Rise of Legends (The Kin of Kings Book 2) (29 page)

She stood and wiped her eyes, trying to regain control of herself. Holding back her tears for the moment, she leaned down and hugged Steffen and managed to kiss him on the cheek before her lips began to tremble.

“I’m sorry…about what I said to you,” she choked out. “You’re not selfish. But my poor sister still will be heartbroken when she—”

“I have another note to myself. It’s pages long and describes Gabby in great detail. It was written as a way for me to win her heart again. I will love her once more, Effie. Apparently, I promised myself before I took the potion.”

Effie barely held back her tears, unsure why she was this emotional. It wasn’t quite sadness that wet her eyes, but it certainly wasn’t joy either. She felt sensitive and frail, as if about to break.

Then she realized what it was. She
did
want to forget Alex so she no longer had to suffer, and this broke her. She sat and wept heavily, with Reela soon coming over to hold her.

No one spoke for a while, and eventually Effie regained control.

“Until you love Gabby again,” she told Steffen, “she won’t be able to stop crying.”

“I believe some memories will come back eventually, but it might take time. They’ll probably need to be triggered by being around her. Your memories of Alex might never be triggered again.”

“Eff, don’t take that potion.” Reela put both her hands on Effie’s arm as if to prevent her from reaching for it. “You don’t want to forget him.”

“But he’s gone.”

“He is, but you still have your memories.”

“All of them are painful.”

Reela took hold of Effie’s hands. “They won’t be later. I know from experience. I now cherish all the time I got to spend with Rek. Those memories are more valuable than gold.”

“But I wouldn’t care if the memories were gone, because I’d have forgotten them. Don’t you see?”

Effie couldn’t tell if it was frustration or sadness that made Reela look as if she was about to cry. “Everything dies eventually,” the psychic said. She bit down on her lip to stifle a sob. “Like my brother, but our experiences together can never be taken away. What’s the point of life if we forget everything that causes us pain? We don’t grow—we don’t get stronger.”

But Effie was certain now. She wanted to forget Alex. “You’re making me feel so guilty about this, Reela. Can’t you tell I’ve already made up my mind?” She wiped the tears falling down her cheeks, but more came right after. “I don’t want to live like this anymore now that I have the choice to forget. He’s gone and never coming back. There’s no point in continuing to hurt.”

“There is! You can’t live a good life without good people in it, and some of those people will die before you. Are you going to forget everyone that you were ever close with? If I die in this war, will you forget me?” Reela’s voice rose so high in pitch as she cried that it became difficult to understand her. “I don’t want you…to forget me, and Alex wouldn’t want you…to forget him.” She took a moment to breathe and dab her eyes with her blouse. “You don’t want to forget all the nights you spent together, the feeling of his arms around you, his lips against yours. You can’t possibly want to forget that.”

But the memories would bring her pain for the rest of her life. “I’m not like you, Reela. I do want to forget.” The guilt was too much, almost stifling her words completely as she wept. “I don’t want to talk about the decision any longer. Steffen, how does it work?”

His face had become red, his eyes bleary. He gave them a compulsory wipe with his sleeve. “It contains two ingredients, the amnessa plant and the caregelow flower. Amnessa on its own is a poison.” He looked down and away as if ashamed. “Jack and I have been growing it and have used it in another potion that you will not take. We mix it with lamwin leaves to amplify its effect. It might be useful for the war.” He sounded as if he felt guilty.

“It’s fine, Steffen,” she said. “We understand. Go on.”

“Anyway, in this potion,” he pointed at the black substance, “the caregelow works as a cure against the amnessa, reducing the effect of the poison to only target what you’re focusing on. Until it puts you to sleep, concentrate on the person you wish to forget.”

He put the tips of his fingers on his drawing of Alex. “You should take this with you to Alex’s bedroom in his house, but first write a note for yourself containing everything you want to remember along with where you are and how to get home. It’s likely you’ll forget most of today, including this entire conversation.”

