Until the World Falls Down

Chapter 19

19

R egarding Silas warily, I walked behind him silently through the halls until we reached a set of wooden double doors with a swirling purple sigil emblazoned between them. Silas reached out, muttering a few unintelligible words, causing the sigil to disappear and the doors to swing open by themselves. I entered the room after him, shivering as the temperature dropped. It was dark and bare, save for a pedestal in the center where a glowing orb the same eerie green color of the mist sat. It pulsed and flickered ominously.

The air felt thick, like something was pressing in on my lungs, and I glanced at Silas. “What is this?”

“A conduit,” he said shortly, walking over to it. “I channel my magic through it to maintain the curse on the land. Without it, my magic would run wild. My master offered it to me to help control both my magic and the curse.”

I approached the orb cautiously, wanting to keep my distance but also drawn to it. As if the malevolent energy wanted to pull me in, envelop, and devour me. A chill raced down my spine, but I couldn’t stop myself from getting closer.

Literally .

My feet moved on their own accord. I tried to stop but couldn’t. I lifted my hand, stretching it out toward the orb. A tugging sensation similar to the one I felt with Morgan came over me as if the orb was trying to steal my energy.

Cold fingers encased my wrist, stopping my hand only inches from the orb. “I would not do that if I were you,” Silas warned against my ear.

The spell broke. I jerked back from him, pulling my wrist free. My heart hammered in my chest as I faced him. “There’s something weird about that.”

“You have no magic. How would you know?”

“I’ve felt something similar before. Are you sure it’s a conduit?” I looked back at the orb, unsettled. “It feels more like it’s trying to absorb something than channel it.”

Silas considered me for a moment before turning toward the orb. His fingers hovered over it, his eyes closing. The glow surrounding the orb reacted to his presence, pulsating faster, almost frantic. It seemed eager for his touch, stretching out to close the distance between them. I didn’t miss how Silas flinched when he brushed it, either, or how it took effort for him to pull away.

The orb seemed to glow brighter as he backed away, casting an eerie, green pallor over his face and deepening the dark circles under his eyes.

“Are you sure it’s channeling your magic?” I asked. “Where did you find it?”

“My master gave it to me,” Silas replied in a clipped tone. “To help me protect Rielle.”

“Your master? Isn’t he lost to the curse?”

“No,” he said, eyes narrowing. “Why do you say that?”

“Rielle told me that?—”

“Who is this?” an unfamiliar voice suddenly asked, resounding and accusing .

I twirled around as Silas stepped forward. “Master Xander,” he greeted, a hint of uncertainty in his tone.

Xander?

Xander stood at the door’s threshold, resting against the frame, his eyes narrowed at me, crow’s feet creasing the corners. Black hair streaked with grey framed his square jaw and fell to his chest. He wore a black robe that billowed around him as he stepped further into the room, a gnarled, wooden staff in his hand. “What is the meaning of this? How has she escaped the mist?”

Rielle’s voice filled my head. Xander . Silas’s mentor and my father’s right-hand man . Was this that Xander? But how? Wasn’t he supposed to be lost to the mist?

“She claims she was sent here to help?—”

“She’s lying,” Xander said sharply. “She’s a sorceress trying to deceive you.”

My mouth dropped open. “What? No. I don’t have any magic?—”

“I can sense it,” Xander continued, cutting me off.

Silas glanced at me, frowning. “She got through the magic barrier protecting Rielle, though.”

Xander’s eyes narrowed briefly at Silas before he smoothed out his expression. “I’m more attuned to the specific nature of her magic. It seems she’s able to mask it at will.”

“I don’t have magic!” I repeated, a knot forming in my stomach as Silas’s icy gaze bore into me. I focused on him instead. “Silas, listen to me, something’s weird here?—”

“Silas, I leave you alone for two days, and you put Rielle at risk once more,” Xander said. He lifted his staff, and the same green glow began to emit from it. “How do you let a threat so close to your love? We must rid ourselves of her at once.”

My pulse quickened. “Wait, please, I’m trying to help?—”

“Not yet,” Silas said. “I wish to question her more.”

“She will only try to deceive you. ”

“Then brew me a truth potion,” Silas suggested calmly, but the muscles in his arm flexed as he balled his hand into a fist behind his back.

Xander scowled for a moment before nodding. “If that is what it will take for you to see that I am right. As I always am.”

“I want to see if what she claims is true.”

“And what does she claim?”

“That she is from another world,” Silas said, but his eyes flickered to the glowing orb again before switching to me.

