Balam: Virgo the Pure (Trials of the Zodiac Book 2)

A NIGHT IN VANAHEIM

BALAM

I ran to the railing, only seeing the ripples in the water left by Zakhar. He held back when I attacked him, which annoyed and confused me. Helping me was a death sentence if Sebastian found out. I wondered why he would risk his safety for me but felt grateful. Things were not looking good for Kai and me before he intervened.

The curse those giants had used was strange. I had heard of spells like that but never expected to be confronted by it. That was a naïve way of thinking I would need to abandon if I wanted to survive. The Lost One would use every underhanded tactic he could to stop us. I only hoped the others were faring better against his tricks.

Jalen groaned, and I went to his side. His breathing was strained, and he was drenched in sweat. He had exhausted his magic capacity. The crew members were looking at me with fear in their eyes. Jalen was their leader, and they were loyal.

Even though I was exhausted, I still stepped over the broken glass that had left my arms and legs stained red earlier, prepared to do what I could. Hovering over him, I focused my magic on my heart. The heart was the core of purity magic. I had to believe something was tainted in the deepest parts of myself for the magic to work.

Purification was not equivalent to healing. I could set bones or close minor wounds, but anything more required someone like... Cancer. He could heal people. A coolness washed over me as his face popped into my head. Luckily, Jalen was immortal, and his body would heal quickly after getting some aid.

I released delicate tendrils of curative energy from my chest. They wove together the fractured parts and gently set them back in place. Jalen's innate healing took over from there. I withdrew when his chest usually rose. I gasped for air as though I had just completed several marathons when the deed was done.

Kai approached us, and I stood ready to use my magic on him. Kai lifted his shirt, showing me a few healing bruises on his torso, and waved me off. Fortunately, the Giants had not smeared themselves with demon blood or anything more sinister.

Kai turned to one of the crew members, "Tell the captain to get us to Kuwait at full speed." When we boarded the yacht, the captain warned us that doing so would confine us to our quarters. Wanting to relax, we had decided to go slower, but now we had no time for leisure with Sebastian on our tail.

I assisted Jalen and Kai to their cabin. Jalen quickly succumbed to exhaustion, drifting into a deep sleep while Kai attended to him. They looked so peaceful together, like two parts of one soul. Kai had this dark cloud over him as he took in his lover. He had to be feeling for his boyfriend. He was a protector at heart. I wanted to tell him that we had not reached our full power yet and needed to train our true magic. But I knew he wouldn't be willing to hear that, so I kept it to myself.

"At maximum speed, given our current distance, we should reach Kuwait in approximately 12 hours," I informed Kai, doing some quick calculations based on our destination and the presumed speed while turning to go to my cabin. The ship was surging forward, making it harder to stand.

"Thank you," he replied. I gave him a nod before closing their door. The walk to my cabin was challenging as the ship kicked into high gear. The rocking forced me to hold the walls until I reached my room. Once inside, I hastily cleaned off and changed clothes, then flopped on the bed. The space was small, with simple furnishings. I had not spent much time in it besides sleeping.

I rested my head on a pillow, thinking of Zakhar. The punch he threw at the woman kept replaying like a morbid movie. I was worried about him, almost wishing he hadn't stepped in. Crossing paths with Sebastian was a choice not made lightly. Even among goblins, Sebastian was known to be the most vengeful. He would inevitably uncover what transpired on the ship and exact his revenge by any means necessary.