My skin chills over with shock. The trees are turning black and dying. I can’t let that happen. My mind races through the quest. There must be some clue. This can’t be the end.
“What did we miss?” I ask Tempest. My voice cracks with desperation.
“I don’t know, luv.”
That’s when I see it. A thin sapling stands in the center of the ring of Sacred Trees. It wasn’t there a few minutes ago.
A growing spell. My eyes widen as I realize what the Radiant really meant. The Firmament needs a new tree.
The truth hits me with a wallop. My spell back home used canopic jars and a pentagram. The five-pointed star was the key to the spell. A fifth source of energy is the key to reviving the Firmament. And I’ve always held Firmament power inside me. It’s been so anxious to come out, it tied my tongue up every time I tried to use a different kind of power.
A weight of despair presses in around me. To heal the after-realms, I must power the final tree. My eyes sting with held-in tears. I can’t stop picturing all the things I’ll miss. Tempest and I getting married. Holding our newborn baby. Watching our grandchildren grow up.
My mind goes into shock. My body feels frozen and numb. I stumble over to the fifth tree.
Tempest’s gaze flips between the sapling and me. Understanding tightens his features. He steps up to me, spins me to face him, and grips my shoulders tightly. “There must be another way, Portia. We can cast another spell.”
“That will only help the tree grow; it won’t be enough to keep it alive and save the after-realms. I have to go inside that thing.” I set my hand against his cheek. His skin trembles with misery. “This is for everyone I love, including you.”
Tempest nods. The look of grief in his gaze is so intense, my heart almost breaks.
“Let’s start another incantation,” I say softly.
His eyes glisten with tears. “What spell, Rhana?”
“The Furor have one for trees.”
Tempest nods, his mouth a thin line of mourning.
I slide my hand in his and together we begin the spell. Our chanting fills the air. The ground beneath us stops shifting. No more sinkholes form. The thin green sapling springs higher out of the soil, quickly growing into a mighty tree whose branches disappear into the loosely packed ceiling of earth.
For a long second, I can only stare at the rich brown bark before me. This tree is full of life. But even now, I can sense its power draining. It needs more life within it to grow. A shudder rolls up my neck. How long will I trapped inside?
The Grove quakes with more force than ever before. Great boulders slam into the ground nearby. Time has run out. It doesn’t matter what price must be paid.
I will do this. Now.
It takes all my strength to stand before the new tree. Raising my hand, I set my pointer finger against the bark. Firmament energy moves through me once again, igniting my fingertip with golden power. I lower my arm, opening up the tree as the Radiant did. The dark center gapes before me.
I steel my shoulders, turn around, and step backward into the tree trunk. Like the other Radiant, I fold my arms across my chest. My nerves are so on edge, it’s hard to breathe.
The tree encircles my feet and calves, crushing my bones. I let out a cry of pain.
Tempest quickly rises to stand. Leaning forward, he braces his arms on either side of the tree. His gaze is steady and strong as it locks with mine. “I know this hurts, Rhana. Keep looking at me.”
I try to hold our gaze; it’s a struggle. More magical energy gets pulled from my skin. It’s as if hundreds of needles have plunged into me at once, drawing power away from my veins and moving it into the Firmament. My legs become fully encased in the tree. Pain shoots up my spine.
Tempest keeps my gaze, his eyes lined with tears. “Know this, Rhana. I’ll find a way to free you. I’ll never give up.”
Bark crawls across my chest. The agony slices into my ribs like knives. I close my eyes against the pain.
“Right here, luv. Look at me.”
“It’s hard, Tempest. It hurts.”
“Then, it hurts me, too.”
Another kind of pain gets added into the mix. Looking into Tempest’s eyes, I see all that we’re losing. Birthday parties. Late night kisses. Breakfast in bed. “We’ll miss… So much.”
“Not everything.” His mouth trembles as he forces a smile. “My offer, remember?”
I know what offer he’s talking about. He asked me to become his Empress. I may be entering an eternity of pain, but yes, I’ll take him up on this. I’ll give myself this one consolation.
“Yes, Tempest.” My voice quivers with pain. “I’ll be your Empress.”
Tempest kisses me once, gently. “One way or another, we’ll be together. This isn’t the end.”
