Chapter Seventeen
By the time Matea and I slinked through the opening of the rock face and into the cave we’d set up camp in, night had fallen.
The moment our shadow forms entered the cave, Byn’s head snapped our way, his eyes scanning the darkness. He couldn’t sense shadows like some of the others could through their zirilium, but he could sense me. Rayven, who he’d been speaking to, also looked our way a moment before we materialized.
Byn started walking our way immediately, but I noticed Rayven looking over not just me to see if I was unharmed, but Matea too, his eyes lingering on her.
I tucked that small bit of information away.
“Are you alright?” Byn questioned as he approached. Once I confirmed I was, he looked toward Matea. “And you?”
“Me?” Matea asked, a hint of surprise in her tone.
“Yes, you. You are, technically, family, after all.” Byn smiled softly, his dimple popping.
Matea returned his smile with a timid one of her own before nodding. “Yes, I’m well, too. But you should talk to your wife about making better decisions.”
With that, she walked deeper into the cave, looking back at me only to wink.
I groaned and quickly added, “I couldn’t help it!”
Byn quirked an eyebrow. Then, seeing my helpless expression, shook his head. “Come on,” he sighed. “Let’s make this easier by having you tell everybody at once.”
I hung my head dramatically, following behind my husband as we headed toward the center of the space and the group slowly gathered around.
For the next half hour, Matea and I sat in the middle of the gathered group and relayed what had happened and what we had found—moment by moment. I even pulled out the papers and laid them out before everybody, in the order I assumed they’d gone.
The only thing I left out was Valenia’s name, and the fact that I had promised to help find her nephew. The portrait of Kai sat in my internal cloak pocket, its weight heavier than the earth I wielded.
Once the group was up to speed on what had taken place, I let Matea answer questions they had as I grabbed Byn’s hand and discretely broke apart from them. Byn didn’t question what I was doing—he simply allowed me to guide him.
Moments later, we were outside in a small clearing within the sparse forest around us, only a short walk away from camp.
“I didn’t tell the group everything,” I admitted after dropping his hand and walking a few paces forward, beginning to pace.
“I know,” Byn said, gently tugging me to a stop by my shoulders and facing me to look at him. “Tell me,” he encouraged.
I let out a shaky breath, the weight of what I had promised to a near stranger feeling like a boulder resting on my chest.
“The female I mentioned—we talked more than I let on. Her name is Valenia, and she did have her own reasons for obtaining those leads. She believes that when we find the encampment, we’ll find her missing nephew—Kaison.
” I paused, my hands beginning to shake.
“I promised her I’d find him. That I’d take care of him for her until she could get to him. ”
I watched as Byn’s eyes widened as his mind whirled with what this meant, and the weight he must’ve now understood that I felt.
Gently, he took my shaking hands into his.
“Together, Avi. We do this together. We will find Kaison, and we will keep him safe until we can reunite him with Valenia,” he reassured me.
“You’re… not upset?”
“We are already looking for the camps—what’s one more task?” He smirked, his dimple making an appearance and his calmness helping to ease my anxiety.
“You make it sound so easy,” I stated, standing on my toes to place a kiss on his dimpled cheek.
“Anything is easy if we take it one step at a time and do it together,” he responded, his hand coming up to grip my jaw and throat.
He tilted my head back, grazing his lips against mine as he said, “Your empathy is a strength, my love. Use it like one.”
Unable to help myself, I lifted myself higher, pressing not just my lips to his, but our bodies together. He let out a small breathy sound at the contact—a sound I wanted to hear again.
And again.
And again.
By the time we made it back to camp to instruct the group on our next moves, my lips were swollen with kisses, and Byn’s hair was heavily mused.
And both of our eyes shone brightly with the love we held for each other.
How this overwhelming amount of love can fit inside of my physical body, I thought as I gazed sideways at my husband, I do not know.
***
The first half of our group left the night before us; they’d needed the extra time to get a head start on their journey to Jackton.
It had taken a little time to sort out, but in the end, the Ocrein royal siblings, Callum and Caelia, headed to Jackton along with Chess and Rayven.
Jackton, which was situated on the farthest northeast corner of Inphis, was about a day’s journey from our rendezvous point outside of Acrynd, while my group—Byn, myself, Matea, and Laurence—was heading to Neokell.
