The Living Tower

Chapter Twelve: Half Light

Salestia's grip on Ellias' forearms tightened as the two stumbled out of the portal by the iron gate.

"Sorry," she gasped as she found her balance. She let go and dropped her hands. "I'm still getting used to that."

"No need to apologize." Ellias' gaze flickered to the gate ahead of them, and Salestia's eyes followed. The two guards he'd put to sleep earlier still lay unconscious on the other side.

As Salestia and Ellias approached the gate, Ellias snapped his fingers once again, and one of the remaining witchstones he'd left under the lever burst into flames. The lever lifted. The gate swung open. After he and Salestia passed through, he closed it behind them, and they returned to the surface world.

The citadel streets were far quieter than they had been when the two first came to the city's edge. On their way back to the inn, they had only a few brief run-ins with people stumbling out of taverns as the owners prepared to lock up for the night. Musicians had ceased their playing, and everyone else in the citadel had gone to bed hours earlier.

They entered the inn quietly and crept up to Ellias' room. Ellias was still easing the door shut when Salestia set to work removing her outer layer of armor, eager to return to the comfort of a simple shirt and trousers.

A wave of Ellias' hand lit up the candles sitting on the desk and windowsill. After that, Ellias began removing his armor, too, while Salestia moved on to the chain mail underneath hers. One of the gold chains around her neck snagged on the edge of the metal.

Ellias took notice as Salestia fumbled to get the chain back in place. "You're wearing two necklaces now?"

"Hm? Oh, yes." Salestia drew out the second pendant and held it up for him to see. A simple golden eye glinted in candlelight. "It's a bit silly, but Beranice always wore this necklace when she had to go out late at night. Or take a trip to the Ring." Beranice had never elaborated on why she visited the Ring, or even which kingdom she was visiting.

"It's the Eye of Aeth," Salestia continued as Ellias took a step forward to examine the necklace more closely.

Aeth was said to be the first of the gods that formed in the aether. They'd later guided the formation of the other gods and, according to Iliak myth, created the twelve demigods as well. According to the stories, the one-eyed being had originally formed with many eyes, but scattered them across the Earth to watch over and protect humans from dangerous monsters that roamed the stars.

The imagery of Aeth's Eyes was popular throughout the lightspeaker lands. They marked churches and cathedrals and were frequently worn in the form of jewelry as a symbol of protection. Many believed an Eye of Aeth was enough to keep monsters at bay. Even the likes of demons.

Ellias nodded thoughtfully and returned to removing his armor. Once he was done, he took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Do you only feel tired after using a lot of magic, then?" Salestia asked.

"It's not really physical exhaustion that I feel," Ellias answered. "That would take a lot more exertion. No, I just have the sense that my magical energy needs to be replenished." He sighed. "I never liked sleeping, though. Feels like a waste of time. I can't help but think of the work I could be doing instead."

Salestia snorted. "I'm afraid everyone needs sleep. Even witches, according to you."

"Well, the more powerful the witch, the less they need."

"I can't say I've met many witches." Salestia folded her arms. "But you seem powerful to me." She wished she had a better gauge for witch magic.

"Oh, I am powerful, now," Ellias replied, drawing a raised eyebrow from Salestia. "But I must confess, I wasn't always, compared to the witches I grew up with. It took years of learning to adapt to do what I can do today. And getting clever with how to use witch magic."

"Clever enough to know you should stop talking and get to sleep, I presume."

Ellias laughed. "Perhaps you should stop asking me questions, then."

"Gladly, if it gets us closer to Dawnbringer." Salestia moved to where her bag lay on the floor and knelt next to it. "I'll head down to the inn's dining room and do some reading. I brought a few books with me." There would be candles or lanterns available for use, but she planned to simply put an orb of light in the air next to her. Even as tired as she was, she'd be able to keep up a steady glow for a few hours.

"You should rest, too," Ellias said. "Maybe I should check if they have any other rooms available—"

"I'll sleep for a few hours in the morning," Salestia cut him off with a wave of her hand. "I can't tell you how many times I've stayed up the entire night to finish a book."

"If you insist," Ellias replied with a chuckle.

While Salestia continued to dig around her bag for her books, Ellias settled down on the bed behind her. But only a few moments later, he spoke again.

"You've really never done that before?" he asked. "Make an object of solid light?"

Salestia's hands froze. She thought back to all those nights she'd stayed up long after she was supposed to be asleep, secretly forming intangible orbs of light under her covers. Secretly learning what she was capable of. Never telling a soul. Not even Beranice when she questioned Salestia about whether she was practicing her lightspeaking.

"No. I thought you were supposed to be getting some rest." Salestia looked up with a sly grin and raised an eyebrow. "Now who's asking questions?"

Ellias turned his head to stare up at the ceiling, a smirk on his lips. "Apologies. My curiosity couldn't wait. But I'll shut up now."

As he turned away from her, Salestia let her gaze linger. Admittedly, she was starting to think about more than just how useful his magic would be to acquiring Dawnbringer. Aza's accusation that Salestia found him attractive wasn't terribly off base, and the more time she spent with him, the more drawn she felt. Even if part of her still knew better than to trust him fully.

It was hard to imagine such a powerful witch truly caring that much about her beyond their agreement to go after Dawnbringer together, even if he found her charming as she did him. But then there were his comments insinuating that he thought she had hidden power.

What, then, if they discovered that the true depths of her lightspeaking were far beyond what she'd told him they were? How far could their alliance go?

Salestia found the book she was looking for and tucked it under her arm. As she rose to her feet, she threw another glance at Ellias. Trust him, maybe not, but that hadn't stopped her from enjoying a handful of brief relationships in the past. Though, with their magic involved, something between them could be so much more.

Or it could be something dangerous. It all depended on whether their desires for Earth truly aligned.

Before heading out the door, Salestia quietly crept a few feet to the desk and gave it another look. The mess had been all but incomprehensible to her during her previous glances, but as she studied it closer now, she recognized something from one of her readings on witch magic: a metal bowl with a small pool of water in the bottom. A calling dish.

With the proper sigils carved into the sides and the right ingredients mixed into the water, witches could use their magic to connect two bowls and communicate over indefinitely long distances. It was one of their more energy-intensive abilities and became more draining the greater the distance that was covered.

Salestia squinted. She could just make out a reflection in the water, a lingering image of the other side. Sunset skies and darkening clouds. She wondered where in the world that was. Was it Earth she was seeing?

And who was Ellias communicating with on the other side?