Torches lined the path leading toward The Hollows. Several people gathered outside, and I also spotted a few mutated jagamoor lurking in the shadows. Although they kept their distance, their growls could be heard in the darkness, echoing from the dead grass that rustled as we walked the path to The Hollows. The trampled grass, covered in bits of ice and dirty snow, crunched under our feet as we hiked.
As we neared the cavern’s entrance, the power of the magic made my heart race, my stomach nauseated. When we reached the elves, I found my parents. They were bound and gagged, both with blood-smeared faces, sitting against the rock face. I tried to run toward them when the scarred elven man stopped me.
“Not another step,” he warned me. “And you’re not to heal them with magic, or else we kill your companions.”
My magic bubbled to the surface as I faced him. “Let me see them,” I said through clenched teeth.
“No.”
“But we’ve done as you’ve said. You’ve taken our weapons and we didn’t argue. We followed you here. You have to let me see them.”
His face twisted with anger, and then, without warning, he punched me in the stomach. Stars filled my vision as I fell back. Kull and Heidel caught me and placed me on the ground. Gasping for air, I tried to focus, but the pain made concentrating on anything difficult to do. I clutched my stomach. My ribs hurt as I tried to draw a breath. I’d had broken ribs before, and I prayed I hadn’t broken them again. After a moment, the pain relented. Breathing deeply, I rubbed my side, feeling my ribs unbroken but most likely bruised.
The elven man stood over me, leering.
“You’ll learn not to argue with me, Earthlander,” he spat.
Fisting my hands, I wanted to rip the man’s tongue from his mouth. I wanted his blood. But as the thoughts came to me, I realized Theht’s presence was affecting me. Controlling the goddess so near the cave was almost impossible. I felt her gathering strength as her voice came unbidden to me.
Yes, she whispered. Soon, your mind will no longer be your own. I will bind you to me, and your soul will die with you.
“No,” I whispered as I felt the goddess festering and gaining strength.
It was only a matter of time before she controlled me completely. The thought made my spine tingle with fear as I looked up into Kull’s eyes. A conversation we’d had surfaced in my memory.
You would never kill me, would you?
No. Not unless the thing inhabiting your body was no longer you.
But she didn’t control me yet. While my mind was my own, I would fight her, or I would die. I refused to become the vessel for Theht.
As I got to my feet, Queen Euralysia and three other elves emerged from the tent.
The silver-crowned queen, wearing shimmering black robes, stalked toward us. The color was gone from her skin. Her eyes were rimmed in red, and her hair, with a silvery luster, flowed behind her. She might have been attractive, but as it was, the taint of her magic affected her appearance. As I looked at her, my skin crawled.
“I’m glad you’ve come, Olive,” she said, as if I were an old friend paying her a visit instead of held captive by two dozen of her guards. “Kull,” she said, turning to her once fiancé. “You look well.”
He grunted. His clothing was ripped in places, and a large cut on his forehead dripped blood down his cheek. I wasn’t sure I agreed with the queen.
“Maveryck, Heidel, I am pleased you’ve all come. You’re about to witness a miraculous event, one that will change the course of history and will ensure the elves’ place as rulers in Faythander.”
“I’m not so sure everyone wants you as their ruler,” I said.
She only shrugged. “Whether they want us or not isn’t their decision.”
“You’re a tyrant,” I said.
“Tyrant? That’s harsh, Olive. Of all people, you should know better than to accuse me of such a thing. There was a time when I thought of you as a friend.” She circled us, her booted feet crunching over the dead grass and bits of ice. “You know how fickle the magic of this world can be; it is tainted and impure. Did you know that when our world was made, after the pure magic faded, all magic became blue? The other forms didn’t emerge until later, as offshoots of the original. I seek to bring Original magic back to our world. It will thrive, the way it should have. And once I control the magic, the taint of gray will never return again.”
Swallowing my panic, I tried to come to terms with the queen’s plans. “What, exactly, do you plan to do with the other forms?”
Her eyes darkened. “I will eradicate all except for Original magic.”
“And how will you do that?” Maveryck asked.
“With the sword of Dracon, I will harness the power of Theht, and then I will destroy all who use impure magic. That is the only way to eradicate it completely.”
My mouth slacked. “You’ll kill everyone except elves?”
“Yes, I must. Don’t you see? There’s no other way to completely eliminate gray magic from our world. As long as the five magics exist, they will always seek to be balanced—unless only one magic survives. I will purge our world. Many will die, yes, but the sacrifice is worth the reward.”
My mouth grew dry. I tried to wrap my mind around her logic, but it was too much. I’d known Euralysia for several years. I’d known she had taken a dark path; I’d known she wasn’t the same person she used to be, but this? How could she possibly think killing every creature on the planet except those like her was okay?
“Gray magic must be eliminated,” she said with contempt in her voice. “You have no idea what the goblins will do to our world if
