Crashing down onto the hard stone floor, I cried out in pain, my hands instinctively cradling the back of my head, even as the rest of me ached. Peering back at where I had been standing, Ashley lingered there with her staff still raised, a wild look in her eyes. I attempted to roll over, but my ears were ringing, my balance lost, and I slipped, my face hitting the stone again, causing me to collapse, sobbing in agony.

  ‘Sadie? Sadie, can you hear me?’ I heard Meadhbh’s frantic voice, but I couldn’t respond. ‘You foolish woman, what possessed you to hit her like that?’ I had never heard Meadhbh sound this angry before, and it frightened me.

  “Who said that? Show yourself!” I heard Ashley shout, glancing around frantically.

  ‘Sadie, absorb some of the stones, use the power to force your body to heal, it should be able to alleviate some of the pain.’

  Noticing the bag of collected stones beside me, I reached inside with a bloodied hand, clutching a handful and absorbing their power. I had never absorbed so many at once, having done them individually, but it felt like fire tearing through me as I arched my back, screaming at the surge of energy that coursed through my body. The pain in my head began to fade along with the rest of my body, and the residual energy flowed out of me into the ground, where it disappeared. I lay there, breathing heavily. Ashley had let her arms drop by her side as she stared, mouth agape at me.

  As I climbed to my feet, I panted heavily, but the fuzziness in my head had faded. I grabbed her staff and hurled it deeper into the cave, disarming her. I wanted to punch her, but fought the urge and dashed out of the cave, wiping tears from my eyes. I could hear both of them calling after me, but I ignored them as I ran down the beach, my shoes getting wet as the waves surged close enough to reach me. Looking back, I could barely see her calling out to me, her silhouette framed by the glow around her body.

  Far enough away, I found a fallen tree branch by the moonlight and sat down to gaze at the sea. I felt humiliated by what had occurred, and I gently probed the back of my head, discovering a bump where her staff had struck me. A sudden wave of nausea washed over me, and I turned to vomit into the bush behind me, experiencing a second taste of dinner mixed with stomach acid that burned my throat and nose. Breathing heavily, I tried to spit out everything; the stench caused me to dry heave several times, forcing me to move away.

  “Sadie!” I heard Ashley calling desperately, and I realised she had chased me up the beach; unsurprisingly, the golden aura she exuded indicated precisely where she was. Looking around, I considered fleeing further but recognised I was unarmed, and it would be a death wish to run any further without something.

  “Sa-” she began once more, which escalated into a high-pitched scream.

  Turning in horror, I saw something moving in the darkness near her, but I couldn’t discern what exactly it was. Frozen for a moment, I began sprinting back towards her; I couldn’t leave her to die like this. At worst, I could let Mum deal with her, but my own head would be on a spike if she died tonight. As I drew closer, I realised that a wolf had pinned her to the ground, yet I kept running. Lowering my shoulder, I roared as I struck the side of it, gripping its fur as we tumbled away from the prone Ashley, who was screaming in the sand.

  Managing to land slightly behind it, I wrapped my arms around its throat and my legs around its torso, doing my best to prevent its snapping jaws from catching my face, which was perilously close. Like an American rodeo, it attempted to shake me off, but I clung on, inching my fingers to my elbows. Using them for leverage, I squeezed as tightly as I could, its breathing turning into a wheeze until a sickening snap and crunch reverberated through me, and it collapsed limply. I released my grip as the faint glow of a mana stone appeared in its chest cavity, and I realised it was dead.

  With one arm pinned, I stared up at the nearly clear sky, tens of thousands of stars shining down, occasionally fading behind the clouds before reappearing. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” I heard her crying as she ran over and collapsed on top of me, hugging me tightly.

  I closed my eyes, unwilling to look at her as she repeated her apologies almost a dozen times while hugging me tightly. Taking a shallow breath, I patted her on the back, hoping she might at least release me, but she just pulled me closer. “I need to breathe,” I whispered, and she eased her grip, looking down at me, her wet sandy hair hanging in clumps. Something about this made me want to kiss her, but I held back.

