Ink Forged

~Un-Magic~

"Listen," Savrin said, drawing a piece of paper out of the pocket of his trousers. "Ask Captain Adela to drop you off here. I'll be able to find you there no problem, especially if I sense one of your dragons."

He gave her an oddly hopeful look, flinching back from the scowl he received. Maevus reluctantly took the scrap of paper. In elegant, slanted script, it read: Faldana's Square.

"You're not going back to Valmor with us?" she asked, careful to keep her voice neutral.

But Savrin was more clever than she gave him credit for. "Don't even think it. You really will get Dragon Charms put on the list. Captain Adela will be looking for any excuse to ban your magic."

"What? Why?" Maevus nearly cried. "My magic hasn't done anything to her, why would she want to get rid of it?"

Savrin just shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. "Because Adela hates magic," he said, voice no more than a whisper. "She'd strip every Encant of their Charm if she could manage it."

A shiver ran through Maevus, making her back ache. She let out an inaudible moan and tried to be discrete as she rubbed at the bruising on her lower back. Savrin noticed anyway.

"I—uh." He sighed. "I can help heal your back. You hit that wall pretty hard. I mean, even for an Encant that was risky."

"It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't stopped Veena's heart," she snapped.

"I didn't stop her heart!" Savrin scowled at her, and she was surprised by his defensive tone. "I just stopped the blood from flowing to her wings for a moment. I didn't want to hurt her!"

"Well you did!" she shot back.

"I'm not arguing about this again." He stood up. "Do you want me to help fix your back or not?"

"What can a Blood Charm do to help this?" She turned, lifting the loose shirt she was wearing so he could see the ugly bruises covering most of her back. In a nearby window she could see how bad it really was. Dark black over her spine, all the way to a light violet at her sides.

"Lay on your stomach," Savrin said, making her raise a skeptical eyebrow. He wrinkled his nose. "Bruises are just pooled blood, stupid. Blood-Charmed." He waved a dramatic hand over himself, making her scowl again at his condescending tone.

She engaged in a stubborn staring contest with him for a second before he tossed his long hair over his shoulder. He turned to walk away, leaving her alone.

Joke's on him then, she thought smugly. I'm never alone. Not really.

Still, none of her dragons could heal her. Not even Medella, her life-dragon. At least, not so soon after the last time. Maevus flinched away from that too-recent memory.

And it really was painful. She didn't relish the idea of sitting in the back of a wagon—it seemed like too much to ask this Captain Adela lady to let her ride one of her dragons to the capital of Escana. That would be a very long trip, but even more so if she was constantly in pain.

"Wait!" she called reluctantly, and Savrin stopped, turning to her with a curious look on his face.

She let out a deep sigh, wincing. "Please help me," she muttered, nearly choking on the words.

Maevus had always hated asking for help, but it was even worse now considering that Savrin was the reason her back was injured at all. He seemed to understand this, because he just nodded gracefully and returned to the side of her bed.

"You'll have to roll up your shirt a little so I can make sure that I'm getting the blood to go in the right direction." His voice was soft, and she did as he said, though her body remained tense as she pillowed her chin on her arms, staring at the golden brick of whatever this place was.

She couldn't remember seeing any building like this in that little town they'd found her in.

"Where are we?" she asked as a strange tingling sensation erupted over her back. "How long have I been unconcious?"

Savrin brushed feather-light fingers over her spine, the tingling turning into a pleasant warming sensation. "Um... we're in Miltena."

Maevus blinked, then shot to her knees, making Savrin flinch back. His hands hovered defensively in the air and she settled back on her knees. Her back still ached, but not quite as fiercely, and she took a deep breath.

Tucking a strand of crimson hair behind her ear, she said, "Miltena is four days journey from that town you found me in."

He at least had the grace to look down, fingers knitting themselves together in his lap. "Adela made me keep you asleep," he whispered. "I didn't want to, but..."

Her mouth dropped open again. "What?"

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding miserable. "I told Adela I didn't need to." His eyes met hers. "She didn't care. She said you'd already tried to run once, so you'd try again."

"Why did you listen," she hissed. "Why didn't you stop her heart?"

Now Savrin leveled a cold gaze on her, stepping away from the bed. His hands curled into fists and her blood slowed in her veins. Maevus scrambled out of the bed, a bright purple light wreathing her hands.

A distant shriek seemed to fill the air of the infirmary.

Then, just as her magic wrapped around her, flooding from its center in her chest, it was sucked away. The warmth was jerked away from her, dropping her to her knees and leaving her weak and shaking.

Savrin thudded to his knees across from her, hand going to his sternum. He gasped, placing a hand on the bed to keep his balance as he looked over his shoulder, hair falling into his now haggard face.

The thick oak doors of the infirmary slammed shut, but Maevus could barely lift her head. Magic continued to slip away from her, white streams of the stuff sucked out of her very skin and flowing through the air toward the door.

It twined around Savrin's own magic, which was a bright ruby color.

Her eyes followed the trail of white and red to the door. It spiraled toward Captain Adela, the stern woman from the square, disappearing into something held in her palm.

There was a small clicking sound, and whatever was pulling out her magic was stopped. What remained of the streams snapped back into her and Savrin, making her gasp as it warmed her, settling back into its place.

Maevus shivered, meeting Savrin's eyes. He was trembling, skin sallow.

They both looked up when Adela cleared her throat.

"We're preparing to leave. You'll have an hour to get ready. Deliah, you will be going with Mikan and his company to Frensis," she ordered, voice as crisp and calm as it had been the first time Maevus heard it.

Savrin nodded, eyes trained on the ground. Adela turned sharply on her heel, the door slamming shut behind her.

Both Encants stayed on the floor for a few more minutes. Then Savrin forced himself to his feet.

Voice hoarse, he said, "Do you understand now?"

Without another word, he stumbled to the door, hand still pressing into his chest. The doors slammed shut behind him, leaving her alone.