Asher was elated. I could feel his excitement through the link. Power surged through both of us, the same power, sorcery and fire magic mixing, making both of us stronger. All our barriers were down now. Our heartbeat was the same, the rhythm of breath, inhaling and exhaling at the same time. Matching one another step for step as we advanced on the rebels. Fire roared around us, consuming everything and everyone in its path. We could hear the elite guard cheering, and somewhere in the distant background, the howl and snarl of wolves.

The rebel army scattered, run down by the wolves, falling back before the flames. The clash of steel on steel sounded, mingled with shouts and screams. The wolves tore into the army, bringing soldiers down, pulling them off their horses.

I remembered what Asher had told me about war. That it wasn’t glamorous, it wasn’t like you saw it in the movies. It was blood and chaos. The rebels and the elite guard crashed together, the noise was overwhelming and everywhere I looked there was dying, bloody soldiers.

Asher didn’t let me dwell on it, I could feel his fierce energy coursing through us, driving us onwards. His thoughts were clear in my head. He was using his body to shield me from the onslaught, knocking back the rebel’s attacks with his broadsword, throwing himself bodily at anyone who came near me. He guarded me savagely, striking down anyone bold enough to get close.

Fire roared from both of us, creating a ring of orange flame that crackled and leapt, crawling over the forest floor. A line of advancing rebels fell, beating at their clothing as the flames licked at them.

Beyond the wall of flame a white horse reared. My heart leapt when I saw that Charlotte had arrived, late to the battle, but never more welcome than now. Behind her Cordy and Lettisha were riding in as well. Cordy had a savage smile on her face and Lettisha looked nervous and excited.

I let myself relax a little - we were going to outnumber them eventually – and sunk deeper into the connection with Asher. I was so deep into the link that I hardly noticed the shouts at first, I was cradling a ball of fire in one hand, attempting to make it bigger.  I finally looked up when two shadowy figures appeared on the edge of the flames. They launched themselves forward, and I fell back, my shout bringing Asher to my side.

There was a blur as one of the figures launched himself over the flames, and then Louis was there, face dark with rage, lashing out at Asher with a pair of long silver blades. Louis’ momentum took him farther than he intended, and he had to regain his balance, giving Asher time to bring his sword up. The clash of swords distracted me momentarily, so I wasn’t prepared to see the other figure launch himself over the flames straight at me. I stumbled back with a strangled cry as Trent appeared, tumbling over onto one knee before picking himself up and starting towards me. He was wounded. There was a long, ugly gash in his right shoulder, but in his left hand he held a wicked looking dagger. His face was mottled red, and his entire body quivered with pent up rage.

“You,” he spat. “Do you know what you’ve done?”

I backed up a step. He looked deranged.

Trent pointed the dagger at me. “She’s not herself anymore. She woke up babbling. This is your fault.”

“She came after me.” I glanced over at Asher. He was still grappling with Louis, being pushed back into our wall of flames.

Trent dove at me without warning. His attack was graceless and wild. He charged me, knocking me off my feet through the wall of flames and sending me crashing to the ground. My back struck hard, and I wheezed in panic, trying to catch my breath, watching him dart through the flames. He stopped briefly to beat out the flames that had started up his leg, and then came straight for me, face twisted with anger and pain. In my panic I forgot about the sorcery at my fingertips. Trent’s hand was suddenly pressing down on my throat, choking me. White spots burst in front of my eyes, and I felt the sharp prick of the dagger on my chest.

“I’m going to kill you,” Trent gasped out. “I should kill you, for what you did.”

He was crazy. There was no doubt about it. Brainwashed and pathetic, and I should have recognized that a long time ago. It was almost sad.

Above me, Trent let out a grunt of pain and tumbled sideways. My vision cleared enough for me to see Cordy lash out with another boot to his ribs. She was red-faced and screaming. “You bastard! Get away from her!”

I scrambled up and Cordy paused her onslaught, placing one hand on my shoulder as I gasped in air. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” I wheezed. “Thank you.”

She didn’t get a chance to reply. A rebel soldier launched himself at us, and Cordy met him, her sword a silver blur in the air, cursing him soundly as they fought.

I scrambled backwards as Trent launched himself at me a second time. This time I was ready, and I used the magic to lend me strength, wrenching the dagger out of his hand as he crashed into me. He landed on top of me, and the back of my head smacked into ground.  Dazzling stars shot across my vision. For a second everything was fuzzy, all I could see was a blue-green blob hanging over me. The weight of Trent’s body on top of me was squeezing the air out of my lungs, but he didn’t move. Something warm and wet was soaking into my shirt. Gradually the sky swam into view, and the green blob turned out to the tree I was lying under.

I blinked furiously when I realized why Trent wasn’t moving. I was clutching the handle of the dagger so tightly it hurt, the pommel was digging into my belly, and the tip was…pointing up. I panicked then, scrambling and flailing as I tried to push him off me. Finally I managed to wiggle my way out from under him, flipping him over in the process.

Trent’s face was pale, his eyes were wide and glassy and the handle of the dagger jutted out from a crack in the chainmail just under his ribs. I felt my breath hitch in my bruised throat, and my heart skipped a beat. He was dead.