“So I just look at this drawing and think of him until I fall asleep?”

“Yes, it should only take minutes. You might feel some pain in your head and have trouble focusing as it goes on, but that’s normal. When you wake up, the picture and your letter will be completely unfamiliar, and his room might be as well.” Steffen looked down the hall. “I regret doing it in my room. I had a system of where everything belongs, but most of it is unfamiliar to me now. Make sure nothing else is around you that you don’t want to forget.”

Effie reached for the potion, but Reela got her hand on it first. “Eff, at least give yourself a day to think about it.”

With some shame, she admitted, “I’ve already wondered what it would be like if I’d never met Alex. I decided it would be better. I want this.”

Reela put her hands over her face and sighed. Effie placed her hand on her friend’s back. “We can’t regret what we’ve forgotten. I’ll be happier because of this.”

Reela stood and shook her head. “Fine, I give up. If you’re going to do this, then I’ll try to support you. I’ll go with you and sleep there, so you’ll see me when you wake up. But I still think it’s wrong. ”

Steffen shot out of his chair. “She might forget you if you’re there.”

“I’ll wait out of the room until she’s asleep. Someone should be there with her. What if Alex’s roommate comes home while she’s asleep? It’s better this way.”

“Thank you,” Effie said.

“I’m sure Alex’s roommate must miss him.” Steffen reached into his bag and pulled out an identical vial. “If he wants the potion as well—”

“No, Steffen,” Reela said. “Don’t offer it to anyone else. The only reason I’ve stopped arguing is because I can tell Effie won’t change her mind. I still don’t think it’s right what you’ve created. Jack Rose must agree with me, doesn’t he?”

“Well, he doesn’t actually know about this potion. But yes, I think he would try to stop Effie.”

“It doesn’t matter.” She took the vial from the table.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Effie awoke in a room she didn’t recognize. The bed was just like every other bed in the Academy, but it was unfamiliar
. How did I get here?
Someone rustled in the bed beside her, an arm draped over her.
Bastial hell, did I drink too much and lay with someone?
But then she saw it was Reela, who woke with a startle.

“You’re awake!” Reela exclaimed. “You must be confused. What’s the last thing you remember?”

Effie sat up, but a sudden pain in her head made her lie back down with a groan. “Don’t know. Hurts to think.”

Reela placed her hand on Effie’s cheek and the pain went away. Her mind remained foggy, though, as she tried to remember what she’d done yesterday. She’d gone to battle training, then to the dining hall for dinner, but she didn’t remember what she ate or who was there. She had absolutely no memory of anything that happened after that. She explained this to Reela.

“What about Alarex Baom?”

“Who is that?”

Reela seemed disappointed by her answer. “Does the name sound familiar to you?”

“Yes, but I don’t know who it is.”

“Alex Baom?” Reela tried. Effie shook her head. “A tall and handsome warrior with dark hair. He’s not familiar?”

Effie began to panic. “Am I sick?”

“No, you’re fine. I think it’s time for you to read something.” Reela climbed over Effie to get off the bed, then retrieved a paper from the desk of whoever’s room they were in. She handed it to Effie.

“Effie, I am you from yesterday, before you forgot.”

“What the bastial hell is this?”

“You took one of Steffen’s potions—”

“Why would I do that?”

Reela pointed to the paper. “Read it.”

Somewhat frightened now, Effie looked at the paper more closely. It was certainly her handwriting. “
You were an idiot and fell in love with a warrior at the Academy named Alarex Baom. Most people called him Alex. He died and you were miserable every day. Steffen made a potion that allows us to forget someone. He was stupid and tested it on himself to forget Gabby because he wanted to make sure it was safe before offering it to you. We were mad at him but not anymore, trust me. He did this for us.

I know this sounds crazy, but you were more miserable than you’ve ever been before. Every time you thought of Alex, you would have to stifle the urge to cry. I know how much you hate crying, because I’m you. The feeling weakened us. Now it’s gone. Be happy.”

