Epilogue
THE GENERAL
Xuri’s melodic voice penetrated the fog of my consciousness. The sounds of rustling and hurried footsteps irritated the headache grinding into my temples. A cool towel settled on my brow. I flinched at the touch, pain lancing up my side. My eyes flew open.
Rays of sunlight swiftly replaced darkness, accosting my vision and sharpening the pain in my skull.
Xuri and Sieren peered down at me, one with pity; the other with clinical assessment.
I reached toward my left side, expecting to find a sword hilt protruding from my exposed abdomen.
Nothing was there save for bandages that obstructed the view of my throbbing wound.
I sucked in a ragged breath, my body remembering before my thoughts caught up. Furious and frantic shadows speared out of me, every piece of metal in the vicinity levitated or trembled in unrestrained aggression. Xuri held up her hands to block the lashing magic.
Sieren flew against the wall, breath whooshing out of her. Finn bolted into the room, words coming out of his mouth that did not register in my agitated state. His hair whooshed back at the onslaught of my uncontrolled magic.
Everything honed in on her name.
Liora.
I had to find her. The urge to protect swelled from the depths of my bones to the point of pain.
My last memory of her flashed—a dreki restraining her, Nolan’s corrupt shadows spiraling.
Much of the memory blurred. But the words she had projected into my mind were clear.
“You have my heart.” I could scarcely breathe.
Xuri propelled her voice through the din of my power. “She lives.”
The intricate symbol over my heart strained, tingled, ached.
She lives.
My eyes darted about the room. My room. In my home in Aphellion, back in Yarit.
I regained control of my magic as my three confidants reclaimed their balance.
Kaida strode forward, somehow having blended into the shadows.
She laid her gigantic head on my legs, her brown eyes downcast, as if she bore the weight of Liora’s loss with me.
I reached out my hand to stroke her fur.
“Where is she?” I croaked out. The pain in my side incrementally lessened.
Finn approached, sorrow mixed with resolve.
“She was captured. I could save her or you. She demanded I save you.” He momentarily looked away.
“Kaida attempted to return for Rue, but we somehow convinced her to come with us and she followed us through the portal.” His voice trailed off.
Guilt riddled him for leaving her behind.
My heart raced. Every fiber of my being bellowed to rescue her. I felt like a leashed animal, feral and focused on escape. Nolan had awakened a beast that would rival the deadliest wolvin.
“You were stabbed with Glint. It penetrated multiple organs and barely missed your lungs. It drained you of a significant amount of magic causing your healing to stall. We are doing everything we can, but with your blood already poisoned, it’s taking longer to rid you of toxins,” Sieren offered.
I nodded in understanding, barely suppressing the urgency to spring out of my bed. My muscles twitched.
Through gritted teeth, I leveled my stare to each of my friends. “I will find her. It’s all I care about.”
Xuri drew near, her outstretched finger hovering above the silvered symbol on my chest. “When did you get this?” Her inquisitive tone stole my attention.
“The night before we left for Haluma. Do you recognize it?” I grazed the symbol with my fingers as it tingled beneath my skin.
Her mouth twitched with a barely suppressed smile. “It’s the symbol of the couerdiae.”
My shoulders fell slack. That couldn’t be right. “A couerdiae? But we made no bond forged from our blood. Could it be something else?”
Xuri tilted her head in thought. “Then the bond isn’t complete. But it’s definitely the Sarulien symbol for it. A couerdiae—”
I cut her off. “It’s the source for higher magic.”
She shook her head, a twinkle in her rich dark eyes.
“It isn’t just a bond for higher magic. It’s a heartbond.
A cord between two people. The highest form of connection one could only dream of experiencing.
Her hair, the Sarulien symbol, it’s exactly as my vision predicted.
It means your magic is bound to each other, as are your hearts.
It’s a oneness that only the gods can bestow. Dom, you’re heartbonded.”
Her words sucked all the air out of the room.
My heartbond.
The weight of my previous declaration to rescue Liora slammed full force in my chest. No wonder I felt possessed by an insatiable need to protect and rescue her, to be near her, to touch her.
To claim her.
A knock on the door brought Bowen and Delah into my increasingly crowded room.
As they filed in, Finn assisted me in taking a more upright position in bed.
I motioned toward a robe. He handed it to me, and I wrapped it around my bare chest with its blood-soaked bandage and screaming couerdiae badge.
Delah bowed her head. “Thank you for your efforts to rescue me.” Behind her gratitude, I could hear her unspoken pain at arriving here without Liora.
“I’m glad that part of our mission was successful.” I clenched my fists to contain my impatience. Who knows what Nolan would do to her. The metal in my room flared.
“You’ll go back for Ruin?” Delah asked.
A small smile cut through my distress. “I will. And she’s no longer Ruin of the Scourge.” She’s mine.
Delah’s eyes shone with a film of unshed tears, a tinge of silver reflected in them from the brightly glowing symbol on my chest. As if she remembered her purpose in my room, she extended her hand toward me.
“Now that you’re awake, you can take this antidote for the Glint.
I came up with it myself.” A small blush tinged her cheeks.
I accepted the vial, uncorked it, and threw back the contents. The fluid coursed thickly down my throat, tasting faintly of anise, a far better flavor than the bitter tonic I was used to taking to counteract my curse.
Sieren ushered everyone out. “Let him rest now. Close your eyes, General, when you awaken, you should be nearly healed. Then we can work on getting Rue back.”
Finn squeezed my shoulder. “Try to rest. We’ll need you and your magic at full strength.”
The last of my friends exited, the door clicking behind Xuri. I dropped my head back on the pillow. Delah’s antidote warmed my insides and relaxed my muscles, bringing on a drowsiness I was almost powerless to fight against. I removed the robe and readjusted my pillows.
The couerdiae symbol shimmered with silvery filaments. I hadn’t slowed down enough to study its design. It showcased intertwining vines that took the shape of an infinity symbol. Its shimmer never faded, unlike the swirling symbols and script that came and went along my neck when I used my shadows.
Another thought sprung forth, penetrating through the antidote-induced lethargy.
I needed proof of a quickly formed theory, in light of the truth that I had a couerdiae with Liora.
I leaned sideways toward the bedside table, fumbling to open the drawer.
I hoped I didn’t accidentally throw myself off the bed and into a disgraceful heap on the floor.
The drawer shimmied, creaking from the unbalanced drag I made to yank it outward.
Still nestled in a velvet bag, I removed the compass.
The night before we left to rescue Delah, I had put it in here for safekeeping.
It glowed significantly brighter as we had traveled from Vorkut to Lyrae.
I had assumed it was due to our increasing proximity to the Nymphian Library, where Queen Thaleia had distinctly reported we might find the cure to my blood curse.
The bag fell open. I released a tensely held breath. My fingers trembled. The compass was now as dull as a piece of driftwood. My theory proved correct.
The cure for my curse wouldn’t be found in the library. The cure would only be found in completing the couerdiae.
In getting my bonded back.