“Only you can save her and keep her for her true purpose.”
A sight formed again of Ilyan gently laying me on the bed in the attic, his finger running along my jaw as I fell asleep. Showing him then lean down to kiss me. A forbidden kiss, a kiss I never felt. I gasped as I saw the action. I was angry, angry that he had kissed me, and yet... and yet...
“For you were born and you were bred only to protect her.”
More images of Ilyan and I floated past, his arms always around me, his body protecting me from those who would hurt me. Some I had lived through and some I had yet to experience.
“It is your future, Ilyan. Now is your time to see her. Then your place will be near her. It is your purpose to protect her. But beware, even as your heart longs for her, she will love another.”
My heart clenched as the sight replayed my first kiss with Ryland, our magic exploding as Ryland sealed himself to me, completing the Z?lství. This time it was not my turn for heartbreak. This time Ilyan reached longingly out, his voice calling out in disbelief. I could hear his heart break and it broke something inside of me too. I shook my head, basking in the memory of the kiss and not the trauma I was now facing.
“Your heart will long for her, but she may not be yours to take.”
More sights, more visions of secret kisses, intimate moments when we sat with our arms around each other, as we laughed and joked. And finally, when he tried to teach me to Salsa dance. I couldn’t help but smile at the memory. Even though I didn’t want to accept all that was being shown, I couldn’t keep out the joy that tried to seep its way into me.
“You must find your strength to protect her, to be near her, for it is only by your side that she can find her true purpose, that she will find the strength to kill those that would end the magic of the world.”
The images in the water changed again, this time to show Ilyan standing by me as I fought, his presence strong as he supported me from a distance. I could tell what was happening. I was using his magic. The knowledge of that rocked through me and my jaw dropped. There were only two ways that that could happen, through a bonding, or through the ?tít. I clutched my hand to my shoulder. He had known.
I understood the look now, the look he gave me when he spoke of the ?tít for the first time. It was heartbreak. His heart had broken because he knew he could never have me and that the ?tít was the only way he could be close to me. And then, when I could hold his magic, all of it, he knew that a bonding was possible, but also that it would never happen.
I had come to love Ilyan, maybe more than I could ever fully accept. I felt my soul rent with the realization of his pain and heartbreak. I longed to help him, to protect him, to make it okay. But I knew I couldn’t. I was bonded to Ryland. And Ryland had protected me too. Ryland loved me too. And even though Ryland’s protection may end by a severing of our bond, I didn’t know if I could ever move beyond that.
“It is only when she is with you that she will be able to accomplish all that she must. And it is your place to protect her, until the day that she passes from this world and into the next."
“No.” Ilyan and I said together at the sight of him holding my body, his arms wrapped tightly around me as he howled and cried in agony, explosions filling the space surrounding us.
“This child is power.” Sain spoke alone, his voice loud and powerful. “Power that is strong enough for you.”
More flashes of my ability raced across the pillar. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it. I couldn’t comprehend that I could be so strong.
“For you,” the Drak repeated together, “for you, for you.”
Their voices reverberated eerily as image after image of Ilyan and I together filled the space. Sights of intimate kisses, intertwined bodies, beach houses, and children flashed one right after another. They came faster and faster until they were a blur. The blur continued for a moment before the water went black, the pillar falling into the pool again. I ran to it, gasping at the smooth surface and the reflection of myself that was now staring back at me.
“You will love her,” Sain said with the deep deadpan voice of a sight. I looked up to him, unsurprised to see him standing, his eyes covered with blackness and lit only by the glowing embers the Black Water gave him.
“But you cannot have her.” The Drak spoke as one, each of their eyes also covered. They stared out, unseeing, the glossy blackness calling to me.
“You will protect her,” Sain said.
“But you will fail,” the Drak continued, their voices coming in quick succession.
“The one bred to change the world of magic,” Sain lifted his hands as if he was seeing something, but the hall stayed still.
“The one bred to die.” I froze at the words of the Drak.
“What?” I said aloud to the empty space, even though I knew no one could hear me.