I wondered if the pegasus could sense my newfound confidence, as she seemed much more calm and affectionate as I pet her. I wondered how Zephyr and Marge knew when their pegasi were ready.

  I tried mounting her, but she instantly bucked me off. No luck this time, huh?

  “Be patient, Elaina.” Ayesha had come by to see me.

  “Why were Marge and Zephyr able to tame their pegasi so fast?” I asked. I had spent more time with mine, hadn’t I?

  “They came by yesterday and the day before as well. Not to mention, their inherent nature gives them an advantage. It will take longer for you to build your bond.”

  I couldn’t help but sigh.

  “Do not sigh. She feels your impatience.” Ayesha shook her head.

  I spent the rest of the day with her until Finn eventually entered the room. I must have dozed off at some point.

  “You’ve done enough for today, Ella.” Finn gently lifted me by my shoulders and had to hold me steady as my legs began to wobble, still asleep.

  “No…” I mumbled, trying to wake up. “I h-have to get this. I’m holding everyone back again.”

  “You realize nobody feels that way about you, right? Not even Maverick.”

  I chuckled dryly. “There’s no way Maverick isn’t impatient with me right now.”

  “On the contrary, you’re the only person Maverick isn’t impatient with right now…” he mumbled.

  “Okay, but what if I’m impatient with me? You’ve all been very kind to me… I just… I want to do something for once.” I sighed, glancing down at my hands that were supposedly magical. They didn’t feel very magical right now.

  “Like you didn’t play a huge role in defeating the Falor Ghula earlier.” Finn crossed his arms and clicked his tongue, shaking his head. “I’d say you did more than Maverick, even.”

  My cheeks flushed. I wasn’t used to being complimented like this. It wasn’t that I was never complimented before coming here; it was more so that those compliments felt superficial. Thanks for helping me with my homework, thanks for not letting the door slam on my face, thanks for being there when I needed you. I certainly had never done anything like defeat an ancient evil monster before.

  Finn chuckled. “Well, get used to it. I see a lot more achievements in your future, given you’re an Ethereal and all. Ethereals seem to be magnets for that kind of thing.”

  “What if I’m the type of Ethereal that settles down in a log cabin in the forest, living my life out with my magical pet?” I grinned.

  “And what if that forest catches on fire? You wouldn’t put it out, saving your distant neighbors and all the animals that dwell in that forest?” He tussled my hair.

  “And then all the animals would bow down to me and become my pets.” I decided to continue with his hypothetical fantasy.

  “Come on. I think it’s time for bed.” He offered me his arm, which I graciously took, and he walked us back to the inn. I wasn’t surprised to find the other asleep, save for Aidan, who seemed to never sleep as of late.

  The next morning, Zephyr decided to try riding his pegasus. He rode alone before circling back to the entrance of the stable, much like Marge and I had. Except this time, the pegasus seemed unusually spooked… She bucked every which way and even flew a distance away, with Zephyr holding on for dear life. What was different about this time?

  I noticed Maverick walking away. Right, I didn't remember him being there yesterday. The further away he got, the calmer the pegasus became, before she landed back at the entrance. Maverick walked away faster and faster, and I had to sprint to catch up with him.

  “Wait!” I shouted. Ugh, why did he have to be so tall?! He continued his pace, yet I had to quicken mine to catch up to him. “Y-you promised,” I said out of breath when I had finally caught up. “You promised you’d tell me everything if I succeeded with the Falor Ghula. Tell me. Why are the pegasi so terrified of you? What happened?”

  He finally stopped walking. His hair covered his eyes, and all I could see was his mouth—neutral. He motioned for me to follow him.

  Maverick took me to the same spot where I had talked with Finn. Did he know? This time, the sun was starting to reach its peak in the sky. The fish no longer flowed. In fact, there were barely any fish. Maybe they were sleeping?

  We sat at the edge of the river, and Maverick began his story. “Over two hundred years ago, I awakened as an Ethereal. At first, I was floored that I had magic. In fact, back then, Sylvis wasn’t as strict when it came to magic. My family—my friends—they all knew about my magic.”

  “What happened?” I asked, leaning forward from where I sat on my hands.

