Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 26

She stopped in front of the iron gate, drawing in deep breaths. This was it. She had no other options. She couldn't fail this time, because she needed more than anything to get inside and save her mother. She dug in deep, trying to feel a well of power in her stomach. Her hand hovered in front of her, palm facing the door, the ring in front of her face. She tried her hardest to feel the flow of power, but her ring stayed dull and empty no matter how she forced her mind and body to focus.

Seconds passed into minutes, and sweat dripped from under her scarf and down her neck. Even though she was doing nothing, somehow she felt exhausted beyond anything. Her bones ached and her head pounded. Her hands shook as she tried to force the magic from them once again, but not even a flicker came across her wing.

She dropped her hands, shakily exhaling in frustration and desperation. Tears pooled in her eyes, and for a moment she was afraid they might actually spill. She would cry here, in this palace run by the man who had ruined her life, because she wasn't strong enough to harness the magic that was all around and in her.

She had to try one more time, otherwise her despair would consume her.

With shaking hands, she approached the gate one last time. She closed her eyes, feeling deep within her. At first, she thought only of her mother. She called up the hazy and mostly-forgotten memories of her childhood, which were more of a sense of motherhood than any actual memories of the woman herself. But then she pulled up the images that Tanwyn had shown her. A woman mistreated and broken, suffering and alone. Someone who had been far worse off than Cole all this time. Someone who needed Cole desperately. It was as she was remembering the thin arms and shivering form that she felt the gentle current of... something pass by her.

It was little more than a tingle in the air at first, but she grasped onto it with her mind, not willing to let it go. She wrapped it up in her mind, pulling it close, until she could feel the pulse of it strong against her. Her mind called up the image of a river, floating in the air, delicate pink and shimmering. It was nothing she had ever experienced before, but she knew it was what she needed. In her mind's eye, she reached out and grabbed it with the hand that bore her magical ring, and when she did that, she felt the magic burst from her with a jolt.

Her eyes slammed open just in time to see the lock on the gate melt without anything touching it at all. One moment it was fine, and the next, the metal was dripping to the floor and the gate groaned open as it came free. An unpleasant tingling ran up Cole's arm, and she glanced at her ring to see that it was glowing a bright blue. A bit of the liquid within the gem was gone, but she still had enough for a few more tricks.

Heart pounding with success, Cole bit back a smile as she raced through the gate and down the steps into the dungeon. She didn't have time to celebrate her accomplishments, but she still felt her heart soar with the knowledge that she had just harnessed the magic that only faeries should have been able to use. She had power now. She could help her mother. She could escape.