The Forsaken Hero
Chapter 538: New Magic

Chapter 538: New Magic

"He came back?"

Fyren’s face twisted in confusion, but I didn’t respond, already succumbing to exhaustion. As I drifted into darkness, I felt his arms tighten around me, lifting me from the ground. Then, everything went quiet.

The next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. There was a bed off to the side, the sheets a tangled mess, as though someone—likely me—had been pulled from them. The likely culprit was curled around me, and I couldn’t help but smile as I reached out, idly stroking Fable’s fur. His tail wrapped around me like a blanket, my body nestled against his side, head resting on his shoulder.

With him here, I could rest assured this was real life, not another vision meant to trap me. Somehow, I’d survived the night without one.

He stirred at my touch, one of his large, golden eyes slitting open to stare at me. A soft rumble filled his throat as I yawned and stretched. I felt surprisingly good; my mind was clear, and my body was well-rested. It had been so long that I’d nearly forgotten what it felt like to close my eyes and not immediately need to fight off sleep.

Surrounded by Fable’s warmth, I lingered a moment longer before disentangling myself from his tail and standing. The air was fresh and cool, sending a shiver through my body, but I just rubbed my arms vigorously and cast a ward.

Fable looked skeptical, curiosity emanating from our bond. All at once, the heat emanating from his body seemed to grow, and my hands instinctively twitched as if drawn toward him. I needed that heat. It would be so cozy and comfortable.

I groaned and rubbed my horn, forcing myself away. Fable’s surprise grew, and he raised a paw as though inviting me to lie back down.

"Oh, stop that," I giggled softly, flicking my hair behind my shoulder. It had grown wild from the night’s adventures and tangled sleep and would be in dire need of brushing. "Just because I got up on my own for once doesn’t mean anything."

He waited a moment longer, and, seeing that I truly intended to stay awake, rose as well.

"It’s not that unusual," I grumbled, feeling his judging gaze as I searched through my spatial ring. "I get up all the time on my own."

Ignoring his disbelief, I pulled out a red dress and laid it across the bed. As I grasped the hem of my nightdress, however, I paused, tilting my head in confusion. The last thing I remembered was falling asleep in Fyren’s arms. I certainly hadn’t been wearing this thin, almost sheer nightdress then.

"He didn’t..." I muttered, fingering the hem of the dress shyly. I had absolutely no romantic feelings for the demon, yet the thought of him changing my clothes while I slept was enough to make my cheeks burn.

There was no point in dwelling on the thought, so I quickly disrobed and changed into my dress. As I tightened the black sash about my waist, a knock startled me, and I looked toward the door.

"That better not be you I here in there, Luke," R’lissea’s voice called. "I told you to stay away and let her rest."

I shared a look with Fable, releasing an unconscious sigh of relief. If she was here, that meant Fyren had nothing to do with anything. Luke, however, was another matter. Just what would he be doing in my bedroom?

When I opened the door, R’lissea’s shocked face quickly turned into a bright smile. "Xiviyah! You’re awake! How do you feel?"

The Life Hero wore a soft green dress that hugged her slender body, the skirt brushing around her ankles. Light embroidery featuring leaves and flowers decorated the bodice and hem of the sleeves.

"Well enough, I actually feel rested," I replied, returning her smile. "But what’s this about Luke?"

"Oh, um, well...you know..."

She played with a strand of golden hair, curling it around her finger, her pointed ears turning a shade of pink. It was rare to see her so flustered, and I giggled, opening the door to allow her in.

As she ducked past me, I leaned out and glanced around. My room was one of several in a long hallway, with a flight of stairs descending on the far side. From all appearances, we were in an inn. Perhaps Fyren had found one in good enough shape for us after the battle.

"That’s a relief. I was a little worried when Fyren brought us here and we found you passed out. How is your soul doing?"

I sat on the bed, my smile fading.

"It feels... normal," I said slowly. "I don’t think we have anything else to worry about." She sighed in relief, taking a seat next to me. "Thank goodness. Luke mentioned you two went somewhere and fixed the problem with your soul, but wouldn’t give me any of the details." "He did?" I looked up sharply. "Are you sure that’s all he said?" She glanced at me, taken aback by my intensity. "I didn’t push for more information," she said, "but... what happened between you two? I think he spent just as much time watching over you as Elise or I, and that’s saying something." I tilted my head, confused. "He... watched me?" She froze, stammering, "Um, yeah. I couldn’t convince him to leave. He seemed really eager to know when you’d wake up." A blush warmed my cheeks, and I felt a flutter of nervousness. "He... when I was sleeping...." I trailed off, my mind racing. "Wait, how long was I asleep?"

