Ardyn had actually come a long way. Being able to admit, and accept that magic resided in her was almost traumatic, but both Varric and Elsa had helped her through it. She knew the acceptance was a point of no return; the human she once was—the sacrificial volunteer—was being stripped away, slowly and methodically, moment by moment.
She smiled as she thought of Varric. Her heart skipped and traced an odd, chaotic pattern inside her tightening chest, a physical manifestation of her joy and the inherent danger of loving the Beast-Kin Lord.
She was currently submerged in one of the valley's powerful hot springs, a hidden pool of pale, mineral-rich water deep inside a crystalline cavern. It took her some time to realize that the pool's water had heated up considerably, the temperature rising steadily in response to her focused meditation. Her body warmed with it, and as these temperatures increased, her body's endurance and physical strength had also begun to build. She felt a deep, cleansing burn in her muscles that felt utterly unlike the starvation and cold she'd known in Silver Vale.
Elsa watched it all, in spite of her eyes being closed. Her ancient, powerful mind registered the precise moment the temperature spiked, a direct correlation to Ardyn's internal progress. She frowned slightly and shook her head. Some things could not be helped nor stopped; the depth of the bond forming between her student and the Serpent Lord was chaotic, demanding, and utterly fated. It was a force even she would not interfere with, so she leaned further back in the pool and allowed things to happen as they will.
Ardyn calmly allowed her body to absorb the power of the hot spring. She even focused, centering her will, and began opening the core of the purple amethyst magic with an ease that shocked her own senses. The purple light felt like liquid fire, and as it bloomed, it began to reinforce the silver light Varric had bound to her.
She was smiling to herself, basking in the raw power and thinking that she had become an expert, when Varric rushed into the cave. He moved with the desperate, chaotic energy of an animal defending its most vital resource, having bypassed all guards and formality.
Elsa kept herself from laughing as she made sure her student was instantly and discreetly dressed by a quick burst of her own protective magic.
"Ardyn! You spoke to me. I heard your voice and your intent! I felt the surge in your magic from the main gate." His voice was laced with frantic confusion and a terrifying pride. He looked quickly to Elsa, his silver eyes wide with astonishment.
"Her magic is that strong, Master?"
"It is." Elsa shrugged, a slow smile finally touching her lips, and said no more, her eyes never opening. The silence prompted Ardyn to pick up the conversation.
"I am even more surprised than you. I I was thinking…"
She frowned as she remembered where she was and that she was walking out of the spring to talk to Varric, utterly exposed in his panicked sight. Her smile dropped, she yelped, and practically dove back into the pool, water splashing high around her. Varric was confused only for a second when his eyes went wide, realizing his lapse in judgment, and he spun around, his face tight with self-inflicted fury.
Had he lost his mind?! Had he actually run here and barged in on her like this? He had risked seeing his most precious jewel in a state of vulnerability that was his alone to protect. Fury rose within him as he heard Elsa begin to laugh, a deep, knowing sound.
"Calm down, you two. She has on clothes." Elsa shook her head, thoroughly amused. "You two are half a step away from understanding the physical side of things anyway, so a little accidental exposure will not cause a catastrophe." Her tone shifted to a firm reprimand. "But you are right. Student, stop barging in on my newest student when she is working. Be gone with you."
Before Varric could utter a word of defense or apology, Elsa had sent him away with a powerful, invisible pulse of magic, dropping him back into his chambers.
Elsa turned back to Ardyn, who was still scarlet, clutching the lip of the pool. "Focus, girl. I need your stamina to increase at least twofold more, and your physical strength is still too minuscule for what is coming. Focus and continue building up that core."
Varric appeared inside his private chamber, the abruptness of the magic jarring him. The thought of Ardyn in the water, her pale skin slick with the heat, was oddly exciting and stressful all in the same beat. Part of him wanted to wrap her in every protective scale he owned, protecting her even from himself, while another part desperately wanted to know every hidden inch of her. The conflict was torment.
He shook off the image and forced himself to focus. He had been getting reports of the Cobra Clan, in the swamps to the east, increasing their raid patterns. He laughed to himself, a dry, humorless sound. It had been more than five centuries since he pushed the royal wannabes into the swamp. To think they thought they could reclaim anything from him. He frowned, his silver eyes hardening to polished steel. He had to make sure his lands always remained safe for her. He would not allow any threat, no matter how ancient or minor, to disrupt the beautiful, fragile life he was building around his mate. He would end them all.