Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
SACHA
“The Authority teaches that submission brings safety. It does not mention the cost.”
Fragments of the Lost Veinwardens
I still haven’t decided what my best course of action is. Reaching for the connection again, I search for that familiar warmth that should link my awareness to hers. But there is only emptiness where her presence should be.
I’m not used to being so uncertain about what I should do. My duty has always been clear. My people first, myself second. Ellie has clouded that judgment, and I can’t dismiss her importance to me. I’m still wrestling with these competing demands when the raven warns me of movement in the trees.
I step behind the nearest oak tree and draw shadows close, preparing to defend myself from a potential threat.
The darkness responds at once, winding around my limbs, steady and certain where everything else is not.
After hours of searching with no answers, part of me welcomes the possibility of a fight.
At least it gives me something physical to meet, instead of the constant return of questions I can’t answer.
The figure that breaks through the undergrowth is one I know, though not the person I want it to be.
Nyassa.
Relief rises, undercut almost immediately by disappointment. Her clothes show signs of hard travel—torn fabric, mud-stained boots, leaves caught in her hair. Exhaustion lines her face, and she walks with a caution that tells its own story.
I release the shadows and step out. Her head whips toward me, relief breaking across her features.
“My Lord! I’ve been searching for you.” The words spill out, quick and uneven.
“Are you hurt?” My gaze sweeps over her, searching for injuries.
She shakes her head. “No. But I should have been more prepared for the ritual separating us.” She frowns, looking around. “Where is Elowen?”
The mention of Ellie sends fresh desperation coursing through me. The bond between us hasn’t returned, and my mind is avoiding what that could mean. “I don’t know. She isn’t here.”
Her face falls. “I’m sorry. I was hoping she was with you.” She pauses. “I passed what remains of Thornspire. How long has it been a ruin?”
“It seems our combined power destroyed Sereven’s crystal, and half the keep with it. I’ve searched every accessible part more than once.”
“The magical backlash must have been enormous. Anyone caught in that …”
“I found trail markers yesterday.” I speak over her before she can voice the fear I’ve been holding back. “Someone left Veinwarden signs pointing northeast.”
“At least you know they’re alive.”
“Or someone is, at least.” My head turns northeast, following the path the markers lead. “I know I should follow them, but if Ellie returns here—”
“My Lord, remaining here won’t bring her back any faster. Your people need their leader. They’re out there, possibly in danger, waiting for you to find them.”
“If she returns here, and finds no one waiting for her, then she is also in danger—”
“And she’ll try to find you, the same way she did in Chicago.” Nyassa’s voice is firm. “She’s resourceful. She always was. She will find a way to return to you.”
I hate to admit it, but she’s right. Duty demands I follow the trail. Even though every instinct screams at me to wait for Ellie, I can’t abandon my people on the chance she will return to the same place.
I stare through the trees, seeing nothing while I weigh her words against the fear fighting to take over. Nyassa waits quietly.
“She found her way to me twice before.” I’m talking to myself more than her. But does the first time count? The summons I sent guided her feet to the tower, and not any bond we’ve developed since. The bond … I reach for the connection again, and still find only emptiness.
“I have confidence that she will do it again.”
The certainty in her voice tips the balance. I turn toward the trail, sending my raven out to scout ahead. “Northeast it is, then.”
We follow the trail through forest that grows denser with each mile. The markers lead us in the opposite direction to Stonehaven, deeper into the woods instead of toward the mountain range where the hidden fortress was preparing for siege when we left.
My raven flies ahead, splitting my awareness between my immediate surroundings and what lies further on. The forest shows only signs of wildlife and the occasional marker.
Nyassa moves quietly beside me. Despite the years she’s spent in another world, she’s adapting to the forest quickly, her steps barely disturbing the ground.
“How long were you searching before you found me?” I break the silence.
“Since dawn. I returned to Meridian somewhere south of Thornspire, and spent most of yesterday trying to get my bearings. I wasn’t certain which way to go, but I saw signs of horse hooves going south, and chose to go in the opposite direction.
