a moment that should have been private. I didn’t even notice Mukira approaching until Hal nudged me. She came to a stop in front of us, looking at me with new respect in her eyes.

“Thank you for saving Kaja,” the elder said. “I have never seen magic like that before.”

“You’re welcome,” I said. Because my confession had chased Ina off in a storm of rage and hurt, in a way, Kaja’s injury had been my fault. Preventing her death was the least I could do to atone for that.

“How did you save her?” Mukira asked.

“With magic left over from destroying the curse on your cliff,” I said. “There was a wind demigod living in the Sanctum—he was the one tossing people off the cliff to keep them away. He’s now at peace,” I said. She didn’t need to know about Veric or how I’d destroyed Leozoar. I opened my satchel and pulled out a vial of water. It swirled in the glass, the pale blue of a summer sky.

Mukira’s eyebrows rose. “That’s water from the sacred pool!” She took the vial from me, gently touching it to the tip of her staff. She closed her eyes.

I let my Sight come to me and watched what Mukira was doing. Questing threads of magic reached through the network of life in the forest. The full extent of their reach wasn’t visible to me—her connection to the forest must have broadened her ability to See magic far beyond what I could, even if she didn’t recognize the nuances of it the way I did. If she had, surely she would have known what Leozoar was, not just that the cliff was cursed.

“The Sanctum is ours once more,” she finally pronounced. Her eyes opened, now lit with joy.

“We can never thank you enough for this gift, Asra. Make haste back to the camp when you feel ready. We’ll resupply you for wherever you are headed next. I must tell the others.” She hurried away, gathering other Tamers, gesturing broadly as she showed them the water I’d brought back from their sacred pool.

“Look what you did,” Hal said. “You got us out of trouble, defeated a deranged demigod, and saved a life, all in a day’s work.”

“I couldn’t have found Ina without you,” I said, uncomfortable with all the credit he was giving me.

“It was the least I could do. You saved my life.” He smiled. “Besides, I like you.”

The ache of loneliness I carried with me intensified. I didn’t deserve his kindness, even if I longed for it. If I wanted to earn it, I needed to find the Fatestone and set things right—and that started with talking to his sister.

“Then perhaps I can get you to take me to your sister,” I said. I bit my lip nervously, knowing I’d asked him for a lot.

An odd expression passed over his face, too quickly for me to pin it down. “Why?”