Rise of the Firebird Read Free Page B

He knows what the Álfr and we thought of Yanka. Only Aramis held some kind of emotional attachment to her after she started to turn dark. He probably thought he was saving her like he was always trying to save her.” Vasya Melenko was watching him coolly, but he didn’t care that he was interrupting and continued, “It’d be in everyone’s best interest if you told Anya everything. Yanka’s betrayal and Vasilli murdering Trajan devastated her. She wants to kill them. Let her.” Vasya Melenko and Ruthann shared a long look.
    “Do you think she could succeed in such an impossible task?” Ruthann asked finally.
    “With the truth and a bit more control over her magic, there’s no guessing what she could do. She will find a way with or without our help.”
    “What about Ilya’s prophecy?” asked Vasya Melenko.
    “Which one? He had hundreds,” Ruthann answered vaguely.
    “You know the one, Ruthann. The one that Aramis has no clue about even though he has collected every single prophecy concerning Yanka and her family.”
    Søren knew of Aramis’ obsession. If there was a prophecy that he hadn’t found, it must’ve been extremely well hidden. It would be one more thing that his brother would be angry about.
    “I will consider showing them,” said Ruthann coolly.
    “Do that, she has potential. As for me, I am going to turn in. I’m not as young as I used to be.” She got up and smoothed her skirt before lighting another cigarette and leaving the study.
    “How is Aramis?” Ruthann asked once the door had closed.
    “He’s much better because of Anya. When we brought him back here, he was half mad. We had to amputate his hand. There was no way we could save it.”
    “What did Anya do to him?”
    “I was actually hoping you could tell me. I walked into his chamber, and she was lying against his chest and magic was pouring out of her and into him. It was as if it melded with his and became something different. I’ve never seen anything like it. She was glowing where they touched. Afterwards, Aramis said his pain was almost gone and was actually laughing with her. It was like they were both high.” Søren started to pace. “It wasn’t the first time it happened either. Anya said Aramis had done it to her once before. They have this strange bond and their magic wants to touch all the time. Anya described it as her magic being infatuated with Aramis.” Ruthann got up and poured himself and Søren some wine.
    “If what you said is true, then it sounds to me like she cleansed his soul.”
    “Excuse me?” Søren choked on his drink.
    “I cannot be certain but it has been known to happen. It shouldn’t be possible between those two though. In the only documented cases, the participants had years and years of training to develop the talent.”
    “What do you mean by cleansing his soul?”
    “She takes his soul into her body and fills its place with her magic to heal him while she pulls the darkness out of his soul and then puts it back into his body,” Ruthann explained and refilled their glasses.
    “And she had no idea what she was doing,” Søren said feeling a little dazed. “She only wanted to make him feel better.”
    “She has a very soft heart but a vast amount of power. She could’ve killed him.”
    “If we tell her that, she’ll panic. She would never harm him, not even after all of this. She doesn’t even blame him for Vasilli killing Trajan, her ástir .”
    “It’s a lot of trouble that has landed on us,” Ruthann sighed.
    “We knew it was bound to happen one day. Yanka was still alive even though she was incapacitated. It’ll never stop until she is dead.”
    “We have tried to kill her. We tried every way possible. The closest we have achieved was to hold her in a coma. Even in that state, her power protected her from harm.”
    “Anya will kill her,” Søren said with absolute certainty.
    “Will she? Yanka is blóđ .”
    “Yanka is not her family. They are her family.