“Yes. Knight of the Sun. Lord of the Faithful. Beloved by Yargen. Sole attendant to the Voice.” Taavin enumerated Ulvarth’s titles, each more bitter than the last.
“That’s a mouthful… Not that I’m one to talk.” Taavin gave a small grin at her jest, one he quickly abandoned. “He was there, wasn’t he?”
“He was,” Taavin said. “At the front.” The firelight danced on his skin, casting long shadows. For a man who was filled with the power of light, darkness seemed to love him.
“They want to bring you back to the Archives of Yargen, don’t they?”
“As soon as they can. I don’t think it’s public knowledge that I’ve escaped yet. If word gets out, Ulvarth stands to lose his rank and title—or the people’s faith, at the very least.”
She was slowly piecing together the parts of Taavin’s life from bits of information he’d dropped like breadcrumbs in a vast forest. A man who was the head of a holy order—who’d ordained the Queen of Meru by his hand. But a puppet for others, a captive to keep under control so that Ulvarth could have power over arguably the strongest organization on Meru.
Her heart ached for him as her blood boiled with rage at the Lord of the Faithful.
“Why does Adela want you? Because you’re a Solaris?”
At the mere mention of Adela, Vi’s midsection ached. “The elfin’ra have put a bounty out for me,” Vi answered simply.
“And Adela will capitalize on anything, even the end of the world.” Taavin cursed under his breath.
She’d even capitalize on the lonely heart of a gullible princess, Vi thought bitterly. But she kept her mouth shut.
“Vi, what is it?” Taavin’s palm cupped her cheek, summoning Vi’s attention back once more from the demons lurking in her heart. “Let me help you,” he said gently.
“You’ve done enough.” It was her turn to take care of him now. And Vi didn’t want to give Jayme another thought or word. Doing so felt like letting the traitor win. “We should plan our next move. You have Lord Ulvarth after you, and I have Fallor—Adela by extension—after me. It’s a lot to deal with.”
“Our next move is to wait.” Taavin shifted, wincing again as his hand fell from her face. Vi caught it, not wanting to let go his warmth just yet. She felt far too cold on the inside to lose his touch.
“We have to keep moving. We’re not safe here.”
“This is the one place we have a chance to be safe,” he insisted.
“Why?” Vi remembered his mention that they wouldn’t “dare” follow them into the forest.
“Because we’re in the Twilight Forest, which is under the protection of the Twilight Kingdom.”
“Twilight Kingdom?” Vi repeated.
“The Twilight Kingdom is inhabited by the morphi, those who command the power of the shift.”
Twilight Kingdom. Morphi. The shift. Her head was spinning, trying to take in all the new information at once. “What’s the power of the shift? Is that another discipline of magic on Meru—like Lightspinning?”
Taavin’s eyes fluttered closed a moment as he took a shallow breath. He looked exhausted and Vi knew she should let him rest. But it was hard to do that when information that might keep them alive hung on his tongue.
“It is. But I admit… I don’t know much. The shift is a forbidden topic for the Faithful.”
“What makes it forbidden?”
“You saw the markings on Fallor’s brow?” he asked. She nodded, remembering the glowing dots that he’d covered with grease paint when she’d first met him. “Those are the mark of the morphi. The Faithful teach that they—the morphi—are turning their backs on Yargen by anchoring themselves in the twilight—neither darkness or light. Because of this altered existence, they canshiftreality—which is an affront to Yargen’s goodness.”
“That sounds like a more religious than logical reason.”
“It likely is.” Taavin let out a soft sigh, eyelids drooping. “As I said, I know little of this power. Only the morphi possess it, and they guard the secrets of the shift with their lives.”
“Is it because of the shift that Fallor can become an eagle?” Vi asked. “He’s shifting the reality of himself—his nature—into that of an eagle?”
“That is my understanding, yes. Physical change is just one of their skills. They can also distort or break Lightspinning magic.”
“That’s what he did in the field, to break your illusion?”
