13
GREY
Two Days Later
Ashlyn sits at the table,her eyes wide as magic hums in the air.
It seems she was right about adopting some of my magic via our bond. If only the power went both ways. And I’m still trying to determinewhyI can’t hear her at all.
She said she can sense some of my thoughts, but it’s not always clear.
And neither of us can communicate mentally.
It’s… strange.
I watch as she draws a protective rune on herself, just like the one I dismantled an hour ago so she could practice.
Her brow pinches when it doesn’t glow properly at the end and I wait to see if she figures out why.
I sip my coffee—something I made from an old coffeemaker I found in the dusty cabinet—and watch her start over again.
She’ll ask me if she wants to know what she’s missing.
While she busies herself with that, I mentally check all the wards around the property. I put them up when we first arrived—almost immediately after tucking her into a bed beneath amountain of blankets—and have been mentally recharging them several times a day since.
So far, there hasn’t been any signs of life anywhere near here.
Yet I still can’t seem to shadow Ashlyn out of here. And any time I try to do so on my own, it feels wrong. Wobbly, even. So I always stop before the shadow takes hold. It’s never happened to me before, and the issue is clearly linked to Ashlyn somehow.
I’ve sent Cael a few messages about it, but he hasn’t replied yet. Which is making me question if the watch was damaged somehow during our escape from the cave. Or maybe from all the snow we plowed through to reach this cabin.
“Ugh,” Ashlyn growls. “What am I doing wrong?”
I glance at her arm. “You’re missing a dash. Want me to show you where?” I learned yesterday that she prefers to learn by doing, so I’m trying to respect that process.
“Yes.”
I nod and step forward to draw a line for her near the corner. The rune instantly lights up with golden flares and she basically snarls at it.
I help her remove it and say, “Try again while I call Cael.” Because I really don’t like that he’s been radio silent since I left his office five days ago. I should have called him earlier after he didn’t respond to my messages, but Ashlyn distracted me with herneeds.
And what sweet needs those were,I muse, running my gaze over her before stepping outside to bring up Cael’s number.
It rings once before flashing an error that reads “No Signal.”
I stare at it, then look at the satellite connection. The strength isn’t great, but the status is still green. Which means I definitely have a signal.
Frowning, I try again and the same thing happens.
I bring up my messages to see if they’ve gone through and they all have a delivered status.
To test it, I try Dixon’s direct line.
And the same thing happens.
“Right.” I remove the watch and carry it back inside to where Ashlyn is almost done drawing the rune again. I toss the broken tech onto the counter and watch her concentrate.
But then she stills, her expression going blank.