We had agreed to meet back at the lush cave in roughly three days’ time.
North and slightly west of Acrynd, Neokell sat higher up than Acrynd, but lower than Genisyn when it came to elevation.
I’d seen artist’s renditions of all the other cities of the North in books growing up, so I knew when we arrived roughly what to expect—rocky terrain with a city nestled against the mountains.
After traveling the day before, then resting at our latest hiding spot, we’d finally made it.
But despite all I had tried to prepare myself for, what I did not expect was the smell.
I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was coming from, whether it was simply the city or terrain or something more, but each time the wind blew, it brought gusts of foul air to throw us off guard.
We would not let it.
We ended up using our cloaks to help shield the lower portions of our faces as we had walked the last stretch toward the outskirts of the city.
We’d then set up our meeting point and split into pairs once again to scout and see if we could find any leads.
Needing a shadow wielder per pair, I brought Byn with me while Matea took Laurence.
My sister and guard both had such stern expressions before they dissipated into shadows, I worried for anybody they happened to run into.
Now, we’d all been scouring the nooks and crannies of the mountain city, all without finding a thing.
We’d found nothing, and the sky had grown dark.
We had lost an entire day—and for naught.
Frustrated, I shadow wielded Byn and myself to the top of a high building, only letting go and materializing us once we were safely in the middle of the roof.
“Ugh!” I groaned, my emotions beginning to sizzle in my veins, courtesy of my zirilium.
“I know it’s upsetting not to find anything, but maybe Rayven and Callum found something over at Jackton. Maybe they aren’t here, Avi.” Byn’s voice carried just a hint of sadness, and I could feel that he was disappointed, too.
“It’s just… what am I if I can’t do this one task? I couldn’t help my own people. I thought maybe I’d redeem myself by finding yours, but…” I trailed off as I slowly slumped to the ground, my wings splaying out behind me on the rooftop.
Byn came to kneel next to me, gently cupping both sides of my face to get me to look at him.
“They’re both our people now, Avi. And we haven’t failed yet.”
Drawing strength from his confidence in us, I took a deep breath.
It was time to start over.
Pulling out the papers Valenia had given me, I laid them all out in random order—minus the sketch, which I handed to Byn. The sketch had been of what I assumed was the inside of the encampment, showing a handful of buildings and structures, which would only be helpful after we found its location.
On the papers, the only contents consisted of lines and dots. I didn’t quite understand—until I did.
I had been giving my eyes a break from looking at the confusing papers when it hit. “Wait…” I murmured. Byn stayed silent, letting me think without interruption.
Tilting my head further up, I stared at the Stars overhead.
I’d looked at these pages more times than I cared to admit, but it didn’t click until that moment as I gazed at the Stars.
That was the key. The Stars.
“Byn!” I said suddenly, excitement in my voice. “That’s it!”
“What’s it?”
“The Stars! That’s what we’ve been missing! Every time before when I looked at these sheets, we were either in a cave, under trees, or it was daytime. But do you see—” I pointed to a small cluster of dots on the page closest to me, “these?”
“The dots? Yes, I see them.”
“They line up with the Stars! Look, this one is the dove, right there.” I pointed to a group of the Stars to the east that followed the same pattern as the dots on the page.
“And this one…” I carried on, unable to stop now that I’d begun. “This one is the vine, and—look! The griffin! They all match!”
I frantically rearranged the sheets of paper in front of me, matching them to reflect the constellations overhead. As I did, the lines came together to vaguely make up a sketch.
A sketch I had an idea about—but one I wasn’t sure about just yet.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, hopping to my feet and leaping into the air.
Byn caught my hand before I could fly off without a second thought. I whipped my head around to look at him, only to watch him press his lips to my knuckles.
“Be careful,” he advised, then released his grip on me.
I stalled a moment, wishing I had Eden here with us so he, too, could see what I was so confident I was about to.
I nodded to him, then shot straight up into the sky.
Taking my husband’s advice, I covered my form in shadows but remained solid. If anything, I would look like a blur or a trick of the light to anybody below.
When I got high enough in the air, I pumped my wings at the perfect pace to hold me steady. I tried not to relish too much in the feeling of the wind in my hair and feathers again as I looked down at the city of Neokell.
And a spark of hope lit up inside of me.