Bound by Blood and Sand (26 page)

He tugged his hand away from hers, stood, and held his hand out over the abyss. Their shared blood dripped down, and the magic in the Well flared and roared, roiled. Jae stood to join him, pressed up against him shoulder to shoulder, and could see that the Well's surface had grown choppy beneath them. The sky was suddenly so cloudy and dark that dawn might as well never have happened.

Tal shuffled forward an inch, toes resting at the very edge of the cliff, and took a deep breath. He cast one long look at Jae, smiling with an expression she knew too well hid what he was really feeling. They were so closely linked now that she felt it, too. Despite the brave face, he was terrified, not ready. He'd never be ready, but—

He fell forward, body lurching into motion. Jae screamed, couldn't stop herself from reaching for him. Her hand caught his, the magic surged, and the wind threw the wispy ends of his hair back toward her face. He was moving too fast. She couldn't stop him or let him go.

They both fell. The wind whistled and shrieked around them, the energy they'd built flaring. It reached for them, and Jae grabbed it on blind instinct—

They broke the surface and
stopped.
The water should have killed them both, shattered their bones before it drowned them, releasing their energy into the binding, but instead Jae was dry and terrified and still holding Tal's arm. A bubble glowed around them, sealing them in, even as the magic battered it, desperate to pull the energy it needed from them.

Jae.
Tal's mouth didn't move, but she heard him in her mind anyway, felt him clutching at her.
Stop this, let it go, let me go—

I can't
, she told him, clinging now as he tried to pull away. If he pierced the edge of their bubble, that would be the end, he'd be lost.

Let. Me. Go.
He stared at her, but she could only make out his eyes. It was nearly pitch black under the surface, the only light the dimly glowing magic around them. Not enough to see by.
You have to. This is my choice. Jae—

Tal, please—

This sets me
free.
It's my choice, my free choice. You have to let me do this.

She clutched at his hand, even as he tried to yank it away. But he couldn't. It was too hard to move in this strange, suspended bubble. She pulled him close instead, arms wrapped around him, head on his shoulder.

Please let me go,
he said.

Then she felt it. He was scared, yes, but he was determined. He was so sure. He'd always protected her, and the other Closest at Aredann—this was simply more of the same, Tal being Tal. It was his gift, his choice, and even as scared as he was, he wouldn't change his mind.

Goodbye,
Tal told her.

She released her grip, let him drift.
Goodbye.

His last thought was
I love you.

The bubble burst—shattered, more like, sheets of water cascading in, driving them apart, as the magic pulled at them both. For a moment, she tried to balance the magic, the water, and the binding between herself and Tal. If the magic took half of her, half of him, maybe that would be enough to restore the binding, but she and Tal would be left too weak. Neither of them would be able to swim to safety, and she wouldn't be able to control anything anymore. She'd be alive but useless, ruining Tal's gift.

He believed this was the right thing, and he believed in
her.

She clawed toward the surface, shoving the magic away from her. It sang in her mind as it found Tal instead, the binding restored and the Well flooding with energy
and
water as the clouds burst. Jae broke through the surface at last.

Rain pelted her as she tried to drag herself toward the nearest shore. The water she'd called was here now, and more was coming. The Well was sealed and bound once again, Tal's gift enough to hold it for now. The binding wouldn't last forever unless the Curse was broken, but Tal had given them enough time to get that done.

When she finally reached the muddy shore, she was barely able to drag herself out as the muck pulled at her, her clothes soaking and dragging her back. She found herself near the staircase and crawled up until she couldn't move any more.

Eventually she'd follow through on her promises, make sure the world was grateful for Tal's sacrifice. But today she couldn't walk any more, couldn't move, couldn't think. She curled up on a wide stair, barely sheltered from the wind and rain. Too exhausted to move farther, she lay there, cold and miserable, her tears mixing with the rain on her face as she mourned.

There was something strange in the air. Elan was sitting a short distance from where Jae and Tal were perched at the edge of the cliff, but he was still close enough to watch. Close enough to
feel.
His skin tingled, hair standing up, as the sky went gray above them. The wind picked up, clouds growing out of nowhere. He shivered, colder than he'd been in years.

