Once again, Ryan found himself soaring over the vast sea of Fia's Levia. This time, it was easy as breathing to send his green light into the water.
Without the corruption holding her back, Samakah's Levia eagerly raced to meet them. Its pearlescent glow engulfed them both, but neither was afraid. After all, this power belonged to Fia too.
When Ryan opened his eyes, that same pearly light bathed the entire cliff. It was so bright he could barely see anything through it, but that didn't matter when Fia's Levia pumped strong and steady inside him.
A few hard blinks, and his vision adjusted. Looking past the astonished townspeople, he stared up into the sky.
A tiny figure floated high above, glowing with iridescent light. It was only the second time Ryan had seen Fia like this, and it still took his breath away. Even as the waves raged and lightning crackled in the clouds, he couldn't tear his eyes away from his familiar.
But he had his own task to focus on, too. Though icy spray lashed his face and the light glowed brighter and brighter, he stood firm and kept pouring his Levia into the elemental diagram.
Just when he thought the light might blind him, it erupted in a concentrated beam from the depths of the swirling sea. The beam pierced the clouds, scattering them in a wide circle.
Gasps erupted around Ryan, but he only had eyes on the beam of light. As it faded away, a long, elegantly curving shape began to appear within it.
Samakah spread her fins, iridescent membranes rippling, and the final sparks of light showered across the sea. Now freed, the spirit surged into the sky until she disappeared past the clouds. For a heartbeat, all was quiet and still.
Then a musical cry pierced the air, and Samakah came plunging headfirst through the clouds. She only stopped when the tip of her snout was almost level with the island, the rest of her body stretching into the distance behind her.
Fia floated down to join her. Next to Samakah's enormous head, they seemed impossibly tiny. But when they spoke, their voice rolled across the ocean like thunder.
"People of Mare. Thanks to your unremitting efforts, I have been freed from the demon's corruption. As a show of my gratitude, allow me to deliver two gifts."
"Gifts?" Darian spoke up, breaking the stricken silence that had fallen.
"Yes," Fia said – or rather, Samakah. "My first gift is to you, young wizard who bears the Star of Miriel."
"Huh?" Ryan blurted. His surprise made the lines of the spell flicker, and he quickly scrambled to focus. Still, if Samakah was going to reward anyone, why not him? Theo hadn't even done anything to beat Hellebore.
Speaking of Theo, he looked like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water all over his emo hair. As the others muttered among themselves, Theo glanced wildly around as if looking for anybody else Samakah might've been talking about. "Uh, um, you mean me?"
"Yes, young wizard," Samakah said, warm as ever. "Come and let me see the Star of Miriel."
Theo swallowed and glanced at the staff in his holster. Then he nodded sharply, pulled it out, and began striding forward.
As he unfurled the staff to its full length, the crystal at its tip glinted. It wasn't just reflecting Samakah's light, Ryan realized with a start, but gathering its own power. Almost like it was resonating with the spirit's.
Theo stepped past Ryan, approaching the cliff face. This close, Ryan could just barely sense the Star of Miriel's Levia, tinting the edges of Samakah's glow like the first hint of nighttime at dusk.
Theo lifted the staff high. "Is this what you wanted?"
"Yes." Samakah and Fia nodded as one. "Young wizard, we deliver to you our first gift."
On cue, the Star shined so bright Samakah's light dimmed for the first time. As its blue glow rippled across the cliff and sea, Ryan blinked. Hold on a minute...this didn't just come from Theo's staff, did it?
No, a tiny blue star was twinkling in the sea beneath Samakah. And as Ryan stared with his mouth wide open, it grew larger and brighter, rising steadily to the surface until it burst free with a spray of dazzling droplets.
It didn't stop there. Now in the air, it drifted forward until it floated just a few yards in front of Theo's staff.
Not a star, Ryan realized with a thrill. A shard of crystal.