  “First, my sister drowned," he stammered. "I took my eyes off of her for just a short while, and by the time I had noticed, she... She was gone."

  I was silent, waiting for him to continue. My eyes started to well with tears, but I wouldn't let them fall just yet.

  "My parents blamed me for not saving her. Then, others with magic came. They…” his breath wavered, “They killed my friends. Lena, Dylan, Florian... They didn’t stand a chance without magic… It hit me then that it didn’t matter when they died—watching their deaths was inevitable. I was an immortal being, and they were not." He began shaking in his seat. “I couldn’t handle it. I became jealous. Jealous of everyone else and their stupidly short, fleeting lives. I thought it would be better if I destroyed everyone and everything."

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  He took a deep inhale. "And so, I burned Meridia. Killed thousands of people and set fields and plains aflame so that I thought nothing would ever grow again. I wanted to kill everyone and then myself.”

  I froze. Out of anything he could have told me, that was the absolute last thing I expected. This person I had been traveling with my whole time in Meridia—the person assigned to personally train me—had committed mass genocide? And I called him my friend?

  “Armies were sent to stop me, but I obliterated them all,” he continued, though I’d wished he hadn’t. “Even Rosalie herself tried to stop me. Sylvis, for whatever reason, wouldn’t intervene. The only time she did was to speak to me.” He laughed humorlessly. “She held onto hope that I would change. And though it took a while, I finally did. Why she didn’t lock me up or kill me herself, I’ll never know. Maybe this is my punishment.”

  It took everything I had to will myself not to shake—to hold back my ice magic from manifesting. He was scaring me. For the first time since we’d met, I didn’t feel safe around him. “Do you… Do you regret what happened?”

  Another humorless laugh. “Of course I do.”

  “Then, the reason you keep your distance from everyone…”

  “It’s a mix of guilt and the fact that I’ll outlive everyone. What’s the point of forming relationships with others? And if I do, will I snap again when they die? Or at least, that’s what I thought until I met you. Maybe it’s because you’re also an Ethereal—you’ll outlive even me, considering you’re younger." He brushed the hair out of his face, and I could've sworn I saw him wipe his eyes. "Can you… Can you forgive me for everything I’ve done? Would you still call me your friend?

  My mouth sputtered for an answer before I closed it. This was an answer I had to think about—I couldn’t answer hastily. And so, when I was ready, “I’ve only ever known this version of you—the version who’s distant but still cares about his friends. He might be a nuisance to others at times, or even an ass for no discernible reason. But he tries to do the right thing deep down. And so… I think I’d like to continue being friends with this version of you. With how you are now.”

  He looked at me with surprise in his eyes. His lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but couldn’t think of the words. So, he smiled. “Thank you, Elaina.”

  “Ella,” I corrected.

  “I honestly thought you would hate me. I still don’t know how to tell Aidan, or if I’ll ever tell him.” He scratched the back of his head. “Maybe it’s too soon to ask, but would you ever consider—”

  “Hey! What are you two doing? We need to go!” Finn came over to us and roughly pulled me up from under my shoulder. He was in such a rush, I shoved him off of me, wondering what his problem was. Something was bothering him, but he wouldn’t tell me what.

  “Right,” Maverick said, unfazed. “I’m not going to be able to ride the pegasi, so I’ll follow from a distance.”

  “How?” I asked.

  “Using wind magic.”

  “You’re going to fly all the way there?!” I shouted, trying to step forward, but Finn held me back.

  “Hey, after all that swimming training, I think I can handle another element.”

  I sighed. He had made up his mind, and it wasn’t like he had any other option. Still, I had a feeling taming the wind was going to be much different from taming the water. Not to mention, he wouldn’t be able to take a break the same way he had while swimming.

  ”Don’t worry about him, Ella. He’s an Ethereal, in case you’ve forgotten. I doubt his two hundred years of experience will go to waste.” Finn communicated in my head.

  I nodded and we returned to the stables. Marge and Aidan had agreed to ride with each other, and Finn requested to ride with me.

  Immediately after setting off, I could hear lurching behind me. “What’s wrong?” I asked, trying to turn to see Finn.