So this was what magic felt like. Not quite natural, but not quite
wrong,
just as if there was suddenly
more
in the air around him. He hunched over, trying to catch his breath as the strange energy pushed him down, oppressive and heavy. He didn't know how Jae could stand it, unless it felt different to control it.

In the distance, Jae and Tal both stood. The wind whipped at them, hard enough that Elan imagined them staggering away from the cliff's edge—but instead Tal leaned over it. Elan held his breath, unwilling to imagine what Tal must have been feeling as he looked down.

Tal fell forward.

Jae followed him.

Elan shouted toward them, knowing it was too late, his voice lost in the howling wind. The clouds burst, and the bizarre feeling around him vanished like a morning haze. The world felt suddenly in focus, the magic back wherever it needed to be. The temperature dropped sharply, lightning laced the sky, and the clouds had grown enormous above him.

Jae was gone.

Elan pushed himself to his feet, rain hammering him, his hair sticking to his face and neck. He shivered uncontrollably but couldn't bring himself to move. Jae was
gone.
After everything, after Tal's decision and her agreement, she'd leapt after him, and now…

Her magic had worked. The rain hit the cliff and cascaded over it in growing streams. It would fill the Well, helping it grow back to its intended size. It would rain for days, Elan realized. It would pour out here as magic called water back to the Well, and in the rest of the world, the reservoirs would rise. Maybe the rain would make its way out there, too, ending the drought that had plagued the world for so long, and everyone would celebrate.

No one else in the world would know what had happened, that no one was really saved, that they only had a reprieve. Jae was gone, and with her, their hope.

Elan climbed farther under the trees for shelter, but they didn't provide much. Wind still battered him, and sheets of rain found their way through the leaves. He curled up in the driest spot he could find and shut his eyes.

He lay there and shivered, unable to bring himself to move, with no idea what to do next. Hours passed, and between the wind and the trees, he couldn't even see the sky to get a sense of how long he'd been in that position. He gave up trying to guess and just lay there, alone.

Finally the rain lessened, though it didn't stop. He was stiff from the cold, desperate to move, and forced himself to straighten out and stretch. After their days in the desert, his body was lean, muscle over bone with almost nothing else to it. He'd gotten used to being sore.

As he stretched out his limbs, he found his resolve. Yes, he was alone, and no, the Well wouldn't last forever, but Jae and Tal had bought it time. Jae had said that the only way to prevent it from drying again was to break the Curse, and she'd told him how.

There was a knife somewhere. He'd have to brave the desert again, but alone this time. He'd have to find his way back to civilization, and find a way to get from Aredann back to his family's land. He'd contact Erra and beg her for help, tell her the truth about what their father knew, what he'd done—what all of the Highest had done. If she helped him, they might be able to find the knife and destroy it. He'd have a better chance with her than he would alone, and then…

He would break the Curse, and save them all—unless the Closest then rose up against the Avowed who'd controlled them, rose up and were slaughtered. Without Jae's magic, the Closest might have sheer numbers on their side, but no weapons, organization, or training. There
would
be a war, he was sure of that—and if the Closest lost, if this time the Highest went beyond cursing them and killed them instead…

If the Highest slaughtered the Closest, they would seal their own fate. Without the Closest, the Well had no binding. The whole world would turn to dust, including the Highest. They'd bring it on themselves, Jae would have said. But the Avowed would believe they were fighting not just for their lives, but for their birthright. Elan would have to find a way to make them all understand the truth he'd learned about the Well and the Closest and the War. All of it.

He finished stretching and found the waterlogged remains of their camp. Most of their supplies had been lost in the desert, but he still had the satchel and water skin to fill, and a bag large enough to carry food in, plus the flint. It wouldn't be much, but it would have to be enough. Besides, the desert blossomed in the days after a rain. Maybe he could find something out there, once it came to life around him.

There was no point in putting off leaving. Nothing was going to get easier, and no one was going to help him. All he could do was start to gather supplies and force himself to go before he lost his will.