  ‘You’re both bloody fools, come back here before you bring the rest of the forest down on your heads.’ I heard Meadhbh shout as I pulled my arm free from beneath the wolf and got to my feet.

  "Ow," I heard, turning back to see Ashley had fallen to the ground, her hand clasped over her leg. Dropping down beside her, I pushed her hand away and glimpsed a deep gash from where the wolf had struck her. I don’t know how she never realised she had been so badly injured, but it was also miraculous that she had survived the attack.

  “Hang on,” I grunted as I scooped my arms under her and began to carry her back to the cave, her arms wrapped tightly around my neck as she cried. I hoped no one was recording this, as the last fifteen minutes would have made for thrilling television in some drama. Looking up at the ten-foot pile of rocks I needed to climb, I realised I wouldn’t manage it while carrying her. Sighing, with no other option, I opened the connection to my core and brought her in.

  “What? Where is this place?” Her fear and surprise overcame her pain.

  “Hang on,” I said, lowering her gently. Thankfully, the second wolf’s corpse was concealed beneath a tarp on the opposite side of what I had stored in here.

  “Wait, no, don’t leave me! I told you I’m sorry.” She cried out as I rushed back, cut off the connection, and scrambled to climb the rocks. Re-entering the cave, I grabbed the protective cage and slammed it shut, locking it from the inside. If there were more monsters nearby, we would have some protection, as we were both in a bad state.

  “What is this place? Please don’t kill me; I’m truly sorry,” Ashley cried as she hobbled back into my arms when I re-entered my domain.

  “I’m not going to kill you,” I grunted, sweeping her up into my arms to carry her out once more. After leaving her on the ground near the fire, I ventured back inside for a third time and found my box of medical supplies. I sensed I would need more than just a few plasters and creams for this.

  ‘Don’t waste time with pointless treatment, Sadie; just give Ashley a handful of stones to absorb,’ Meadhbh insisted as I hurriedly pulled out a needle and thread.

  “Dammit Meadhbh, now isn’t the time.” I growled towards the bag she was in while Ashley rested against a rock, her face scrunched in pain.

  ‘Ashley is more like you than you realise; just trust me and give her all the stones. Ashley, when you’re holding them, feel the power they contain and pull it into your body; let it flow through you.’ Hesitating, I glanced at the stones scattered around and poured them into her hand as she regarded me as though I was mad.

  “Try it,” I hissed, pressing some bandages to her bleeding leg, watching the colour draining from her face as my hands became stained with her blood, lips losing their lustre.

  Mixing in with the golden aura before swiftly drowning it out, a purple haze enveloped her hand and spread to the rest of her body. I noticed one of the stones slip and fall as she shifted, so I caught it and cupped her hands in mine while she screamed. Looking down at her leg, I noticed the skin gradually drawing together as the wound healed itself. My body started to feel hot from the amount of power flowing between us both as I unintentionally absorbed the excess that she could not contain within herself.

  ‘Sadie, you need to release her, now, before it’s too late.’

  Too late for what, I wondered. My grip felt like iron, and I attempted to release my hands. Eventually, I used my leg to kick myself away, rolling onto the hard, rocky ground for the second time in such a short span. Panting heavily, I noticed the collection of clear stones in her hand, some having scattered on the ground as her hand rested on her stomach. With her eyes closed, she appeared to be sleeping, but her body twitched occasionally, as though she were having a bad dream.

  “Meadhbh, you’d better have a bloody good explanation for all this.” I hissed towards her bag.

  ‘I do.’ Her voice sounded strange, perhaps apologetic or remorseful—emotions she had never directed towards me. ‘You two need to get some sleep. I'll wake you if anything comes sniffing about, but I’m sure that cage should suffice.’

