Vortex Chronicles: The Complete Series

by Kova, Elise

  She’d given Raspian a taste of freedom for the War of the Crystal Caverns, and now he knew his time had come.

  “I fear, my dear, that you must die without ever seeing my new world order,” Victor was saying. “But know that your death will build a society that favors sorcerers for eons to come.”

  Vi positioned her stance wide, connecting her magic with the crystals around her as Victor wielded the axe. She was ready to make the transference. It would shatter the axe before it could wound Vhalla. That was how this would end, Vi decided.

  But right as Victor was about to deal his final blow, a tall shadow appeared in the distant entryway, barely visible through the archways and doors.

  “Aldrik!” Vhalla screamed.

  “Vhalla!”

  Mother above! Vi nearly shouted.

  “It seems you shall be the first Solaris to die by my hand!” Victor said with glee.

  Oh, Yargen, this was becoming a mess. Fire and ice battled as Aldrik and Victor levied their magic against each other. Chaos took over the Caverns and Victor finally put a temporary pause to it when he blocked the prince’s progress with a wall of ice in the doorway.

  “Rhoko,” Vi whispered, hating herself for using the word. But she had to regain some control and contain the situation. Her magic flowed through the crystals on either side of the door, strengthening Victor’s barrier of ice. Aldrik slammed into it, hard, and winced. He banged his fists against the frozen wall, bloodying them. No fire or rage was going to break through her barrier.

  Vi’s chest ached as she watched the frantic prince staring at Vhalla. Her hand pulsed with the magic that was keeping them apart. This suffering and the deaths that would follow would mean something when she ultimately succeeded. That was the only thing she could cling to.

  Za and Sehra were in the Caverns now, too. Vi was grateful they came and escaped the Capital, until one of the warrior’s arrows managed to pierce her barrier with a flash of light. Sehra was using her limited Lightspinning to try and get through.

  The chaos had distracted her from Vhalla and Victor. Somehow, Vhalla had freed herself and the two were now struggling over the axe. It had only seemed a second, but it had been long enough. Victor snatched the axe and had it over his head.

  A scream rose in Vi’s throat and was stopped short as Victor swung the axe down, carving through Vhalla from shoulder to sternum. Vi saw glyphs appear where the crystals met her flesh. She recognized the shapes as halleth. Taavin was working to ensure Vhalla survived this so Vi could focus on what she was meant to do.

  The axe shone brighter, as though the magic within was trying to explode outward. Vi reached toward it with her mind and closed her magic grip around Yargen’s power, pulling it from the blade. The bright light of future sight tried to overtake her. Not now, not yet, Vi begged.

  She kept herself grounded in the present by grabbing for the power that surrounded her. If she kept absorbing Yargen’s magic, she could keep the visions at bay. The crystals in the room flared brightly. The axe turned to obsidian, falling from Victor’s grasp.

  Kneeling down, Vi pressed her palms into the floor and closed her eyes, remembering the word she’d seen glowing in this place years ago. “Suladin.”

  Magic lifted off the stones and flooded her senses. Victor was still shouting. Attacks were being levied against him. Vi’s world was a hazy blend of light and magic. She saw the intricacies of the barrier that had been crafted to seal Raspian and, for the first time, began to understand them.

  She pulled at the edges of the glyph, trying to uproot it from where it was anchored. “Juth calt. Juth mariy,” Vi whispered over and over, focusing on the cornerstones that kept Yargen’s power in place.

  The world tilted, and a streak of red lightning shot across her skull. Raspian could sense that the cage holding him was weakening. He fought to be released once more.

  The power surging through her made Vi dizzy. It swelled her veins to the point of pain. Everything within her hurt, and then was healed instantly by Yargen’s magic. Her mind was overwhelmed.

  Tilting her gaze up, she tried to focus on the real world as the edges of her vision became hazy.

  Victor reached down and picked up a crystal. He used it to channel power, not even realizing what he was reaching toward. The eyes of the dark god flashed in Victor’s briefly.

  No!

