Chapter 59
Reign
“Wake up! Wake up!” Ryder jumps out of my bed and immediately conjures his sword of shadows. The sight of his panic makes me giggle and I suddenly feel bad for waking him up so abruptly. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Put your sword away.”
“What the hell, Reign?”
He looks so disheveled that I can’t help but laugh.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
He gives me a sidelong glance as if to tell me, “What did you think was going to happen?”
While his heart rate settles back down, I slip out of bed and begin getting dressed.
“Why are you putting on your Shadow Land clothes?”
I pause, leaving my boots unlaced. “Can you go get Nio, Ion, and Danielle? I want to leave Zaro out of it. Tomorrow is his wedding, and he doesn’t need any distractions.”
“Leave him out of what? Reign, what’s going on?”
“I think I figured out how to find the island,” I tell him as I start tying my laces. “Look, I’ll explain it all once everyone is downstairs at the dining table. Just trust me, okay?” I give him a quick kiss on the cheek before I sprint out the door.
Amaya, Zane, and Damien all look disoriented when they step out into the hallway.
“What’s going on?” Zane asks with a yawn.
“I need you all to follow me!”
“Right now?” Amaya grunts, rubbing her tired eyes.
“Yes, right now!” I grab her wrist and pull her behind me.
Ryder and the others are already waiting for us around the table, and I have no idea how he got them here so fast. If I had to take a guess, I would assume he simply snatched them from their own beds. At least Danielle, judging by her matching silk pajamas.
“Alright, start talking,” Ion orders, cutting straight to the point.
“Okay, so we know there aren’t any wards up around the island because Ryder was able to vaporate.
I’ve been racking my brain about why that is.
Why would a place so sought after, housing one of the most dangerous weapons ever made, not be guarded by wards?
And last night in my dreams it hit me. Why would wards be necessary if no one could see it? They wouldn’t be.”
“Right, but I already told you I’ve never known anyone with enough magic to cloak an entire island,” Ryder reminds me.
“I know. That’s why it’s not cloaking magic that’s concealing it. It’s space magic.”
“What?” Amaya pops up from the table suddenly wide awake. “How?”
“It took me so long to figure it out but then I remembered you telling me about reflective magic. I think that’s why no one can see it. I think there’s a veil of reflective magic surrounding it so that anyone who comes near only sees the reflection of the open sea.”
“What about ships? Wouldn’t the reflection of the ship be shown?” Danielle asks.
“Not exactly,” Amaya answers. “Reflective magic can be manipulated to only reflect certain images. I’ve seen it done.”
“I have too,” Nio adds. “It’s actually a fairly common battle strategy with the space witches.”
“So how will we be able to see the veil?” Ryder asks to no one in particular.
“We won’t,” Ion tells him. “A witch will.”
Amaya suddenly looks defeated. “I’m not advanced enough to make out the veil. Especially not one that size. I’m so sorry.” She hangs her head and I immediately reach for her hand.
“It’s okay, Amaya,” Nio quickly reassures. “I know a witch who can help.” Ion gives his brother a knowing look and Nio stands up. “I’ll get her and ready a ship. Give me two hours.”
“No, it’s the parade today. You should be here to celebrate,” I insist.
“I’ll make sure I’m back for the evening festivities. Naomi knows how to command the ship. She’ll be able to take my place if necessary.”
Something about the way he says her name makes me wonder if him and her used to be a thing. It would explain her expertise with the ships and the smirk Ion seems to be poorly hiding.
“Ryder and I will go. Everyone else should attend the parade.”
“What? No, we’re going with you,” Amaya argues.
“We came here to celebrate Zaro and Anthony. The island is abandoned, and we already searched a good chunk of it last time we were there. It won’t take us long to find the scepter and get back.”
“Fine,” she reluctantly agrees. “If you’re not back by midnight, we’re coming after you.”
“Fair enough.”
“That settles that,” Ion says, standing up from the table. He reaches over to Nio and grabs his shoulder. “I’ll fill Zaro in and keep the fun going while you’re gone.”
“I’m sure you will,” Nio says with a nudge to his brother.
Ryder takes off with the brothers while Danielle tells the others to get ready for the parade. Apparently, everyone wears white today and Bex and Mason are on their way back with everyone’s outfits.
An hour later, we’re in the middle of a valley of white linen. Everyone but Ryder and I are dressed head to toe in flowing white garments that remind me of Nazrelia’s signature style. The streets are flooded with people cheering and tossing flowers into the air.
“Zaro and Anthony will be here soon,” Danielle tells us.
“Give them our best.”
She nods and gives me a tight hug. “We’ll see you guys later.”
Ryder and I say goodbye to the others before following Nio to the dock where he’s prepared one of the ships.
Once we climb aboard, a woman with long, golden-brown braids who reminds me of a goddess from one of my books, is already waiting for us.
“Hi! I’m Naomi,” she says, offering me her ring-filled hand.
“I’m Reign and this is Ryder.”
She bows when he walks up. “It’s an honor.”
“The honor is all mine,” he says, reaching his hand out. “You must be a pretty impressive witch to be picked for the job.”
She blushes and I don’t blame her. “I’ve had good teachers.”
Humble and stunning? Now, I’m sure Nio has a thing for her. He’d be stupid not to.
The wind is in our favor as we sail further into the endless blue. Each hour that passes makes me realize how difficult this mission truly is. I can see now that simply coming across the island by dumb luck is a one-in-a-million chance.
The Infinite Sea is far more vast than I could’ve imagined and not knowing the exact location of the island makes this venture that much more challenging.
Hopelessness begins to grow in my chest as the sun passes through the sky.
Nio told us a little while ago that this is the furthest he’s ever ventured out.