  Climbing to my feet with my stiff and sore body, I was wet, sandy, and covered in blood; we both were. Trying to wipe as much of it off us with some of the towels I had stashed away, I carried Ashley into the tent, filling it with extra blankets to make it more comfortable. Wiping away a clump of sandy hair from her face, I noticed a brief smile flicker at the side of her mouth and leaned over before pulling back. She was my childhood enemy, the great tormentor, the dishonourable attacker, yet why did I suddenly want to keep her close to me?

  Closing my eyes, my tired and sore body, chilled from the sea and still covered in sand, made sleep hard to come by, but listening to Ashley’s breathing next to me relaxed me. My mind reeled in confusion as I blinked at the sudden light, the dampness of my clothes vanished, and my hair was silky smooth and flowing, free of the gritty sand from my tussle with the wolf. I found myself on a tropical beach, waves gently lapping at the sand as a soft breeze blew the long dress I wore, the sound of children laughing playfully behind me.

  “Shh, spoilers.” I heard a woman’s voice whisper, and my eyes shot open, suddenly aware of how cold I felt. My head and chest were cold, but my back was warm, and I realised there was an arm draped across my stomach.

  ‘Are you okay?’ I heard Meadhbh inquire.

  ‘Just a strange dream, but it felt so real; I truly felt as though I was actually there.’ I replied and conjured an image of what little I could recall.

  ‘Hmm, odd, but you should sleep some more; it isn’t morning yet.’

  Agreeing with her suggestion, I shifted slightly away from Ashley, returning her arm, which caused her to roll away from me. Pulling out a knife, I cut off all of our wet clothes, leaving just our underwear and dumped it outside, and got rid of the soaked and sandy blankets. Surprisingly, she didn’t wake as I tended to her, but I noticed a nasty-looking scar, still rosy red, on her leg from where she had been injured. As I threw a fresh blanket over us, she instinctively rolled back and grasped onto me, leaving me to wonder if she was awake, though her eyes remained shut.

  As I gazed at her sleeping face, pushed a few inches away from mine, I pondered what Meadhbh meant when she said we weren’t so different. She had been able to absorb the stones just as I could, but she was a mage, while I was… what was I? Warriors wield weapons like extensions of their bodies, an innate proficiency, yet I felt like a child flailing a stick, struggling with each swing. If Guardians were to be my strength, would I be consigned to the background, merely a factory dispatching my constructs into battle?

  Fidgeting with the wolf stone hanging from my neck, I could hear it howling in the distance, echoing in the back of my mind. Allowing myself to fall into its core, I stood in the vast emptiness as it paced around. Looking at me, it growled for a moment, hackles raised, before flattening its ears and padding over to my side. Like an obedient dog, it sat in front of me, tongue lolling out while its tail swept through the mist that obscured the ground. Reaching out cautiously, it allowed me to pat its head before licking my hand, and I moved closer, using both hands to rub its head. It then rolled over, presenting its belly for me to stroke.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “You’re becoming more proficient at coming to these places.” I heard Meadhbh’s voice clearly as the wolf rolled over to growl at her, having appeared nearby. Her golden form stood in stark contrast to the blue of this place. “Sit down, mutt, I mean you no harm.” Her icy glare fixed on the wolf, which flattened its ears once more, yet I noticed it had shifted protectively in front of me.

  “You said Ashley was like me; what did you mean by that? Is she an Heir as well? Can there be two?” I asked, stroking the wolf’s head, feeling a connection forming with it as it remained close to me.

  Sucking air between her teeth, she seemed uncomfortable. “It’s complicated. I’m not ready to answer at the moment, as I believe you both deserve to hear my thoughts together; she may think we are withholding information from her. I’ve mentioned before that while there are truths about the world which F?r has asked me to keep from you until the right time, this is not one of them. Like a student learning the fundamentals, you are progressing at an accelerated rate, as any other Heir would have been raised from birth and spent hundreds of years in training before ascending.”