His heart pounded a mad beat against his ribcage. Theo didn't seem much better, staring at the crystal with eyes so round Ryan might've made fun of him for it if he weren't so totally bamboozled himself.
"I have guarded this shard since the days of the Rending," Samakah declared. "My duty is to keep it safe from those who would abuse its power."
So she'd kept a Star shard this entire time? Did that mean it was the real source of Mare's prosperity?
Theo must have thought the same thing, because he stammered, "You're gonna give it to me? But Mare – "
"It is true that the Levia from this shard enriched the island enough to allow for settlement. But in the centuries since, the people who lived and toiled here have given the land their own power. All of this was built from their efforts. Mare does not require the shard any longer, but you do."
"M...me?"
"You hold nearly the complete Star of Miriel in your hands. I know you are the one I have waited for. The bearer of the Star. So please, accept my gift."
She lowered her head, and the shard floated lower until it almost touched the Star on Theo's staff. Their combined blue glow danced across Theo's face, making his eyes sparkle like they were full of stars themselves.
Then he nodded firmly and lifted the staff high, tapping its tip to the shard.
Blue light exploded like a supernova. Squeezing his eyes shut, Ryan staggered backward. Even then, the Levia from the Star rolled through his body in slow, scraping waves, like it was trying to tear the flesh from his bones. He curled his hands into fists, digging nails into his injured palms in an effort to keep himself grounded. After all, he had an elemental spell to maintain.
When the light finally faded, Ryan dared to crack his eyes open. Dots swam in his vision, but he clearly saw Theo standing upright, staff still lifted. Except now an extra point protruded from the crystal, making its resemblance to a star clearer than ever.
"Th...thank you," Theo said quietly. He couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the Star of Miriel.
"You are welcome. Use it well, young wizard." Samakah shifted her gaze from Theo, eyes dimming slightly. "Now, people of Mare. I offer to you my second gift."
To Ryan's surprise, Fia drifted back down to the island. But they were still glowing, their eyes flooded with iridescent light. Though they stood only a few yards away from him, they somehow seemed so distant.
"Even without the Star shard, I shall do my best to protect Mare," Samakah said solemnly. "It is not only my duty as the guardian, but my atonement as well. It was me, after all, who wrought this devastation."
"No, no, Samakah," Chief Lahu croaked. "No one blames you. You were being controlled by the Infernal Legion."
"Now I am free, thanks to those who fought with all their might." Samakah sounded warmer than ever, almost like a protective parent, and it gave Ryan the strangest urge to smile. "So I offer you this in return. A ceremony to replenish the seas and ensure a bountiful harvest. For the next few seasons, you shall want for nothing. My hope is that you will rebuild more prosperous than ever."
"Of course, Samakah." Lahu bowed low, his forehead almost touching the ground. "We thank you from the bottom of our hearts."
"It is I who should be thanking you. Are we ready, my child?" Ryan blinked when Samakah addressed Fia, but that didn't shock him half as much as when they nodded. And here he thought that when Fia channeled the spirit, she took over them completely.
But he didn't get to think about it before Samakah streaked back into the clouds. As she burst through them, they blasted aside to reveal a clear blue sky. The onlookers gasped, but Ryan only had eyes on Fia.
Their Levia, combined with Samakah's, swelled inside him until he felt like he was going to burst. Gritting his teeth, he poured more power into the elemental diagram. Now more than ever, they needed him.
As Samakah twisted elegant circles in the sky, Fia began to move too. They positioned one foot in front of the other, spread their arms high above their head, and turned in a circle that mirrored Samakah's up above.
The breath fled Ryan's throat. He'd had no idea Fia knew how to dance, and now he couldn't look away. Each movement was as graceful as Samakah's, but held a touch of Fia's signature perkiness too. And with every step, the clouds drifted further away and beams of iridescent light rained from the heavens, sparkling in the sea wherever they touched.
Tears flooded Ryan's eyes, but he blinked them away. Right here, right now, he didn't want anything blocking his view of Fia. Not when they were more beautiful than ever.