I killed Trent.

Oh God. I stumbled backwards, my fingers finding the rough bark of the tree. I held onto the trunk like an anchor, holding myself up. Memories were flooding through me, Trent talking to me in the bedroom of the rebel house. Making brownies…how he’d dotted the tip of my nose with chocolate. It had all been a lie, so why did I feel like a monster right now?

I could still feel Asher, we were still connected, and now I sensed him getting closer. I blinked and looked around the battle field, swallowing hard. Bodies were littered everywhere. There was only a few small clumps of soldiers left. The rebels had lost but some of them were still fighting.

I spotted Lettisha and Charlotte both at the edge of the forest, hunched over a couple of wounded elite soldiers. Probably healing them. My body sagged in relief. They were both safe.

On the other side of the clearing Cordy was wiping her sword off on the tunic of a fallen rebel, her face had lost the savage smile and she was grim now. But still alive. My heart lifted.

“Jess.” Asher was suddenly there, his hand on my shoulder, peering into my face. “Are you alright? You’ve got bruises…” he touched my throat with a gentle finger, frowning when I winced. “What happened?”

When I nodded at Trent’s still form, Asher’s expression softened. “Oh.”

I couldn’t help it, tears flooded my eyes. The magic in me seemed to surge with the emotion, and Asher’s eyes widened, obviously feeling it. He gathered me to him, practically holding me up now. He said in a low voice, “You had to do it, Jess. That’s what war is. You were just protecting yourself. It’s over now.”

Was it over? My body was beginning to relax, going limp, when I remembered what Trent had said before he’d charged me. My mother was still alive.  I jerked out of Asher’s arms. “Kari, she’s still here somewhere…”

“Jess!”

I could hear Asher following me as I walked into the center of the clearing, searching the remaining soldiers for her. There were no more heroes amongst the rebels now. They had scattered, running into the woods, or else they lay dead. I spotted the hulking form of Ivar lying beneath a nearby pine tree, a crimson pool spreading beneath him. I looked away quickly, stomach turning.

I finally found her wandering amongst the trees, blood running down one side of her face. I stiffened when she spotted me, but to my shock her face registered no recognition. She was mumbling to herself, patting at her pockets as if she’d misplaced something, occasionally she’d close her eyes and sway on the spot, humming a tuneless song to herself.

My mouth dropped open.

“Ms. Jessica,” one of the elite soldiers stopped in front of me, snapping quick solute that left me blinking at him in surprise. “Should we dispatch her?”

It took me a second to realize that he was asking me what to do with my mother. Asking me if we should kill her. He and Asher both looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer.

Some part of me wanted it, I couldn’t deny that. It would mean an end to something I wanted to forget about. It would be revenge for all she’d put me through. But she’d been willing to kill me, so how would I be any better than her? Would I become like her?

Slowly I shook my head. “I think she has a brain injury. She’s not herself anymore. We’ll take her back with us and treat her wound. If she comes back to herself, I’ll let the king and queen decide what to do with her.”

The elite soldier executed a quick bow and marched off to retrieve her.

Asher smiled at me, but he didn’t say anything. I suddenly realized how exhausted I felt.

Rain began falling, pattering on the shoulder plates of Asher’s armor, making my hair slick to the back of my neck and cling to my face. The fire was spreading to the nearby trees, so I thanked whatever jotun gods had sent the rain. The forest was swimming around me again, doing lazy circles, and I blinked, trying to clear my vision.

Asher grabbed my hand. You can let go now.

What?

You’ve overreached yourself, I can feel it, Jess. Let go of the link.

I’ll be fine. For some reason I was reluctant to break off the link, to end our connection. It was a comfort in the midst of all this death.

But he was right.  The exhaustion went so deep it made my bones feel heavy. My limbs were trembling. For some reason it felt like my eyes were still burning, and when I looked at Asher he was staring at me, concern etched on his face.

Really, I protested, I’m okay…I’m…

The sky above me seemed to be doing a slow revolve, the tree tops blurring into one another to become a single green mass. Darkness was creeping into the edges of my vision, and I felt Asher’s arms around me, lowering me to the ground, settling my upper torso onto his lap.

Stay with me, Jess. You’ll be fine. Jess? His voice echoed, fading as the darkness closed in.

Light. There was light all around me. I cracked my eyes open, then squeezed them shut again right away, blinded. I was lying on something soft, it was warm and someone was holding my hand. As soon as I tried to shift my body I discovered that every muscle felt like it had been pulled. My limbs were burning with fatigue.

“She’s coming to,” a low feminine voice murmured.

I struggled to open my eyes again, blinking furiously against the light, feeling my eyes water. The room swam into view gradually, blurry faces coming into focus. Asher was sitting beside me holding my hand. Charlotte was standing at the end of the bed, and beside her Megan was leaning against the bed post, dressed in a simple white gown. There was a thin silver crown resting in the curls of her white hair, and she was smiling with what looked like relief.

Charlotte moved closer, placing one cool hand on my face. “You’ve overreached yourself terribly, Jessica. You’re lucky you didn’t burn yourself right out.”

