Yvette stared up at the roof of the small prison, idly tapping on the cot. While she was grateful to not have to go through the torment of being sea sick this time, being trapped alone in the cell was mind numbingly boring.

She knew she would likely die when the time came, that the idea of her fighting a leviathan was laughable. Suicide, even. The idea of never seeing Gervas again made her heart ache. But the longer she waited here, the more she found her thoughts wandering. She could hear talking outside of the room from time to time and on occasion different women would come inside to bring her something to eat. Often something in a bowl.

But she could only think of her impending doom so many times before she found herself going more and more stir crazy. She didn’t know anything about this leviathan, she had no way to prepare. She sat up and closed her eyes, slowly trying to focus her magic out from her body, to feel the world around herself.

Clasping her hands together, she tried to shift their form. Making the fingers lengthen and meld together, fur forming around them. However, try as she might, turning fully into a wolf just wouldn’t happen. While she could make a little fur appear across her body, trying to finish the form was impossible and she would snap back to herself after a few minutes of unsuccessful attempts.

The amount of magic she could do without her focus was so limited it felt stupid to even try. She’d even attempted to break the spell on Gervas at least a dozen times, having mixed her magic with his. But enchantments like that had never been her forte, she was nowhere near strong enough to affect such a powerful one. And it was more powerful than any she had ever felt, even her teacher might have struggled to break it. It honestly felt a little like overkill.

So instead she focused on what she could do. Trying to transform without her reagents. In the end, her focus allowed her to better wield her magic, but she knew that in theory nearly any spell that could be done with them could be done without them if the mage was strong enough. Although she knew that was likely untrue, as she’d never seen any mage do a powerful spell without a focus of some kind.

She then paused and opened her eyes. Now that she thought about it, she had seen a mage do it without a focus. Quinlyn did it with her words. True naming magic. That was a type of magic that didn’t require a focus of any kind as far as she knew. She racked her brain, trying to remember any reference she could to such magic.

Unfortunately, all she could remember was it being an old, outdated art. Rewriting the rules of the world by altering the words of them at the base level. Sometimes even called the god tongue. Its uses were said to be incredibly limited compared to the magic she used.

She glanced to Gervas and gave a soft sigh. It may have been incredibly limited, but she didn’t imagine it was very outdated. It was incredibly powerful from what she’d seen. She dropped back onto the bed and wracked her brain, trying to remember the words the woman had used. She licked her lips and tried to imitate them.

It felt like trying to catch a waterfall using a knife. The words themselves seemed to drip from her mind, each time she tried to envision it the words changing. Trying to make the words with her voice only made her throat burn. She slowly reached up and rubbed her neck, giving a soft whimper.

True naming magic was definitely not for her. She mentally scolded herself for wasting time. Once again she tried to focus, to wield her magic to shift her form. If she could transform into something smaller, perhaps she could escape. If she could get out of this room and find her bracer, it was possible she might be able to break the spell on Gervas.

A light knock on the wall made her look up, breaking her concentration. She froze in place when she saw Lunia standing by the lantern, a small, nervous smile on her face. “Hey, Yvette. How are you holding up?”

Yvette just narrowed her eyes, her fists clenching. She spoke through gritted teeth, trying to keep the anger controlled. “You tricked us.”

“I didn’t so much trick as not tell you all of the details. Besides, you--”

“What did you do to us? Back on the isle, what did you do?”

Lunia sighed and shook her head. “Siren root, it’s a magical poison that affects the mind. It isn’t supposed to have any lasting--”

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“You could have told me everything! I would have--”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Lunia said with a shake of her head. “And your guardian certainly wouldn’t have. Besides, I didn’t have much time. That… Chosen of Hsgrogn? She was on her last possible nerve. The slightest misstep and she’d turn vicious. It was only a matter of time before she did something very, very bad. I had to get you out of there. Unfortunately, since you weren’t going to go anywhere without your guardian, that meant getting both of you out. It wasn’t easy, either. I had to try at least a dozen times before I was able to get it just right. He didn’t make it easy.”

