“You’re all right?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Fine.”
But my heart was pounding. An entire month was catching up to me all at once. I felt the time passing with every step, and I wondered if this was what it was like for Rhyan after a jump. Feeling so much distance speed through his body.
The Queen’s warning was fresh in my mind. I had to end Rhyan’s akadim existence. No matter what. Either by restoring his soul, or … no. I wasn’t even going to think about the alternative. I was going to heal him.
But first we had to find him. Only I had no idea where to start. And Korteria was the last place I wanted to do it in. Not after last time I was here. Not in the country most loyal to the Emperor. I took a shuddering breath, pressing on up the endless hill, but exhaustion was trailing after me.
I could see it in Auriel’s eyes, too. Every step we’d taken beyond Khemet’s border, had been one where I could literally feel the passage of time catching up to me. I couldn’t explain it. I’d been in the Afeyan lands for a day. But I could sense all the changes around me now that I’d missed. The warm air that coasted along the breeze. The slight shift of the color in the clouds and sky. The growth of fresh green leaves and the scent of flowers blossoming were everywhere. Spring had just barely sprung a day ago for me. But Lumeria was in the midst of the season. An entire month lost.
Auriel stilled suddenly, his ears perked. And a second later a Korterian time keeper rang the bells announcing the hour. Ashvan riders would be on patrol any second now, over the border. They’d be searching the ravine, and the hills. Flying right over us.
“We need to hide!” I said.
Auriel grabbed my hand and ran, pulling up the hood of his cloak. I did the same, running faster until we reached a series of suntrees. The clock tower continued to chime. It was midday already. We moved deeper into the brush, finding the tree with the longest branches, the most leaves, and then pressed our backs to it. I tried to focus on my breathing, as the blue lights of Lumerian ashvan formed in the sky, and the horse’s jewel-toned bodies raced across.
At last, the clock tower stopped. I waited for the final round of ashvan to pass.
Only they didn’t. Two riders landed beyond the trees. I pressed my head back against the trunk, stilling my breath andmy body. From my peripheral vision, I could see Auriel’s face pale. His eyes remained on the riders, their silver armor flashing in the sunlight as they dismounted their horses. Swords drawn, they started toward us.
We could fight them. Easily. But when they didn’t return to their posts, their turion would know immediately that something was amiss. And we needed secrecy to begin our search. Any increase in soturion presence was only going to complicate things.
Without warning, Auriel turned to face me, pressing his body against mine, his hand sliding down my hip, drawing my leg around his waist.
“What are you doing?” I hissed.
He reached through Rhyan’s leather scabbard and pulled out my stave.
“Buying us time,” he whispered. The way we were positioned, they’d assume we were lovers sneaking off for a moment alone. “Have you ever done glamour magic?” he asked.
“No,” I said, starting to panic.
“Who’s out here?” a soturion yelled. “Name yourself.” Shit. Shit!
“Try,” Auriel whispered. “Make our armor silver, turn your hair blonde.”
Blonde? Blonde like Ka Kormac. Everyone knew I had dark hair that turned red in the sun. It was my most identifying feature. I didn’t know what I’d missed in the last month. But I was pretty sure that I was still wanted by the Emperor. And if these men were looking for me, it would be the first thing they’d check. Having blonde hair and silver armor— they’d never suspect who I was—especially if they didn’t know my face. If these soturi had been assigned to patrol here, then it was unlikely they’d ever been stationed in Bamaria or seen me before.
I closed my eyes, recalling the spell I’d read about while I was studying mage magic in Glemaria. Aiden, the spymaster’s apprentice, was the most gifted in this arena. And I’d seen him do it multiple times. I took a deep breath and tried to mimic his movements, imagining my hair blonde, and my armor and Auriel’s both silver.
I chanted the words under my breath, my heart pounding, but nothing happened. Glamour magic wasn’t the sort of thing you could just call on without practice, without intense skill.
“Shit,” I said. “It didn’t work.”
Auriel squeezed the back of my neck. “It’s okay. Try again.”
I did, repeating the spell and the movements, but I was starting to panic. Either this worked, or we fought and risked exposure.
“The shard,” Auriel said. “Use it.”
My eyes widened and I reached behind my back again, repeating the spell. Warmth immediately filled my chest, and rose up my spine. Silver, the same exact shade of Ka Kormac’s armor, spread across Auriel’s torso.
“We see you!” shouted the soturion. Two sets of footsteps sped up.
My breathing grew heavy, but the same silver now spread across my torso, even changing Asherah’s chest plate.
“You did it,” Auriel said breathlessly, pulling out a lock of my hair from beneath my hood. From the corner of my eye, I could see that it was pure golden blonde.
