The Secret World of Briar Rose(50)
The mention of portals made Malicine pause. “All right,” they said, after a moment of thought. “If portals are temporary openings instead of fixed positions, how did the king discover how to create one?”
Amelia set the book on a carpet of moss and spread its yellowed pages. She explained Samael’s mysterious illness, Oleander’s betrayal, and the bloodshed that inadvertently created a portal. By using one of Talon’s feathers, she showed how the words rearranged themselves to legibility in the book. Malicine skimmed the text, each page deepening a new wrinkle in their forehead.
Oleander was not a faerie, but a wicked demon, envious of my power and wanting to claim my life for himself. What we did not realize during our fight was the effects of spilling blood onto his magic circle. My gilded blood, his demon blood, combined to awaken the circle and open a portal.
“Magic circles have always taken power from nature, not ourselves,” Malicine murmured. “If specific ingredients are used to create a barrier from the world, perhaps using something as potent as blood could open one. But why blood, of all things? Not that I’m opposed to blood sacrifice. I suppose that would be expected for my repertoire.”
“I don’t think it’s sacrifice. It’s willingly giving a piece of yourself to birth something that’s always been a part of you,” Amelia said. “Every creature carries their own unique blood, and every creature originates from their own world.”
Malicine stared at Amelia with a degree of skepticism, but she could tell they were considering her words. The demon crossed a wide path in the forest, brows still furrowed in contemplation. They collected twigs and connected each stick in the shape of a circle while their eyes glazed over in thought. Nails scraped across the wood like a match before fire burst to life, spreading across the arrangement in the middle of the forest.
“Fine. Let’s try it, then. And if it doesn’t work, your life will be an early sacrifice for wasting my time.”
Flames gleamed in Malicine’s eyes as they looked at Amelia, a silent challenge. Amelia accepted it as she walked inside the circle.
Malicine stepped forward next. The two stared at each other, flames flickering over their faces. An unspoken knowledge hung between them, that in this hidden space, they would repeat history, even if they had no idea the truth of what was on the other side.
“Why do you want to go there so desperately?” Malicine asked. The contempt in their narrowed eyes fell like a cracked mask, revealing a glint of curiosity in their green irises.
“I want to know if there’s more to live for,” Amelia said.
Malicine considered Amelia’s answer. “I suppose I’m the same.”
She watched Malicine straighten their posture and turn back to the circle of fire. They faced both palms outward, casting a spell. The flames blurred before changing to the color of sea waves. Energy pulsed in the air like electric current. The trees glowed under the light, and pure white washed over the leaves.
Amelia could feel everything beginning to change. The color of the trees, the demon by her side. Malicine slashed their palm and spilled the circle with blood. In their eyes, Amelia recognized determination. While Malicine had cursed her to fall asleep, she’d brought something inside the demon to wake in return.
Amelia extended her palm to Malicine to cut open. The pain was sharp but small, a passing blink. Blood dripped down her hand, laced in gold and glinting under the flames. The forest lit aglow, as if sensing their energy.
The first drop hit the ground. Amelia could no longer feel the weight of herself as they fell below.
CHAPTER 23
CORIN ATTEMPTED TO swim back to Summerland, but the currents had pulled her too far. Her strength had already waned when a large shadow cast from the sky. Malicine’s wings flapped rapidly as they dove toward Corin to retrieve her. It was hardly a rescue mission, since they were quick to release Corin mid-air by the time they reached the shore. The force rolled her body across the sand until her chest slammed into a rock. She reeled over and heaved water. Several pearls had clogged her throat and spewed into the sand. It wasn’t until her retching subsided that Malicine towered over her.
“What is wrong with you?” they snapped. “I told you to get out!”
Corin looked back at the ocean. Beyond the horizon, an island loomed as a speck of gray, like a blot of ink that stained a ruined canvas. The faraway land had crept onto her without her even noticing. By the time she did, the clouds had unfurled like rotting flowers, and the bottom of the ocean had pulled her to drown. Strands of kelp had wrapped around her ankles, wrists, thighs, almost as if the island’s fingers were tightening around her, claiming her for its depths.
How had it been possible that she didn’t notice the island until now?
Elly’s voice brought Corin back to shore. Her small figure darted across the sand, followed by Briar, who had reverted to normal in her pristine dress and sun-kissed skin. As if she hadn’t been caught in the tides, wrecked with despair in her truest form, mere moments ago.
Elly leapt into Corin’s arms and squeezed her tight. “I thought I lost you,” she sobbed.
Corin buried her face into Elly’s hair, welcoming the smell of salt instead of death, her warm skin instead of the corpses Corin had seen below. The steady drum of Elly’s pulse reminded Corin they were both alive and safe. “I could say the same to you,” her voice muffled in Elly’s hair.