Yvette paused, her mouth falling open. “You… tried to poison us a dozen times? When? How? We only just met.”

Lunia paused and then shook her head. “Just don’t worry about it. It’d take too long to explain. I just want to know that you’re okay.”

“You kidnapped me. You have drugged and rendered my guardian helpless. What part about ANY of this makes you think I’d be okay? They are literally taking me to certain death. They want me to fight a leviathan. A full leviathan. I didn’t beat this giant turtle! All I did was dispel it! It wasn’t a leviathan to begin with!” she yelled, her voice getting louder with every word. “Why would you ever think I could be any definition of the word ‘okay’ with that?”

Lunia cringed with every word, giving a small, weak nod. “Yeah. I uhhh… suspected you might feel something like this. Listen, I--”

“What could you possibly have to say to make any of this okay?”

“I didn’t lie to you. I mean, about everything. There are people like you and we will get you the siren’s tears. Or at least get you to them. I’m sorry you got dragged into this, but it’s better this way. I want to help you.”

“How can you possibly help me?” Yvette asked. “I’m going into the maw of an impossibly powerful beast without any idea how to start. How to handle it. What can you possibly do to make any of that easier?”

Lunia shook her head and then reached inside her robe. She pulled out Yvette’s bracer, holding it up. “This. You’ll need it to cast your magic. More importantly, I’ve gone up against this creature, I can help you prepare.”

Yvette felt her heart do a little leap, her eyes locked on her focus. If she was able to use her magic again, she could escape. She could get out of here. She then glanced towards Gervas and gave a soft sigh. No, there was no way she could possibly leave him behind. While he was unconscious like this, there was no way she could guarantee his safety. Even worse, she had no idea where they were. She held out her hand for the bracer. She felt a small blossom of hope at the idea that, just maybe, she could break the spell on him and get them both away.

“No, it’s not that easy,” Lunia said with a shake of her head. “It was not easy to get permission to let you have this back. It’ll only be when we’re getting you ready. Tell me, how is your hydromancy?”

Yvette blinked a few times. “My hydromancy?”

“Yes. What can you do?”

Her cheeks turned a little red and she felt a small burst of embarrassment. Water magic had never been anywhere near her talent, the same as pyromancy. “My magical talent is in transformation magic, not--”

“So you’ve completely ignored other types of magic? You can at least do the basics, can’t you?”

“Well, I suppose a little, but--”

“Good. Because we’re going to be getting you ready for this. While training, you’ll be allowed to keep your bracer. Otherwise, it stays with me. Understand?”

Yvette nodded, though she felt another small rush of excitement when the other woman moved a hand towards the cell door. If she could charge the woman and grab the bracer, it was possible she could use her magic to overpower her. Then if she could break the spell on--

“I know what you’re thinking,” Lunia said, pulling her hand back. “Don’t. If you try to charge me, even if you get past me, you have an entire crew to deal with. At best, you’ll be beaten to within an inch of your life and not be allowed another chance. At worst, they’ll kill you. The captain takes protection of her crew very, very seriously. Trust me, I know.”

“I trusted you once and look where it got me,” Yvette said, though she let those thoughts of a glorious escape slip away. No, she needed to know more, first. It wasn’t just her life on the line, it was Gervas’.

“It has gotten you a lot more than you might have expected.” The woman put a hand on the bars and then they began to part, forming a doorway for her to walk out from.

Yvette gave one last saddened look towards Gervas before walking through the opening to stand by Lunia. The thought of leaving him behind made her heart ache, but if she wanted any chance to face this creature, she’d need all the help she could get. As much as she hated it, that meant getting help from Lunia despite her betrayal.

“That’s better,” Lunia said with a nod before the bars closed themselves once more. “Come with me, we have a lot of work to do.”