everything that had happened on the island, after everything Emane had been through, how would she tell him she had severed their connection as well?
“Alcander is right,” Drustan continued. “If you don’t do this, you will both die. Think of what Dralazar could do—torturing both of you by laying hands on just one. What would you both do to save the other from the pain?”
“I saw a spell in the book Epona sent with me,” she admitted. “Will it sever all connections?” She glanced at Alcander. Her hope was all too apparent in her eyes, and he read it like a book.
His face hardened, and he stepped back as if she had slapped him across the face. “No. It severs connections like yours and Emane’s. There is, unfortunately for you, no spell to undo the transfer of magic between you and I. Unless you can manage to change your feelings.” Kiora was used to seeing anger under those furrowed brows of his, but now there was only poorly disguised pain.
“Where is the book, Kiora?” Drustan asked gently.
She hesitated. “Buried in the canyon with everything else.”
He looked to Alcander. “Can she summon it?”
She could see Alcander locking down his emotions before he answered. “I see no problem with it. They will not be looking underneath the rock. Even if they did, they wouldn’t know what had gone missing.”
Kiora wasn’t sure if she was angry at the situation or just devastated. But either way, it was as she said: she hurt everyone she loved. Closing her eyes for a moment, she summoned Eleana’s book.
Alcander leapt back, looking at the book like it was about to bite. “Where did you get that?”
“I told you, from the canyon.”
He took a step towards Kiora, as if he wanted to grab her and shake her. “Are you sure?” he demanded.
“Alcander,” Drustan asked. “What is the problem?”
He was breathing heavily. “If it came from the canyon, then that . . . ” he moved over to her, falling to his knees in one fluid movement and holding out his hands reverently. “May I?” She handed the book to him. Quickly he opened to the back, running his finger down the spine. “This one is missing the same page.”
“Alcander, what is it?” she asked.
He closed his eyes. “Each of the Creators passed down a book. All of them had been lost, except one.” Reverently shutting the book, he handed it to Kiora. “This is one of the lost copies, I am sure of it.”
“This book is from the Creators?” she asked incredulously, running her fingers over the nondescript leather cover.
“It has some of the most powerful magic we know of within its pages. We have long suspected the missing page may hold the secret to dealing with the Shadow. We have been looking for the lost copies in hopes they would contain the missing page.”
Alcander’s shoulders slumped, his blond hair hanging forward as he knelt before her. He looked so . . . lost. Hesitantly, she placed her hand on his shoulder, allowing magic to flow between them. “It’s all right,” she said. “One step at a time.” He pushed into her hand ever so slightly, increasing their connection. She shuddered as she slid her fingers down, her hand falling back to her side. Blinking back a tear, she looked to the sky before thumbing through the book. “Is this what we need?” she asked.
Alcander stood, gently taking the book from her and scanning the page. “It is.”
“Is this going to hurt?”
“You act as if you have had bad experiences with magic,” Drustan said, glancing at her white hair. When she didn’t smile, he cleared his throat. “I have no idea. I have never known anyone who has done it.”
“It shouldn’t,” Alcander said.
She sighed. “Somehow that isn’t very comforting.”
“Are you ready?”
Closing her eyes, she steeled herself. “I’m ready.”
Holding the book out, Alcander began repeating the incantation to the spell. It was different than anything she had heard or used. The incantation repeated itself over and over again, like a chant. She worried it wasn’t working until her skin began to glow an eerie green, intensifying with each pass of the incantation until she was glowing a bright emerald green. Every bit of her emanated light, casting green shadows over their enclosure.
His chanting stopped.
Spreading her fingers, she studied the green glow. “What is it?”
“The manifestation of your connection. Your feelings and Emane’s,” Alcander answered.
“But . . . ” She frowned. “Is that it? Is it done?”