Light Magic (COMPLETED)

Chapter 4- Adreanus

POV: ADREANUS

She is relentless. I try to tell her she is wasting her energy, energy that she should be conserving, but I do not think she is even aware that I am talking to her. I clench my teeth as her nails dig into my chest. I have never met someone whose stubbornness rivals my own. Her mother must love her, despite the half-truths—I understand the importance of secrets. I have kept one my entire life. I want to believe Selena will survive. Not only for my own selfish desire to obtain more information about my father, but mostly because I wouldn't wish the loss of a parent on anyone.

Emerald lake is a one-day hike from here. I am not sure we will make it in time. I have absolutely no idea what is happening to her, I have never seen dark magic have this effect before and I have seen many soldiers battle with the fay. I push my legs as much as they will allow. Running has always been my solace. My mother died during childbirth and my father died when I was four. I had barely enough time with him to make memories. The little memories I do have I hold onto for dear life. King Alexander and Queen Cora of the Eastern Province took me in after my father died. My mother, Amelia, was from the Eastern Province and was one the greatest wielders of water magic. She was trained at the Spirits along with Queen Cora, and they became best friends. The Queen loved me and raised me like her own. I can't say the same about the King. Whenever things got hard, which was often, I would run. I would run as far as my legs would carry me, until my lungs burned, and my heart pounded.

I set her down against a tree. Her body is entirely covered in darkness and her heart is beating dangerously slowly. I huddle next to her, hold my hand close to her lips and feel the slightest movement of air—she is still breathing. I feel my heart race a little as my eyes focus on her lips, there is no denying she is beautiful. There is something inexplicably familiar about her, and then I realize I do not even know her name. With the never-ending sequence of events, it never occurred to me until now.

I don't allow myself to rest for more than five minutes before I lift her small body with ease and take off into the dense woods. The moss beneath me is moist and absorbs the impact of my feet, relieving my joints of the pain they are accustom to from running on the glass streets of Meridian. My muscles ache and my head spins with fatigue, but I know I am close. As a future guard of the Eastern Province, I have studied map after map of our province. Finally, I see the landmark I was searching for. A jagged rocky cliff erupts from the ground not too far ahead. At its base is Emerald Lake.

The water of the lake is so still it resembles a sheet of green glass. I place her gently on the ground for a brief second as I throw the large backpack her mother gave me and strip off most of my clothes. I lift her and walk towards the lake. When my feet break the threshold of the water the stillness shatters. Rolling bubbles encircle my legs and the lake appears to be alive with magic.

I feel my mouth drop open and my eyes watch in disbelief as a figure rises from the lake. Her body is bare and her skin is as translucent and green as the lake. Her hair is turquoise and tumbles down her body. I do not believe in sprites, and yet there she is. The Queen would often recite ancient stories of sprites to her daughters and me. I listened enchanted but always wrote them off as fiction.

She glides across the water towards me. My muscles instinctively tighten. I attempt a retreat, but my feet are glued to the sandy ground.

"Hello, son of the elements." Her voice is lyrical and the cadence suggests her native tongue is entirely foreign to our own.

"Who are you? And what do you want?" I call out. She smiles and approaches confidently until she is within arm length.

"You may call me Sirena. That is what your kind has always named me. And as to what I want, I want to heal her for she is the purest of lights," she raises her hand and points towards the girl, a cascade of water pouring from her outstretched arm.

Sirena guides my arms so that the girl floats just below the surface of the water as I support her from underneath. Sirena runs her hand from the girl's forehead across the length of her body as cascading water flows over her. The inky black substance dissolves into the water and sinks to the bottom of the lake. She is sickly pale at first but as Sirena's sings a song, in a language I cannot understand, the surrounding water glows and colour returns to her cheeks.

"Let her rest and she will awaken again. Be warned, although there are many like myself who will do everything to protect her, there are equal in numbers who wish her harm. Farewell son of the elements." Sirena disappeared into the water with a soft splash.

I lift her out of the water and lay her gently in the warmth of the sun. Her clothes cling to every curve of her body, I avert my eyes uncomfortably. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and I have seen my fair share of pretty women. There is something about this girl. I have always been careful to distance myself from women, always keeping to the shadows. It must be the same with her. For, I do not have a heart that can be freely given. I lay in the sun, hoping my undergarments are quick to dry.