Thankfully, it wasn’t far from Kol’s suite to Nyx and Zaria’s. We knocked softly.
I kept my gaze on all the shadows, waiting for them to answer. The back of my neck crawled like someone would pop out and drag me back to Arkyn any second.
Finally, a half-asleep Nyx pulled the heavy door open. “What?”
“We need to find Faolan, and we could do with your help.” I stepped in front of Kol. “Please.”
He let us in, and we caught him up, and between us, we pieced together the last time anyone had seen him.
“It’s been a day and a half?! And you didn’t raise the alarm?”
“It’s been a bit busy here, debriefing the King about all that happened and dealing with Arkyn’s demands. And until he changed his mind and started talking about staying, Faolan was meant to leave—that was always his plan. I just figured he’d gone back to that plan and taken himself off.” Nyx exhaled harshly. “But I agree. Wherever he is now, we need to find him before Arkyn does.”
“Have you tried looking for him through your bond?” Zaria asked.
“I’ve tried talking to him, but there is nothing there,” I told her, frustrated.
“But you know how to trace your magic and the threads between you, right?”
“It all feels cut off right now. I figured he was too far away.”
“He’d never be too far away to know he’s out there, alive and well. You have to feel for him.”
“Faolan showed me how to do that, how I could feel my sister’s presence in the realm to know she was okay when we’d been separated.” I hate that I hadn’t thought of it.
“You can. It might be too far to trace, but if he’s alive, you’ll be able to tell,” Zaria reassured me. “Try it.”
I closed my eyes, but they snapped open again. “What if he’s not?”
“You need to know.” Zaria took my hands in hers.
I nodded, taking a slow breath before letting my eyes fall closed again. I found the threads between us and traced them.It took so much focus, and I almost felt myself leaving my body, like when I portalled, but instead of pulling into myself, this was out. It was a strange sensation, but I fought the panic and kept tracing.
“I can feel him. I think.” I tried to anchor where he was in space, like when I portalled to a familiar place. This was just without visuals. I could feel it in the map in my mind.“He’s not harmed, but I don’t think he can sense me. There nothing pulling back or responding to my call.”
“Do you know if he’s close?” Zaria urged.
I concentrated harder, trying to gauge it. It was hard to tell distance, but I could sense that he wasn’t mobile. He was stationary somewhere and… Yes! He did feel close. Like I could go to him if only I could figure out where he was.
I pushed harder, wishing I could somehow channel what he was seeing, but I knew that was impossible. However, as I dug deep into my reserves to reach out for him, I did get a sense. There was a sense of confinement, darkness, and powerlessness.
I opened my eyes and stared at the expectant faces.
“I think Arkyn has him.”
“How do you know?” Kol asked.
“Just a feeling. I can’t feel anything from him but this vague sense of being confined. But I feel like he is near.” I looked to Nyx. “Where would he hold him?”
Nyx frowned. “If he had him in the cells, I would have heard about it. I don’t think he would be that public about it.”
“What about the abandoned vaults beneath the south section? Where Kiera worked on that undead soul.” Zaria suggested, wincing. Perhaps it was a bad memory?
Nyx looked at her. “You could be on to something.”
Hurriedly, they explained the location and the basic layout to us. It sounded plausible, and hopefully, if I was there, I’d know if he was too.
“I think I should go to my brother so he doesn’t come looking,” Alaric said as we all got up.
