Chapter 51
Vaeron rose early for the seventh day in a row, and I forced my eyes open as he pressed a kiss to my temple. “Where are you going now?”
“I need to prepare for the arrivals and see if anyone came in overnight,” he murmured, brushing my silvery hair out of my face. “Stay here and rest. You need it.”
I yawned, stretching out my limbs. “Let me know when the next group arrives.”
“I will,” he promised, backing out of our room, drinking in the sight of me like a male dying of thirst.
I flashed him a sultry grin, letting my fingers trail down my torso and disappear under the blanket.
His groan reverberated off the walls as he shut the door behind him, leaving me alone.
Morning light trickled in from between the threadbare curtains.
A shiver wracked my frame as I sat upright, snatching for an extra blanket to wrap around my shoulders.
Vaeron might have wanted me to rest, but there was none to be had when so many mysteries of the future remained. And in this quiet hour, it was easier for me to focus my Sight on what we needed to know.
From my trunk, I pulled out the bag of objects Nymirae had used to help me with my power. Over the months since our departure from Sivy, I’d figured out exactly what combination primed me to venture into a vision.
Because this was how I could help. Make a difference. End this war.
Be the change this realm needed.
I plucked two sage-scented candles from the mess, taking them to the woodstove and using the embers remaining to light the wicks.
Flames flickered as I placed them on the floor at the foot of the bed, one on either side.
The earthy scent filled the air, banishing the lingering stormwood of my mate.
I settled cross-legged between them, my back against the frame.
Dragging in a deep breath, I offered a quick prayer to the Goddess, fingers wrapped around the moonstone necklace.
Thank you for letting Vaeron live. And Maelsar. Please guide my way, Radiant Mother.
Incandescence undulated in my well of magic. I danced among the strands, twirling them around my body, calling in the future.
Show me what Iaoth and Stadiel are going to do.
For they were as much of a danger to us as the Demons.
I’d already asked for more of the High Priestess.
The sacrifice. But She hadn’t shown me anything of note, only mere glimpses of things not worth exploring.
There was an intuition to this power, so imprecise and uncertain, though with each passing day, I was more in step with my gift.
Time passed while I thumbed the crack in the stone, feeling its ridges and crevices. Tracing the teardrop shape. All the while picturing the daughter of the female who had once owned the jewelry.
The coals wavered in their stove, red embers morphing blue. Darkness crept on the edges of my vision. And then, I surrendered.
An array of crystals fractured light around the room, blinding me. Warped windows revealed a crashing ocean in the distance, the sound echoing in my ears. The sensory input overwhelmed me, and I squeezed my eyes shut, slamming my hands on the sides of my head and trying to drown out the sound.
Where am I?
A shrill laugh ripped through the space. I whipped around, finding the Korona in the entry, lips painted a cherry red and a diadem glittering on her brow.
She glided forward, and the vision dragged me across the lacquered shell floor. I dug my heels in, fighting the power. But it wanted me in front of Iaoth. Icy fear washed through me as her attention landed squarely on my shoulders.
“So glad you could come on such short notice,” she purred, eyes flashing over the table displaying countless gems. Iaoth prowled the length of it, her nails tapping on surfaces both rough and smooth.
Amethysts, aquamarines, opals, moonstones.
I couldn’t name every variety that waited for the Korona to purchase.
Yet in the center of a plush cushion lay a round stone so clear, so polished, threads of moonlight twisted through the center. Energy pulsed from it, and the well of magic in my chest recoiled. But I was locked in place, unable to escape.
The Korona’s eyes brightened as she came to a stop before it. Gem-encrusted rings glittered as she lifted it, arms straining. With a huff, she set it back down.
“How pure is this one?”
Her sharp gaze speared straight through me. My heart ceased beating.
Could she see me?
“That is the only one we’ve ever found without imperfections,” a male explained in the common tongue, his accent unlike anything I’d ever heard.
I tried to step to the side, to glimpse who this might be, yet found myself unable to move. Frustration had me flaring my nostrils on a huffed breath. Of course, I didn’t have autonomy, even when I asked to be here.
“How much?” she asked, a brow lifting.
“Fifty thousand gold wings.”
I choked. That was an enormous sum for a mere rock. Even if it did emanate a force unlike any I’d seen before.
“You do realize we are at war?” she hissed, her expression darkening.
“You wouldn’t have summoned me if you weren’t desperate, Korona.”
My brows climbed my forehead. This male—whoever he was—was bold speaking to her like this. Did he not know what her power was?
White spooled at her fingertips, and she reached across the crystals, straight toward my head. I—the male—took a step back. The earth beneath our feet rumbled.
“Careful. We’ve had a long relationship. I would hate for it to end like this.”
“As you said, I am desperate,” she purred. “In fact, my life, my position depends on it.”
Light snapped out and dragged me—us—closer. Sharp nails bit into my skin.
And everything obliterated.
With a gasp, I returned to the present. Sweat rolled down my temples. Frantically, I scanned my memories, ensuring that no holes punctured my past. The vines around my ribs loosened when I found none.
Yet my head throbbed. What were those stones? What did Iaoth want with them? And where was this?
We hadn’t heard from the monarchs since Althirion and Nymirae’s deaths. Were they too consumed with whatever this project was to even care?
And how my magic had shrunk back when she picked up that light-laden stone…
Dread coiled low in my belly. There was something more to this. We needed to know what power it held, what they intended to do with it.
Seers.
The word whispered from the back of my mind. How many types of crystals had we been offered? How many more awaited me in Nymirae’s bag now?
I scrambled forward, nearly knocking a candle into the rug in the process. With a flick of my wrist, I guttered the flames. From the bag, I pulled a half dozen stones of different sizes. Yet none emanated that menacing energy.
Of course, I had to tell Vaeron immediately. I hadn’t sensed him there with me.
A horn sounded, interrupting my inner spiral. Pressing a palm to the side of my forehead, I rose and crossed to the window, peeking from behind the curtain. Thousands of feathered wings filled the bright blue sky as the next faction descended on Hals?r.
How long had I been out?
Vaeron hadn’t called for me—or if he had, I’d been mid-vision and hadn’t heard him. I nudged our bond, finding him further away than the bottom floor of the command building.
“Do you need me?” I asked him.
“Lyriasthe can handle passing out the pictures of the wall. None of us wanted to pull you out of your power,” he replied. I spotted him then, his dawn-gray hair piled in a neat knot atop his head as he moved toward the edge of the valley.
“Did you See?”
“Only a flash. We’ll discuss later. Rest.”
I poured myself a glass of water, drinking it in long, greedy gulps.
Drops rolled down my chin, and I swiped them away as I retreated to the bed.
Curling against the pillows, I inhaled Vaeron’s stormwood scent, letting it envelop me in the safety and comfort he always brought me.
The bond hummed with contentment, even as the distance between us grew.
Vaeron truly did protect me—my energy along with my body. So unlike the visions I’d first had, where he caged me and forced me to fight against my will.
He empowered me. Worshipped me.
Being loved by him no longer hurt like it used to.
I closed my eyes, remaining absolutely still in the hopes that my headache would abate. I wanted to join my mate and my friends when they finished processing the new arrivals.
Until Ysolthe clicked outside the window, each note short and panicked. I bolted upright, alarm ringing in my veins. But it wasn’t mine.
Vaeron burst into my mind, his tone scraping steel slicing through velvet.
“Ishim is here. And he knows.”