  Fizzing out of existence before I could respond, I glanced at the wolf beside me, its tongue hanging out as if it were panting. “You won’t leave me like she did, will you?” I chuckled, and it licked my face—a peculiar sensation given its dry tongue. “Alright, I’ll take that as a yes. I promise to give you a body so you can stick next to me.”

  Withdrawing as well, I felt a little more at peace and drifted off to sleep. I didn’t have any more dreams of the peculiar sandy beach, but morning arrived too quickly, waking me when I sensed Ashley stirring. She had wrapped her arm around me again and pressed herself against my back.

  “What the hell?” I heard her exclaim, “Where are my clothes, what did you do to me?”

  “I cut them off as you passed out, soaking wet. I didn’t want us to get hypothermia, or would you have preferred to freeze?” I felt bad for feeling a little irritated but realised it probably looked bad, waking up half-naked next to somebody you had attacked the previous night. “Nothing happened; in fact, you’re the one who kept clinging to me all night.”

  If looks could kill, I would be stone dead as she wrapped herself in a blanket, leaving me exposed to the cold air. Recalling last night, she hurriedly unveiled her leg, delicately tracing a finger across the deep scar. “Wait, that wolf…” her voice trailed off. “How did I heal it? Neither of us are healing mages; I’m a rock mage and you’re a dark-”

  “I’m not a dark mage!” I exclaimed loudly, collapsing onto my pillow and burying my face in my hands in exasperation. “What you witnessed was not some dark ritual.”

  ‘She’s right. It would be more accurate to classify you as a craftsman rather than a mage or a warrior; you possess the skills for neither.’

  “Thank you, Meadhbh, for that brutal assessment. You always know how to make me feel better, don’t you?” I called out sarcastically.

  “Wait, that voice! I heard it last night. Is that the one you’ve been speaking to? The one you’ve been plotting against me with throughout the entire trip?”

  ‘Can you hear me?’ I asked, directing my thoughts towards Meadhbh as I observed her nodding. “Shit…”

  ‘As subtle as a garghant stumbling through a city. Rather than simply speaking with me, you have been shouting into the void, as though no one else would hear it, and if they did, they probably thought they were imagining things.’ Another knife in the back from her, I grimaced.

  “Who are you, Meadhbh?” Ashley asked, glancing around as though she expected to find her inside the tent.

  ‘I think we should speak in your core.’ I heard Meadhbh reach out to me privately.

  As I got up, I saw Ashley blush a deep cherry red as I unzipped the tent, still only in my underwear. Stepping out into the cool morning air of the cave, I noticed the gate remained locked, and there lay the half-melted corpse of the wolf, sitting in a pool of black resin. Ashley looked at it in disgust and winced when she saw the splashes of her dried blood along with a pile of bandages from where she had been treated. Picking up her bag, I opened the portal to my domain, smiling slightly as Ashley gazed at it with curiosity, still wrapped in the blanket.

  Walking ahead of her, I gently set Meadhbh down nearby and began rummaging through the cabinets I had painstakingly dragged in here with all my clothes. I watched as Ashley shamefully slid over next to me and reached for a t-shirt, so I sighed and handed her a complete outfit as compensation for ruining her other clothes. Dressing in silence, I kept an eye on her as she glanced around nervously.

  “Ahh,” she screamed, pointing behind me. I turned to see Meadhbh standing close by, towering over us, dressed casually with her arms crossed.

  “Ashley, this is Meadhbh," I said, introducing them to one another.

  “That is Queen Meadhbh,” she said, her tone disgruntled. “You ought to introduce someone properly.”

  “Apologies, your Majesty,” I bowed. “I present Queen Meadhbh Tamarix, Faerie Queen from a distant world, my mentor.” Laughing at the sarcastic tone, I hoped it would help break the tension as Ashley stood there, craning her neck to look up at her. “Wait, if you can materialise here, why have you been making me visit your core all the time to train?”