  Aldrik was there now. The barrier she’d made must’ve been destroyed when she’d focused on gaining the power of the Caverns.

  Vi couldn’t tell if everything was happening incredibly slow, or very fast. Time had gone sideways. She was losing the battle to keep her mind in the present.

  Aldrik scooped up Vhalla, fleeing with her as the Caverns began to break beneath them. Victor followed close behind.

  The crystals around her exploded as the last of Yargen’s essence was absorbed into her and Raspian was freed. The burst shattered the doors to the barrier room. The ground cracked beneath Vi, while rocks jutted up around her. Victor didn’t even turn to look over his shoulder. He was so focused on tracking down his prey that he was ignorant to the true work being done.

  Raspian’s essence roared forth. It sought out the man who had gained just a taste. Just as Vi was a channel for Yargen, Victor had become the first channel for Raspian. He would taint the world with the dark god’s magic, not even realizing the power he had.

  Vi’s vision grew tunneled. The power was about to overwhelm her. She couldn’t fight it any longer.

  The last thing she heard was a man’s scream, before the world went white.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The blinding white of the vision faded with the crackle of power. She moved, casting another beam into the darkness that engulfed her. She was shooting blind, her target evading every attack.

  Spinning, she searched the desolate wasteland for any sign of Raspian. Vi moved across the ashen stone and rubble of a great civilization that had been reduced to dust. Her feet hardly hit the ground; her body no longer felt like her own.

  Lightning cracked behind her. She spun on instinct, readying an attack. A plume of smoke rose from a dark spot on the ground where lightning had struck the earth, but there was nothing else.

  A growl at her ear was the only warning she got before rows of razor-sharp teeth sank into her shoulder. Two clawed hands wrapped around her. They dug into her abdomen, flaying her alive. Lightning sparked through her, rising within her until she was limp and lifeless.

  Then, darkness.

  The vision slipped away like a veil.

  Vi cracked her eyes open. They were crusted with sleep, or perhaps it was blood and sweat, given how much everything hurt. She raised a palm to her temple, feeling a tender spot where her head must’ve met a bit of jagged stone when she collapsed. Vi let out a groan and sat.

  A fire crackled happily in the hearth next to her. Snow fell outside the window, piling high. She looked to the bed across from her—it was perfectly made. Deneya always tidied up her bed before leaving for the day.

  Massaging her temples, Vi closed her eyes. That had been the most horrible dream. Red lightning sparked behind her lids and they shot open once more.

  It wasn’t a dream. She could already feel Raspian’s essence on the earth like oil on water.

  The door opened and her attention went to the man in its frame. Given his tired and worried eyes, she wasn’t the only one who could sense Raspian’s renewed presence.

  “How do you feel?” Taavin asked, crossing over to her bed and sitting on its edge at her side.

  “Fine.” The aches were already dissipating and she didn’t need him worrying about her. She needed information. “What happened after I passed out?”

  “They made it out alive. I kept Vhalla stable for as long as I could—not healing her so much that it would raise questions.”

  “But enough to keep her alive,” Vi finished for him. She looked to the window once more. “That was unnecessary.”

  “What?” He took her ha
nd. “Didn’t you—”

  “It doesn’t matter. Raspian is free. Though some of his magic went into Victor.”

  “I could sense it,” Taavin said with a cautious note. As though he was suddenly wary of her. “He headed toward the Capital.”

  “Expected. Blood will run in the streets of Solarin.” The words were passive; though she physically spoke them, she didn’t feel them. She was a mouthpiece of sorts, it seemed. Perhaps she was in shock. The dream—no, vision—she’d had was fresh in her memory. That was the only thing her mind could focus on. “It’s time to go to Salvidia.” Taavin stood, pacing. “You’re uneasy,” she observed.

  He looked at her with that same wary gaze. Vi couldn’t recall if she’d ever seen it from him before. He finally stopped, his back to her.

  “I know that we’ve committed to this being it, the final time,” he said delicately.

  “Yes, in me is now the essence of Yargen that was in the Crystal Caverns and three crystal weapons. All that remains is to collect the remaining essence from the ashes, and the final crystal weapon in you.”

