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Melody took careful steps as she made her way through the wizard’s workshop. Spells were littered all over to keep trespassers out. She could feel the magic emanating from the stone floor easily stepping between them. This might have been easier if she were alone.
Melody turned back to see Kyrie struggling to match her steps. It wasn’t a graceful attempt to watch. Even at a human size the man could be considered a giant. The spots free of spells were small, he couldn’t put a single foot flat without risking triggering one she avoided. Melody focused on his face, his eyes narrowed in determination. His tongue sticking out as he tried to follow the coloring her armor left behind on safe spots. She couldn’t stop herself from laughing which made the man stumble.
“You don’t have to laugh,” he grumbled. She smiled at him, getting a small smile in return.
“I get to laugh when I told you to wait outside and you insisted on coming with me,” she said. He huffed, but took another step closer to her. His foot slipped, triggering one of the spells he’d meant to avoid. She watched him trying to pull his feet free, thankfully it wasn’t a dangerous one. She tried to avoid even going near those when Kyrie refused to wait.
“I hate when they give us these jobs.” Melody watched him struggle for a few more seconds before making her way back. She dug into the bag that sat on her hip. It took a bit of searching, but she found a dispeller. “They already caught the wizard, we don't need to be here.”
“ We aren’t supposed to be here, I am.” Melody stepped onto the stone Kyrie triggered before crouching down. It should dispel it completely once she poured it on his foot. “I can sense the spells and avoid them… plus losing a half fae isn’t as bad as losing anyone else.”
“That’s why I had to come along. You’re not risking your life alone.”
The words made her blush. She focused on freeing his foot instead. Kyrie’s eyes burned her as he watched, she was ready to stand up and make him look away. She saw the moment the spell weakened, when he relaxed. The second his foot hit the stone Melody was overwhelmed with dread. She knew this feeling, she’d seen the cause before. They had to run.
“We need to run,” she said. Standing and ignoring the spells, the others weren’t going to trigger anymore. It was all a trap.
“What do you mean?” Kyrie asked. She glared at him. There was no time to explain.
“We have to go!”
Melody grabbed his hand and tried to drag him. He didn’t move. She was about to scream when she saw the foot she thought would be freed with the other was still stuck. She dumped all the potions out of her bag to find another dispeller. There was no time . She found one throwing it down on his foot instead of carefully dumping it. It wasn’t going fast enough.
Melody jumped to her feet and stared at the building darkness Kyrie hadn’t noticed. It was coming, it would kill one of them. She started to walk forward, she’d take this. If she was lucky she’d manage to survive. She pressed her nails into her left hand three times, Caprice would answer soon. She’d do what it took.
Kyrie grabbed her just before the darkness blasted out of its bubble. He turned his back on it, covering her completely. She heard the crack of his armor as the shadows bit into the magic. It wasn’t long before the arms wrapped around her started to grow. They tightened, but she didn’t feel scared.
The arms were replaced by slowly growing hands after a few seconds. Melody was pressed firmly against Kyrie’s chest. She gasped when fingers wrapped around her. The feeling of them growing large enough to encompass her made her shudder. She was begging anything that heard her that only his armor was broken.
When his fingers were almost as wide as she was tall his growth stopped. They pressed against her as he pulled her from his chest. Melody was held against his palm, all she could see or feel was the material of his gauntlets. She shivered when a deep growl came from the giant holding her, it was followed by a thump that made her blood run cold. The hand holding her moved, letting her out right in front of Kyrie’s pained face.
“Hurt?” he asked. His voice was strained, she knew it was bad. All she could do was shake her head. He smiled a bit, wrapping his fingers around her again. “Good…”
The giant took in a deep breath that pulled her forward. His skin had already turned pale, his eyes were losing color. The sun glared down on them, she almost forgot he would have broken them free of the workshop. As the sun hit his face she swore she could see the shadows moving. Growing stronger under the light that normally would have weakened them.
“We-we need to get you out of the sun. I’ve seen this in the black markets. You… we need shelter, dark shelter,” she rambled. There had to be a way to save him. She felt the phantom feeling of nails digging into her right hand, she had the ok. She could do something.
“ Where can we find shelter to fit someone of my size!?” he growled. The words came out so loud . Melody shook under the weight of them. “I’ll be fine. Leave, more spells might go off.”
“No, no I’m not leaving!” She walked away from the fingers pressed against her. She had to save him, it would kill him. “This this is a dark spell that they changed. The light feeds it. We… without light it can kill a giant in under two hours. The spell lasts for five. We… I’m not losing you!”
Tears were falling from her eyes. The life in Kyrie’s faded as she watched him, she wasn’t sure the words even reached him. Melody ran up as his eyes closed, forcing one open as best she could, finding the color she loved almost gone. She wouldn’t let him die. We can help , a voice echoed in her mind. She ignored it, tapping her leg to start the speed spell. She had to check for something to help.
Melody felt like she was too slow and the world too fast. She could feel the strength of the shadows getting stronger. They’d eat him, destroy everything about him until all that was left was a husk. She couldn’t let that happen. She tripped over the rubble of the workshop. The shadow eaters took the magic the wizard left all over. There were no traps anymore.