She sighed in relief. Nothing was wrong. “Sounds like I did myself a favor. But I feel like I drank an entire jug of sakal. Can you help me feel better?”

Reela folded her arms. “To be honest, I don’t really want to.”

“You were against it?”

Reela let out a sharp breath. “I was completely against it, and I’m still angry with you. But there’s no point in discussing it now.”

“I’m sorry.”

Reela took another breath and seemed slightly less upset. “You slept a lot, and now it’s late. We need to get to the dining hall for breakfast.”

Reela had been thoughtful enough to bring fresh clothing for both of them. So they changed, then hurried out the door.

“I’m curious about something,” Reela said. “What do you remember of Sanya Grayhart?”

“I hate her. I remember her very well. She killed Nick and someone else.”

“You were there when she killed the second person.”

“I was?” That didn’t sound right.

“Yes. It happened on the training grounds for the Group One mages. You were there with Basen and someone else. Then Sanya came dressed in all black, hiding her identity. Do you remember this?”

“Oh, now I do. She cut someone’s throat.” She gasped as she realized what Reela was getting at. “That was Alex, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Effie felt sorry for him and anger for Sanya, but nothing else. “The poor man. So I loved him?”

“Yes, and it’s not fair to him what you’ve done.”

“But he’s dead, isn’t he?”

“Yes, but that—” Reela went quiet and then took a breath. “Never mind. Let’s not speak about it or I’ll get angry again.”

Effie shrugged. She had many memories of crying recently, but she couldn’t recall the actual feeling of sadness. Except for her aching head, she felt good. She’d have to thank Steffen later. She hated crying.

At the dining hall, Effie and Reela waited in line for their food and sat when their plates were filled. Nearby was a table crowded by instructors. Terren sat in the middle on one side with Wilfre across from him. Effie’s heart jumped as she remembered they were at war. She wondered what else she’d forgotten.

Cleve!
He’d left with Basen and others, led by Mage Jackrie. But there she was, seated at the table. Effie pointed her out to Reela, and the psychic cocked her head in question. They stood and looked around for Cleve and Basen to no avail.

They walked over and hovered near Jackrie until she noticed them and turned around.

“Effie,” Jackrie nodded to her. “Reela. Hello.”

“You’ve already made it to Tenred and back?” Effie asked.

Reela spoke up before Jackrie could answer. “Where’s Cleve?”

Jackrie looked uncomfortable and didn’t answer right away, while Terren spoke to the rest of the instructors about something to do with Raywhite Forest.

“Please don’t tell me the rest of your group didn’t make it back,” Reela said.

“We lost Peter,” Jackrie said sadly.

Effie had known only what Cleve had told her about the warrior. If someone had to die, he seemed like the best choice, though she did feel some guilt for thinking it.

“What happened?” Reela asked with a hand over her chest, clearly hurt by the news more than Effie was.

“We were attacked in the Fjallejon Mountains, and that’s where Peter fell. We had to risk taking a portal to escape, and it brought us to the Dajrik Mountains. When we eventually made our way out, we needed to test a portal back to the Academy, so I went in and couldn’t get back through before it closed. The rest of them are on the way to Merejic now in hopes of recruiting the Elves there. It was Cleve’s idea.”

“And a good one,” Reela said, “so long as they can find the village.”

“So you never made it to Tenred?” Effie asked.

“We got trapped in the Fjallejon Mountains on the way there. I think we’d be dead or captured if it wasn’t for the portal.”

“Reela and Effie,” Terren called. “I need the attention of all my instructors right now. Please don’t disturb Jackrie.”

They returned to their table. But it wasn’t a moment later when they noticed that much of the dining hall seemed to be focused on something. More and more people were standing and laughing, their heads pointed toward the ground. The noise of the giddy students made everyone around them stop eating to look.