Page 45 of Up In Flames
“Yes. I've seen it upon myself as well. He has our true selves caged. We have to slip past the bones. I think we can train for it in our minds.”
“But when you saw me, I used Death Magic to pull you into my mind,” he said.
“I don't think Death is the only magic that can bond minds like that. I did it once with Ratharin when I was learningto use Spirit.” I held out my hands. “And I still have access to Spirit.”
Aranren didn't take my offered hands. “Are you sure you can connect with Spirit? Spirit is what protected you from Death. When he was teaching you, I believe he did something to your link to Spirit. That's why Death used your power to unite magic. He needed to weaken you. He needed to cut you off from Spirit. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been vulnerable.”
“But if he hasn't, if I still have access to Spirit, it could help to free us.”
“Ember, you've tried to free me with Spirit before. It didn't work.”
“That was without you helping me.” I took his hands. “With Death withdrawn and you on my side, it might be enough.”
Ara nodded, but he didn't look hopeful.
I closed my eyes and reached for Spirit. And reached. I pictured the Goddess and silently prayed for her help. That's when a glimmer shone within the darkness inside me. A pinprick of light. Tiny, but it was there. I dove for it.
But the deeper I went, the further it went. Always out of my reach. I finally opened my eyes with a curse.
Ara let go of my hands. “It's all right, Ember. We'll find another way.”
“No. It's there, Ara. I prayed to the Goddess, and a tiny light appeared. I just couldn't reach it.”
“Do you really think the Goddess answered you or could it have been your imagination?”
“You and I know the difference between magic and illusion,” I said gently. “That was her magic. It's still in me. It's just buried deep, probably with the true me. Once I can reach myself, I can reach Spirit. And then, I can free us.”
“I hope you're right,” Ara said. “But what do we do until then?”
“We both try to reach our true selves.” I took his hands again. “We've got all night. Let's go digging.”
Ara, my new friend, nodded and squared his shoulders. “Let's go digging for ourselves.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
When morning came, Ara and I were exhausted, which played into our story.
“Did you enjoy yourselves last night?” Death asked gleefully.
“Yes,” I said as I took Ara's hand and kissed it. “It was perfect. Thank you for giving us some privacy.”
“Oh, my pleasure,” Death drawled as cold seeped back into my veins. “Now, eat your breakfast, my beautiful boys. Ember's training begins today. His true training.”
I took a deep, cleansing breath, feeling more powerful and determined. But my determination was to learn this new magic. All those weeks I had thought I was mastering Death Magic, when I was just learning ways to combine it with . . . hold on. I may not have been working directly with Death Magic, but those training sessions weren't a total loss. I knew how to combine it with the other magics. Including Spirit. This might be the key to reaching that light.
To escape Death, I would embrace it.
“I'm looking forward to reading your book,” I said to Death. “It's where Aranren started, isn't it?”
“Yes. I should have remembered that,” Death said.
“It's all right,” Aranren said. “I will guide him as you guided me. Now, have you been making use of your time away from us?”
Ara's strong white teeth snapped into a sausage, but when the juice ran over his lips, he didn't allow it to slide down his chin. Oh, no, not the elegant Aranren. He licked it up before it escaped, making even that look graceful. He truly was a stunning man.
I blinked as this thought occurred to me. Was I attracted to Aranren? Was friendship and fascination turning into desire? How interesting. Maybe I would take him as my lover in truth. In fact, that might help us to free ourselves. Empowering him wouldn't be so bad if he was using that power to help me escape.
But the thoughts of my escape weren't so strong with Death riding me. They slipped under his influence, drifting away. Thoughts of world domination replaced them and my musings shifted. Would binding Ara to me help me conquer Varr? It would help me repress Death so I could truly rule. But then I'd have to fight Aranren for the throne. Unless I made him love me. Death was right about love turning men into sacrifices. A man in love would do anything for his mate. Even give up a throne.