But everything is over, and we both know it. The bark crawls up my throat, pressing in on my windpipe. My mouth falls open in a silent scream as it encases my mouth, nose and eyes. Firmament magic burns every cell in my body though with agony.
I am locked in.
My world transforms into a nightmare of darkness and pain. I stay alive but not breathing. Immobile but not dead. There’s only one consolation in this agony.
I am his Empress.
A fresh wave of magical energy moves through me. This power is different. It reminds me of Tempest, but it springs from deep within me. The energy is strong and structured. It fights against the power of the Firmament.
This is Furor energy, and it surrounds my soul like a mountain of power. As the Furor magic in me grows, my Firmament energy goes berserk. The tree lurches painfully around me. My mind goes to the man who promised to always stay at my side.
Tempest. Help me, Tempest.
My new Furor power strengthens my rage. I writhe inside my tomb. The bones in my arms break. My ribs and jaw crack. The ear-splitting sounds shatter the quiet of my tomb. Agony spikes through me, body and soul.
I don’t belong here.
I need out!
With a loud crack, the wood around my wrists shatters. Warm hands grip mine. It’s Tempest. He speed-casts spells as he smashes through the wood with his bare hands and tail, dragging me out of the tree and cradling me into his lap. My fighting suit is a ruin of torn rags.
“Portia, luv. Say something.”
“I failed. I tore up the Sacred Tree. The after-realms…”
Around us, all the trees wobble with the force of another sinkhole. Tempest carefully brushes the bits of dirt and debris from my face. “What happened?”
“I just kept thinking that I’m your Empress and…”
More dragon-like energy pummels through me. This time, the power is so strong, it sends a new and burning pain through every nerve I’ve got. The skin on my hands feels like it’s on fire. I hold up my fingers. My heart fills with grief and dread.
I’ve escaped one kind of eternal death only to fall into another one.
My hands are turning black, just like I saw in the dream catcher. I’m turning into a Void demon.
“It’s happening,” I choke out.
Tempest cups my hand within his own, his face blank with surprise. “No. This can’t be.”
Hot tears well in my eyes.
Everything I’ve done has collapsed into failure.
The after-realms are doomed. And now, I’ll spend my last minutes turning into the very demon I’ve dreaded my entire life. My hand completely blackens, as well as my arm.
“Leave me, Tempest. I won’t let the last thing I do be hurting you.”
He shakes his head, his face still unreadable. “You won’t hurt me.”
Another shot of hot pain drives through my stomach. I curl forward in agony. “You don’t know that. I’m turning into a Void demon. I’ll do anything.”
“You’re turning into a demon, Portia, but not the Void.”
“What?”
“Look.” He reverently runs his fingers over my skin. “This isn’t the black ooze of a Void demon. You’re getting armscales.”
Armscales.
The word sticks in my mind. All the full-blooded Furor have armscales. I run my fingers over my changing skin. Surprise twists through my stomach.
Tempest is right. “How is this possible?”
“Remember seeing me in the dream catcher as a lad? I was a scrawny thing. When I accepted my role as Emperor I changed.”
More pain slices into me; I push past it. Tempest gained powers when he became a greater demon. Could that be happening to me as well? Both the energy of the Firmament and the Furor run through my soul. The new combination of magic goes to work. My bones knit back together. Strength returns to my limbs.
Dragon scales now cover me from head to toe. All my pain fades away. I run my hands up my arms, loving the leathery touch of the scales. My head and body feel woozy with power.
I’m one of the Furor.
A final transformation washes over my body. My scales slowly change from black to red. I look at Tempest, confused.
“Is this right?” I ask.
“Yes, luv. Only the Empress has red scales.”
The power inside me stops expanding and changing. My body and mind become calm. “Is it over?”
“Yes.”
I brush by the corner of my eye. “And the marks?”
“Still there. Still beautiful.”
I inspect my body, wondering if anything else has changed. I appear to be the same size and shape as before. My armscales match Tempest’s, only his are black with red, and mine are red with black. Something taps my shoulder. I look over to see the arrowhead end of a tail. My tail.
“I’m Furor,” I say, my voice low with awe.
“More than that. You’re a greater demon. What power did you gain in the transformation? Can you sense any difference?”
