The Living Tower [MOVING JUNE 1]

Chapter Seven: Two of Kings

Her vision blurred. As the alleyway tilted in front of her, Ellias stepped into the path of the rebel stalking toward her. Relief flooded her body. Let him handle it. Your time will come.

Ellias' version of handling things was...more dramatic than Salestia expected. Moredramatic than the situation called for, to be honest. She couldn't hold backthe hint of a grin at the corner of her lips as she watched green flames appearin his palms.

Two rebels had already been standing, including the man that wounded Salestia, and the other three were finally getting back up. They rose slowly, caution in their gaze as they eyed Ellias' witchfire. No,more than that. Fear.

The fire expanded rapidly and cut through the alley in two lines, racing around the rebels and crisscrossing between them. Shouts of pain echoed around the alley.

As quickly as they'd appeared, the flames were gone.

The burns they left behind were unlike anything Salestia had seen before. Dark, emerald green marks marred the rebels' skin. Nothing severe enough to stop the five from retreating, but they looked painful.

"Can those be healed?" Salestia asked. Her voice came out strained.

"Any decent healer could manage it. It will take a few weeks, though." Ellias had a faraway look in his gaze. It took a long moment before he finally turned his eyes on Salestia. They widened when they found the gash in her arm, the blood trickling down her skin and staining the palm pressed against the wound.

He was at her side in an instant. "We should get somewhere safe. I'll need supplies to fully heal this." He held a hand above her arm. As green light glowed over the wound, he added, "This will stop the bleeding for now, but be careful. It'll be easy to reopen."

"Thank you." Salestia lowered her hand and examined the blood staining her skin.

Ellias pulled off his cloak and draped it over her. "Let's avoid drawing attention to that," he said under his breath. "Now, I think the library is closer than the inn I'm staying at but returning there might not be safe. Do you have anywhere else to go?"

Salestia shook her head. "I live at the library. You think they'd be able to find me there?"

"They seem very determined. I don't want to risk finding out the hard way," Ellias replied. "And identifying you as the librarian there would be easier than figuring out where I'm staying."

Pressing her lips into a thin line, Salestia nodded.

"You'll only need to stay away temporarily. I'll help you figure out a way to keep them off your back." He turned his head to stare at the street outside the alley. "But we should be going."

Walking wasn't too difficult a task, thankfully, but pain still burned in Salestia's arm. It was impossible to avoid wincing. A few people glanced her way as she and Ellias made their journey. Some must have looked for a little too long, because Ellias finally asked, "Do many people in the citadel know you?"

"I suppose anyone who visits the library must recognize me. I have seen a few familiar faces." She threw a quick glance over her shoulder to check for followers.

"The cloak is supposed to deter attention, though it doesn't work as well when people already know you." Ellias let out a small sigh. "I wanted to save energy, but I think we'll be better off if I put a masking charm over us." A swipe of his hand left sigils hovering in the air. "People will just see us as two strangers. Not worth a second look."

Sure enough, the stray glances ceased after that. What a convenient trick. Salestia briefly envied the versatility of witch magic, though she was grateful she wasn't dependent on spell ingredients or potions to use her full power.