“Hah,” I said weakly, startled at how gravely my voice sounded. “Nice one, burn myself out.”

Charlotte pursed her lips at me. “The amount of magic you managed to take from Juku is no laughing matter. I was given my magic in a way very similar to yours, but I’ve never heard of anyone taking it by force. Something about the link allowed you to do it, but your body wasn’t meant to take all that strain. You’ll have to be taught how to use it properly.”

“Thank god you’re okay.” Asher squeezed my hand tightly in both of his, he leaned forward to examine my face carefully. “Your eyes are normal now.”

“What?” I blinked rapidly, realizing that my eyes felt dry. The feeling you’d get if you spent all night awake or you forgot to take out your contact lenses.

His voice dropped to a whisper and his eyes shone. “Your eyes went orange. It was so cool. You looked freaky. You looked powerful.”

Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest. “More effects of the link combined with what was basically an overdose of firepower. When you unlocked Asher’s you had too much power on your hands.”

“Why was it locked?” I said. “I mean, Asher’s power was there the entire time…”

Charlotte shrugged. “A simple blockage. I looked it up while you were still asleep. I’ve never heard of it until now. Sometimes it happens, though it’s rare. It may be genetic. In any case, when you join your power you’ll find it overwhelming. I’ll have to teach you to hold yourself back when you link,” she looked from me to him, raising her brows at us, “since I assume you’ll be linking again more than once.”

Asher’s cheeks flushed, and I frowned at him, puzzled.

He cleared his throat and shifted in his chair. “While you were out I kinda made an…um, announcement.” He continued hastily, because I could say anything. “Don’t be mad, I just told those three.” He indicated his parents and Charlotte.

“Told them what?” I croaked.

“That we’re…y’know…” he looked shy suddenly, ducking his head so his dark curls fell over his eyes, “together.”

My heart felt like it was growing several sizes, expanding in my chest, and I found I had a giant smile on my face, the aches and pains momentarily forgotten. “Really?”

“Of course really.” He looked confused, his fingers tightening around my hand and his blue eyes widened. “ You look surprised. Jess, did you really think I wasn’t taking this seriously?”

“I don’t know,” I faltered. “I didn’t want to ask, and Juku said I would make the bloodline weaker…”

Laughter interrupted me, and Asher and I both looked up to see Loki was standing at the end of the bed. He had his hands braced on the wooden post at the end of the bed and he was leaning against it, shoulders shaking with mirth. “Make it weaker?” he repeated. “Weaker? By god, Jess. If you were any weaker I’d be afraid for my son’s life!” He put one hand on his hip and studied us critically. “That said, you’ll probably end up setting my castle on fire.”

He glanced over at Megan, who appeared to be fighting off a smile, and said, “What do you think, darling? Should we risk allowing these two together?”

Megan sighed and looked at Asher with mock severity. “Okay, but be sure you keep your door open at all times, and there should be a chaperone and…”

“Mom!” Asher protested, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face, and his grip tightened on my hand.

“Time for sleep.” Charlotte shooed Megan and Loki from the room, and I caught a glimpse of Lettisha and Cordy waving at me from the doorway before the sorceress bustled them away down the hall.

Asher darted a mischievous look at the door before slipping under the covers with me. I sighed happily as he gathered me against him, running his fingers through my hair, resting his chin on the top of my head. He murmured, “You did great out there.”

I sighed. “I didn’t feel like I did great. I felt like…I killed people.” I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to think about how Trent had looked. “How is Kari?”

“You care too much,” he said sternly. “The woman was a nutcase who tried to kill you, Jess.” When I glared at him stubbornly he sighed. “She’s fine. Her wound is being treated, but she’s never going to be quite all there after this. She’s regained her personality, unfortunately, but she forgets things instantly and she’s already showing a tendency to go into giggling fits over nothing.” He nudged me gently. “It’s an improvement if you ask me.”

I frowned. “I still feel bad, is that crazy?”

“Yes, a little, but that’s why I love you.”

We were both quiet for a moment, and I let that sink in, heart galloping wildly. Had he actually just said that?

Asher pulled me closer. “I’m so glad I met you, you know that?”

“You’re so glad you kidnapped me?” I was starting to slide into blissful drowsiness, surrounded by the warmth of his body and the soft, clean smelling sheets.

“I’m so glad you’re crazy and you tackled me in the parking lot. That’s when I started to fall in love with you, you know. It was the beginning of everything.”

My eyes fluttered open briefly, and then I shut them again, savoring the moment. Yup, he’d said it. I felt the rise and fall of his chest against my back as he drew me in closer to him. It reminded me of the link, of how close it made me feel to him.

“Asher?”

“Hm?” His low voice rumbled his chest against me.

“Don’t let me go, okay?”

He was silent for a moment, and I felt maybe I’d said something silly, until his arms tightened around me and he quietly showed me his thoughts through the link.

He saw me walking towards him, dressed in a sparkling gown that flickered with oranges and reds, a dress made of fire. A crown rested on my brow, delicate silver with red rubies. Asher stood on a raised dais, the throne, smiling at me, reaching for my hand.

We touched, and the spark of connection ran through us both, leaving us breathless.

THE END