She hesitated a moment, chewing on her lower lip. "Well... Maybe a week?"

My eyes widened in alarm. An entire week? That was more than enough time for Luke to tell anyone he wanted about Fate and the Shard of Omniscience. Was that why he had visited me so often? Was he just waiting for me to wake up so he could claim them? With R’lissea and Elise held hostage, there would be nothing I could do but open a portal to Haven and pray Fate could protect herself.

"Xiviyah, is something the matter? You look a little pale," R’lissea said, leaning closer with concern. "Are you sure you’re alright?"

I shook my head, placing a hand on my chest to calm my racing heart. There was nothing I could do, and panicking before I understood the situation would only make things worse.

"Where are we?" I asked, looking around the room, trying to distract myself. Unfortunately, the only window was covered by thick curtains, preventing me from seeing outside.

R’lissea frowned, her large eyes narrowing at the abrupt change of subject, but she let it slide. "We’re in Whitecliff City. What’s left of it, at least."

"I suppose they managed to take the city?" I asked. That was in line with my expectations, though it was surprising they had lingered here for an entire week while I slept.

"The battle ended the same night those idiots kidnapped you. The demons completely surrounded the place, and the moment the remnants appeared in the city, they struck. The soldiers were caught between the remnants and the demons, and quickly fell."

"And the civilians?" I asked anxiously.

"Safe. The demons corralled them in one of the surviving districts. I think Luke intends to let them go once the army moves on."

I gasped softly, hardly daring to believe her words. Had Luke really kept his promise to me?

"Hey, um, Xiviyah, would it be alright if I brushed your hair?" R’lissea asked, shyly twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "It’s so long and beautiful... I’ve never taken care of red hair before."

I let my thoughts go and nodded, pulling a brush from my spatial ring and turning my back to her. I relaxed the moment she took my hair in her hands, closing my eyes in pleasure at her long, deliberate strokes. Korra never had the patience to work the tangles out, always opting just to tug through, but R’lissea was soft and gentle, making it an actually enjoyable experience.

A soft knock came from the door, and we both looked up to see Elise standing in the open doorway. Unlike R’lissea, she was dressed in a simple night gown, and yawned, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Is she up--Xiviyah!" Elise stiffened, her drowsiness forgotten as she noticed me. "You’re awake!"

"That’s what I said," R’lissea chimed in with a laugh. "Looks like you decided to sleep in, too."

Elise blushed slightly, scratching her cheek. "Maybe a little," she admitted, "but it’s not my fault you kept me awake all last night. I can’t even remember how many times you had me cast that spell."

R’lissea’s eyes lit up, and she lowered her brush. "But we finally got it!" she exclaimed.

"Got what?" I asked, intrigued.

"This!" the elf cried excitedly. She raised her hand, and six magic circles materialized around her.

The circles of the spell were unfamiliar, but I sat up straighter, watching intently as I recognized the distinct patterns of fate magic woven within the magic. There were many runes I didn’t recognize, emanating the soft power of Life Magic. A fusion spell, perhaps?

The spell resolved quickly, but instead of targeting her soul, it exploded outwards in a mist of green light. Wherever the magic touched, the stars of fate shimmered, visible to the naked eye.

Elise clapped her hands, her eyes sparkling with reflected light, and R’lissea beamed at me proudly. I barely registered their expectant gazes, reaching out to run my hand through a current of the life magic. It tingled softly against my skin, swirling around my fingers. It sent a rush of titillations across my skin, like a wave of warm water, filling my muscles with strength and my mind with clarity.

"Amazing," I whispered, mesmerized. My tail swished back and forth, both in excitement and as an outlet for the sudden influx of energy. For the first time, I felt I could climb a mountain without any problems.

"I know, isn’t it?" Elise agreed, nodding her head enthusiastically. "We came up with while you were sleeping, using Requiem as a model."

"What? But that was a healing spell!"

R’lissea nodded, smiling softly as she resumed brushing my hair. "To put it simply," she explained, "it’s really is Requiem, applied a little differently. That spell had a lot of potential to interact with fate in both the soul and body. So, using the same framework, we devised a few different applications to get mana to influence a person directly. This one was our most successful."

"Can you tell what it does?" Elise asked, grinning mischievously.

I studied the lingering traces of the spell, comparing what I had felt to my knowledge of magic. "Hmm, let’s see," I mused. "It’s a..." My eyes widened. "Just what kind of support spell is this?"