Chapter 30 The Crystal Wand
The Crystal Wand
The worst part about all of it is … even if she ran a dagger through my gods damned heart, I would likely grasp her hand just to hold it a moment longer.
—Burned page of Draven Vos’s personal journal
THE JOURNEY BACK to Sedah is quick and fraught with tension.
Many of Commander Soto’s soldiers have been injured or killed, five of the ten-elf envoy died, and Fable’s entire left arm is bandaged from acid.
Draven’s able to heal his leg enough to travel and, to my chagrin, refuses a brace until we’ve left the elves.
We’ve gathered only maybe a third of the zenith we’d come for, but the wand I’ve kept hidden is more valuable than all of it combined.
Eldarion seems nearly surprised to see us return, though he quickly pivots to focusing on the tragedy of lives lost, skirting blame for the drakes still occupying the cave, claiming ignorance to the mated pair and their nest of hatchlings.
All of us are worse for wear and more than one druid has whispered that it felt like a setup.
Flying on the wyvern is the best part of our return journey, short as it is. When we finally arrive back at the Forge, many are taken to the healing quadrant. But Draven’s already seen to my wounds, and soon Commander Soto’s approaching him.
“You’ll need to be with us when we bring the zenith to the palace. His Majesty will want to hear about this incident from you personally.”
“Just … give me a moment alone with Rune.” Draven leads me toward our Hearth, limping along. He’s healed himself enough, but he will need rest.
As we get closer to our house, I notice Ember waiting at the steps.
“Talk with your friend, but then it’s my turn.”
“Hey, Em—”
I’m cut off as she throws her arms around me, freezing up slightly at the warm affection, before returning it. Draven smiles at her before disappearing inside.
I ask, “Are you okay?”
“Me? Yes, I’m fine, but I haven’t seen you since the party!” Ember pulls away and looks me over. “I was pretty worried. I thought maybe you were hurt but then heard you were on a trip with Draven.”
I flinch, realizing I probably should’ve told her. But it’s been a long time since I’ve had anyone worrying about me.
“I brought you something.” She pulls a cute little crystal frog from her pocket and it shines in the light as if it’s made of starlight.
“There was a visiting market of merchants while you were gone. I remember you said there were frogs that would sound like a little symphony when you lived on the Isle of Riches. Kasper spotted it, but it reminded me of you. I was going to save it for your soul-day but … I’m terrible at waiting. ”
“You don’t need to get anything just to commemorate me being born.
” Not sure when my last soul-day party even was, and I was probably pretty little.
I amend, “But it’s adorable.” I’m surprised Kasper would pick it up.
I clench her hand, trying not to think about how close I got to dying on this trip. To losing Draven.
“You okay, Rune?”
I nod, putting on a smile. “Thanks for checking on me.” We both look up the steps and I tell her, “I’d better check on Draven before he goes off to the palace.”
“Okay, but then I want to hear everything!” She hugs me again, and I let myself enjoy it this time before I rush up the steps and enter our Hearth. I find Draven shaking his head as he throws some spying crystals into the fire.
“I got the last of them, but keep checking while I’m away.”
“You won’t be gone long, right?”
“You going to miss me, Wraith?” A wry grin cuts his coy mouth.
I lean closer and notice how his lips part with want as I hiss, “What if I am?”
“Then I’m sorry we don’t have more time before I have to return to the palace and haul this pitiful amount of zenith we extracted with me.”
“It wasn’t a total waste.”
His brows furrow together before his gaze sharpens. “Have you been holding out on me?”
“Turns out a drake wasn’t the only thing in that cave.” I reach into my cloak and carefully pull out the wand. Draven’s entire face lights up as he takes it in, all its intricate craftsmanship.
“Gods, Rune, you have never been sexier.”
My face heats, the tension between us coiling tighter. I try to stay focused and ask, “Do you think the legends are true?”
“When it comes to the Darkstone, there’s only one way to find out.
” He accepts it as I hand it over, and the colors change, like blood poured beneath the dark crystal.
He quickly hands it back, as if it’s unbearable to touch.
“It called to you, so you should keep it here. Hide it. Don’t mention it to anyone. ”
“I won’t,” I promise.
“I can’t believe you kept hold of it while being chased by a drake.” He grins at me, impressed.
I lift the wand, letting it catch on the light streaming through the parted curtains.
