Theo breathed in, letting the air cycle through his entire body. When he let it out, he felt like he was releasing all his worries and doubts with it.
"Okay," he said. "I'll do it."
"Good." Darian stepped back. Theo swallowed his nerves and approached her.
He passed Ryan, who was still on his knees. Despite himself, he felt an uncomfortable twinge of pity.
"Ryan," he said softly. "Focus on bringing back Avia, okay? Isn't that why you came here?"
"I…." Ryan's voice came out smaller than Theo had ever heard it. "I don't know...if I can."
Theo froze. Had he misheard? Up until now, he hadn't even thought Ryan was capable of self-doubt.
"Avia and I…." Ryan's words came slow and hesitant, as if he was tearing each one from his heart. "We aren't like...you and Sir Zenith. We don't have the...connection...you do. That's why...you beat us."
He curled in his fingers, dragging his nails across the stone. His shoulders hunched and his head drooped.
Something twisted in Theo's chest, sharp like a knife. He hadn't been wrong, after all. Ryan really had changed.
"Then you just have to show her," he said, "how much you mean it. Right?"
Ryan jerked, his head shooting up. His green eyes fixed on Theo, wide with an amazement that made him seem heartbreakingly young. Then he pressed his lips together and nodded, once, twice.
Theo returned the nod with a smile before heading over to Darian, who had watched the whole exchange silently. She straightened, and Theo took a breath and closed his eyes, reaching for his Levia.
Some part of Theo was afraid he wouldn't remember the contract spell, but its lines appeared in his mind almost instantly. After all, he'd drawn it almost every day for as long as he could remember.
For all those years, he'd had no idea it meant anything. Now, even though he still didn't know where these diagrams came from, he understood its true purpose. To bind, to connect, to bring two souls into one.
His Levia rushed toward the lines, eager as if reuniting with an old friend. The familiar warmth exploded inside his chest and flared beneath his feet. The world behind his shut eyelids flooded red.
This was only the beginning. Now he had to complete the contract. To reach for Darian.
His dawn light rushed outward, dancing in waves like an aurora. Any moment now….
All of a sudden, a wall of Levia surged in front of him. No, more than a wall, it spread in every direction with no beginning, no end, no top, no bottom. It was vast as the night sky.
And just as dark: a blue so deep it swallowed his feeble light with ease. Tiny pinpricks glinted across it like trails of stars, but their glow was cold and distant. No hint of warmth.
He felt even tinier than those stars, barely a fleck of dust. Doomed to drift through this expanse until everything faded. Memories. Self. Power.
No. He couldn't let it overwhelm him. Not before he accomplished his goal.
The same goal as Darian. To save Zenith.
In that moment, he sensed a subtle shift in the night sky. It remained huge and forbidding, but the stars seemed to have rearranged themselves slightly. Whatever happened, he suddenly felt his own Levia flicker to life again.
As fast as he could, he seized onto it. Once again he released his dawn light, and his heart leapt when instead of fizzling away, it arced across the night sky. The light was faint against the darkness, but it was still there.
It was enough.
The next thing he knew, his eyes snapped open. His legs gave out, knees hitting the stone floor with a bone-jolting impact. But at least he'd returned to his own body.
He sucked in a rasping breath. Icy sweat beaded his forehead and a vicious ache pounded inside his skull. His muscles felt raw and tender, like he'd just finished a marathon.
Deep in his veins, his Levia sparked fitfully. He almost couldn't feel it beneath the sheer crushing weight of Darian's power. If he let his concentration slip even for one second, the night sky would engulf him again.
"Theo." Darian's voice drifted from ahead. With all his strength, Theo lifted his head. She was still on her feet, gazing down at him with eyes as dark as her Levia.
"I…." Theo's voice came out dry and hoarse. He cleared his throat, tried again. "I'm okay."
"Can you stand? Here." Darian crouched down, reaching out a hand. Fighting stiff, resistant muscles, Theo lifted his own hand. When her fingers brushed his, shock leapt down his spine. He hadn't expected her touch to be so warm when her Levia felt so cold.
Her grip tightened, crushing his fingers, and with surprising strength she yanked him up to his feet. The world lurched around Theo; he dug his heels in, straining not to fall.
"Are you all right?" Darian didn't let go of his hand. Her voice was softer than Theo had ever heard it. "If it's too much for you, we can release it."