“I will need your assistance,” Xander told Silas. “The flower root I need grows in the Northern gardens. You will have to enter the mist for it.”

“Very well,” Silas said before facing me again. “Come with me. You’ll be imprisoned until the potion is finished.”

I didn’t argue. I would rather be with Silas than Xander. Silas steered me out of the room, his large hand clamped down on my shoulder. We retraced our path through the castle, and he stayed close to me as we climbed the narrow staircase back to the room where he had confined Rielle.

“Silas,” I began, but he gave a swift shake of his head, making me fall silent.

He ushered me in, undoing the magic barrier, but did not follow after me. “Stay here,” he said, sounding distracted. His eyebrows pinched together. “Do not leave until I return.”

“But—”

Silas twisted on his heel and stalked away as Rielle rushed toward me, her voice breathless. “Nell! What happened?”

“Didn’t you say the curse also claimed Silas’s master?” I asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “He was with my father when the curse claimed them both.”

I frowned, folding my arms over my chest. “I just saw him. Xander, that is. He is free of the curse. I also saw what is hosting the curse. It’s some kind of orb. ”

Rielle’s face crumpled in confusion. “How is that possible? Xander was also a victim.” Her gaze went past me, and she gasped. “Wait. Silas forgot to put the barrier up.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, but as Rielle said, the shimmering magic in the doorway was missing.

She moved forward, tentatively sticking a hand into the hall, and then she gasped, fully stepping out of the room before twirling back toward me. “Is this a trap?”

I considered how preoccupied Silas had seemed. “No. I think something I said unsettled him. The orb hosting the curse appeared to absorb his magic.”

“Can you show me this orb?”

“I think I can remember the way back.”

Again, I made my way down the treacherous stairs and hoped I led Rielle in the correct direction. “Xander and Silas went to retrieve a plant from the gardens, so they shouldn’t be in there.”

“Are you sure it’s Xander?”

“Silas called him master,” I said, only able to offer her that.

Her lips twisted, falling silent, and we finally reached the room that held the orb. She went in first, flinching as she swung the door open. “What?” she started, her voice wavering, shoulders stiffening.

“That’s it,” I said, stepping beside her and pointing at the orb. “Silas said it was a conduit?—”

“No,” she said, putting out her arm, preventing me from getting closer to it. “I know this orb. It’s supposed to be locked away in my father’s vault. How did Silas get ahold of it? This isn’t a conduit, Nell. It’s a vicious artifact. It absorbs the magic of anyone nearby, draining them until nothing is left, and then stores that magic for the one who summoned it to harness."

“What happens if it completely absorbs someone’s magic?”

“They die,” she said, her voice low.

Horror washed over me. “What? ”

“But it should not be draining Silas’s magic if he summoned it,” she told me, her lips curving down.

“Acute as always, Miss Rielle,” a voice said behind us.

I jumped, but Rielle tensed, her face paling. She turned slowly, her hand going to her chest. “Xander?”

Xander smiled cruelly, and the door slammed shut, trapping us in the room. “How did you get out of your room?”

“I-I don’t understand. How are you here? I saw the curse take you,” she spluttered.

“You were always clever, but not quite clever enough,” he responded, advancing on us.

Rielle grabbed my wrist, forcing me to fall back with her. “What is the meaning of this?”

“I have no quarrel with you, my girl. Do not be afraid.” His creepy eyes slid to me. “You, on the other hand, are an unwanted interloper. You will not wreck what I have worked so hard to accomplish. Your interference ends here.”

He raised his staff and a burst of magic shot out. Rielle reacted before I could, her magic deflecting Xander’s, clashing in the air together, sending scalding particles showering over us. “What are you doing?” she demanded, sparks of blue flowing from her fingertips.

“If you protect her, you will leave me no choice but to eliminate you both,” Xander warned. “I can find other ways to manipulate Silas for his magic if I have to kill you. I can blame your death on her.”

Rielle pulled me further behind her, shielding me, and my heart skipped a beat at her willingness to protect me. “It was you,” she said. “You’re the reason Silas set the curse. But why?”

“Come now, you already know why,” Xander answered, his lips curling into a sneer. “Power. Control. I should have been chosen as your father’s successor, but then that pathetic sorcerer showed up. Your father took him in and ignored all the years of service I provided him. I had no choice but to put an end to it.”

“Successor?” she repeated. “But Silas is not next in line to the throne. He has no blood relation to us.”

