In the darkness, it felt like she was swimming. Swimming towards whatever sensation she felt tugging at her in her gut, pulling her along. She kept swimming until she finally saw the azure eyes with golden specks staring back at her. They didn’t speak and she was too exhausted to remember what she wanted to say to the eyes. She knew that she had been waiting for their return, but they wouldn’t appear to her until now. She couldn’t even remember who they belonged to. They spoke to her after what felt like forever. “You still have to find me.” The voice grated on her senses and a light bulb clicked on in her brain. “Anzel. You’re Anzel.” She still felt too tired to remember anything beyond that. He spoke again. “You’re close, but you’re not close enough. Focus. Find what you need to here and then find me.”

She knew she was awake because she could hear others around her. She could feel Alyson’s hand on hers and hear her and Xylas sharing concerned whispers, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. She couldn’t open her eyes or speak yet. She wasn’t awake long before the sensation of pain and fatigue hit her like someone dropped a building on her. Holy hells. Did someone drop a building on her after she blacked out? The pain was incredible. She didn’t remember being injured enough to feel like this. She decided to focus on her breathing until she could open her eyes again. So, she laid there and took deep breaths while listening to things around her for what felt like an eternity. She finally opened her eyes to see that she was in a bed in a very ornate room. It was gorgeous and luckily not covered in gold like the rest of this godforsaken temple. The room was painted in a muted, deep red tone and the art was of different scenery around the marsh. The bed was a canopy bed with red and brown curtains hanging, and there were two large bay windows on the wall to the left of her. The bed was ridiculously comfortable, even though she felt like roadkill.

She saw Alyson sitting on her left stroking her hand, but she could barely feel the sensation since the pain hit. Xylas was pacing at the door. Neither one of them noticed that she was awake, and her throat felt as dry as pavement on a hot solstice day, so of course all she could think about was water suddenly. Was this the aftermath of using so much fire? The image of her as a bird popped into her head and holy hells times two. She did become a giant firebird. Or did she technically become an Asai? Her thoughts were interrupted by the overwhelming dryness in her throat, so she decided to postpone her conversation with herself until she had water. It took all of her will to open her mouth due to the intense fatigue, but she was able to croak out the word water.

Alyson’s head snapped up and Xylas turned towards the bed. They stared at her with so much relief that she wanted to punch them both for not getting her water immediately. She was about to try to speak again when Alyson said, “Oh Crap! Sorry!” She picked up a pitcher of water that was on a stand beside the bed and filled a cup for her. She looked at Viri as she brought the cup of water over to her. “Blink twice if you need help drinking it.” Viri blinked twice and Alyson laughed as she lifted Viri’s neck. She cringed slightly at the pain that shot threw her body. Alyson put the straw in her mouth, and she guzzled down the water. She drank it so quickly that Alyson immediately refilled her cup, and they went through this until the pitcher was empty.

Her throat no longer felt like scorched earth, but she was still extremely sore and tired. She asked Alyson to help her sit up and she did. Alyson fluffed the pillows behind her. She whispered, “Thanks pony.” It came out a lot raspier than she intended. She glanced at the spot where Xylas had been, but he wasn’t in the room anymore. Alyson spoke softly, “He needed a little time.” She looked at Alyson in confusion, but she went on, “Watching the fight was hard for both of us. It’s been hard for me to watch you risk your life since this trip started, but I've been able to do it because I know your strength and your will to win. I knew that you wouldn’t lose against anything that came up against you, but Xylas is new to our little crew. He doesn’t know your strength yet, so the fear that grandfather clock would kill you was all he could feel during the match, and every time you were injured, it took an even bigger toll on him.” She wanted to make a smart remark about him fussing over her, but she remembered the rage and fear she felt when Ephraim threatened to kill him.