  His back straightened. Taavin was taut and stiff as he slowly turned to face her. Hurt shone in his eyes.

  Had she said something wrong?

  He’d already known this truth.

  “I know,” Taavin said softly. “But Victor has a trace of Raspian’s power… would it not be better to see him ended? In case Raspian’s essence was inadvertently split, as Yargen’s was?”

  Vi thought about this a moment and then shook her head. “No, if he had the actual essence of Raspian, he’d be dead. His body is not made for such things. He has a fracture of the dark god’s magic… much like a crystal shaving. It’s a bit of magic, but not the essence itself.”

  “Better to be safe?”

  “I’m confident.” Vi swung her feet over the side of the bed.

  “I know,” Taavin said hastily, crossing over to her. “I know we’ve already given up on ensuring the birth of a new Champion. But lingering here for a few more weeks—that’s all—and giving the watch to Vhalla couldn’t hurt, could it?”

  “Why do you seek to delay the inevitable?” Vi was reminded that even though she’d blessed him with an immortal body, he still very much had a mortal mind.

  “A little bit of assurance that somehow, maybe, if this doesn’t work… there’s hope.”

  “I am the hope of this world.”

  Taavin knelt before her. “Then, if not for the world, what about to ensure there is a new Vi born? Not for the world but for… somehow, for us. A new Taavin will be born, and then—”

  “I don’t care about the birth of a new Vi.” He recoiled as though she’d slapped him. But Vi had spoken plainly, calmly, and without emotion.

  “Vi, stop this,” he whispered. Taavin shook his head and brought his shining green eyes back to hers. “If not for you, or me, or us, then for Vhalla. She lost her magic in the Caverns. If you don’t return the watch to her, she’ll have no chance of getting it back once more. Victor will surely kill her.”

  “Vhalla’s death matters not to me.”

  “How can you say that?” He blinked up at her. “A day ago you were seeking to save her and the world.”

  “Those were sentimentalities of a narrow mind.”

  “What are you saying?” Taavin stood and, instead of pulling away, leaned forward and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Vi stiffened under his touch. Something in her was fighting to escape. A war for her heart and mind threatened to tear her apart. “This isn’t you,” he whispered in her ear. “Sentimentality, love—these aren’t narrow-minded. These are the greatest gifts we have in this world. The only things that make this world worth saving.”

  Vi felt a snap inside her, and she could move again. Her hands were her own. Warmth flooded her and Vi reached for the man it poured from. She wanted to drown in it, in him.

  Tightening her arms around him, pulling him onto the bed with her, Vi whispered, “All right.”

  “Yes?”

  “We’ll give the watch to Vhalla. But not for anyone to be born and not even for her magic.” She managed to say the words before that cool and detached feeling overtook her once more.

  “For what, then?” he whispered.

  Vi pulled away, just enough to look him in the eye. “For you, Taavin. For a few more stolen moments with you.”

  * * *

  Victor’s influence spread. With even a sliver of Raspian’s power at his disposal, the man wrought turmoil across the continent. It seemed to follow behind them as Vi and Taavin made their way to the Crossroads one final time.

  But they made it without issue, and Vi had never been more relieved to see their quiet shop and second-floor abode still standing, waiting for them.

  “I was half worried it wouldn’t be here,” she said as she dismounted in the back alley and tied their horse to a post.

  “The West always holds out against Victor. At least for a while.”

  “Just like they held out against the Empire. It’s a stubborn land.”

  “Ah, so stubbornness is in your blood.”

  “What little blood I have left.”

  “Don’t speak like that, please,” he said as he followed her inside.

  “I’m sorry.” Vi drifted up the stairs, setting her pack and saddlebags down heavily.

  Two arms closed tightly around her. They stood in the center of the room, Taavin at her back, clutching her tightly. He buried his face into her shoulder, kissing her neck lightly.

  “Don’t be sorry,” he whispered. “Just be with me.”