“Elan?”

Elan spun, dropping the bag he'd been holding open, and found Jae standing in the misting rain behind him. He stared, eyes saucer-wide, as she took another few steps toward him.

“You…you're alive?” he murmured, almost unable to believe it, as if Jae were an apparition brought to him by magic. He'd seen her fall, he'd felt the magic settle. She'd died. How could she not have died?

“I'm tired,” she said.

He tried to answer her but couldn't remember how to speak, and instead stepped forward. She didn't give him her eternally wary look, just stood there, looking lost and alone. He reached for her, pulled her against him, wrapped his arms around her, and breathed her in.

“Tal's dead,” she said, and pulled away from him.

He reached for her again, just her hand this time, and tugged her farther under the trees. The rain was light enough now that, aside from when branches grew too heavy and sent showers of drops splattering down, the ground beneath the branches was sheltered. “Sit,” he said, and then sat with her. “I'm sorry. I know he was…It wasn't easy for you to…Jae.”

“We can't sit long,” she said. “We have to go back. I won't waste his gift.”

“Of course,” he said. “I was gathering supplies when you appeared.”

“Oh.” She blinked. “You thought I was dead.”

“I did,” he said. “But I couldn't just…The Curse has to be broken, and I had to try. Even if I was alone.”

“Alone,” she echoed, and turned away. He reached out, wanting to put an arm around her shoulder, pull her close and comfort her. But she didn't move any closer to him, so he dropped his hand instead.

“But I'm
not
alone,” he said. “We don't have to be alone. We have…”

She looked over at him, and he couldn't say “each other.” He'd sworn to Tal he'd look after her, and he'd keep that vow, hold it more sacred than the vows he'd once said to his father. He'd follow her anywhere, do anything she asked. But as grateful as he was to have her to follow, she didn't feel the same. She'd lost her whole world, and all she had in return was him.

He didn't think he'd ever be enough, but he'd try. So he just sat there next to her, still and quiet in the mist. Alone, together.

Gathering supplies didn't take them long, and then they set out into the overcast, dreary desert. That felt right somehow. Jae was empty and cold inside, as if Tal had left a tear in her body, one that would never be sewn shut. At least the weather reflected her mood.

Already the desert around them was different from the last time they'd faced it. Even after they were far enough from the Well that the rain no longer reached them, the desert had blossomed. Plants seemed to grow out of nowhere, pale grasses digging their way through muddy sands. Every bush and cactus had blossoms, bright against the dunes, purples and yellows and oranges that looked like jewels. The foliage spread in front of them like an overgrown garden. Wild and unkempt, but beautiful.

Jae felt nothing.

This time, they didn't have to ration water so much, even with only the water skin and satchel between them. There was water to be found in the plants, and even if there wasn't, there was enough water in the air around them for Jae to call. She could make it rain, if they needed water that badly. So they walked until they were tired, slept and ate and drank, and the next night walked again.

Every step brought them closer to Aredann, but Jae could no longer think of it as home. Home was a cramped, dark room she shared with Tal and Gali. Home was Tal smirking as he handed her a date, smiling as he set a gentle hand on her elbow. Home was her brother, and he was gone.

She almost couldn't do it. The idea of familiar sights turned wrong because he wasn't there left her anxious, stomach clenching despite being full and sated. She didn't know how to face the memories waiting at Aredann, or the years that would follow. It seemed almost easier to turn around, to just wander the desert until she fell.

But she couldn't squander Tal's gift. He'd wanted to protect the other Closest, so she'd protect them in his name. Besides, she had Elan to consider. He followed her without question, and she knew he'd follow her out into the desert, too, stay with her until they were both gone, just as he'd followed her out there in the first place.

He wasn't the same as when she'd first met him. Aredann had sanded off his arrogance and posturing, and the desert had honed him, focused him. He was willing to break the Curse, no longer grudgingly but because it would help everyone. Because it was the right thing to do, even if he had to do it alone. He deserved better than to die because she didn't care enough to live. She hadn't been able to save Tal; she wouldn't fail Elan, too.