"No," Theo said instantly. "I – I can do it. Just...just not for long."
With every breath he took, he felt Darian's Levia deepen within him, his own Levia fade. Soon it would drain him dry.
"Then we'll have to make every second count." A smile flickered across Darian's face. "Thank you, Theo."
Unable to speak, Theo only nodded. Didn't matter; Darian had sensed his own gratitude well enough. She stepped out of the alcove, and Theo followed her.
Ryan had already left. Theo could only hope he'd succeed at his own mission.
Down in the coliseum, bodies roiled, weapons clashed, Levia flashed, voices shouted. Ryllis leaped after Lyura, who darted across the rows of seats. Lodo wrestled with the giant bulldog, snarling and scratching.
Orange light blasted from above, scattering fighters. Avia. Before they could get up, an even brighter wave of Levia slashed across the coliseum and knocked them flat.
Feeling sick, Theo followed the light to its source. Zenith still had his sword pointed forward, crackling with Oliver's Levia.
A burst of harsh laughter tore at Theo's ears. Up in the high box, Oliver was clutching his sides and kicking his feet like he was having the time of his life. His ring blazed like a miniature star.
Hate welled inside Theo, hot and bitter. It gave him the strength to march forward to Darian's side.
With another ferocious wave of orange Levia, Zenith cut down another swath of fighters. Oliver laughed louder.
"I think," Darian said slowly, "I may need to use my elemental powers if I'm to stand a chance."
Dread twisted into a tight, hard ball in Theo's chest. "I...I don't know if I can cast the spell more than once."
"Then we've got just one shot." Darian leveled her rapier, prepared to jump into the fray.
The dread deepened, making Theo feel sick. Would it be enough? Even with the contract and elemental spell, could they really take out Zenith with one attack?
But it was the only chance they had, and every moment they dithered wasted more precious time.
Oliver swiped out, ring flashing. A spell flared beneath Zenith, wreathing his blade in orange light once more.
Theo's heart jumped into his throat. Just as Darian tensed her muscles, Theo reached out and grabbed her shoulder.
She whirled around, face wild. "What's wrong?"
"We can't beat Zenith," Theo said.
"What are you talking about? We don't have a choice!"
"No, we do." Excitement thundered in Theo's veins, pushing down the weariness. "Who says we have to take out Zenith? Why not Oliver?"
"Oliver?" Darian's eyes widened, then she blinked. "Well. He is the wizard…."
"More than that, I'm pretty sure he's only able to do this because of that ring. That's the source of all his powers," Theo went on, words almost tripping over one another. "We don't have to beat Zenith, or even Oliver. All we need to do is destroy the ring."
"Ah." Darian blinked a few more times before an impish smirk sliced across her face. "Sounds like a plan. With the one shot we have, we'll aim for the ring."
"It...it might not be that simple." Theo darted his gaze across the raging battlefield. "You'll have to get past everyone...and Zenith will definitely try to stop you."
"But you'll be helping me," Darian declared with flat certainty, tapping her blade against her palm. "We can do this, Theo. I trust you. So trust me in turn."
Theo's throat tightened painfully. 'I don't deserve this,' some tiny voice in him whispered. 'How can she say she trusts me? When she doesn't even know I've been jealous of her….'
He bit his lip, trying to cut off the flow of thoughts before Darian could sense them. Shame hammered in his chest like a second heartbeat. What the hell was wrong with him? He'd already established he had no reason to be jealous, since Darian's feelings for Zenith weren't romantic.
Even if they were, so what? Her connection to him was deep and true, far deeper than Theo's. Theo himself didn't know if he had the right to love Zenith. And right here and now, none of it mattered.
They only needed one reason to save Zenith. The same reason – because they cared about him. Nothing more to it.
"Theo?" Darian tilted her head, blinking, and Theo swallowed down a hot tide of embarrassment.
"I'm ready," he said.
"Good." Darian nodded sharply. "I'm off. When the time is right, cast the elemental spell."
With that, she pointed her rapier and leaped into the air. Theo slapped his cheeks, breathed in deeply to clear his lungs. Time for him to do his part. Focus, ignore everything unnecessary. His doubts and fears, the crushing pressure of Darian's Levia.
"Zenith," he whispered. "We're coming for you."