  “Because you are here in your material form, while I remain incorporeal.” Demonstrating, she swung her hand at me, passing through me and breaking apart like mist before reforming behind my head. “Normally, you shouldn’t be able to cross over and back like this, but I suppose you are just special like that. Also, it’s much easier to throw you on the floor when I can actually grab you.”

  “Faerie?” Ashley inquired, her face scrunched up in confusion, which I found adorable, whilst holding her thumb and index finger a few inches apart.

  “Happy now?” Meadhbh asked, irritation evident as her four beautiful wings unfurled from her back, causing Ashley to take several steps back in wonder, mouth agape, before retracting them after a few moments of twitching and flapping. “Right, enough with the introductions. You should have some breakfast while I explain everything to Ashley. I wanted you to see me in person so you'd at least believe me, as it’s going to be quite a lot to digest.”

  Guiding a shaky Ashley back out to the cave, I began trying to tidy the place up a bit while she sat with Meadhbh’s crystal on her lap. Dragging the remnants of the corpse back into my core, I glanced up the beach and realised that the tide had taken away the wolf I had killed during the night. I replaced all the blankets in the tent with fresh ones, thankful that I had stocked up on extras. Listening to Ashley’s side of the conversation, the questions she was asking, I felt relief that she wasn't out-right rejecting anything.

  Stirring a large tub of water over the second fire pit at the back of the cave, I suddenly felt Ashley wrap her arms around my shoulders. “I’m sorry, for everything,” she sniffled. It sounded more sincere than the previous night on the beach, as she now knew everything about me, and I turned around to pat her back.

  “I’m sorry too,” I replied, “for some of the things I said, but you were definitely being an insufferable cow at the start.”

  “So, you won’t let goblins nibble at my toes?” she chuckled, loosening her grip on me as I groaned, realising how terrible it sounded. “With everything you’ve shared, you never explained why I can see her surrounded by a golden aura.”

  ‘Your remark last night as she fled that she would draw monsters like a golden beacon confirmed your status to me. That’s why I advised Sadie to join this trip; she perceives the same in you. I have witnessed it only once before, a rarity beyond comprehension, with tens of thousands of years passing between occurrences. Isha’s Embrace, the intertwining of essences.’

  I looked at Ashley as she noticeably stepped away from me, her earlier good-natured attitude fading as her expression darkened. “I don’t like where this is heading,” she said nervously.

  ‘There was a reason I advised you to separate while she was absorbing the stones, as you nearly proceeded with it by accident. If you carry it out, a portion of the other’s essence nestles within you, bestowing a form of immortality, as one cannot die while the other lives, unharmed, bound together until the end.’

  “So you brought me here just to pressure us?” I asked, seething. “You didn’t think to mention this?”

  ‘Why do you think I told you to separate, you brat? I wasn’t certain until last night, but then Fate almost forced the issue. I’m telling you right here, right now, together.’ Her voice roared, drowning out my anger with her own.

  “Immortality doesn’t seem so bad,” Ashley said quietly from her spot on one of the other tent platforms.

  I could sense where this was going, and I didn’t want it. Turning around, I unlocked the cage and slid it back into its housing before climbing back up the side of the hill we had descended the previous night. There was a patch of grass on top, and I sat down on the large stone in the middle of it, looking out to sea. This attraction I felt towards her wasn’t real; none of it was, and misunderstanding had fermented a level of hatred between us.

  I didn’t want to hate her, but this artificial desire for her was undoubtedly at the heart of everything between us. Resentment required effort to sustain, and genuinely looking out for her had caused it all to dissipate as if it had never occurred. Seeing her smile last night as she slept—was that the reason she described behind this phenomenon? Looking at my hand in disgust, I wished to forget it all and escape.

  “Sadie?” I heard Ashley calling out.

  “What?” I replied angrily, refusing to look at her.

  “Why did you just run away so suddenly?” I noticed a look of hurt in her eyes as she came over and sat down on the grass beside me.

