Once Xylas led her out of the room, she realized she’d made a terrible mistake deciding to walk so soon, and she almost asked him to carry her, but she wouldn’t dare give him the satisfaction of being right. She decided to talk to get her mind off it. “How long was I asleep for?” Xylas looked down at her and shrugged. “Around seven hours. You should’ve slept for much longer. It usually takes days to recover from depletion.” She groaned. “I guess I should consider myself lucky then.” Xylas smiled. “You know, I could always give you a piggyback ride.” She glared at him and was about to flick him off when suddenly, her steps became much more painful after hearing that there was a better alternative. She muttered, “Damn you.” She must’ve looked as defeated as she felt because he laughed and helped her get on his back.
She immediately noticed how much faster his pace was and realized that she had been walking slower than concrete drying. She looked at all the golden details around her in the hallways they walked through. “This place feels huge.” She felt Xylas nod. “It is. It houses some expensive artifacts just for the hell of it.” She felt the tug in her stomach grow stronger. “We must be getting closer.” She felt him nod again and they walked in silence. She was becoming more and more nervous, the closer they went. Or maybe it was just that the tugging was getting out of control. She couldn’t distinguish between the feeling of that and anxiety.
They rounded a corner and Alyson was there. She took one look at Viri on Xylas’ back and busted out laughing. Viri flicked her off and she finally reined in her laughter and said, “I was on my way back to find you guys.” Viri cocked her head at her. “You know your way around this place?” Alyson looked around and shrugged. “I do now, for the most part, thanks to having several hours to learn the place.” She winked at Viri, who rolled her eyes.
Xylas began walking again and Alyson trailed him. “I take it, we’re going to see the stone.” Both Viri and Xylas nodded. Viri looked back at Alyson and asked, “Where did you go anyway?” Alyson smiled to herself. “They have artifacts here from the first karkadann civilization before the species all lived amongst each other.” Viri was surprised. “Really?” Xylas responded, “I told you that they keep expensive relics.” Viri looked back at Alyson, who was smiling from ear to ear and looking around at the paintings on the wall, and she couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her friend and the relief she felt knowing there was no longer an immediate threat in their lives.
Viri noticed they had been alone this entire walk. “Where are the other Ifrit?” Xylas shifted underneath her. “They’re keeping their distance because they don’t want to alarm you.” She gaped a little. “Really?” She felt him nod for emphasis as he said, “Really.” Alyson added, “I ran into several while admiring the temple and they all seemed so in awe of you.” Xylas chuckled some and Viri hid her grunt from the pain of the movement as he spoke, “That’s because it’s the first time anyone has ever beaten Ephraim, not to mention also turn into an Asai.” She shrugged as much as her body would allow, which wasn’t much at all. “It’s not like I'm an Asai yet. I could’ve just been a regular bird shifter for all they know.” Alyson snorted. “Oh please. I’ve never seen a regular bird shifter look so majestic. It was like looking into the sun.” Viri stuck her tongue out at her, and she smiled.
They rounded another corner, and the pull was so strong; she almost leaped off Xylas’ back to run toward it. He must’ve felt her restlessness. “Breathe Viri. You won’t make it far on your own if you try to make a run for it.” She took deep breaths. “I’ve never experienced anything like this before.” Xylas and Alyson agreed that they’d never heard of or experienced what was happening to her. It felt like her abdomen was being snatched toward the gem. “The tug is so strong that it feels like the gem might suck me into it.” Xylas tightened his grip on her. “I won’t let that happen.” She felt Alyson scoot closer to her for backup.
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They came to a hallway with a huge, golden door that had flames and waves etched into it. She got off Xylas’ back and he began chanting something as he pressed his palm into the center of the door. His fire seemed to flow freely and manipulate the lock as he chanted. The door opened and she froze. She wanted more than anything to run towards the tug, but this moment would be confirmation that Anzel was her father. Honestly, everything up until this point could be used as confirmation, but this was the true moment. This was when she’d have to fully face reality and then go home and face her mother to find out the truth. I mean, she wasn’t one of those people that lost their minds at the thought of family secrets, but this would take an adjustment period. She felt Alyson grip her arm and looked over at her. “Hey. No matter what happens in there, you are still you and everyone who loves you before walking into this room will love you afterward. If anything, being able to see the stone just means that there might be more people out there for you to find that love you.”
She couldn’t help the tear that escaped and ran down her cheeks. She wiped it and nodded that she was ready. She squeezed Xylas’ hand. “Are you allowed to go in with me?” He squeezed her hand back. “I can walk you in, but I can’t get too close to it.” She looked back at Alyson, who kissed her on the cheek and said, “I’ll guard the door. I’m not so keen on being burned alive by an angry gemstone that doesn’t want me near it.” Viri laughed and gave her friend a peck on the cheek before walking through the door.
The door closed itself behind them, but she could barely focus on that as she saw the Ember Sea Stone on a golden stand across the room. She willed herself to walk slowly towards it, ignoring the raging pulsations in her head and stomach. The jewel seemed to flare brighter the closer she got to it. So much so that Xylas had to shield his eyes. With each step, her focus on the stone grew. It only broke when she heard Xylas hiss and turned towards him to see what was happening. She noticed that the flames that were usually wrapping around his left arm had been extinguished. She was about to walk back towards him to help but he waved her off. “It’s just the jewel protecting itself, which means this is as far as I can go.” He took a few steps back and the flames reappeared. She wanted to speak to him to make sure he was okay, but the pull from the jewel took over her focus again.
She began walking towards it once more, in even more of a daze now that she was walking alone. The closer she got, the brighter it continued to glow. It was like watching a large ruby turn itself into the sun, and she was orbiting it. She couldn’t form complete thoughts or words. She just followed the pull toward the gem. She could feel feathers appearing in certain areas on her body due to being so close to the stone, but she knew her body didn’t have enough magic for another full transformation so soon. She knew that even the small transformations should’ve worsened her pain and fatigue, but that was a distant memory now that she was near the jewel.
She came up to the golden podium that held the stone and it called to her like a siren. She felt like she’d disappear into nothing if she didn’t reach out for it. It was seated on a cushion as blue as the depths of the ocean with golden specks showered around it. The stone itself was a large ruby that seemed to be swirling with power. She could see the magic moving inside of it as if it had been waiting for any chance to escape all this time. She reached out to touch it and she couldn’t even tell if she was breathing anymore. She couldn’t hear if Xylas was still in the room with her, and she couldn’t be bothered to turn around and check. Her only thought was to touch the stone and it felt like more of a command coming from the jewel. Everything about this screamed that she should take caution, but she couldn’t stop.
Her fingers rested on the jewel. She braced herself for anything, but nothing happened. Her body slowly relaxed, but she still couldn’t pull away from the stone. She felt heat rising from the jewel under her fingertips. Her senses told her that she needed to get away from it, but it shattered before she was able to remove her hand from it. She couldn’t even shield her eyes from the brightness of the explosion it caused.