  “I-I’m afraid of heights.” He wore a sheepish smile, and his cheeks were rosy pink.

  “Afraid of—“ I sputtered. “Aren’t you the one who climbs walls and does fancy dives with your lance? And you raised us up above the Falor Ghula? And—”

  “Okay, okay, but that’s different. At least there’s solid ground beneath my feet. We have no idea what’s beneath the clouds. We could be falling forever!”

  Great. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear while flying. My pegasus must have sensed my apprehension because she became restless, listening to my commands less and less.

  “Shit, I didn’t mean to worry you, Ella,” he apologized. “Um, I’ve heard a rumor that it might be possible to swim or float on the clouds?”

  “That doesn’t exactly help.” I shook my head and proceeded to tune out whatever he said next. I needed to focus on myself and remaining calm. I had to forget about whatever chasm may or may not be beneath us. Oh no, I thought about it again. Focus, Ella!

  I closed my eyes and allowed the breeze to hit my cheeks. I brushed the mane of my mare, focusing on the touch of her silky, soft hair. It became much easier to relax, and she must have felt it as well, becoming calmer and flying straighter.

  While I was grateful we were no longer walking to our destination, I realized flying was exhausting in and of itself. I guess it was like riding a horse. Not that I had ever ridden one.

  Zephyr had taken the lead—his pegasus not weighed down by a second rider. Marge had started out in the lead, and I could hear Aidan’s desperate screams for help as she intentionally flew loop-de-loops. Her pegasus must have tired out, considering she flew behind me now. Finn had fallen asleep at some point. I guessed he had gotten over his fear of heights or clouds or whatever it was. I turned every now and then, trying to get a glimpse of Maverick, but I could never see him. Hopefully, he hadn’t fallen too far behind…

  We made it to the island around midday. We landed shortly away from the cliff, not wanting to risk accidentally falling off… Ayesha had given us special bells to call for them whenever we were ready. They each had a specific pitch inaudible to all but the most trained humans that would summon our respective pegasus. She had been only too eager to aid us, as ordered by Avaline herself.

  Avaline…

  We waited by the cliff for what felt like hours. I was starting to worry about Maverick, but Finn kept calming me through my thoughts.

  “Maybe one of us should go look for him?” I suggested.

  “I could,” Zephyr suggested, “but it won’t be of much use considering he can’t ride the pegasus.”

  “That’s fine, I just… want to know that he’s alive.” I bit my lip. How cliche would it have been for him to spill his entire life story to me and then suddenly die?

  Thankfully, that didn’t happen because not even a few seconds later, he was here. And he looked terrible.

  “Are you okay?!” I started to run over to him, but Finn beat me there. Zephyr had also begun healing him, or was it him transferring his ether? The two seemed synonymous to me, considering I couldn’t do either.

  “Just… a little tired…” Maverick’s voice was hoarse. He sounded like he had the flu. Maybe he had caught a cold flying here. Nah, that was silly.

  “You should get some rest.” Marge frowned at him, using her own ether to do… whatever Zephyr was doing.

  “No. This is the last Falor Ghula. I want to get it over with.”

  “That’s exactly why we can take our time. As soon as we defeat this one, we can go home. We won’t win if you’re on the verge of death,” Zephyr explained.

  “I’m not on the verge of death!” Maverick tried to shout, but it still came out hoarse.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Ella… Can I have some of your ether?” Maverick looked directly into my eyes. “Out of everyone else, you have the most. Plus, you rarely use yours.” There was something about him that unsettled me—that made me want to say no. Maybe it was because of everything he had told me earlier. I shouldn’t let that get to me, though.

  I nodded and crouched next to him. “You’ll have to take it from me, though. I don’t know how to do that—”

  Finn placed his hand on my arm, a warning look in his eyes. “You don’t have to do this.” I know. I want to do this. With that, he backed off. But I could still see the disapproving look in his eyes.

  I could see the color returning to Maverick’s skin, and his breathing was less labored. He released my hand and stood up with ease. I admittedly felt a little dizzy, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Especially not after riding a pegasus.

  “Right. Let’s get out of here.” Maverick beckoned us.