My eyes widened as the walls of the passage moved in and out as they breathed, red lines trailing down the stones as they bled. My breathing picked up as I watched, my anxiety peaking as the floor seemed to shift beneath me. A small gasp escaped my lips as I clung to the door, my hands pressing into the wood as I waited for the unstable movement to stop.
My eyes snapped shut as I looked away from the horrors I faced, trying to push away my irrational fears. I kept my mind trained on the rough ridges of the ancient wood that stretched underneath my fingertips. The shadow of Ilyan’s magic bolted through the ?tít as he slept, the familiarity like a warm blanket, the strength just enough for me to push away the panic and find control over it.
The floor stabilized as my breathing settled, the rhythm matching the pulse of my heart as I focused on the black behind my eyelids.
My eyes opened to the pure grey stone of the hallway, the shadows wavering in the light that flickered from the sconces. There was nothing else, not anymore. No monsters, no demons. Just me and a clear path to Dramin.
“You are bigger than it,” I said to myself, my voice a stable whisper in the dimly lit hall. I smiled at the thought and put one foot forward, almost expecting the floor to shift at the step, but everything stayed as steady as my heartbeat. My lips twitched into a smile as I let my fingers run over the smooth, cold stone of the wall as I walked forward. My steps slow as magic pulled me toward the dying man.
The corridors stretched on forever as I moved, the flickering of the lights chipping away at my sanity. I turned one corner after another while the nightmare threatened to invade, the quick return scaring me. I had only just pushed away the fear, and to have it come back to me so soon made me doubt the progress I had thought I had made.
My heart thumped as the volatile tension wavered through me. The door came into view as I turned the last corner, the tall, wooden slab stretching high above me.
I took the last step and pressed my hand against the door, the tension in my neck growing as I paused. I was here. I could feel my magic beg me to move forward, yet I was scared. Scared I would be caught; scared I would fail. I didn’t know which fear was stronger.
I let out a shaky breath as I pushed the door open, my fingertips grazing over the smooth wood as I let it swing away from me. The door opened with a low creak that caused me to catch my breath. My eyes darted over the halls as if Ilyan would walk around the corner, but I knew it was foolish. I was too far away for him to hear me now.
I turned back to the pitch-black room where Dramin slept, fear knitting up my spine until I worried I would snap. Light filled the room as I stepped in, scaring me that I had been caught already, that someone was here, but I was alone. It was only the old torches that had lit with my arrival, my magic awakening them and filling the room with a dim, flickering light.
The light gave life to shadows that rose up like a forest. Dark fingers reached toward the ceiling, the skeletal ridges clawing at the joists and threatening to collapse the room. The frayed edges of my panic increased, my muscles overwrought.
I fought the need to fold into myself, pushing away the monsters as I turned to Dramin, focusing on the gentle rise and fall of his chest. He still remained in the same place, in the same position, and in the same clothes that he had from hours before. Nothing had changed.
I let out a shaky breath as I moved into the room, the powerful waves of my magic bathing the room with warmth in their mad attempt to reach him. It was the same as it had been with Wyn. My magic knew what to do, and it was desperate to begin.
“Hello, Uncle,” I whispered as I came up beside him, that familiar phrase sounding strangely out of place. “I’m sorry I hurt you, but I’m here to fix it.”
My voice trembled as I pleaded with the mostly lifeless man in front of me, asking him to forgive me. I took the last two steps, my fingers shaking as they reached toward the grey, clammy skin of his hands.
My magic reacted as my hands wrapped around his, the thin strands of my power flowing into him in eager anticipation. I let it flow, hoping it would warm him and take away the deathly hue in his skin.
Hoping it would bring Dramin back.
I exhaled as it filled him, my breath shuddering and crackling through the silence of the room. My nerves had almost completely gone, my mind so focused on what I was doing that there wasn’t any room for my insecurities or for doubt. It was only me and the magic that flowed through my fingers.