“Pretty sure it’s why the drake tried to eat us all. But … I couldn’t leave it behind.” I tilt my chin up, but he’s not watching the wand with wonder, just me.
Soto knocks at the door and I quickly hide the wand as he steps inside. “I’m afraid we need to leave now, Your Highness.”
Draven steals another moment, laying his lips against my inner wrist. “I’ll be back. Guards have been assigned to watch over the house. But, Rune …”
“Tell me when you get back.” I give him a wink, and a smile breaks across his face.
But watching him leave with Soto’s men hurts. We’ve just been through a lot, and there’s so much entangled and unsaid between us. I wanted more time.
I move the wand to the unused loft of my room and hide it away in a narrow pen box.
There’s a strange sense of anticlimax. I hope to hells it was worth it.
A FEW DAYS PASS, all without any sign of Draven.
Meanwhile our training at the Forge continues to get increasingly challenging.
Combat moves into using weapons, and we’ve advanced to a course that uses magic in battle.
I have a leg up on both thanks to Draven.
My friends and I continue to practice, and I make it a point of working on maintaining that hope I found to create the Star Arcana, forging weapons and shields, but hope is a fickle thing, and without Draven here I falter at it as much as I succeed.
I host my study group for the third day in a row, my Hearth too empty without Draven’s snark filling it, and I wish he or his friends were here to field some of my friend’s questions about the trip.
Instead, I remain vague about the whole experience.
Kasper doesn’t show, yet again, and though Ember excuses it as some minor argument between them I wonder if he holds some subconscious memory of the interrogation.
I grin every time Felix makes her laugh though, which seems to be a lot.
When the others leave for the evening, Ember hangs behind, telling me all about the fight between her and Kasper.
It seems to all stem from his unwillingness to open up, refusing to talk about his past. I hesitate on telling her what I’ve learned, which is very little, and then get caught in the strings of how I would explain knowing any of it. I deflect instead.
“What about Felix? He’s so sweet and he clearly likes you.”
“What about Wynter?” she asks me back with a knowing smirk, freckles scattered like cinnamon across her nose and cheeks, those emerald eyes mischievous. I heave out a sigh, balancing a starlit dagger on a fingertip.
“Draven’s only the second person in my life to make me feel like this.” My face heats at the thought of it.
“Tell me about the first.” Ember leans in to listen. “Was he cute?”
And I open a sliver of myself, a careful gift. “She was beautiful.”
Ember grins, bumping me with her shoulder. “Tell me all about her.”
· · ·
EMBER AND I TALK into the night about exes, our past, all of it balanced between jokes and laughter.
The next morning I’m picking at a pumpkin cream cheese scone as we all sit in the Atrium for breakfast, when Kasper shows up.
Ember jumps to her feet and the two whisper for a bit off to the side before rejoining the group.
She puts her hand in Kasper’s right at the table.
Everyone stops. His pale eyes flick over all of us, as if he’s waiting for a reprimand, but she showed me no judgment last night, and swallowing my reservations of him, I realize it’d be hypocritical for me to do anything less.
“If you two break up, she keeps the kids,” I let him know. Amaya and Cleona laugh, and I notice poor Felix putting on a brave smile. Kasper grins wildly, and I think it’s the first time I’ve seen something other than a snarl on his lips, and the little act changes his whole face.
“I figured.” He gives a little shrug, putting an arm around her shoulders, and she beams, mouthing thank you to me.
I smile, but something twinges in me. I haven’t heard from Draven in days. The group continues to chatter except for Felix, who makes an excuse about forgetting something in his Hearth. I watch him leave, his shoulders slouched, and I wish I had something to say to him.
That’s when I see Malik.
It’s the first sign of Draven’s friends since returning. Hope sparks in me, and I excuse myself to run over to him.
“Malik! Hey, Malik!”
He looks relieved to see me.
“Rune—I was looking for you, actually.” He reaches into his bag and crushes a letter into my hand. “Draven gave this to me at the palace, but I haven’t seen you. He’ll skin me alive if I don’t pass it along,” he rattles off quickly, as though scared he’s going to get in trouble.
“Are you okay?” I ask. “Is Fable?”
“Yeah, we’re good. You?” He looks genuinely concerned and I nod, things a little awkward but I’m glad to see him, to see someone else who was there, too.
He smiles, clapping me on the shoulder, and takes off for his classes.