As if Alyson could read her mind, she quietly asked, “So what did make you turn into a full-on bird?” Viri looked at Alyson and her face fell slightly. Viri knew it must’ve mirrored how distraught her own face had to have looked. She told Alyson about Ephraim’s threat and Alyson quietly nodded her head. Aly knew her better than she knew herself most days, so she knew she needed a subject change. “So, did you get a chance to see how gorgeous you were?” Alyson’s arched brow made her chuckle and it sent painful shockwaves through her body. She rasped, “Before we get into how stunning I look in both human and bird form, why am I in so much pain?”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Alyson opened her mouth to answer, but it was Xylas who spoke as he opened the door and walked to the other side of the room to sit on the windowsill. “You’re in pain due to magic depletion.” She scrunched her brows in confusion. Alyson realized that Xylas didn’t plan on saying more so she spoke instead. “You used a large amount of magic for a full transformation, and you weren’t used to using so much so fast, so it took a toll on your body.” Viri wanted to rub her neck, but the thought of lifting her arm was too much. “Is it normal to feel like I got hit by a semi?” Alyson smiled at her. “Yes. I experienced a lot of depletion when I first started transforming fully until my body physically adapted to the large use of magic and elevated my magic level.” She thought about how Alyson never really looked fatigued when she transformed back into a human. She nodded before slowly turning her attention over to Xylas. Alyson noticed and made up some excuse about needing fresh air to leave. She wanted to thank her for noticing, but then she quickly remembered where they were and grabbed Alyson’s hand. “Are you sure you want to walk around this place?” Alyson smiled at her. “The Ifrit’s attitudes have drastically changed since they realized you were a buzzard.” She winked at her and walked out of the room.

Viri looked over at Xylas, who refused to even glance at her. “Are you mad at me?” He slowly looked over and made eye contact with her, and she must’ve looked as remorseful as she sounded, because he let out a long sigh. “No. I was just so afraid for you.” She swallowed hard. She wasn’t used to having drawn-out, heartfelt conversations with guys. But hey, she turned into a bird today, so she might as well continue with the firsts. She looked down at her fingers. “I was afraid for you too.” When she looked back at him, he was looking at her with understanding in his eyes. He sighed again. “I figured Ephraim must’ve said something that sent your emotions and magic over the edge.”

She patted the bed beside her for him to come and sit down. She ignored the twinge of pain the movement sent through her. “I know that you wanted me to find a safer way to do things, but I wouldn’t have been able to live with the fact that there was a quicker way staring me in the face and I ran away from it. I won’t live my life based on fear.” He sat down beside her, and they stared at each other for a few seconds. He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose. She smiled as he leaned back and then leaned in again and kissed her lips. It was somehow even more magical than the first kiss. She was about to reach up and wrap her arms around his neck when the pain she forgot during the kiss instantly returned. He grabbed her and pulled away. He propped her back up on the pillows. “I’m not interested in making out with someone who is barely hanging on at the moment.” He smiled at her, and she gave him a fake pout, which made him smile even wider. That smile seemed to make her weak in the knees every single time. Well, she was already weak in every part of her body, but still.

She held his hand and marveled at the flames around him. “So, you only burn through things when you decide to?” He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “Yes, and occasionally when I get too emotional.” She looked up at him. “I’m guessing you became too emotional during times Ephraim was involved.” He smiled slightly. “Ephraim wasn’t always this hardcore person. I think the more time he spends waiting on Anzel to return, the worse he gets.” Hearing Anzel’s name made her remember her dreams. She’d finally seen his eyes again, but she was too exhausted to get answers. She figured that now was as good a time as any to finally tell someone about her dreams and get a different viewpoint on them. So, she told Xylas about them, even the ones in childhood. She also told him about everything that transpired before and during the trip. He was quiet for so long that it made her peek up at him and ask, “Do you think I'm crazy?” He rubbed her cheek. “Of course, not. It’s just that your dream confirms that Anzel is alive and reaching out to you. I know that the Asai are alive, but a small part of me still questioned it after all this time that no one has heard from them.” She nodded to herself. “At least you thought they were alive for the most part. I honestly thought they were some myths that started to keep people in line.” He laid his head on hers and that sat perfectly still.

She finally remembered why she was in bed in this temple in the first place and asked, “Wait. When do I get to see the stone?” Xylas shrugged. “You won fair and square, so you can see it whenever you’re ready.” She looked at him and practically yelled, “Now!” Xylas laughed at her. “Can you even walk?” She rolled her eyes. “Just help me out of this bed.” He threw his hands up in mock defeat and got up to walk to the other side of the bed. He reached under her arms and helped pull her out of the bed. She swayed a little when she stood, and he grabbed her around the waist. “Are you sure about this Viri? That jewel isn’t going anywhere.” She squared her shoulders. “I have to do this. It’d drive me insane to continue waiting.” As if I was on cue, she felt the tug from the stone pulling her towards it again. She took several deep breaths to ground herself. “Okay, let’s go.”