Page 147 of The Starlight Savior

“Indeed.”

“And Nasala is past the forest?”

Conor nodded.

“The land here,” Althea said with a frown, “the mist hasn’t touched it yet, but…it’s dying.”

“The mist seeps into the ground first.” Conor’s body tightened against hers. He rolled his neck, muscles cracking and straining. “It’s like…roots. Death spreading through the ground. I imagine the impact is worse due to being so close to the river.”

“Why can’t Saige’s magic be like roots too?” Althea lifted her arms in the air, stretching like a cat. Baron scrunched his nose as he whirled his head back, avoiding the swing of Althea’s hands.

“Wait”—Saige paused—“that’s a good idea.”

Her light was how her magic existed, but could she shift the focus from burning everything in sight to something more intentional? Like roots traveling through the ground, the water, across Opela.

Her body was giddy as she smiled. “That could really work!”

She felt Conor smile against her. “A very good idea.”

“See,” Althea said with a lopsided grin, “and you didn’t think you’d need my help.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Conor led the three of them towards the trigger point, where the river was widest, winding through Brevil and Tiranos’s barriers, into Etrane and towards Nasala. Baron and Conor halted the horses, assisting Althea and Saige in hopping down. They walked across where a gnarled tree stood, looping the reins around the sharp branches.

Saige recognized the area where Cecilia had stood and fallen across the river. The way it bent, the trees, once flush with life, were now barren and decayed. But where had her magic infused? Where had the starlight witches bled?

Saige knelt down. Her fingers trailed along the ground, hoping for any sort of sensation indicating that that was the right place. But simply touching the dirt did nothing.

She shifted her focus, placing her palms into a muddy patch near the river. Imagining her magic shifting from heat to tendrils of light, she urged it to descend. Saige felt nothing past the tingle in her palms. The ground glowed. The light drifted towards Tiranos, but her magic jumped back with a bite.

A sick feeling plunged into her stomach. She urged her power to keep descending deeper into the ground. Without warning, an image flashed before her mind. Cecilia’s body. Broken and bloody. A distorted hand outstretched towards King Tyrus’s drained corpse.

That was the trigger point. A mirror to the very spot Cecilia had used her ancient starlight magic and defied the deities. Her Goddess.

“Do you want help?”

Saige looked up, fingernails caked in mud. Conor stood before her, hands behind his back. The moon glowed behind him, casting shadows on his sullen face. Saige pulled the magic back into herself with a closed fist. “Help?”

“Grounding,” he said softly, “I know it…I…help you.”

Saige rose, straightening her body. She forced herself to look into Conor’s eyes as she spoke, despite the unease shifting through her. Guilt threatened to grip her tightly, but she shook it off. “Thank you,” she said quickly, “but I can do it myself. Maybe you can protect Althea and Baron.”

Conor’s pained eyes betrayed his smile. “I understand,” he said, “but I don’t think your friends need much protection.”

Saige’s brows furrowed. “Of course they do.”

Conor shrugged. “Did you not see the way that soldier moved? Or how your friend healed him in the cellar?”

Saige looked from Baron to Althea. Baron paced back and forth, eyeing the potential threats in all directions. Althea was organizing her bag. Bottles of herbs and elixirs, mortal and magic, were thrown out around her. “That can’t be. They’re from Brevil.”

“I’m just saying,” he said with a sigh, “they’re exceptional so far. More so than any mortal I’ve come across.” Pausing with a lick of his lips, he lowered his head. “Listen. I need to talk to you—”

Althea approached the two of them, interrupting their conversation. “You find it?” Althea asked. Conor stalked off, plucking a sharpening stone from Baron’s bag.

“Yes,” Saige sighed.

Conor’s words left her feeling unsettled. She supposed she did see the way Baron moved, so unlike any mortal she had seen. Althea was exceptional with healing. Always had been.