  “Because you’ll be gone soon,” she breathed. His grip tightened further but he didn’t say anything. The silence was unbearable. “I know I’ve chosen this. But I’m not ready, Taavin. I’m not ready to lose you.”

  “You never will be.”

  She twisted, keeping his arms around her. Vi grabbed his face with both her hands, smoothing her fingertips up the cheekbones and browline that she knew so well she could carve it from memory. “If I let you go now, I’ll be alone,” she barely managed to say around the lump in her throat. She closed her eyes, keeping the distinct prickle of tears safely behind her lids. “I can’t do this alone.”

  Taavin leaned forward, kissing her gently. It was another postponement of the inevitable, but Vi gave into it. The less she had to think about what the next days would hold, the better. For all she knew, this was the last time she could lose herself in the weight of Taavin’s body over hers.

  He took a step, forcing her to take one backwards. They shuffled to the bed. Taavin’s hands slid up her sides, pulling the loose tunic she wore with them. Vi raised her arms over her head, allowing him to undress her.

  Her back on the bed, Vi beckoned him atop her. She trailed her fingers down the expanse of his skin and then back up to his face. The man was magic—magic in his bones, magic in the way he moved. This was what she wanted to give herself to, forever. Every shift of their bodies was fire and life, the last brilliant burst before their own flames would be extinguished.

  If they were meant to burn, then they burned together.

  “In another world,” he breathed heavily, pressing his forehead against hers. “I would’ve married you.”

  Vi laughed, then responded, equally breathy, “The crown princess of Solaris and the Voice of Yargen… Do you think it would’ve worked?”

  “Of course.” He nipped at her earlobe and then kissed down her neck to her collarbone. “It would’ve united two continents. Our union would’ve shocked and changed the world.”

  Fantasizing about such a thing was pain and delight in equal measure. Vi closed her eyes and imagined it as his fingers laced with hers. She imagined she made love to a husband. She imagined their union was one the world could know about—that their lives were their own.

  The daydreams continued as he lay next to her, Vi’s head on his chest. She traced the lines of his muscles, drawing different ways to connect them as though they were glyph
s yet to be discovered. Taavin kissed her forehead from time to time. His own fingers moved lazily on her bare back.

  Dawn had come and she was ready to spend the day with him. She was ready to have eternity with him, but all they had was a few short hours before nightfall. As the day continued its relentless march, Vi finally pulled herself from the bed. She sat with her back to Taavin, the watch heavy around her throat.

  “It’s time. I feel it.” Just as she’d felt it the last time Vhalla had come to the curiosity shop.

  Taavin stood, moving before her. He hadn’t bothered dressing; Vi savored every inch of his glorious frame.

  “I’ll be the one to return my consciousness.” He held out his hand. “All you need to do is give me the watch.”

  Vi lifted her hands to her neck, slowly unfastening the clasp. The token was heavy with the weight of destiny. She held it over his waiting palm, her hand trembling.

  In the end, he didn’t make her do anything. Taavin closed his fingers around the watch, taking it gently from her. Vi looked up at him, silently begging him not to do this.

  There was no other choice. This was the end for them. She’d known it was coming all along, and yet she still spent every minute breaking inside.

  “If you succeed and the world isn’t rebuilt again. If you somehow make it on the other side alive… See this watch still finds its way to the next Taavin.” His emerald eyes met hers. “Give him his memories.” Taavin cupped her cheek, his fingers in her hair at the nape of her neck. “Let all of me return to you, Vi.”

  “I will,” she lied—the most beautiful lie of her life. She’d seen Yargen’s vision. Time for time. The goddess would have her body and return to this world. Taavin’s collective memories, everything that made him Taavin, would be locked in a watch, and Vi would be lost forever as a castaway from a bygone world. “I love you, Taavin.”

  “And I love you, Vi Solaris. I always have, and I always will. My life was never complete until the moment you returned to it. You gave me meaning. You gave me my past and my future.” He bent over and claimed her mouth hungrily. She grabbed his shoulders, digging her fingertips into his soft skin. When he pulled away, Vi let out a soft whimper, one he ignored. “It’s time.”