I would’ve liked him. Kol moved to her side and bumped her shoulder with his. He sounds like someone who would’ve joined me in sealing the headmaster into his toilet closet.
She surprised herself by laughing, though it came out sounding more like a sob. Yes, he would’ve. As long as you gave him an important role to play and let him play it with all the flair his heart desired.
I’m sorry he isn’t here with us to play a role tonight. Kol walked beside her to the door as Gabril strapped on his sword and gathered up the travel packs. We’ll do this one with flair. For Leo.
She smiled gratefully up at him, the hard knot of grief in her chest expanding into something softer. Something a little bit easier to accept. For Leo.
They left the shack and moved into the trees. Earlier in the day, Lorelai had noticed that while there were patches of rot, spots of crumbling bark, or soil that looked too pale, overall the forest was in much better condition that the Falkrains. Maybe Irina had pulled magic from the outer edges of the kingdom first, trying to protect the capital, and by extension herself, from the effects of the blight.
Or maybe the Hinderlinde Forest had never fully capitulated to Irina’s will.
Either way, Lorelai hoped it boded well for what she had planned next.
“How are you going to do this?” Gabril asked when they’d put enough distance between themselves and the shack to have a place to run back to if Irina’s counterattack required them to retreat.
Lorelai showed Kol her plan. Is that okay with you?
It’s fine, but are you sure you want that much pain again?
It will be temporary. Lorelai met Gabril’s eyes. “I’m going to use Kol’s dragon fire again. Only this time, I’m going to see if I can send it underground and have it target the watchtowers only.”
Gabril’s mouth tightened, and he looked at Kol. “I can’t see inside her head. If she’s getting overwhelmed by the pain, you do something about it.”
Tell him that was already my plan.
“He was planning on it,” Lorelai said. Gabril grunted.
Hunt? Travel? Eat? Sasha swooped down and perched on a nearby branch.
Not yet. I’m going to do magic.
Rather eat.
Lorelai laughed as she flexed her fingers and felt the tingle of magic run down her arms. Then go eat. I’ll call you if I need you.
Sasha flew away as Lorelai reached for Kol’s hand and braced herself for the pain. Once again, his dragon heart leaped toward her power the second she sent her magic into him. Heat poured out of him and filled her chest until pain was a living creature trapped beneath her skin, thrashing and biting with jagged teeth. She clenched her teeth to keep from screaming.
Touch the ground, Lorelai. Send the fire where you want it to go. Kol’s voice broke through the pain, and she fell to her knees and pressed her open palm against the forest’s floor.
“Zhech`pusk. Destroy with fire. Allow all who have a heartbeat to get out of the tower unscathed.” She accompanied her instructions with an image of a watchtower—tall and narrow, built of wood with signal mirrors along the top and a carrier pigeon roost to the side.
Fiery magic—orange and yellow with a core of white—burst from her palm and burrowed into the ground. She pressed hard, as much to stay in contact with the magic as to keep herself from curling up in a ball from the pain, and felt the threads of fire explode outward, hurtling beneath the forest floor until they reached a watchtower and then racing up the structure to engulf it in flames, always leaving the stairs and exit clear so that those who manned the tower could escape.
The fire found seven towers in all—two in the capital, one on the castle grounds, and one at each compass point surrounding the capital. When the seventh tower was crumbling to ash, Kol pulled his hand from hers and held her while the terrible heat of his dragon’s fire drained away and left her shaking in its wake.
“Are you okay?” Gabril crouched in front of her.
“Yes,” she said, though her limbs still trembled. She leaned on Kol as he helped her to her feet and then listened carefully.
The forest was alive with creatures rustling through the underbrush, insects chirruping, and the occasional mournful hoot of an owl, but there were no signs of Irina. No shuddering in the ground. No bugs or statues or anything else that looked like a weapon.
Lorelai had sent powerful magic through the ground only a day’s journey from the capital, had destroyed all the capital’s watchtowers, and Irina hadn’t been able to retaliate.
She laughed and hugged Leo’s sweater to herself, blinking in surprise as tears stung her eyes. “We did it. She didn’t attack us, even though we burned down a tower on the castle grounds.”
Gabril’s teeth flashed white against his skin as he smiled. “You were right. I’m proud of you.”
I told you we make a good team. And I think sending fire beneath the ground to incinerate every tower had plenty of flair. Leo would be proud too. Kol’s hands at her waist kept her steady while her knees gained the strength to hold her again.