Zander’s jaw clenched.
“My magic… I couldn’t control it. It kept building. Kaelith was gone. I called to her, but she wasn’t there. And then something else… rose up. I don’t know what it was, but it threw him back. And then I passed out.”
Major Kaler stepped forward, arms crossed. “No novice can break my weave. Especially when cut off from her dragon.”
“Are you saying she didn’t do it?” Zander snapped.
“I’m saying sheshouldn’thave been able to.”
I looked between them, then reached inward for Kaelith, desperate for even a flicker of her presence.
Kaelith?
Nothing.
She was there. I couldsenseher. But she was silent.
Closed.
Ignoring me.
My chest tightened. I didn’t know if I had broken the illusion. I didn’t know if the power I’d touched had been mine… or something else entirely.
But one thing was clear.
Something had changed.
The last thing I remembered was the remnants of that foreign power curling around me.
Whispering.
Claiming.
Then nothing.
Chapter
Nine
Zander glanced at me, his jaw tight, his eyes still burning from the argument with Major Ledor.
“Tae,” he said, not taking his eyes off me, “take her to Meri. Now.”
Tae nodded immediately and helped me to my feet, his arm looping around my shoulders to steady me.
I leaned into him, legs barely cooperating as we started toward the healers’ quadrant.
Behind us, I heard Zander’s voice again—quiet but distinct. He wasn’t done with the major. Not by a long shot.
“You alright?” Tae asked as we passed through the garden paths, his grip firm but gentle.
“I feel like I’ve been grilled from the inside out,” I muttered, trying to keep my voice light, but the raw ache in my chest made it thin.
Tae gave a low chuckle, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “The more powerful the magic, the worse the backlash. At least for humans. I don’t think the fae suffered the same.”
We passed beneath an ivy-wrapped arch and into the cool shade of the healers’ quadrant. The scent of herbs hit meinstantly, yarrow, thyme, and something sharper I couldn’t place.
A younger healer with ink-stained fingers led us to an open cot near the back, gesturing for me to sit while they prepped a calming tea.