The path led me to Thornspire. It was through luck alone that I crossed your path. ”
“Ellie could have ended up anywhere.”
“Or she might not have crossed back at all,” Nyassa says quietly.
Her words still me mid-step. I pushed that fear down once already, but hearing it spoken aloud makes it impossible to avoid, and sends my thoughts into a spiral I can’t shut down.
What if she isn’t somewhere in Meridian, where I can’t reach her?
What if she’s still in Chicago, and that’s why I can’t feel her through the connection?
Or worse, what if the ritual sent her somewhere she can’t survive?
What if she’s hurt, alone, frightened, and calling for help that will never come?
I ruthlessly squash that line of thinking. Dwelling on possibilities I can’t control serves no purpose except to feed the fear already gnawing at me.
We follow the trail over increasingly rough ground. The forest floor rises and falls, fallen trees forcing us to climb over or move around them. Sometimes we have to double back and find another way through the undergrowth.
The farther we go, the more I believe that it was Mira who chose this route.
She’s purposely picked a path to ensure that the forest will provide concealment against pursuit, and even experienced trackers would struggle to follow us.
If someone was tracking us, we’d hear them long before they found us.
My thoughts pull back to Ellie. No matter how I try to focus on the ground in front of me, I keep reaching for the connection between us, searching for what isn’t there. Each time I find nothing, and the absence hits me again, dragging me into an endless loop of fear and guilt.
It’s another hour before my raven sends back images that make me dare to hope. There’s a clearing ahead, sheltered by trees, with figures moving around inside it. I raise a hand, signaling to Nyassa to stop.
“There are people camped ahead. Move slowly, and follow my lead.”
We move forward cautiously while the raven soars between the trees until it’s close enough to show me more. I relax when it sends back the image of familiar faces.
“It’s them.”
By the time we step into the clearing, Mira is already moving to meet me. From the lack of alarm, there must have been scouts posted that the raven missed.
“My Lord.” She scans me, then looks over my shoulder. “Where is Ellie?”
“I don’t know. Our powers combined and struck Sereven’s crystal. It threw us somewhere … else. I found my way back here, but she hasn’t returned.”
“Threw you where?”
“Back to where Ellie came from.”
“Back to … Is she still there? Did she not return with you?”
“We were together during the ritual to bring us back, but no, she didn’t return with us.”
Mira’s eyes shift to Nyassa. “And who is this?”
“Nyassa.”
“Nyassa?” Her shock is unmistakable. “The Tidevein master? But you’re supposed to be dead. All four masters died saving the child …”
“The others died,” Nyassa replies quietly. “When we sent the child … When we sent Elowen through, the magic pulled me across with her. I was stranded there.”
It’s clear from her expression that Mira has questions—likely about the ritual, about Ellie, and about Nyassa—but I need answers of my own.
“Tell me what happened after we went into the keep.”
Mira’s face hardens. “We were waiting outside when the keep began to glow. The ground shook as if it were breaking apart, then light exploded, bright enough to blind us. One entire wall came down, stone blocks the size of carts thrown across the courtyard. We managed to stay hidden in the trees, and avoid the commotion when guards came rushing out, shouting.”
“What about Sereven? Did you see him at all?”
“Yes, some time later. He stumbled out, held up by two of his commanders.”
“He survived, then?”
“He was alive, but hurt. Something has happened to his face. There were crystal fragments embedded in his skin, from his forehead down to his jaw. He could barely stand.”
Alive. After everything. Rage burns through me. All that power, all that destruction, and he’s still breathing. My fingers curl into my palms, shadows stirring at the edges of my control.
“Other than that, how did he seem?” I force the words out in an even tone. “Was he conscious?”
“He was awake. I heard him shouting, demanding the guards search the ruins for you and Ellie. They spent hours digging through the rubble and scouring the area. We had a few close calls.”
“Then what happened?”
“They left. Sereven looked ready to collapse, and his commanders were more intent on dragging him away from the keep than continuing the search.”
I scan the clearing, counting the faces gathered around us. All six are here, plus Mira, showing signs of exhaustion and worry.
“How long has it been since we went into the keep?”