“Your father planned to offer your hand in marriage to him,” Xander snapped. “I will never allow Silas to take my rightful spot. Once his magic is absorbed, Silas will die. Then, I will undo the curse and be hailed as a hero. I planned on asking for your hand in marriage as a reward, but perhaps it will be better to kill you after all. Silas’s magic will be mine and I will be unstoppable.”

Rielle’s expression hardened. “You tricked Silas into thinking my father was the one with nefarious plans, but it was you all along.”

“And he will never know better. I am sorry things have to end this way.”

I searched the room for an escape. We were in danger. But Xander struck again, his magic a powerful bolt that sent Rielle crashing back into me, throwing us both to the floor. Rielle grunted as she landed on me, both the fall and her weight knocking the wind from my lungs, but she was quick to push herself back to her feet. Her hair whipped around her as magic flowed from her hands, deflecting a second blow from Xander.

I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have any magic to defend myself with. I was only a liability.

But I couldn’t let Rielle fight alone.

Rielle sent a blast of magic toward Xander, which he reflected, shooting it back at her. I yanked her out of the way before diving to the side myself as Xander sent another blast out. This one went straight through the stone wall, obliterating it. Rielle and I coughed as dust filled the room, lowering the visibility. Another shot sideswiped Rielle, making her stagger closer to the orb, causing it to pulse violently. Its green glow enveloped her immediately, draining her magic. I hauled her away, putting myself between her and the orb.

Xander shot more magic toward her, and this time she wasn’t quick enough to defend us, the blow knocking us both back. I managed to keep myself upright, but Rielle flew across the floor, smashing into the stone wall. She groaned as she fell to her knees, struggling to push herself back to her feet.

“Such a waste,” Xander tutted before lifting his staff.

“Stop!” a deep voice roared as Silas appeared at the door, his eyes blazing with fury.

Xander cursed, spinning around to face him. “Silas?—”

“I heard everything,” he snarled. “You deceived me. You betrayed me. You betrayed us all.”

“I will do much worse if you stand in my way,” Xander promised.

“No. You will not hurt her.” Silas reached a hand out toward the orb, and its green light flared to life, shooting out at him.

“Silas!” Rielle cried.

But Silas didn’t recoil. The magic swarmed him, causing him to glow with the same eerie color. His head bowed, his shoulders hunching. “Ugh.”

“Your magic will be mine,” Xander said, laughing darkly. “It’s already begun. It will consume you. It will be mine?—”

“No,” Silas spoke, his voice calm, his body straightening out again. “You have underestimated me, Xander. It will not consume me. This magic is mine . And it will never be yours. You forget I am not human. And human-made artifacts will never be strong enough to overpower me.”

The green mist disappeared, sinking into Silas. Then it shot out from Silas’s hand, striking Xander in the chest, and sending him flying backward. Silas did not stop there. More and more magic erupted from him, burning green lighting up the room, making me shield my eyes in fear of being blinded .

“Silas, wait,” Rielle called, fighting to be heard over the explosions of magic. “Wait! Don’t kill him!”

“Don’t stop me, Ri. He deserves a fate far worse than this for everything he has done. To you. To us . To the kingdom.”

“He doesn’t deserve for it to be over so fast,” she responded, and the coldness in her tone sent a chill down my spine. “I will make sure he suffers for what he’s done.”

Xander lay unconscious on the floor, his face bruised and battered, his clothing still smoking. Silas didn’t look like he wanted to listen to Rielle, but the magic surrounding him began to wane.

“Are you okay?” Silas asked her, his voice becoming gentle.

Rielle hesitated, keeping a few feet between them. “Silas, how did you fall for his lies?”

“He said you were in danger. He told me how I could protect you.”

“He’s the reason you once told me my father was a danger to me,” she concluded.

Silas glared down at Xander. “He used my fear against me. I was too desperate to save you to see it.”

“You thought cursing the entire kingdom was the answer?” Rielle asked, anger now lacing her tone. “You thought imprisoning me would save me? You killed my father?—”

Silas’s head whipped toward her. “Your father is not dead.”

“What do you mean?”

“I did not kill your father. I simply placed him under the curse along with everyone else.”

“But Xander said…” Rielle trailed off, taking in a shaky breath as realization hit her. “He lied to me. Then, my father is really alive?”

“I will lift the curse. You will be reunited with him again,” Silas said, casting his gaze toward the orb on the pedestal. “Then I will accept my punishment for my crimes. I am sorry, Rielle. Truly. ”

“I don’t understand,” she said. “Why did you go so far?”