  “I just… I needed a bit of fresh air.” I sighed in resignation. “I’m certain you feel it too, this attraction, this desire.”

  “I do,” she said calmly. “I think it’s why I despised you when we were children, because I couldn’t understand it. Then, all those memories came flooding back in the train station.”

  “Which is why I hate this. Last night, after you passed out, there was a brief moment when I tucked a few strands of hair behind your ear, and you smiled, unconsciously moving closer. I find you drop-dead gorgeous, but is it real?” I could feel a lump forming in the back of my throat as my voice shook.

  “Do you truly find me stunning?” she beamed at me, and I could only manage a pained smile in return. “Why do you think it wouldn’t be genuine? Why is your first reaction to flee from it? Am I so detestable to you that you would attempt to escape the moment there’s a hint of us being star-crossed lovers?”

  Looking down at her, she rested her head against my leg. “You seem unnervingly optimistic about this. Is she feeding you some dribble that I’m not aware of?”

  ‘I am doing no such thing,’ her voice howled from below. ‘This is a matter that you two must sort out for yourselves after storming off before I could even finish.’ She was upset and angry, which I couldn’t fault her for.

  “As I’ve asked, why are you so optimistic about all this? When you first heard it, you recoiled, but now you’re pursuing me up here.” My mood darkened as my experiences with Candace resurfaced.

  “I...” she murmured, hesitant. “I’m greedy, and selfish.”

  There it was, I thought to myself. Her admission of guilt. Seeing a glimmer of something more to gain by attaching herself to me, she was now grasping it with all her might. Looking away, I gazed out at the horizon, clenching my jaw to suppress any vicious words. Her hand slid down my arm as she crawled around to sit in front of me, compelling me to look at her.

  “I’m sorry. I know I’m greedy. What Meadhbh said about you being destined to lead the world, I don’t know if it’s true, but I caught a glimpse of what that could mean for me. At the moment, I’m nothing, and seeing a chance to become something more, wouldn’t you seize the opportunity yourself?”

  “So, what, you were ready to just dive headfirst into this knowing as little as you do?” I said sourly. It took all my willpower to maintain the anger I felt while looking at her. I clasped my hands between my knees with all my strength to avoid reaching out to her. Her sandy hair billowed in the strong breeze, and I yearned to tuck it behind her ear again.

  “You can feel it, can’t you?” She lifted her hand and placed it over her heart. “The longer we’ve been together on this trip, the stronger the desire has become.” I couldn’t deny what she had said. All the walls I had been building were collapsing with each step we took. I had thought she was merely a pretty face, but this felt different.

  “It’s not real,” I whispered, closing my eyes and allowing my head to droop.

  “What makes it real, and what makes it fake?” she whispered, and I felt her lift my head from beneath my chin. I kept my eyes closed, reluctant to let go of the final barrier holding me back.

  “I don’t know,” I sobbed as tears streamed down my face. “I don’t want you simply discarding it for nothing. What if—"

  Unable to finish, I felt her lips press against mine, her arms wrapping around me as she clung to me. Struggling to maintain my balance, we tumbled back, and pinned to the ground, I felt her tongue seek mine as we embraced. “I’m not throwing anything away; as I said, I’m a greedy person, but it feels like this is right.” She purred as I gasped for breath when she lifted her head.

  My head throbbed where she had struck me the previous night, but I ignored it as I looked up at her. “It seems there’s no turning back from this. Are you truly willing to stake everything on a slim chance?”

  She pressed her lips against mine; she didn’t need to say anything to convey her answer. I could feel my heart racing and hear the blood throbbing in my ears as I held her tightly. I had never experienced this before, a yearning to keep someone so close, to never let go. The floodgates had opened, and I realised that I could never hold them back again. With my hand on her back, I could feel her heart beating as quickly as mine while I gently dug my fingers in, allowing our legs to intertwine.