Melody tapped her arms, she needed more strength. She dug through the stones, ignoring the burn all over her body as the spells did their work. We can have fun with him. Let us work , the voice whispered. She growled, pushing another stone away. She found her potions, the ones she abandoned trying to dispel what kept him stuck. Melody picked up bottle after bottle finding nothing to help.
“...barrier?” she whispered. A bottle she didn’t recognize found its way into the pile. It was too fancy for Caprice or Pel, it was the wizard’s. Her mind buzzed as ideas filled it.
She ran searching all over for more of the barrier potions. Any creature that isn’t a fae has to say spells, they all prep them. There had to be more like this. It didn’t take her long to find the shattered remains of a shelf with the fancy bottles. She used all her strength to push the stones away. As soon as they were gone she found a whole pile of barrier potions, the wizard was over prepared and it might save Kyrie.
She grabbed all of them. She dumped every barrier bottle she could find into her bag. It was filled, she had to hope it was enough. Melody ran back to Kyrie with one bottle clutched tightly in her hand. She threw it at the ground near his body, a large dome appearing. It didn’t cover him enough, it wasn’t blocking the sun either.
Humans can’t block the light. Use us, we can do it. Saving him is important isn’t it?, the voice echoed again. She stared at the massive being in front of her. Despite her knowledge of the shadows working silently, she heard them. Devouring his soul piece by piece. She didn’t have a choice.
Melody held her left hand up to her face. The nails on three of her fingers sharpened before she plunged them into her skin. Black blood gushed from the wound trailing her arm to her back. The translucent wing on her back quickly took on a solid form. She stared up at it, relieved at the crescent moon. It was her wing, she was in control. The other formed a mirrored crescent moon on it, Caprice’s wing was there. She could do this.
Melody flapped her wings a few times before taking off. Her stomach dropped as she hovered over the passed out giant. The secret she couldn’t say, a part of her wanted his eyes to open and see what she was. It wasn’t time though. She ran a hand over the barrier she formed, the dome dying a hazy purple. She could already feel the shadow eaters running from the haze, it was perfect.
She flew to his feet, dumping the barriers around to protect him. Each one she ran a hand over to dye it the hazy purple. It took a few minutes for her to cover just his body, then she had to make extra space. The whole time the voice in her mind was silent, it was a cruel silence. There was more that could be done if the voice was willing to help.
We could make him smaller. That would be fun, shall we do that? The voice suddenly speaking made Melody lose her grip on the last of the barrier bottles. It fell, creating a dome too far from him to matter.
“Smaller would mean he dies, why would I let you do that?” Melody said. The voice laughed in her mind. She hated this voice.
We wouldn’t let someone fun die. He’s strange we like him. He’d be a fun experiment.
Melody landed in front of Kyrie instead of responding to the voice. Her wings were fluttering as she took in his face. There was more color than before. She dug her nails into her left hand twice, Caprice had to take it back. She fell to her knees as her wings fell away. Kyrie’s eyelids were moving.
Before the blue she’d fallen in love with appeared her solid wings were gone. She looked behind her with a mixture of relief and regret as the translucent wing of her own faded away again. Only visible under the moonlight, only if she left her back uncovered. By the time she looked back at him her wing was gone again. The color that faded was returning slowly.
“Melody,” he said. She ripped her gauntlets off and rubbed her eyes. In the shadows he might survive, it might last the hours it takes. She might not lose him, she might not have failed him. “What did you do? You look like you’re about to pass out. ”
“I…” she tried. She had to lie, it would hurt. Her body still burned from the spells. “I found barrier potions, I activated them all around you.”
Lies by omission were easiest. The hand he’d left near her came close. Kyrie curled his fingers around her and pulled her close. He didn’t act like this usually. He brought her closer and closer until all she could see were his lips. Finally he kissed her, the feeling of his lips on her just reminded her why she was so afraid of losing him.
“You’re amazing,” he whispered. The words rattled her bones from the way he spoke. She shivered, but leaned into his lips, kissing him herself before spreading her arms wide. Beneath his skin she could feel the shadow eater spell, but it was too weak for just being out of the sun. The voice was screaming to test it, dismiss a barrier and see if he survived. She would never risk his life on a guess.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. He just hummed against her, another bone rattling sound that made her feel safe and loved. “I should have caught on that the shadow eater spell was there. It was beneath everything, sucked up all the spells until nothing was left but itself. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m the one who stepped on it, I’m just glad I kept you safe.” He pulled her away. Kyrie shuffled a bit before bringing his other hand up to her. One finger carefully cupping her face, it didn’t seem right that he could do this at his size. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” In her mind she knew he’d take those words back someday. When he learned about the voice in her mind. When he learned what she and Caprice shared, why they hid during the night most of the time. For now, she was grateful he was likely to survive and didn’t hate her like she hated herself.
“We should both rest… I’m so tired and you look as tired as I feel.” She just nodded. He pulled her close, pressing his nose against her like a heavy blanket. She curled up happy to live in this moment.