“I was scared,” he murmured. “I thought I would lose you. I have lost everything in my life. When I met you, and you saw more than just an orphan in me and gave me a home, I knew I’d spend my life protecting you. I only honed my magic to be able to keep you safe. I was too focused on that to see that Xander was taking advantage of that fact. My fear grew to something twisted. All I could see was a world where you were lost to me if I didn’t do everything I could to protect you.”

“Taking away my freedom is an interesting way of protecting me,” she responded dryly. “You took away my agency, my choices, and my power. I take pride in myself, Silas, and you belittled me with your actions.”

“It was all I could think to do,” Silas said, rueful now.

“You never thought to trust me to protect myself?” Rielle demanded, her shoulders back, her hands balling into fists. “I was born to lead this kingdom, Silas. I have an obligation to protect myself and my people. You should have trusted me to make the right choices. I don’t need to be protected. I need to be trusted.”

“I’m sorry,” Silas apologized again, and it was strange to see the man who had been so intimidating earlier shrink in on himself.

“Lift the curse,” Rielle ordered, her gaze lowering. “We will speak more later, after I see my father is alive and well.”

Silas walked over to the orb, bowing his head and placing his hand over it. A ripple seemed to move through the air, then another, and the muscles in Silas’s back flexed as the green light grew brighter and brighter before shattering. I covered my face, but there was no physical impact.

When I opened my eyes again, the orb was gone, and I could feel a subtle shift in the air. It no longer felt oppressive, no longer weighed down on me. Rielle strode toward the window in the room, and I followed behind her, gazing out at the once mist-covered town. Now, it dissipated, revealing a beautiful countryside and a village. The gruesome monsters were gone, and confused and scared humans appeared in their place.

Rielle turned to me, a fierce determination on her face. “I have to go to my people now, Nell. They’re waiting for me. They need me more than ever.” She took my hands in hers, squeezing. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything,” I said.

“Your actions here saved my kingdom,” she told me. “Do not dismiss it so easily.”

“What will you do about Silas? Do you still want to kill him?”

Rielle chewed on her bottom lip. “No, I don’t want to kill him. I know Xander manipulated him, but he still did terrible things. I don’t know how to proceed from here.”

“What does your heart say to do?”

“My heart remembers when he first came to my castle. A dragon a quarter of the size he is now. We were only children then. Dragon shifters are a dying breed, and poachers hunt them for their bounty. Silas was scared and alone, and my father and I welcomed him with open arms. He kept me safe all these years, and I fell in love with him. But then he turned around and cursed the kingdom that took him in. I don’t know what to think or do. I was so angry before, but now…”

As she held my hands, shadows formed from under the windowsill, created by the sunlight now filtering in as the mist outside continued to fade. I smiled at Rielle, letting her go. “You don’t have to decide right away. You’ll make the right choice. I know it. I can only wish to have as much confidence in myself as you do in yourself.”

“Do you want to know the secret to it?” she asked.

“What’s that?”

“Believe in yourself,” she said. “Believe in the person you want to be, and you will get there. Believe in the strength you have, and it will grow. Believe in your heart, and it will guide you in the right direction.” She paused, looking down at her hands before curling them into fists. “And if there are times when you don’t believe in yourself, that’s okay, too. We are all works in progress.”

I took in her words, letting them wash over me and settle. Believe in myself . Follow my heart.

“Anyway, thank you, Nell,” she said, smiling back at me. “I think I would have regretted killing Silas despite feeling like it was the only way to save my kingdom. I’m glad it didn’t come to that.”

“Go to your people,” I said. “They’re waiting for you. I have to go, too—someone’s also waiting for me. I’ll keep your advice in mind.”

“Return home safely,” Rielle responded, leaning forward to kiss my cheek.

The skin on my chest prickled, and the shadows grew taller, opening a portal for me. A glance down at the pendant proved my theory true—both Rielle and Silas counted toward completing my labyrinth. The gemstone was now over three-quarters of the way to becoming whole again.

I held back before leaving, turning to Silas, who looked exhausted and worn. “Silas, curses can always be broken, right?”

“Yes,” he answered, “but the magic that breaks it must be stronger than the curse.”

My heart sank, and the shadows curled around my wrist, tugging me toward the portal. “There’s really no other way to break a curse?”

He gave me a grim look. “The only other way is the death of the one who cast it.”

The shadows converged before I could say anything else.