Shadows Over Arcadia Chapter 50: 49. What Ails Hyperion

Read chapter 50 of Shadows Over Arcadia by Zacheas on NovelPedia.

I am Ren Drakemore, age 9, the 2nd Prince of the Kingdom of Arcadia, and I am on a journey to the Kingdom of Hyperion. https://shadowsoverarcadia.com/api/storage/objects/uploads/94d9f12d-768f-4ec3-a12d-51b487be4617 “ Fire Bolt! ” Maribel intones, sending a narrow jet of flame three meters out from her outstretched right hand. She sits at the rear of the wagon, legs dangling over the edge, facing backwards down the road. “Yeah, almost had it…” she mutters, seemingly responding to something Envy has said in her head. Her brow furrows in deep concentration as she prepares for what must be her hundredth attempt. She clutches her mask tightly to her chest with her left arm, aiming her right palm back along the road. “ Fire Bolt! ” she shouts, louder this time. A blazing, spear-like bolt of flame materializes before her hand and rockets off, not quite in the direction she was aiming. We watch in stunned silence as the firebolt tears through the air like a comet, veering left and slamming into the trunk of a massive oak tree lining the road. With a deafening explosion, wooden shrapnel bursts in every direction. The ancient tree—trunk nearly blasted through—sways, creaks, and then begins to fall in slow motion, crashing through its neighbors with thunderous snaps and splinters before slamming into the forest floor with a ground-shaking boom. Buttercup and Huckleberry whinny and jump in alarm, the wagon rocking from the impact’s distant tremor. I could swear Huckleberry even casts a particularly judgmental glance over her shoulder at us. “We did it!” Maribel squeals, rolling onto her back, kicking her legs in the air, and hugging the mask with giddy excitement. She leaps up and pumps her fist. “I can’t believe it!” Holding the mask aloft, she grins. “Thank you, Envy!” A beat passes, then she adds, “No way! I’ve tried to learn fire spells for years and never even came close—it’s because you’re such a great teacher!” I sigh as a splintered piece of wood—blasted skyward during Maribel’s last spell—zips past my face on its return journey to Gaia. It clatters off the side of the wagon with a sharp thud, barely audible over Maribel’s revelry. “Nice power, but… was that actually what you were aiming at?” I ask skeptically as bits of bark and debris continue to rain down around us. “Well, no,” Maribel admits, completely unfazed. “But I was aiming at a tree, so I was close.” “That’s not how ‘close’ works,” I mutter under my breath—but the comment is lost on her, far too giddy with her success to notice. She and Envy haven’t stopped chatting or experimenting with their new powers for the entirety of the three-hour wagon ride. The morning already started poorly—with the migraine-inducing surge of Maribel’s memories forced into my brain like iron nails pounded one after another. But I’ve had no chance to recover. Every time I think there might be a moment of quiet, Maribel says something out loud, responding to a comment from Envy that the rest of us can’t hear. She’s still learning how to keep her side of the conversation in her head, so we’ve all been subjected to a one-sided dialogue. “That tree was over five hundred years old,” Willow remarks dryly, one elegant brow arched. “But congratulations on mastering a rank-one fire spell.” Maribel freezes mid-victory dance, then shoots Willow a sharp glare. “Oh, I’m so sorry—were you friends?” she retorts with a theatrical eye-roll before flopping back down and returning to her cheerful banter with Envy. Despite the lingering headache, I can’t help but feel a faint sense of satisfaction. I hadn’t expected Shadow to give her the mask so soon, but clearly, whatever they talked about last night must have nudged her into the perfect mindset. It’s a big step—one that’s been a long time coming. Shadow played his part well. “Or, what if we combine them?” Maribel says suddenly, excitement lighting up her voice. She wedges the mask between her thighs to free her hands, then stretches both arms forward in concen