His Singularity

Chapter 54

Whoever said magic is easy was a fucking liar.

I try not to groan as I fail, for what feels like the thirtieth time today. It's only the sixteenth.

Not only is my head pounding, my muscles are stiff and quickly becoming sore from the exertion.

I need a break.

I quickly pack up my materials before stretching out my limbs. Maybe a nice walk will help me clear my head. Give me a fresh perspective.

The fusion of magic and matter; the lost art of enchanting, has always been a failing of mine. I thought that perhaps, the guidance in the grimoire could finally help me succeed, but not even that.

She always believed I could eventually learn it, but I am starting to doubt.
Why did I think I could pull off such an advanced ancient spell?
Pride, of course.

I really need to work on that.

But it is too late now. I have already prepared the ingredients, if I do not learn the spell then they will have gone to waste. Everyone is relying on me.

"Yes, thank you." I hear Ace's voice followed by a loud sigh. Peeking around the armoury, I see him leaning against the wall with his phone in hand.

"Good news?" I doubt it. The man looks defeated.

"Actually, yes. I just got one of the neutral families to join in the fight. They are a strong line of lycans with a few wolves under their command. That should be of some help." That sounds great.
"And the kitsune in Taiwan have also joined the fight." He continues.

"Ace that all sounds like great news. Why do you look like we have already lost?" You would think we are burying... Oh.

"Were you close?"

"Not really. Between my father's death and her duties as the Royal Beta, my mother did not have much time. But she was a good person. And she loved me, in her own way. We had some good times." His voice is thick with emotion, even as his face remains expressionless.
"She died fighting for her people. There is no greater honour for a leader, no greater death for a warrior." Those words sound rehearsed somehow.
They make me think of my own mama. She was born from a long, long line of warriors and was blessed with a voice that could stir the heavens. Once upon a time, she was the head warrior of her coven.

I know she died fighting. She died so Kai and I could live. And she died with dad by her side. Bound even in death.

"How did she do it? How did she live so long without her fated?" If memory serves me correct, Ace's father died a few years after he was born. His mother should have become feral. How did she survive?

"She says the job kept her sane. Throwing herself into her work. Devoting every ounce of herself to serving the kingdom.

It is why I could never hold it against her. How closed off she became.
If that was all that kept her from becoming feral then I would take it. At least she was still alive. At least I would occasionally see glimpses of the mother I knew.

At least I did not have to watch her die." Wow. That sounds, just wow.

"I heard it, when my mother died." I lean against the wall next to him.
"My mother was a chanter, when she sung, you could just feel the magic in the air." I try not to cry as I remember her singing to me. "That night, the wolves found a way around our wards. They attacked in the dead of night while we were asleep. I will never forget the look on her face that night. Or my dad's.
I could have stayed and fought with them. The three of us fighting together could have beaten them. But Kai had not even found his magic. There were too many of them; there was no way we could have fought them off and watched him. So my parents made their choice. She went outside to stave them off while dad packed us a bag and gave it to me. I knew it was the last time I would ever see my parents, but I ran anyway.

We could never outrun the wolves, so we hid in the hidden tunnels nearby, and I covered his ears, but I could still hear it all. I could hear the storm she called raging outside. And I could hear the moment it stopped. The moment I knew she died." I sniff hard as the tears cascade down my face.

"We are not soldiers, we are warriors. We do not blindly follow orders, we protect what we love." I recite as the tears hit harder.

"As painful as it is, and always will be, I at least know she lived a warrior's life, and was honoured with a warrior's death. She would not have had it any other way." It sounds like our mothers had that in common.

"No, she would not." He agrees beside me.
We stand there together under the stars, grieving silently.

"Do you want me to get Arya?" I ask knowing how attached those two are. He probably needs her more than anything right now.

"No." Now that surprises me.
"Arya would drop anything to be there for me and I love her for it. But right now, she needs to be in there if we stand any chance."

He is right. Her and Alaric are planning a war, right now. She cannot be distracted.

"They really are something, aren't they?" The way the three of them work seamlessly together without skipping a beat is something to be admired.

Ace chuckles, "That's one way to put it." But he still smiles and for the first time, it occurs to me that they are not a dark triad. They are a tetrad with one member who stands in the light so they don't have to. Without Ace, they would not be where they are today.

"It takes one very supportive man to hide his pain so his paramour can shine." I commend him.

"She does the same for me. All the time." He replies smiling softly.

"Really?" Arya? Do not get me wrong, she loves Ace with something powerful, but she is hardly the self-sacrificing type.

"Do you truly believe Arya of the dark triad cannot fight because of a barely visible bump?"
Well, yeah.
"Pregnant lycans are even more ferocious. More vicious. She would be an asset on the field."

"Then why isn't she..." "Because a male lycan with a pregnant paramour is lethal. When it comes to actual fighting, I am more dangerous. But, I cannot fight if she is in danger. I would not be able to concentrate on anything else." Huh.
"So as much as she hates it, as much as she wishes she was out there fighting alongside us, she won't. She'll be here overthinking and worrying about us. And not once has she complained." That is just wow. I never even thought of that.

Dammit. They're even cuter than I thought. As if that was possible.

"I am guessing that's why you are not telling him how hard you are struggling. So he can concentrate on the task at hand." How did he... What am I saying? It's Ace. He can always tell when any of us are struggling.

"The spell is, it's more complicated than I ever imagined." More than I can fathom. It is infuriating.

"I don't think I can do it." As much as I hate to admit it.

"Then take the easy way." He reminds me.

Take the easy way. Of course.
I return to my workspace and open the grimoire.
I have been trying to do this like the witch who cast this, and that was my mistake.

I do not need to enchant this tonic, I could simply use it as a link.

It is a thousand times easier, but just as effective. By the time this other witch figures it out, it would be too late.

Now to try it.

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I love the relationship these two are developing.