Even when sailing to the other territories, they keep to a route that allows them to get to land within three hours.
I suppose that makes a lot of sense. I certainly wouldn’t want to be stranded in the middle of the sea.
I’m just about to ask Ryder if we should head back and begin again with more ships when Naomi yells to us from her position on the upper deck.
“There!” She’s pointing to the east but all I see is water.
Nio turns the ship in the direction and Naomi comes bounding down the steps to the main deck.
“You can see it?” Ryder asks, walking to meet her.
“Yes,” she says breathlessly. “It’s extraordinary! I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“What do you see?”
“Mm, it’s kind of hard to explain. Sort of like an iridescent string outlining a dome around the island. I can’t make out the island, just the edge of the veil. It would be hard for any space witch to notice if they weren’t looking for it.”
As we approach, Naomi directs Nio where to go. She announces to all of us that we’re about to pass through the veil and in a matter of seconds, the four of us gasp at the white sand beach and lush green forest before us.
“You were right!” Nio shouts as if he didn’t fully believe us until this very moment.
While Nio and Naomi anchor the ship, Ryder and I begin searching the island. It helps that this time we’re starting at the edge of the island working our way in. We both spread out but remain in sight of one another.
Ryder’s shadows stretch out around him, clearing the dense bushes.
Occasionally, he flies high enough to scan the area for good measure.
It’s too much of a risk for me to transform in the thick of the forest without setting it ablaze, so I stick to my view from below, making sure to take my time so that I don’t miss anything.
I’m not sure how deep into it we are when I trip on a root and go face-planting into the ground.
I’d melt into it from embarrassment, but luckily Ryder is too busy doing one of the scanning sweeps to notice.
Once I collect myself and brush the evidence of my clumsiness off of me, I notice a dark opening leading underground.
I carefully take a few steps back to get a wider view of the area and realize that what I tripped on wasn’t a root after all.
I kneel down and use my power to burn off the vines covering the stone marker.
The symbol engraved on top of it is the same as one of the ones I saw carved into a column in the ruins.
Ryder must’ve noticed I found something because he appears at my side just as I’m turning to call him over.
“This has to be it,” I say, looking up at him.
“Let’s just hope my father hasn’t already been here.”
He reaches for my hand and takes the lead down the narrow stairs that are now slightly illuminated by the fire in my palm. Though the steps are steep, there aren’t many of them. Before we know it, we’re at the bottom, standing in front of a black, stone coffin.
With almost no effort, Ryder slides the stone top far enough for us to see inside. I’m not sure what I had expected to see. Maybe a pile of bones or ash. Certainly not a breathtaking woman with profound cheekbones and jet-black hair that somehow looks darker than Ryders.
“She doesn’t look a day over 35, let alone a corpse.”
“Her body must’ve been preserved by magic,” Ryder suggests as he begins running his hands down the inside of the coffin.
Just beneath her collarbone is a large, oval ruby embedded into her chest. I recall Ryder mentioning it was this ruby that gave her the power to command the demon army of Zurads.
“Where is it?” he seethes with growing frustration.
His searching becomes more frantic, and he pushes the slab fully off. It shatters on the ground and the sound echoes around the small room. His panic quickly turns into rage as he steps away, gripping his hair with both hands.
“It’s not here.” His voice is so low and intense that it’s almost scary.
“Are you sure?” I ask, reaching in to search for myself.
“I checked everywhere. My father must’ve gotten here first which means—”
“Wait,” I say, cutting him off. “There’s something under her hands.”
I slowly reach underneath her folded hands that are placed over her chest. When my fingers touch the top of the hidden object, something shoots out from the bottom of her hands, and I jump.
My heart is still racing when I reach for the black handle wrapped in gold detailing that seems to have been ejected by my touch.
The moment my hand fully grips it, red light bursts from the object still encased beneath her two hands.
As I carefully pull it from her grasp, the light begins to dim.
I turn around to find Ryder’s eyes bouncing back and forth between me and the scepter.
Neither of us can seem to form words as we look at the glowing red orb that was forged from demon magic.
It’s smaller than I thought it would be.
Between the scarlet sphere fixed at the top and the intricate handle extending from it, it’s only a foot long, maybe even less.
The burst of light from the orb has vanished, but there’s still a slight glow coming from the middle of it. I hold it a little closer and notice volts of magic writhing like lightning in the center of the small sphere. It feels wrong holding something that can wield such dark magic.
“Here. You should take it.” I hold it out to Ryder but when he reaches for it, a violent shock sends him flying backwards. His body hits the wall, leaving a massive indent behind. “Ryder! Are you okay?”
“I guess it doesn’t like me very much,” he attempts to joke as he stands back up in the middle of the rubble left from his impact.
“Looks like I’ll be holding onto it for now then.” I secure it in the harness that holds my daggers and do my best not to think about the amount of dangerous power it possesses. “We better get back before they send out a search team.”
Ryder grabs onto me, careful not to get too close to the scepter. Once we land back on the ship, Nio and Naomi are so lost in conversation that they don’t even notice us. Ryder clears his throat, and a second later their jaws drop when they see the scepter strapped to the front of me.
“You found it!” Nio sprints over to me, and Ryder blocks his arm.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. That thing apparently has favorites.”
Nio retracts his hand and shakes his head. “Of course, it would choose Reign.”
“Choose me?”
“Yeah,” he says with a shrug as if it was obvious. “Dark objects do that sometimes.”
“Does that mean the king wouldn’t be able to wield it?”
“Not necessarily. There are ways around it if you have the right means, or the right witch.”
“Lucky for us, that’s not something we’ll have to worry about,” I quip with a satisfied grin.
Ryder’s shoulders relax and for a moment it feels like the odds aren’t so against us.