Chapter 13 The Descent 2 (reminiscing the past)
Eloise
I watched in awe as my sister flicked her hand and a ball of light appeared in the room. The ten year old me had never seen anything like it.
“Woah!” I exclaimed.
Mae chuckled as she continued to twist her fingers, the big ball of light dissolving into tiny butterflies. They flapped their tiny wings in a circular motion. My mouth fell open as I followed their movements with my eyes.
“What is this?” I asked.
“They're called faelights. Every being with magic inside them can summon them with a simple summoning spell.” Mae explained.
“They're awesome.” I gushed, my eyes still tracking the butterflies. I didn't avert my gaze as I said to my sister. “Teach me how to make something like that.”
“Oh my sweet Eloise! Always eager to learn.” She smiled as she gently caressed my hair. “I'll teach you when the time is right. Your magic is still…developing.”
I finally looked away from the butterflies and stared at my sister, the awe I had felt was slowly replaced with sadness.
“You keep saying that, but I read that werewolves magic is born with them. The only thing that takes a while to develop is our wolf. Am I an anomaly?”
“No, you're not!” Mae said firmly.
“But Father said –”
“Don't listen to Father, Eloise. You're not an anomaly. You're simply different but in a good way.” She caressed my cheeks softly.
“But since you insist, I will teach you how to summon a faelight then you can practice once your magic develop.”
A bright smile took over my face and I nodded eagerly. I wrapped my tiny hands around my sister. Mae hugged me back, laughing. She spent the rest of the day summoning faelight of different shapes and sizes for me. I smiled so much that my cheeks hurt.
“How do you turn a faelight off? Do you blow it out like a fire?” I asked when it was nightfall.
“The faelight is fueled by the magic of the wielder. You just have to find the tiny thread of magic that fuels it and let it go.” she seem to think about something before she added, “Although, I like to just let it dissipate in the air. It's much easier and faster.”
.
.
.
The girl's screams had stopped, Aeron would no longer fall under the attack, and yet, I was the one who felt so weak that I could barely lift an arm. I didn't understand my sudden weakness when I had barely done anything. I had simply asked the girl to let go of the magic connecting her to the faelight. So why was I so weak?
The girl was still pressed tightly against me, while I backed myself against a wall. I could hear Aeron's heavy breaths few feet away from me. A sense of relief washed over me. He was alive.
I wanted to ask him how he snuffed out the faelight I had summoned and saved me, and if it had caused him that much pain too. If that was it, then I understood his hesitation better now. I felt a bit guilty for forcing him to do it the second time when he should be focusing on the test. But we had done it regardless. We saved the girl.
I heard him cough and drag himself up. He could probably see me with his dragon eyes but I couldn't see him.
“Is everyone okay?” He asked.
I had regained a little bit of my strength so I nodded in affirmation. This time, I was sure he saw me. The girl groaned and pushed herself away from me. I held on to the rough surface of the wall and dragged myself up.
“You're the werewolf.” I heard the girl say, a hint of confusion in her tone.
I couldn't see her due to the darkness but I was sure she saw me clearly. I suddenly wished there was a way to sharpen my sight so I can see them too.
Aeron grunted from where he stood. “We came here to save you and that's the first thing you say?”
“I don't remember talking to you.” the girl responded to him.
“Of course. You, Fireborns, are just so arrogant that you can't show even a silver of gratitude. I knew we shouldn't have saved you.” Aeron scoffed.
The girl went silent after that. I pressed my back against the wall just Incase they started fighting each other. I have learned that Fireborn dragons have the shortest leash on their temper. Their magic is fueled by their rage.
But the girl didn't rage like I expected. Instead, the echoes of her steps reached me.
“You should keep moving before The Descent ends. The countdown is drawing near.” she said.
She took a few steps forward until I felt her stop directly in front me. She didn't say a single word, but she didn't have to, I felt her gratitude like a gentle caress. I tipped my head slightly in acknowledgement, knowing she could see me. She walked away after that.
I stared at the direction she headed, my ears picking up on her fading footsteps. I couldn't help feeling like she had dropped a hint for me.
“By the Hearth! The sheer arrogance of their kind continues to baffle me.” Aeron grunted.
“What happens when The Descent ends?” I asked.
Aeron paused as if he was thinking about it too, then he suddenly gasped.
“Mother below! We have to keep moving now!” he said, his voice laced with urgency.
“Aeron… what…” he grabbed my hand before I could speak and dragged me forward.
“The cave collapses once the countdown ends.” he said quickly. And just like that, a new sense of dread settled inside me.
Aeron gripped my arm tight as he urged me to move faster. It was a bit difficult to do when I couldn't even see where I was going but I understood his urgency.
A sense of uneasy settled in me as we continued to move forward. Aside from the girl, we hadn't come across any other first years, or any of the obstacles that made the test deadly.
Maybe the only deadly part was not using magic and we had overcame it. We just had to find the exit. And since it was the first of three tests, it makes sense that it wasn't the hardest.
I decided to banish the thoughts and focus on something else. Aeron's anxiety was a palpable force beside me.
“Tina said you weren't supposed to enter The Descent until next year.” I said as a conversation starter, a way to lessen the tension.
I felt him stiffen beside me. “You and Tina are friends now?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “She's the only one who is nice to me.”
He was quiet for a while. Just when I thought he wouldn't talk, he let out a long exhale.
“I'm sorry you got thrown into Drakmor because of me. If you hadn't saved me that day, they wouldn't have put this huge burden on you.” he said solemnly.
I shook my head because it wasn't true. If that power hadn't emerged and saved him that day, I would still be rotting in the dungeons. Or worse, dead. Saving him from death clutches had saved my life too.
But I didn't tell him all that. I didn't have the words for it. So instead, I said, “It's okay.” and smiled.
That seems to ease the tension in his body. He went silent after that without answering my initial question.
“The High Lords decided it was best I enter early so I can learn to fight The Burn faster since it already tried to take me. It didn't really matter when I resumed as I have been practicing for The Descent for long.”
I didn't miss the tightness in his voice as he mentioned the High Lords, but I didn't question it.
“What does your training usually entail?” I asked instead.
“Uncle and the other heirs prepares a mock trial of The Descent in the palace grounds. We were not allowed to use even a flicker of magic. His wards required that we were zapped if we disobey. Then he'd put small monsters, like the smoke monster, in the cave and illusions of some other monsters. It's just the same as the real thing but there are no real chances of death.”
“Do they always put monsters in The Descent?” I asked.
“According to what I've heard, yes.”
Neither of us said anything after that, but the unspoken question weighed heavily in the air. We hadn't come across anything since we landed here. The only real challenge was the use of faelight.
“Maybe we took the easier route with no monsters.” Aeron said, his tone laced with uncertainty.
The uneasiness I had ignored earlier rushed back into my mind as if triggered by that simple question. We made it a few seconds in silence before I felt it. It started like a gentle caress on my mind, lulling me with a sense of safety. But after my assassination attempt, I'd learned to recognize that fake sense of safety.
I halted in my steps, my mouth opening to ask Aeron if he had felt it too. But before a word could make it pass, a figure I never thought I'd see again stepped out of the shadows.
My hands fell, my mouth wide open in surprise and excitement.
“Maevyth!” I called as my sister strode towards me, her lips tilted in a wide, familiar smile.