Six of Ruin (Heirs of Irenwell #1) ✔

Chapter 49: Rogue Hearts

"Here we go again." Rixen leaned against the dust-covered, grey stone wall and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Does he have to collapse every time he does a spell?"

"Maybe I should have read Ars Magica more thoroughly." I scratched the top of my head.

Ace's body lay motionless on the ground.

"What do we do now?" Rixen asked.

I shrugged, "Wait? He woke up eventually when he summoned Abazmakiel."

Rixen pushed himself off the wall, "I'm too nervous to stand here."

Something crossed my mind, something quite alarming, "Rixen...?"

The shadowman looked at me.

"He said he might not be strong enough to lock Ir-kaal." I nodded towards the unconscious mage.

"I suggest we listen to his advice and flee if he dies." Rixen said. "We're not going to make it without him either way. We can't fight Soterios alone."

"Exactly." I murmured. "But is he going to be strong enough to fight Soterios? If he wastes his magic locking Ir-kaal..."

Rixen went through his hair and grunted, "Goddammit, we're doomed."

I put my torch in another candle-holder, "I feel like this place is going to collapse on our heads."

The shadowman knocked on the dusty wall, "The palace is sturdy enough, it will hold."

Not caring about the dust and dirt, I sat on the floor, "How did you know where the spell was?"

"I snooped." Rixen chuckled and dropped on the floor next to me. "The Vanishing Well is here, you know?"

My eyes darted to him, "What? Where?"

"The palace is built around it." Rixen said. "On the second floor right under the throne. Considering you're pretty useless in a fight, I guess you can afford to check it out. You can get rid of your magic."

Getting rid of my magic. The sole reason I came here was finally within my reach.
"Do you know where the Truthteller is?" I asked, glancing at the unconscious mage.

He had his reasons for coming here and one of them was most certainly the Truthteller. I feared questioning his other reasons.

"I don't know." Rixen said. "But probably within the palace. All the relics are. That's why they built such a large basement."

Silence settled between us, thick and tense, fuelled by the notion that this might be our last conversation, and sneakily, deviously preventing us from talking.

"Do you think I should do it?" I asked, for no other reason than to continue the conversation and use this precious moments. "Do you think I should get rid of magic?"

Rixen put his hands behind his head, his golden eyes appeared fiery under the light of the torches.

"Magic is a burden." He spoke. "Here, it doesn't matter much, because you don't know how to use it, but back home... Well, people hate magic. They've hated it for a millennium and that's not going to change any time soon. So, if it's the truth you're looking for, they will not let you rule any thrones if you're a mage."

I swallowed the spit gathering in my mouth.

"But..." Rixen continued before I managed to unscramble my thoughts. "If you come with me to the Spirit territory, I promise no one will care about your magic."

My eyes shot up at him. He wasn't looking at me, his eyes firmly set on the torch on the opposite wall, his lips thinned, his neck muscles tense.

"Rixen, I..." I took in a gulp of air, "I still want to be a princess, and eventually, a queen. I don't know how to be anything else, I'm not built to be anything else-"