I close my eyes and search my soul. Every part of me is bursting with life and magic. I never imagined this much power was possible.
“Yes, it’s like that spell we cast on the last seedpod. When we combined our two energies, we ended up with more.” I shake my head, searching for some way to describe this. “It’s like one and one make three. Does that make sense?”
“Perfectly.”
The ground around us rumbles more violently than ever before. Huge chunks of the ceiling cave in. A crack splits the first Firmament tree. Despair crushes in around me. I’m now with the man I love as his Empress, and I’ll only have enough time to die at his side.
My new powers churn through me. At first, I sense the framework of Furor magic within my soul. Soon, the power multiplies. Furor magic solidifies through me. More strength and energy builds. A realization forms. My heart skips a beat. Maybe two. “I may know a way out of this!”
“What, luv?” A sinkhole crumbles the ground beneath his feet. He barely jumps away in time. “I’m up for anything.”
“Before, you asked if we could cast a spell to power my Sacred Tree. I said we didn’t have enough energy to get the job done. But now?” I feel giddy with excitement. “We might be able to do it. We can use the same spell and everything.”
Tempest grabs my hand and drags me toward the ruin of my Sacred Tree. I set my palm into the center of the hollowed-out trunk. Tempest places his hand against mine. We cast the spell together, louder and faster this time. We summon the same liquid energy that dripped from our fingertips when we opened the last seedpod.
Rivulets of golden power curl down our arms. The liquid energy falls off our outstretched palms, filling the base of the tree. It greedily soaks in the magic and begins to heal itself. Long branches reach up into the packed earth above our heads. Golden power fills the tree’s empty core. The torn bark sutures itself together. The trunk elongates and glows with power.
Tempest and I lower our arms and step away from the tree. Our spell is over. The Grove quiets. The earthquakes stop.
The other trees burst with light and growth. Their roots and branches turn blazingly bright. The surrounding forest becomes green and lively. The grove transforms from a dank underground chamber into a place of light and life.
A sense of peace permeates the air. The trees glow more brightly than ever before. The energy inside them thrives. I wrap my arms around Tempest’s neck and pull him into a tight hug. “We did it, Tempest!”
He nuzzles my ear. “That was a brilliant idea.”
Joy balloons through my chest. “As a wise man said, we make a great team.”
“He’s just wise, then?”
I bob my head, thinking. “Oh, he might have a cute butt, too.”
“He does?” His gives me one of his crooked smiles. My knees go wobbly.
“Among other things.”
Tempest runs his finger down my cheek. “How are you feeling, luv?”
“Good. Better than good. Great.”
“And your Firmament magic?”
I close my eyes, reaching out to the magic in my soul. I sense the strong power of the Furor magic along with the liquid energy of the Firmament. Excitement tingles through my stomach. “I still have it. I can cast with both now.”
I shake my head. After so many years of struggling to cast, now I can access two kinds of magic. I wind my arms around Tempest’s waist, pulling us into a tighter hug. There’s a thrill of connection as his arms wrap around me.
“My Rhana,” says Tempest.
A wave of warmth rolls up my spine. Looking over, I see that my tail has entwined itself with Tempest’s. The sight makes me smile with anticipation. This is the first of many things we’ll learn about each other. My heart soars.
“You’re my Rhana, too.”
Chapter Nineteen
A guttural snarl breaks though the quiet of the Grove. Shock careens though my limbs. I pull away from Tempest.
“It’s the Scintillion,” I say. “He’s here.”
Tempest’s skin becomes covered with dragon scales. “He won’t be for long.”
Alden stumbles into the clearing. His clothes are torn and bloody. Half his face is swollen with bruises. “Portia… I came to warn you… the Scintillion.” His eyes roll into his head as he collapses onto the ground.
I rush to kneel his side. “Alden, are you all right?”
His lids pop open. His features turn bright with triumph. “Now, I am.” He grabs my wrist. I try to twist free, but he’s already casting his transport spell. The world around me disappears.
# # #
When everything comes back into focus, I find myself lying on my back in a graveyard. Damn. This is the same spot as last time. Alden stands a few yards away, puffing on a cigarette. His face and clothes are still a mess.