Then he saw nothing.
Aidan woke suddenly, sitting up in his cot. He was in a dormitory that was similar to the one at Fort Phoenix, but not quite the same. There were several people in the room, but the one that stood out the most was a young man with a lopsided, oversized crown on his head, who rushed to the wizard’s side the moment he awoke.
“Aidan, my name is King Lief, and on behalf of all of Gurvinite, I cannot express my gratitude enough,” he said, grasping the boy’s hand.
“Did I kill him?” Aidan asked.
The king chuckled. “Edwin? Yes, you killed him, and you saved-“ he stopped, for the boy had jumped from his bed and ran out of the room.
Aidan sat on the edge of the beach, staring out at the new safety sphere the sorcerers had been constructing. Here, it was almost invisible, revealing the sunset to Aidan. The other sorcerers were setting up camp on the island, as were the amoghs. It would hopefully soon serve as an outpost with a far larger army backing it up. It wasn’t long before Timothy joined him on the sand.
“The dragons were easily defeated, and they’ve even agreed to form a peace treaty. Next time, they might be on our side.”
“How did you do it? I mean, how did you get to the island unseen?” Aidan asked his friend.
“Amateur cloaking spell, something you probably know nothing about, master wizard,” his friend said, punching him playfully in the shoulder.
For a few minutes they sat in silence, enjoying each other’s company.
Then Timothy spoke. “Aidan, I can’t begin to apologize for what I did to you and the am-, Aaliyah. If there is any way I can-“
“It’s forgiven,” Aidan said, “Besides, it wasn’t you who did it. Where is Grogg, anyways?”
“Dead.”
Again, they sat in silence. There had been far too much death recently.
Eventually they heard Eleanor call Timothy’s name.
“Go,” Aidan said. “She needs you and you need her.”
Timothy gratefully stood and ran to her, leaving the new wizard alone on the beach.
The sun had almost touched the ocean when Aaliyah sat down beside Aidan.
“So you’re a dragon slayer too, aren’t you?” Aidan asked.
Aaliyah smiled. “Yes, but my Black Thunder was way better than your stupid spineback. And the merfolk get the credit for the others.”
Aidan laughed and looked at his friend. It was amazing that only a few weeks ago, he would have given anything to leave her behind. Now, their hearts and souls beat in the same time.
Aaliyah sighed. “Aidan, you once told me that I didn’t have to be strong for you. You were right, it wasn’t until I opened myself to you that I felt peace. Now I’m going to say it to you. You don’t have to be strong for me. If I can help, let me.”
Aidan bit his lip. “It’s just… I knew at least ten spells that would have hurt or crippled him, or even removed his power, but I didn’t use them. I used the one that killed him. Why would I do that?”
For a moment, Aaliyah was quiet. “Aidan, you know how many he killed, don’t you? And how many he was yet to kill? Before, when you killed the others, why do you feel no regret for them?”
“I had no choice,” Aidan said.
“You had no choice then, either. There was nothing you could do.”
Aidan felt a tear slide down his cheek. “Does it ever get easier?”
“It could,” Aaliyah said, “if you let it. But if you let yourself become hard to murder, then it will change you into something you don’t want to be.”
Aidan turned and looked into her hazel eyes.
“Aidan, you’re not a bad person. You saved my life twice, and you’ve shown me that there is far more to you than just a sorcerer. Thank you for that.”
Aidan didn’t know what was happening inside him, but he felt his, no, their heart race as his face drifted closer and closer to hers.
Their lips barely touched, hers pushing the magic out of his, when she playfully pushed him away. “If you want a kiss,” she said, a smile on her face, “You’re going to have to do better than that.”
Then she jumped up and ran across the beach, sand flying in her wake. Aidan grinned and took off after her.
Aaliyah knocked on Bartemus’s new office door and walked inside.
“You know, the point of knocking is to get a response before you come barging in,” the warlock said.
“I don’t like it,” Aaliyah said. “Aidan’s not a murderer, and forcing him to ignore his conscience will destroy him.”
Bartemus slowly nodded. “I know, and this pains me more than anything. One day, when this is over it will be your job to bring him back. Until then, he must be prepared to slay Malcommer, no matter what the cost.”