The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire, #1)(69)

She moved through the next pair of statues, shivering a little as she looked up at the empty gray eyes of a queen with long hair and clasped hands that were missing most of their fingers.

This water flows through Eldr. There was longing in his voice. A sharp ache of loneliness as memories of wide bronze halls with rounded balconies, rugged mountains, and rooms filled with laughter and music swept over his mind.

And soon this water will make Eldr safe. She looked at the water and prayed its heart would submit to hers without a fight.

“Which do you want to do first? The bridge or the water?” Gabril said as he strode onto the bridge ahead of Lorelai.

Whichever one Lorelai chose would spark a response from the queen. And even though Lorelai had beaten the queen’s attempt to punish Kol, she’d be performing two tremendously difficult spells, one after the other. If the river or the wooden bridge refused to submit their hearts to her, she’d be weakened and unable to fight Irina.

“I’ll send a barrier into Eldr first.” If the queen retaliated, and Lorelai was too drained to fight, she could flee. Leave the bridge intact and alter her plan. But her promise would be kept, and Kol wouldn’t have to worry about losing anyone else he loved.

Thank you. He walked abreast of her as they passed the final pair of statues on the north side and began moving across the bridge.

I keep my promises.

And I keep mine. His fingers brushed against hers, and she saw the vow he’d taken to protect her at any cost. She saw the pain the collar was delivering in response. The way his dragon heart begged for her blood, and the way Kol forced himself to ignore them both so that he could be the boy he wanted to be instead of the predator Irina had created.

She saw, and her heart beat a little faster, a little harder, as together they walked out over the water.




TWENTY-EIGHT


LORELAI AND KOL were nearly to the other side of the bridge when Sasha swooped through the sky and settled on Lorelai’s shoulder, her bright eyes staring at Kol while she clicked her beak at him.

Are we clear? Lorelai asked. No one on the other side trying to get onto the bridge?

Clear. Sasha gently butted her head against Lorelai’s.

Keep watch over that side, please. I have something to take care of before I can destroy the bridge.

Sasha spiraled back into the air as Lorelai, Gabril, and Kol walked past the statues on the south side of the bridge.

“I have to touch the water,” Lorelai said as she began climbing down the steep bank to the rushing river below.

Gabril gestured toward Kol. “Get down there with her, son. If the water’s heart fights hers, she’ll be too exhausted to keep herself from falling into the river. I’m trusting you to keep her safe. Don’t let me down.”

He didn’t threaten my life this time. I think I’m growing on him. Kol’s words were light, but a heaviness lay over his thoughts. Worry that the spell wouldn’t work. That it would reach Eldr too late. That he’d sacrificed so much of himself only to fail.

Lorelai had no words that could make it better, so she plunged her bare hands into the frigid water. The cold was a slap of shock that instantly numbed her skin. The swift-moving current dragged at her fingers.

And magic streaked through her veins to gather in her palms.

The heart of the water instantly surged toward hers. It was merciless power, unyielding strength, and vast patience. Kol wrapped his hands around her waist, anchoring her to the shore, and she whispered her intentions to the water. Begged its heart to see that she meant no harm. That she didn’t want to force it into submission and cause more damage to Ravenspire.

When the water’s heart tangled with her magic until it was hard to tell the difference between the two, she threw back her head and let her magic burn through her.

“Tvor`grada.” Her voice rang with the power that expanded within her, pushing against her skin like she’d swallowed fire. “Go forth into Eldr and rise until you meet the sky. Form an impassable barrier between the Eldrians and the dark magic that is destroying them from the south.”

The water closest to her hands eddied and swirled, and the bridge trembled as the river pulled away from its course and flowed toward Lorelai. Beneath her palms, the water formed a solid wall and began to rise.

She stood, the water rising with her, engulfing her hands and then towering over her head. The river bubbled and churned as it lifted toward the sky, a solid wall of water with brilliant threads of magic running through it.

“Tvor`grada,” Lorelai yelled, and the threads of magic raced for each other, knotting together and spreading along the southern side of the river’s wall like a tightly woven fisherman’s net of blazing white light. Kol let go of her waist with one hand and reached to touch the water. Sparks bit into his skin as his fingers grazed the water, and he jerked his hand back.

“Now go! Stretch across all Eldr and keep the ogres from crossing your shores.” Lorelai swept her hands to the east, and the wall of water rushed forward with a roar that tore chunks of rocky soil from its banks and sent them tumbling into its depths.

Lorelai kept her hands in the water as the river swept through the Falkrains and into Eldr. As it rushed across the craggy surface of Kol’s kingdom until it reached the Chrysós Sea at the other side.

Whispering her thanks to the water’s heart, she slowly withdrew her hands and tucked them into her sweater for warmth. The wall of water on Ravenspire’s side of the border collapsed with a tremendous splash.